Bonds And Betrayals

8.

BELLO.

I was in a hazy daze.

One you step in knowingly, letting the world tilt to the side because you don't give a damn anymore.

Because right now, if the world were to come to an end, you'd die a happy man.

At least, I thought I would. For a second, I thought the hug would make everything better. That perhaps, it would mend my cracked edges.

Only it cleaved me into tiny pieces, as a yearning so…consuming enveloped me. I needed more. Conri needed more. And a hug wasn't going to fix it. Wasn't going to fix…us. Maybe this was what happened when true feelings were involved. Maybe this was what happened when a tornado and a volcanic mountain came together. They…explode. They shatter. They trample every single thing in the way.

I dragged in a deep breath, my chest expanding as I took in another drag of her scent. But my head was too much of a heady mess to identify what she smelled like, only that it was the most soothing scent I had ever inhaled.

She tried to move back but my grip on her tightened.

"Don't." I whispered, my face buried at the crook of her neck, where her scent was the strongest.

‘She’s so small,’ Conri murmured, his voice tight. ‘So little in your arms. Careful, don't break her, please.’

I scoffed, but before I could say a word, my heart stuttered to a stop. She was…hugging me back.

My throat tightened, my heart picking up its thundering pace. I didn't know what this feeling was, never even experienced it. But the moment I saw her, the moment our eyes locked, the moment Conri screamed ‘mate’, the feeling exploded.

And it had built up slowly, snagging every part of my brain, my heart, my soul, my body. It ripped through every sanity I had tucked in, shattering it into pieces. But her touch made the feeling more colorful. More wild. A flutter of restless nerves.

Her hands were frail, just like every part of her. They couldn't fully wrap around my back, and that said a lot about how big I was.

‘This…this was why my emotions were unstable earlier,’ Conri said.

It had been nearly impossible to contain Conri earlier. All he wanted…no, we wanted… to do was to drag our mate from Turk's side and claim her in front of everyone. But like me, Conri knew the danger of exposing her and what she meant to us. If Turk knew she was my mate, he’d stop at nothing to get rid of her. Because he was scared I’d be made Alpha, and he’d be left with nothing.

So even though it was hard to do, we pretended, and for a moment, even fought with each other in a tug war of control.

I said nothing, simply hugging her tighter.

Because having a mate means completing a part of your soul. It was marriage by bond, and we only celebrate weddings to publicly acknowledge the bond with others.

Then she winced, a sound so soft. So quiet, but enough to travel through my whole body. I released her instantly, moving back just an inch to create some space between us.

Her face was drawn tight, as though she was in pain.

Damn!!!

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” I asked, my eyes roaming over her trying to find the source of her pain.

‘I told you to be careful!’ Conri hissed.

‘I was careful!’

‘With the way you were squeezing her? She is so small, Bello!’

'Gee, Conri, I had no idea, thanks for pointing out the obvious!'

I clenched my jaw, waiting for her response.

I could see every inch of her. The red dress she wore fits her body, the bones on her collar protruding. She was small, smaller than I thought when I hugged her. And very skinny, as though she was malnourished. Large doe eyes, light brown shoulder length hair, and full brows. A birthmark that looked like lightning on her right cheek. And very, very beautiful.

She was beautiful and it wasn't even because she was MINE.

She winced again, her eyes dancing around, as though she couldn't see in the dark.

‘Great going, Bello. She's a human, they don't have the best night vision.’ Conri snapped.

I ignored him, then reached for the switch just above her head and turned it on, enveloping the room in the soft glow of light, watching her adjust to the brightness, those gorgeous hazel eyes on display.

“Are you okay?” I asked again, shifting closer, but careful not to spook her.

She nodded.

“I…yes. Yes, I am.”

Her voice was…soft. And it sounded…small? But there was a scratchy edge to it, and her face still had a pinch of pain to it.

“You don't look okay to me,” I murmured, brows knitted together, a frown on my lips. “Is this about the hug? I apologise for hugging you without asking and …”

“It's okay,” she cut me off, her voice a soothing balm to my rough edges. “I don't know why this stung for a moment,” she pointed at her birthmark. “But I am okay now.”

