Wrapped in his sheets

IS IT TOO LATE?

Arlo's POV

Mates mean weakness, destroy every ounce of humanity left in you. I have been on the receiving end of this insanity. I an convinced that mate bond does no good to you. Then why is all of this affecting me so much. His perfect face, contorted in hurt. My words hurt him, but somehow it affected me more.

As soon as Sebastian left, Lily barged inside my office, absolutely fuming. That means she heard me rejecting him. Duke growled inside my head at that. What happened to the beast, who wanted nothing to do with mates? Now he too is furious at me for rejecting him. A bunch of assholes I tell you.

"How could you?" Lily spoke outraged. It's a good thing that she is the closest thing to a sister I have, or else Duke would not have taken that well.

"Why would you deny the one thing that universe made specially for you....", I slowly tuned her out, while she kept on rambling about mates and rejection. She was so into it that she did not even realized when I slipped out of the office.

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The she-wolf whose name I did not try to know, scurried out of my room. I couldn't do anything with her. Not only does duke want any one else, my body too wants nothing else than him. How betraying, your own wolf and body having a mind against me. I could not even get hard. 

That's not entirely true, I did get hard, thinking of his sculpted body, bulging out of the white buttoned shirt he was wearing today. Thinking of his plump lips and how they would feel against my skin and how...

"Why was there a maid coming out from your room?" Lily asked me, while sniffing the room.

Her eyes widened, while she rushed towards me, sniffing me.

"God! Lily... I'm naked down there." Nothing I said affected her. 

All of a sudden she stopped, and looked up to meet my eyes.

"Did you sleep with her?" Her voice was pleading me to deny her, for me to tell her that there was some other reason for me smelling like the she-wolf. I would have told her that to soothe her, but her eyes tearing up had me concerned.

"What is it Lily?" I asked her softly.

All the vulnerability left her face, rage replacing it.

"What is it? Did you not hear a word of what I had been saying. How cruel can you be? You did exactly what your father did to-" Before she could finish, I had her slammed to the wall. She knew better than bringing that man, and comparing me to him. I am nothing like that sperm donor.

"What? Hit a nerve I see. You are right. You are nothing like your father. He loved his mate and went over board after losing her. You? You are worse, you just killed your mate."

My grip on her neck loosened. I did what? 

"If you heard what I said, you would have known that rejection is so painful, that no wolf can survive it. Your wolf ceases to exist, making you almost human. Which means you don't heal at all, vulnerable to every threat, just like a human."

No she can't be right. I cannot kill him. I did not kill him. Duke whined inside of me at the thought of our mate dead.

"And to top it all of, you went ahead and slept with some one else. Once you meet your mate, sleeping with some one else can be extremely painful. So if he was somehow alive after the rejection, you just made it sure that he dies." She left the room saying so.

Cruel. She showed me no mercy. She kept on telling these to me. I couldn't take it anymore. Duke was so silent that I could hear my heart rapidly beating. The only relief was that I could feel him at the back. I wouldn't blame him if he left me too.

Lily was right I am worse than my father. I killed my mate. My heart was aching. 

'Mate'

We need to go to him. I knew nothing about mates, but I knew I would have felt his death. Which I didn't.

'Yet'

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I was halfway to the Royal mansion, when pain hit me like a brick. My heart felt like tearing apart.

No no no. He is not dead, he can't be dead. He can't leave me. Duke howled in pain. Birds flying away, animals scattering away at the beast's howl.

The pain was too much. At one point I had started crying. The last time I had cried was at my father's abandonment. 

I did not even know whether I was crying at my mate's death or the pain that followed his death. Both I guess.

After a few minutes, the pain went away. Not knowing what to do, I took off, more eager to get to him.

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There were so many tubes and wires of sort attached to him. All hooked up to so,e computer thingy. 

A she wolf named Bree almost killed me the instant she saw me, and his mate, the younger prince did nothing to stop her. I don't blame either of them.

It was his parents who stopped her and let me in. They even gave me some personal time with my mate. They did not seem to hate me. If I were in their place, I would have me executed. 

'But they are not you'

Yes they are much better people.

My mate even after being so pale and fragile, looked so beautiful. How could I have ever rejected him. 

He is stable for now, but in a coma. Tears welled up, thinking of losing him. I took his hand in mine, comforting myself, in his warmth and the sparks.

I would have probably killed myself, if I had lost him. Who is to say that once he gets up he will accept me. The Queen told me that him accepting the rejection would stop his pain, and the bond would break. I don't think I would be able to survive another person leave me.

'You were the one to reject him'

The thought that his heart had stopped beating for a few minutes, brought shivers down my neck.