Chapter 149 Being there

Eliyah

"Yeah, she just finished her today's check-up," I spoke in the phone.

"How is she? What did the doctor say?" Nikolai asked.

"She is weaker than yesterday. The babies are stronger than ever," I clenched my jaw, hating it. Avalyn was being selfish. Once she had made up her mind, it was impossible to change it because she refused to comprehend anything other than what her heart said. Following your heart was a good thing, and it made her a damn good Queen but only following your heart was unhealthy. A healthy balance between heart and mind had to be maintained. By choosing two lives that weren't even born, she was killing two most important ones—herself and Nikolai, and putting the whole Kingdom at risk. She was neglecting her duties as a mate and as a Queen.

With everything going on, neither her or Nikolai were in the right state of mind to rule the Kingdom. And without them, all the responsibilities fell on Max and Natalia who were currently acting as the interim rulers with the help of the entire council. But the strain on them was clear as the day. It was difficult for them, to carry the burden of the whole Kingdom and of the lives of every single person in it. And considering Adrik was still on the loose, the stress was hundred-fold.

Nikolai, Mikhail, Andrei, all of the trackers and most of the Neos army were out spread all across Jivan to find Adrik. The whole Kingdom was under distress without the presence of their King and Queen. Max and Natalia are barely able to cope with the amount of work Nikolai and Avalyn did on the daily. And with a baby on the way, the workload weighed heavy on the couple. They weren't made to be rulers, that was in the blood of Nikolai and Avalyn only. It was their fate, their destiny.

I don't know how long they will be able to keep it up.

Nikolai was silent for a minute. In the last two weeks, he called me at least two times a day to check on Avalyn. The rest were too busy ruling Soare-Luna and it wasn't like Avalyn let anyone else near her. She had lost her trust in all the brothers the day she claimed to have lost her trust in Nikolai.

But I knew her better than that by now. I spend all day, every day with her, only sneaking around to answer Nikolai's calls. She was depressed. She dutifully took care of herself as much as she could so that her babies were healthy. But her mental peace was gone. She was going through Nikolai-withdrawals. She had only asked Natalia once about his whereabouts. She told her he left in search of Adrik. And after that, she hadn't taken his name except in her dreams. She dreamed about him every night and woke up with tears in her eyes, I knew because I used to sleep on the couch whenever she had a really bad day, to make sure she was alright. I never asked her about it nor did I mention it. I know she missed him, she yearned for him.

But stubborn as she was, she refused to talk to him.

And Nikolai was miserable without her. I had overheard a few people talk about it. That everyone could feel his heartbreak and melancholy oozing through the link they shared with him. And they loved their King so much that they started having a grudge on Avalyn for doing this to him. The entire story had spread across the Kingdom by now. Everyone has mixed opinions about it, some believe she was doing the right thing but most believed that she was in the wrong. They simply wanted their beloved Queen to live and for the couple to be together. They belonged together.

But Avalyn had no idea about any of this. She hadn't stepped out of the west wing since they day she told Nikolai to leave, which was two weeks ago.

"How much time...." he cleared his throat. How much time does she have left?

"About three weeks." I whispered, squeezing my eyes shut. In the human world, she would be considered to be pregnant for seven months. But the foetuses were growing so fast that one week was equal to almost one month. I knew supernaturals had a short pregnancy but from what I had gathered, Avalyn's pregnancy was half as short as theirs.

I heard him release a shuddering breath.

"How's the search going?" I asked, changing the topic.

"Found a trail." His voice was hoarse when he replied. "Going to Brunei tomorrow."

"All the best." I swallowed. Avalyn had three weeks. Three weeks.

"She talked to anyone yet?"

"No." The fact that she had isolated herself from everyone, including her family didn't sit well with Nikolai. He wanted her to enjoy her last days as much as she physically could, even if it was without him.

"Thought so. I talked to Dimitri, he should be there any minute now. He would be able to talk to her." Dimitri was Avalyn's closest confidante. She loved him like her little brother and he loved her just as much. They had a bond unlike any other. And if there was anyone who could talk to her, make her smile, make her laugh, then it was Dimitri. I just hoped things were going good with his mate and he was in a better mood than he was when he left. Because if he was as depressed as she was, then it wasn't going to do anyone any good.