‘Even her voice feels like a cold balm against my burning fur. Think she’d hold me to her bosom someday and sing me to sleep?’

‘Shut up!’ I hissed, shaking my head, as though that would get rid of the image Conri just planted.

I'm wrecked.

“So you are okay now, right?” I couldn’t help asking again. “I didn’t hurt you or anything, right?”

“You didn’t.”

“Good,” I swallowed, nodding my head, my eyes scanning every inch of her. Again.

“You found me?” I heard her say.

“Excuse me?”

“I mean, that was what you said when you…uh…when you…hugged me.”

Shit! That was a mess. I wasn’t thinking straight when I said that, and I wasn’t about to tell her that I had been seeing her in my dreams for months now. It wouldn’t make any sense. No one would believe that. Heck, it’d even sound like I was trying to come up with an excuse for touching her. For hugging her. Which I probably should.

“Right…I…” I scratched my bald head, running my tongue across my bottom lip. “About that..." I trailed off.

How did I tell her we were mates, or that I was werewolf, when she’s a human who had probably never heard of us.

“I am sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.” I finally apologized. “I’ve just been out of my element these past few days.”

The woman, my mate, regarded me for a while, without saying anything. I felt the heat of her gaze. The burn of it, right through my soul. It was like…she was searching me. As though she was looking past my lie. Like she was seeing through everything I had lived.

“Sure,” I watched the bob of her throat as she swallowed. I watched the way she flexed her small fingers. The way she shifted. My eyes caught every move of hers. Every swallow. Everything.

“What's your name?” I asked, softly. I wasn’t sure I’d survive not knowing.

“J…Sasha. My name is Sasha.”

“Sasha,” I murmured, tasting the name against my tongue. It was beautiful. It was sweet. It was perfect, just like the woman it belongs to. But I wasn’t about to start obsessing over her name in her presence just yet.

My Bellis.

It fited. It fited her perfectly, and I couldn't imagine calling her any name now but that. Not that I wouldn't obsess on her real name later.

"How did you get here? How did you meet my brother?”

“I was…” she dropped her gaze. “He bought me from my…boss?”

Her words were like ice shards to my heart. I clenched my jaw, my hands curling into fists. The walls and ceiling shaking from the rage emanating from me.

"What. Did. You. Say?"

“I…I…he…” she was shivering, and that seemed to snap me out of my anger burst.

“I'm sorry Bellis” I said, rubbing the back of my neck, chuckling slightly though it was forced. “I seem to be doing that a lot because I keep messing up. I am sorry.”

Again, she nodded.

“He bought you?” I asked, keeping my voice low.

“He did.”

“You…you have no family? How did you end up with the traffickers?”

“I…” she trailed off, looking past me, as though she was weighing what to tell me. I cleared my throat, deciding to take another route.

“My name is Bello. Turk is my brother, and I am not sure if you know what a werewolf is, but that is what I am,” I explained, trying to ease her into it.

She bit her lips, and something shot through my body. “I don’t know what that is, but he told me. And I noticed a few things…different about you all.”

“Right,” I shoved my hands in my pockets in a bid to stop myself from hugging her. Again. “He is the Alpha, like a king, and he wants you to be…”

“His wife. His luna,” she finished, her voice losing its warmth. “Is there a reason you dragged me here?” her eyes were pinned on me, rooting me in place, as though daring me to lie. “Is there something you want to say?”

I paused.

How did I explain that I wanted her, that she was mine, then walk out there and leave her with Turk? How did I explain to her that staying with Turk right now was what was keeping her safe, and that once I claimed her, she would be in danger? How did I explain what mates were, and how much she meant to me?

There was a lot to unpack. A lot to explain, but so little time to do so. The circumstances weren't favorable as well. At least, not right now. Not until the final piece of my plan fell into place.

“I…

“Where are you and where in the world is my soon-to-be-luna?!” Turk barked through mindlink.

Damn it!