Chapter 27

Aiden’s POV

I was too excited to go to bed these last few days have been the most exciting and also the most exhausting in my life

“You seem happy, sir” Marcel said to me as I walked out the door, I touched my face, I hadn’t realised I was grinning from ear to ear.

“It’s a beautiful day isn’t it?” I said pulling him into a hug.

“It is indeed sir, plus all the preparations for the Mass Ball have been completed, if you wouldn’t mind releasing me I have to go fetch your suit from the tailor sir” he said nervously,

“Oh…right…please go ahead”

I touched the back of my head grinning again and sat down at the table grinning from ear to ear,

“Morning son”, I turned to see my father standing behind me,

“Morning father” I said trying to avoid eye contact not sure if he is still mad about me leaving him in the forest. He took the chair opposite me,

“You left me in the forest so you can come here alone?” He asked me, with a scruff in his voice telling me he was not pleased, I looked up at him, he had dark circles around his eyes, he looked like he hadn’t slept in a week,

“Sorry dad, I had some urgent maters to attend to” I said clearing my throat looking everywhere but at him.

“How’s mom?” I asked trying to change the subject, he shifted uncomfortably in his chair

“Your mother is not long for this world, her wolf has gone, but she is still holding on” he said, his eyes watering, I have never seen my dad so emotional, he is the Alpha after all, even though his vulnerability was uncharacteristic not only for the Alpha but as a wolf, he was losing the love of his life and wolf or not, Alpha or not I can understand, I don’t know what I would do if I lost Scar, I shook my head not wanting to even think of it. We both sat in silence deep in thought.

“This urgent mater, does it have anything to do with Charlotte?” My head shot up in shock, I hadn’t told him about her yet

“How do you know about…?”

“You called out her name when you ran away from me”

“Scarlett” I said irritated for some reason

“her name is Scarlett” it made me mad that he got her name wrong.

“Scarlett, huh, how serious are you about her?” Now I was the one shifting uncomfortably in my chair,

“Um, she is my mate dad” I said avoiding eye contact, the process of mating was not new yet talking to my dad about it made me nervous,

“Mate...huh, well I hope you got it out of your system…you are promised to another…don’t forget that” his eyes saying don’t screw this up,

I cleared my throat

“The moon chose her for me dad, the arrangement with the King for the princes and I to get married was your idea not mine” I said hoping to see a glimpse of understanding in his eyes but there was nothing

“And I thought it was a precaution, remember, you didn’t want me to ascend to Alpha without a mate, so you arranged a suitable mate for me” he looked at me with a blank expression my hands clenched violently into fists rubbing violently against my thigh

“now that I have found my true mate…that contract is null, and void now wouldn’t you say?”

“Aiden you cannot go back on your word, I will not allow you to disgrace this family” he was so nonchalant about asking me to reject my mate, he said it like it was nothing, like he was asking me to return a piece of clothing that didn’t fit right, I didn’t know how to respond, and he got up and started to go to his office.

“Sir, she is awake, and she is asking for you” Marcel said avoiding eye contact with both of us, his face told me that he had heard everything

“Tell her I will be there in a minute” dad said to Marcel, and he turned and looked at me

“I will not let your mothers last memory be a shameful one...I consider this conversation over” he said turning and heading to mom’s room.

I sighed deeply as I swung my head back trying to hold back the frustration that was building up inside me, I closed my eyes and Scarlett’s beautiful face smiled back at me

“I have to get out of here” I got up furious and knocked the chair to the ground, I shifted when I go to the woods

“How can he expect me to reject my mate, doesn’t he know I can’t do that? I thought out of all people he would understand” I ran furiously through the woods unable to contain my anger

“Aiden you cannot go back on your word, I will not allow you to disgrace this family” his words echoed in my head

“Why put all of this on me?”

” Damn it…why did I agree to that arrangement?”

I growled furious at myself, I didn’t choose to be born in the Alpha line, I knew that my life would be spent in dedication to the pack, but I thought I would at least have this,

“don’t I deserve to be happy?” I stopped and collapsed on the ground

” Scar please forgive me” I said crouching down whimpering in my wolf form.

The last time I saw my mother was when she first got sick, but I never thought she would get this sick so quickly, I think on some level I had been avoiding seeing her because deep down I couldn't allow myself to feel the hurt of seeing her laying there being sick, I wanted to remember her as the powerful Luna that she was before this damn sickness got a hold of her. The doctors don’t know what it is or what to do. I think I ran away to live on campus because I just couldn’t stand being that helpless, all I could do was just stand there and watch her wither away and I couldn’t take it.

“Mom?” I said walking into her room the lights where dim and a solemn aura rested in the room, she laid on the bed, I walked towards her, the way she looked broke my heart, I felt my eyes tearing up, but I have to be strong if I start crying I know that she will cry too. He hair was thinning out showing that her wolf had gone, her face was pale, and she looked like she lost half her body weight.

“Aiden, it’s so nice to see you my boy!” she said with cracked lips as she was trying to sit up,

“No mom, rest” I said trying to lay her back down on the bed,

“Give me a hug my sweet boy, oh how I’ve missed you” she said with tears running down her face,

“I missed you too mom” I said holding her in my arms, I could feel the bones on her back while I hugged her, I held her tightly wanting and wishing I could trade places with here, tears started running down my face, I couldn’t hold them back any longer, I felt bad that I wasn’t here when she needed me the most, and it made me feel like a coward.

“No, sweetheart don’t do that” she said wiping off my tears with her hand.

I put a pillow behind her back to lean on as she sat up,

“so, tell me what you’ve been up to? I want to know everything” she said smiling,

“What did dad tell you?...Did he say anything?” I asked looking down at my hands,

“He said you left him stranded in the middle of the woods without a word, you just screamed out the name of a girl and ran like your life depended on it” she said smiling at me. We have always been close mom and I, it was easier to talk to her than it was to talk to dad, as the Alpha he wasn’t around much having to deal with his duties. I wished we had a better relationship maybe if we did he would be on my side with this arranged marriage thing.

I sat on the bed next to her and told her everything, I told her about the prom and meeting her at school and how much of a cute dork she was always with her head in the clouds, and for a moment she looked like her old self again I saw a glimpse of it in her eyes when she laughed at my stories, I left out that I almost lost my wolf I didn’t want to worry her, and also the other intimate stuff, this is my mother after all, she doesn’t need to know everything. We sat there and talked until she fell asleep again, I got up and walked to the door quietly not wanting to wake her up,

“I’m glad you got to spend time with your mate, those memories will keep you going while living at the palace” I turned and looked at her hoping I had heard her wrong

“Mom you can’t possibly agree with dad on this, the circumstances are different now” I said every fibre of my being pleading with her

“Duty comes first son, I’m sorry honey we cannot go back on our word, we have to protect our family at any and all cost”

I fell on my knees not believing what I was hearing

“I know you don’t understand it now, but one day you will”

“Mom…I don’t understand?”

“You don’t have to understand right now, all you need to do now is to go be with her one last time and get it out of her system…go now I need to rest” I got up and turned the handle

“Aiden” she called back to me, I turned and faced her

“Make it a good memory”.