CHAPTER 34: CONFRONTATION

(Amaia)

The guilt, the confusion, the doubts, I see everything flashing in his eyes.

"I did, not anymore," I answer sincerely but he takes a step back from me.

His single action creates a twister of pain in my gut that I want to bend over. The bond between us floods with his doubts and confusion. Hurt replaces every other emotion on his face, and my heart shatters.

"Not anymore because you left him behind. He had to take a chosen mate to save the humiliation," Alnilam grunts, believing all the lies Tarian has spun.

I turn my gaze towards Alnilam. "So I guess it skipped his mind to let you know that he was the one who left me to die at the hands of that monster and fled like a coward after rejecting me. I didn’t leave him, he did."

I remain calm, but the hurtful lies and the reactions of my mates have me in shambles. My knees shake and I can hardly keep myself from crumbling to the ground like a heap of sand.

"Of course! Lies and more lies. Alpha Tarian told me how you have a habit of doing that. Exactly why he hadn’t crowned you his Luna. You are always seeking someone more powerful," Alnilam hisses. Leaving his seat he stands and walks around the desk to lean against it, facing me.

A derisive laugh leaves me. I know Alnilam has already made up his mind about me and it’s only a matter of time before he is going to poison Alnitak too.

That’s exactly why he chose this moment to bring it up. He didn’t speak to me alone but in front of his brother, seeing and knowing he was getting close to me. We might still reek of each other.

"So you believe Alpha Tarian and not me. When you have already made up your mind about me, how can I prove my innocence?"

Alnilam bristles at the sharpness in my tone.

"I have reasons to trust Alpha Tarian. His story made sense, yours didn’t. Besides, I saw you kissing Huradis. Letting him molest your body when you already have a mate. And now you are digging your lustful claws into Kacir and my brother," he says harshly.

His words are nothing short of arrows that pierce my heart leaving it bleeding.

The absurdity of what he believes is the truth, leaves me reeling. The anger has my fists balled and body shaking. He thinks of me as nothing short of a harlot.

"I can’t believe it. I fell for your tricks. What did you do to me?" Alnitak grabs my left arm and spins me around so I stare directly into his rage-filled orbs.

His grip is tight, but he is not hurting me, but I can sense the pain he is feeling as if I have somehow tricked him into feeling this connection, these emotions.

"Believe me, Alnitak. I did nothing to you. Tarian was my mate but he rejected me and ran away like a coward. And Huradis, I don’t know what ha..." I couldn’t speak any further, the damn curse wouldn’t let me explain. All I could hope was that Alnitak would see some sincerity in my words.

He shakes his head, the carmine streaks dangle on his broad shoulders.

"One man can be wrong, two can be wrong but you seem to be tricking everyone, Amaia. I don’t know what tricks you have up your sleeves or what chemicals or potions you concoct but whatever this started between us, ends right here."

The blinding pain sears my heart at his hard and decisive tone. "Stay away from me and my brother." His words thunder around me, falling like the blinding flash of electricity and burning me on the spot.

He lets go of my arm and puts distance between us. Turning around he heads for the door.

"Alnitak, please. Trust me. I am not lying. At least you should give me a chance," I plead, almost begging him.

He pauses.

The tears accumulate in my eyes, blurring my vision but he doesn’t turn around.

"We are done here. I will do my detention separately from her," he addresses his brother and walks out, leaving me broken and vulnerable.

I wrap my arms around myself, feeling alone and broken even when I have three mates. What kind of tragic fate is this? I wonder.

"That’s not all, Amaia. I know you are hiding something more." Alnilam’s voice has my watery gaze fixing on him.

Can’t he see me? The real me? Can’t he feel anything? His words and accusations are hurting me, crushing me.

"Tarian is a simple werewolf, he has no magic. What I felt that night was a powerful streak of magic ringing through the air. So tell me, who used magic that night?" He asks.

His buffed arms folded at his chest, face revealing nothing. But his hair seems restless. Their edges are pointing at me as if trying to tell me something.

I snort at him, wiping the tears with the back of my hand. "I am not telling you shit. Why don’t you find out for yourself, since you are so smart?"

His jaw tightens at my words and his eyes flash black. His wolf is trying to surface but he shakes his head, staying in command.

"I can terminate you from the academy and send you packing, you realise that," he threatens but I don’t care.

They have already broken me. I had hopes from Alnitak that he would be able to see the real me, but he also turned his back, and now I was in an even worse situation.

"Do it. You think I care. I came here only with the purpose of learning, but if you believe I am here because of some nefarious intentions, then release me. I don’t need to be around people who don’t trust me," I painfully lay it out for him.

I will find my way. I always do. But then his hair shoots out like hundreds of silvery snakes towards me. Before I can even move, they grip my wrists, and a few reach out towards my hair, touching it.

"Reveal yourself!" He says authoritatively. His hair holds me hostage, but their touch has me calmed a fraction. His magic zooms out and begins to spread all over my skin like charged air.

Tingling, sparking against me, coating my whole body.

And then, to my horror, I begin to transform into my true self. The one I have forever hidden from this world.