4. Stormy Blue Eyes

ALPHA RAIDEN

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I could feel rage still boiling inside of me even though several hours had passed since the woman I was forced to marry and mate with tried to sever the same bond that I sacrificed my happiness to create. 

The nerve of her! 

Who does she think she is? 

Some goddess in charge? 

Tsk… 

My eyes caught the dark sky of the night as I emptied another shot of the strongest tequila in my bar, kinda hoping that it would kill my anger and stabilize my spiraling emotions but drinking didn’t help me. Within a few minutes, I was drunk yet I didn't stop drinking. 

“Why am I still sensing anger from you, Raid.” The soothing voice of the woman my heart beat for, echoed through the bar and my eyes eagerly searched for the beauty of her face. “Don’t tell me you are drunk because of her.” 

I couldn’t stop myself from smiling sheepishly when Larisa’s face popped before mine. She left to meet up with her old friends a few hours after the woman I was forced to marry vexed me. I might be drunk but I could still see discomfort and a bit of jealousy flashing through my Larisa’s eyes. 

“Not entirely, Isa, I'm angry though. She vexed me.” I said to her, turning around on my high bar stool to pull Larisa in between my legs. 

She stood tall like a glass of wine, her elbows resting on my thigh, “Same difference, Raid. I fear that you don’t want me here nor do you need me. Perhaps coming back after all these years is a mistake–”

“Hey…” I cautioned her, frowning drunkenly. “Why would you say that? You know I have missed you? I have spent the last few years trying to find and bring you back home. Why would you call this a mistake, Isa?” 

My heart clenched painfully. I thought Larisa’s return would heal my broken heart. I thought she would be happy with me now that I had become the Alpha. I had the power and authority to protect her now unlike three years ago. 

“Because you are acting like she means the world to you. Like you have fallen in love with her.” Larisa stated, her lips trembling. 

Without hesitation, I hissed, “I do not love that woman, Isa.” 

Larisa's frown deepened, her eyes searching mine for what I assumed was reassurance.

“You are the only woman I have ever loved and I have never stopped loving you, babe. You’re the one who means the world to me.” I voiced those words slurrily, my sight getting blurry as the alcohol I had consumed began to kick in fast. 

“I still love you too,” Larisa muttered but her eyes sparkled with tears when she looked at me. 

“What’s wrong, Isa? Talk to me, Please.” I was worried about her… about us. 

There was nothing more that I wanted. Being with her was all I have ever wanted. She was my biggest desire and having her in my arms was a three-year-long dream come true.

Larisa pulled away, taking a few steps back before she said, “I’m scared, Raid.” 

I left the stool, staggering on my feet for a few seconds. I cursed myself for drinking so much. I knew that if Larisa had been around, I wouldn’t have had any cause to drink. She would have relieved me of the anger that woman sparked within me. 

Larisa continued before I could get to her, “I was forced to leave my home, my pack, my friends, my entire life, and the man I loved three years ago. I was forced to live a lonely life, struggling through each day with a broken heart, Raid. It was hard to survive without you but I knew better than to be in the way of your duties as the Alpha. You didn’t need me around to be a great Alpha and as much as it kills me to say this, the truth remains, you needed Aurelia to be your best–” 

“Please stop talking like that, Isa. I didn’t need her then and I don’t need her now. You and I would have led the pack better. My parents didn’t understand that but–” 

Larisa cut in, tears rolling down her pretty cheeks, “Then why are you so angry about the fact that she tried to sever the bond? Why are you holding on to her?” 

My drunk mind failed to come up with a good enough answer. I could have just told Larisa that I was keeping Aurelia around because I had already created a bond with her and breaking that bond would be risky. It would kill me and my wolf but I didn’t tell Larisa that for some unknown reasons. 

Perhaps I thought that would hurt her more.

“I am not asking you to divorce her, Raid. I don’t want you to become weak because of me. All I want is to stay by your side, be with you, and make up for the lost years. That’s all I am asking of you.” Larisa cried.

Finally, I said, “I want that too. I want that very much, Isa–”

“You don’t seem to want me like I do. You don’t seem to love me like you used to, Raiden.” Larisa countered and I shook my head, hating that I couldn’t open my heart to her and show her just how much I wanted her. “I think I should stay at my parent’s home for a while.”

“No! I want you here.” I disagreed strongly, trying to hold Larisa. 

But she avoided my hands as she said, “It would give us time to know what we actually want. I also don’t want to cause any problems for you. You know where to find me when you sort out the mess with your mate.” 

Larisa didn't wait for me to respond before she walked away and out of my mansion. I yearned to rush after her but my heart tightened, causing anger to swell within me again. 

“This is all her fault! This is that woman’s fault!” I gritted audibly but there was no one around to hear me. 

I didn’t like saying her name or even thinking about it. 

I married her because I needed to just like Larisa pointed out and I was keeping her around for the same purpose… I needed her body and the bond to keep me sane. 

“She might as well serve her purpose now,” I muttered ferociously before sending orders to the warriors guarding her to bring her back to the mansion and take her to the only room I had ever shared with her. 

Maybe it was the alcohol in my system or the anger coursing through me like burning lava, I stormed to the room and sat on the bed. My eyes were stinging and my nose flaring as I waited for Aurelia to be brought to me. 

The second she stepped into the room, her familiar flowery scent drove me crazier. My brief tightened and I let out a one-word command, “Strip!” 

I expected her to shakily obey my command like she had been doing for the past three years of our loveless marriage. I expected her to shyly look at me with her bewitching stormy blue eyes that always get me undone whenever we are in bed together. 

However, to my greatest surprise, I received the biggest shock of the day when she looked at me with empty eyes and responded with one word as well.

“No.”