Chapter 111 : New Beginnings

Karenina

"You're acting weird, Rylan," she said with a frown as her best friend led her out of the place where she used to play hide-and-seek with Raine.

Instead of fighting with her like she thought he would, Rylan glanced at her before looking away. He crossed his arms and started walking back and forth in front of her. This made her upset because she assumed that his weird behavior had something to do with her changed appearance.

"Why the hell can't you look at me?"

While walking over to him, she grabbed his shoulders and forced him to face her.

"Why is it so hard for you to look me in the eye, Rylan?" She demanded, her voice trembling.

Why wasn't he looking at her? Could it be that he... Could it be that he couldn't bear to look at her right now? Her throat felt clogged, leaving her unable to swallow as her emotions threatened to choke her.

"Is it because I'm not a hybrid anymore now? Do you... hate me?" She whispered, looking at his face which was turned away.

Upon hearing her words, the amber-gold color clashed with her rosy-brown eyes.

"No! That's not...!" He sighed, and his fierce expression softened as he brushed her hair out of her eyes, to get a better look at the difference in her facial features. "You're wrong, Karen. It's not like that."

"Then what is it?" She asked him. "Why can't you look at me?"

"Because it's my fault. If I was there for you, none of this would have happened..." He pulled her into his arms, holding her to his chest, and she didn't fight him but sank into his embrace.

"You're in a very dangerous situation, and I'm not... I'm not there for you," he said in a low, harsh tone into her hair.

"It's not all bad," she said comforting him, feeling her heart swell at his unusual openness. Although her heart now belonged to someone else, she still loved Rylan like a dear friend. That will never change.

He snorted. "You're talking about Xavier, right?"

He cupped both of her shoulders and leaned away from her, looking at her with a serious expression. "Does he... make you happy? If not, just tell me, and I will kill him for you."

He was startled by her laughter, and he grinned at her, revealing his pointed fangs in his trademark mischievous smile.

"Hey, I'm serious."

"I know you're serious," she replied, shaking her head. "It means a lot to me that you care so much about my happiness, Rylan."

Instead of being happy to hear her words, sadness clouded his gaze, and he let go of her only to cross his arms over his chest again and look away.

"Rylan, what—"

"I'm sorry," he cut her off in a huff. "Because of my feelings for Carolina, I could never-"

Before he could finish, she put her finger on his lips and waited for his startled gaze to meet her calm one.

She shook her head and gave him a smile. "I'm grateful that you wanted to apologize for your actions, but I couldn't let you. I finally now understand that loving more than one person at a time is possible. You couldn't hold back your feelings, let alone me." She leaned in and hugged him tightly, and Rylan hesitated for a moment before wrapping his arms around her, his cheek resting on the top of her head.

"Now that Carolina's back..." She felt him stiffen at the mention of her cousin's name, but he did not remove his arms from her. "...I know you still love her and she loves you too. Don't hesitate, Rylan. Maybe things will work out for you guys this time. I want you to be happy."

"Karenina..."

He muttered her name like a prayer, and he hugged her even tighter. She was right. He did love Carolina, deeply. He loved Carolina so much that he was willing to condemn more souls to a fate worse than death because of his own selfishness. Both he and Carolina have to live with themselves after knowing the extent to which they will go with their selfish desires, but Rylan has hope that they can atone for their unspoken sins and find happiness together. No matter where the path takes them, he only wants Carolina in his future.

"I want you to be happy too, Karen," he said to her in a stern tone, his throat choked with the emotion he was trying to contain. "Even if you found it with my brother. I still don't know what you see in him," he added unhappily.

She just giggled as he had expected, and he smiled along with her.

"He's not that bad, you know. In fact, he's being pretty sweet to me. Underneath all those cold expressions and emotionless masks, he's warm to me," she said with a grin, then turned to smile genuinely as he let her go.

Rylan shot her a skeptical look, which only made her snort and her grin widen even more.

Then he looked over her shoulder, and his expression turned serious. "Speaking of that bastard, he's waiting for you." Then he turned his gaze towards the alpha in question, and she already knew that Xavier was there.

Giving him a brief hug one last time, she turned away from him and walked casually over to Xavier with a smile. After a long period of darkness, her future looked bright and it was all because of the love of an Alpha of the Westwood Pack.

******

Today was a big day. Even though she was already his mate, a year after Nathan's death. She had begged Xavier to marry her at her family home, in the downtown area, so that her family could witness their wedding.

"Time to take your places at the ceremony, gentlemen," the male staff instructed, having just entered the room they were using to dress.

"Oh, hell. Why do I have to be the 'best man'? What does that mean?" grumbled Rylan unhappily.

"You look beautiful, dear," her mother, Laura Mason said softly through her tears.

She turned to stare into the mirror and saw what her mother saw as her veil was placed over her hair that was styled to flow around her. Her breath caught as she looked at herself. Her dark brown hair was beautifully styled at the top of her head with fine curls framing her face, her veil was white and lace, falling over her shoulders and down her back, to dangle a few feet on the floor behind her.

She was barely wearing any makeup, just enough to make her look natural, with black mascara and eyeliner that made her eyes stand out and appear more dramatic, and rosy pink lipstick, the only splash of color that matched her dark brown hair and white dress. However, dark brown eyes stared at her in the mirror, a shade darker than her skin tone since birth. She decided to hide her new rosy brown eyes from her friends by using contact lenses, not wanting to look too different, although she couldn't do anything about the slight difference in her cheekbone structure. She could have hidden it with makeup - as long as she darkened the rest of her skin to keep the color even.

Although she had been mated to Xavier in the Westwood Pack society, she wanted her family back home to see her get married, and she secretly admitted that she had always wanted to have her own wedding, put on a white dress, and walk down the aisle.

Her eyes looked far down, gazing at her magnificent dress in the large mirror. It had a sweetheart neckline, with glittering beading on the bodice, a diamond-shaped beaded waistband, and an almost skin-tight gown that hugged her waist, hips, and shaped her buttocks - she knew it - and began to flare out at the legs, dropping to the floor, with a lace train.

Her mother placed her hand on the small of her back, and leaned closer, smiling at her through the mirror, with unshed tears in her eyes. Feeling her own tears welling up, she turned and hugged her mother tightly, making sure not to accidentally crush her mother with her newfound strength.