Just as he said, Dimitri entered the west wing along with Althea. The couple didn't look like they were madly in love but they seemed to be in a better shape than they were before they left. Dimitri had a hand behind her back as he led her inside and considering she didn't even let him touch him earlier, this was a huge step.

"He's here." I told him. "I need to go." I needed to tell Avalyn that Dimitri was back. And I needed to talk to Dimitri before he talked to Avalyn, or else things could go south pretty quick.

"Let me know how it goes." He said before cutting the call.

"Dimitri." I called and approached the couple before putting my phone in the pocket. I lowered my head in respect before meeting their eye.

"Hey, how have you been?" He smiled. That was a good sign.

"Good. I hope your trip went well?" I smiled back.

"It did." He replied and then his eyes turned soft. "Where's Avalyn?"

"I wanted to talk to you before you meet her." I told him.

His eyes became alert before he asked, "Nikolai briefed me up on everything that happened."

"I still need to talk to you, preferably in private," I gave Althea a fleeting glance.

She looked up at Dimitri with sad eyes, "I guess I'll freshen up and wait for you in our room?"

"No it's fine, baby," he told her before looking at me, "you can tell us anything."

If Dimitri thought she was to be trusted now, then I trusted his judgement. We took a seat on the couch in the living room.

"Dimitri." Avalyn's surprised voice caught me off-guard.

Dimitri's jaw slackened when he saw here. This is what I had to warn him about. Nikolai didn't know everything in detail. I told him a lot of stuff but if I told him the real condition of Avalyn, he would never be able to stay away. And the last thing any of us wanted was for Avalyn to harm herself in any way.

Dimitri

"Avalyn," my feet automatically brought me in front of her.

She looked almost as bad as she did when Nikolai had bought her. She was wearing a long light blue dress but it was easy to make out that she had lost an unhealthy amount of weight. Her usual supple cheeks were sunken in, her eyes had lost their twinkle, and her silver hair its lustre.

I hugged her and realised that her stomach was already more than twice the size it was when I last saw her.

And my wolf could feel her dying. Her children were consuming her, killing her inside out.

I had cussed Nikolai out for acting like a dumbass when he told me everything. But seeing Avalyn like this, I don't think I'd behave any differently if it were Althea in her place.

"She left," Avalyn spoke, looking towards Althea who disappeared inside the elevator.

"She'll come around," I said. In the two weeks we had spent alone, I realised that she was jealous of Avalyn and my relationship with her, despite me explaining it to her over and over again. I was done proving myself to her and I was done distancing myself from my family for her. My behaviour had hurt them all, I knew that even when they never said a word. Althea was the most important person in the world for me but I needed to create a healthy balance between my family and her.

And I knew that underneath her jealousy lied her love for me. And she'd understand once I talked to her. I knew she would. But right now, I needed to talk to Avalyn.

"Let's sit, there is a lot to talk about," I led her towards the couch. Her movements were slow, like even walking felt like a tiring task.

She left out a soft, relieved sigh when she sat down. I looked at Eliyah who was looking at her in worry. Now I knew what he wanted to talk about. Nikolai did not know the entirety of her condition. And he wanted to tell me about it before I saw her, so that I wasn't shocked when I saw her. But I was. I was deeply shook by her condition.

First my parents. Then Viktoria. Javier. Sofiya. Valeralyn. Vladimir. And now, Avalyn. I wasn't sure how much more I would be able to take.

She looked up at me and her eyes teared up, seeing right through me. She grabbed my hand and placed it over her belly. It was soft yet hard. And the two steady heart beats were stronger than ever. I felt a kick straight in my palm. Avalyn winced before smiling at that. "They're saying hi to uncle Dimitri."

My chest felt tight at her heart-breaking enthusiasm, "hi."

"Promise me you'll be there for them. Always." She whispered.

"I promise." My voice felt thick.

"If Nikolai doesn't com—" she bit down her lip and looked up to control her tears. She swallowed hard. "You'll protect them and love them like your own. Without any grudges."

I felt like the biggest asshole in the whole world. She needed me and I wasn't here. I had no idea she was in so much pain. She was holding it all in for her babies and all our sake. I could feel only a fraction of it. But it was enough to give me a glimpse inside her heart.

It hurt. "I promise." I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Niko—"

"Don't." She shook her head.

"He's jus—"

"He's not here. That's all that matters." She looked away, releasing my hand from her grasp.

