Diego: “You are avoiding me,” mom said from behind me. I didn’t say a word to respond, I didn’t need to, she knew the pain that I felt and she knew how much it broke me inside to know that she was hiding something as big and as deep as what she did. She knew the pain that it cost me and the guilt that I felt throughout all this time, and yet, not once did she bother implying that I was innocent. “I have a lot of work to do, mama…” “You are my son, Diego de’ Medici.” She said, wrapping her hand around my bicep when she noticed that I intended to walk away. “If I know the way that you act or…” “Then you would know to avoid me as I think. You know that I am going to need time for myself. Time to process what I learned, and time to mourn again as I forgive myself for not avenging my brother’s blood.” I said, stopping her. “Do not think that it is something that I am going to be able to get past in a day or two.” “I never did say that…” “Your eyes speak louder than your words ever wi
Lea: I looked at my mate for a second, my heart racing against my ribcage as I lay on the ground, drained from today’s training. Ezra, who has been training me for the past week, chuckled and shook his head as he leaned against a tree, crossing his arms over his chest. “You need to work on your strength, Lea.” He said, and I shook my head at him. “We have been at this for the past week. My heart is going to burst out of my chest, and I cannot feel my legs. Mind you, you are a machine, and I doubt that you are going to know what I am speaking of.” I said, sitting up to stand. The man extended a hand to me, but I shook my head, not wanting him to touch me. The two of us have set silent limits between one another, and I knew that though he didn’t say anything about it; he understood my reasons. “I am your brother, Lea.” He said, and I smiled, giving him a sarcastic nod. “Of course, I never said that you are not.” I said, walking toward the house only for him to wrap his hand arou
Diego: I walked toward the room, knowing that Lea didn’t like what happened between Renata and I. I didn’t like hurting women, nor did I appreciate threatening them, but the woman has forced my hands, and now, I had no option but to put her in place. Flashback: “She stole you from me, she came into our lives…” “I didn’t bother looking twice at her for months,” I said, stopping the woman. Her eyes widened in surprise, and I was forced to avoid Lea’s eyes as I admitted that I was ignoring her and the mating bond for months. But I knew that at the time, it was the best and only option that I had to do. “I don’t even know who you had impregnating you, and I do not intend to know. But you are going to have two options from now on.” “Diego, enough,” mom said, noticing that the conversation was growing more heated than it was supposed to. My heart raced, and I clenched and unclenched my fist, letting out a low growl, not wanting her to interfere in a decision that I was going to make a
Lea: I entered my room, and for the first time since I found out that Diego was my mate, I was broken. The man having another woman in his life did not bother me. He had his love, he had his life, and he didn’t know of my existence. In my mind, maybe he didn’t even feel the mating bond. But to know that not only did he feel it, but that he chose to hide it, keeping me wondering for months, thinking, shaking my head, and forcing myself to accept that something that I believed was for everyone just wasn’t for me. I was taken for a fool, as always, and now, I didn’t know what to think. My bedroom door was knocked, and I frowned as I caught Ezra and Mario’s scents. Both of them coming here wasn’t something that I was used to, and whenever Ezra passed by, the two of us would end up arguing anyway; therefore, I didn’t see a reason nor did I understand what he was doing here right now. I got up and opened the door, thankful for the fact that I was refusing to allow my tears to fall. If
Diego: The next morning was the hardest for me. I knew that even when Renata and I broke up, a part of me didn’t feel like it was going to fall apart. My heart raced, and I couldn’t help but find myself worried about seeing her. I didn’t know how she was going to react, nor did I know how my mate was going to be looking at me any longer. I walked out of the room, knowing that there was no hiding in mine for the whole day. It was late enough as it was, and the little sleep that I got until now was having its tow on me. But I didn’t bother. I had other things to tend to and take care of right now, and neither one of them cared whether or not I got any sleep at all. “You seem to be sleep deprived,” Arena, one of the pack members, said, looking at me. I took a deep breath, and she raised an eyebrow at me. Her smile was one that I didn’t like, but I knew that she wasn’t enjoying everything that was going on. She was one of Renata’s friends, and the idea of her losing her friend to Lea
Lea: “Yes, Lea?” Diego asked, taking a deep breath as he tried controlling whatever it was that he was feeling. I knew that it was not easy for him to do so. But after last night, I knew that it was either that I speak to him or we just end things here and now. I didn’t want to lose my mate, otherwise, I knew that rejecting him was going to be the better option. Might as well not attach the man to an illusion and at least give myself a chance to find another mate; but a part of me knew that I wasn’t going to find someone that saw through me despite the short period of time that he’s known me. “Do you want me as your mate?” I asked, shaking my head in question at the man. I knew that he would be surprised by my question, but I knew that IF I didn’t ask, I wasn’t going to answer my own pain and query. It was going to be a mystery to me, and that wasn’t something that I wanted. “Lea, you are seriously asking…?” “Yes,” I said, stopping him. “After what I heard and learned last night,
Diego:“Do you believe that I am going to be standing here if I didn’t want to be with you?” Lea asked, making me smirk. I knew that she wanted to be with me, but I wanted her to say it out loud. And not just to me, to herself too.“Maybe, maybe not. The two of us can never really know as neither one of us trusts the other.” I said, and she scoffed.“For known reasons. I do not go around, saying that I didn’t want to be with the woman that not only am I sharing the bed with, but I am also fucking on an almost every night basis.” She said, and I chuckled, shaking my head at my mate who raised an eyebrow.“First of all, I wasn’t ‘fucking’ you. I was making love to you, cherishing you, your body, your eyes, and your beauty. I didn’t just want the night to end with my needs satisfied. I wanted you to be happy with me, and I wanted you to also crave, want, and need me as much as I did to you. While I understand that you might not trust that, it is the reality of how things are.” I said, lo
Lea: “You got what you wanted in the end. Diego doesn’t want me around, you are his favorite, and I am to be kicked out if I disrespect you.” Renata said, entering the kitchen as she saw me getting myself a glass of water. The two maids who were here looked at her then at me, their fear could easily be read in their eyes and I knew that they didn’t know what to do or how to handle the situation without causing a stir. “You are going to leave my sight, Renata, because I have more important things to be dealing with right now, and believe me, neither one of them includes you. As for Diego, you can leave ONLY if you wish not to respect me or his mother, I doubt that it would be hard for you.” I said, looking the woman dead in the eye. “You are nothing for me to respect.” “Good, and you are nothing too. But there is something called virtue, humanity, and self respect. I doubt that you know how to deal with any of them, but if you are willing, then there is a lesson that is called se