"He's hunting Adrik. For you. And your kids," I said, hoping that she already knew about it.

"He's letting his hatred for his father overpower his love for me. He should've been here. He's using his hatred for Adrik to distract himself from taking his responsibility of being a father." Her voice was hallow when she said that.

And I had no excuses for my brother. She was right. He should be here. He has the rest of his life to catch Adrik. Avalyn wasn't...she didn't have much ti—my eyes squeezed shut at the thought.

"He loves you. More than anything in the world."

"I know." Her voice turned soft. "But what good is that love? He isn't here when I need him the most."

Every one of us had told Nikolai to get his head out of his ass and come back, to beg Avalyn to forgive him, to be there for his mate and his children.

He told us that he was doing just that before cutting us off.

Mikhail and Andrei were scared for him. They said he was miserable without Avalyn and missed her a lot. But he looked like he was a man on a mission. They said he barely ate and barely slept. He was hellbent on hunting down Adrik and catching him. Killing his father was the only thing on his mind. So much so that they said it was consuming him. They had never seen him act that way.

We couldn't talk much, Nikolai had caught them not working and yelled their heads off. He didn't let anyone rest or even take a breath. He drove everyone to work day and night, blood and sweat till they found Adrik.

And that was the last time we talked.

"I think he's up to something." He has to be. I know my brother. I know he is a better man that that.

"Someday, Dimitri, you have to stop making excuses for the ones you love and take their actions at their face value. Bending over backwards in hopes to see the good in everyone and everything will only break your back." Said the woman who always saw the good in everyone and everything.

And then she got up, "I'm tired, I'm going to head to bed early tonight. See you tomorrow."

"Did you have dinner?" I stood up too.

"I'll have it in my bedroom." She said without turning around.

Eliyah gave me an apologetic look before he caught up with her and they got in the elevator.

Rubbing my face in frustration, I went to my bedroom. Nothing in my life was going good. My family was in pieces. I was in pieces.

Althea was crying when I entered the bedroom.

Guilt hit me hard. Sometimes, I thought that the Moon Goddess made a mistake by pairing us. We're mates supposed to understand each other in a deeper level? Forget deeper level, we didn't understand each other on any level. No matter how much I talked to her, explained her, she didn't understand me. And I was sure that she felt the same way.

It had been almost two months since we met and we hadn't had one conversation that didn't end up in a misunderstanding or a fight. No matter what I tried, she took it in the wrong way or turned it around on me. No trick in any book worked on her. None of my charms worked, nor did sweet words or my actions.

But going to Volk had been good for us. She made friends there and got along well with them too. It gave me hope that someday, we could be friends too. It would at least be a start.

But today wasn't that day. Today, I was tired. I was drained. The most important woman in my life sort of hated my guts. And the second most important woman in my life was dying in front of my eyes. And nothing I could do was helping either of them. Never have I felt so... helpless before.

"Althea." I called, deciding to give it a try.

She simply sobbed louder.

"She needed me...she needs her family right now." She knows everything. I shouldn't have to explain it to her.

"Then go to her!" She screamed in the pillow. "They're stealing you from me! You don't even see it! You don't even care!"

No. I didn't have it in me to deal with this right now.

I left the bedroom and went towards the offices. Might as well tell Max and Natalia that I'm home.

Natalia's office was empty which meant that they were in Max's office.

I opened the door without knocking, knowing it would piss them off. Annoying someone sounded like a good distraction. Max was sitting in his chair behind his desk, reading a file and Natalia was searching through what looked like a hurricane of papers. They were the unfortunate people who had to take over Nikolai and Avalyn's responsibility. And from the little contact we had had over the last couple of weeks, they weren't handling it very well. In Max's words, 'that workaholic Nikolai with a stick up his ass 24/7 has turned me into a workaholic with a stick up my ass'.

"Hunnies, I'm home!" I sang in an annoying voice.

"Not now," Max said without looking away from his file.

"The bun's looking real good, Nat. Lemme tap that." I joked. Her belly looked bigger than the last time I had seen it too but nowhere near as big as Avalyn's.

Natalia didn't even bat an eye at my crass jokes, nor did she cuss me out or promise bodily harm like she usually did. "Not now, Dimitri," she said instead, too busy in her work.

The smile that I had plastered on my face fell as I walked out, closing the door behind me.

The worst part about always being there for others is that they rarely think that you need someone to be there for you too.