CHAPTER 38: NIGHT RUN

(Mintaka)

As promised Jamina takes me for a run. Since I can’t connect with my wolf, we remain in human form. Jamina’s presence is calming for me. Alnitak and I have always looked up to her like an older sister and she has kept Alnilam sane. Kept his wolf from spiralling and becoming feral. Although I don’t see eye to eye with my older brother, I care for him.

"So where have you been all day? I didn’t see you after the class," I ask, sprinting beside her in the cleared and barricaded part of the Tozan forest. It’s the largest forest in our kingdom and we have cleared and barricaded a huge part of it so monsters can’t get through.

Her ponytail swishes behind her as we zigzag around the trees. The moonlight filters through the thick foliage of the tall trees.

"Official business. Alnilam and I had to visit a place," she explains but discreetly.

"Hmm! Did you guys go to harass some rogue magic users?" I inquire.

As Enforcers it was their duty to keep the balance between the supernatural and real world, which meant no unregistered magic users.

She laughs, her face brightens as she shakes her head. "Nothing like that, just background checks."

Silence falls between us as we continue. The dampness of the woods and the hooting of animals continue.

"So are you staying out of trouble? Especially from Rahria?" She questions, turning her head.

Rahria is such a sensitive topic for me. The things we did and then continued doing because I was grieving and lust had my mind numb.

I hate myself for hurting Kacir. Alnitak, Kacir and I have been best friends since childhood. His father is second in command to our father like the Beta position. But I ruined it all. Ruined our friendship, ruined the trust between us by sleeping with his mate.

In my defence, I didn’t know she was his mate when we slept together and she didn’t tell me. I was in so much pain at that time, my mind was conflicted, my heart and wolf broken and she just presented herself.

It is the worst mistake of my life, and what hurts even more is that Kacir never confronted me, never fought with me or yelled at me; he just stopped talking or acknowledging my existence. That breaks me every single second. Because he has been hurt twice more than I. The tragedies he has faced, the agonies I have caused him.

"I try, but temptation is so real, and then I feel disgusted with myself." Jamina knows what happened, and unlike Alnilam and others, she never judges but rather understands.

"Trying is the key. Don’t give up. You know I am proud of you." She reaches out and pats my shoulder. I nod at her.

We run for a few more miles before returning to the Academy grounds and sit on a bench for a while just to stare at the moon.

Seeing me sit grimly Jamina says in a soft voice, "You can talk about her...I miss her too, you know. We all do."

My heart thrashes in pain from the reminder, from where my life could have been had the events turned out differently.

I draw in a shaky breath and let the moonlight bathe me.

"I know but it’s just too painful..." She gently squeezes my arm.

"I understand."

"Thanks for the run." I woundedly smile at her and she tiredly gets up.

"I will see you in the morning. Good night." Jamina gives me a hug although I am all sweaty.

"Good night."

I plan to stay here for a while but the mind link between me and Alnitak becomes agitated, something is wrong with my brother.

Getting up I sprint towards my room and open the door to storm inside.

Alnitak is spread on his bed, still in his outgoing attire with his arms resting behind his head. His gaze is fixed on the ceiling. But it’s that empty look in his eyes and wiped smile on his face that has me troubled. Something is terribly wrong. My brother never stops smiling or smirking.

"What’s wrong?" I ask, moving towards him and pain radiates on his face as his eyes flicker towards me.

He sighs and looks away. I slowly walk over to him and drop my body near his long legs. Turning to face my sulking brother, I ask again, "Speak, will you? Stop acting like a hormonal teenager."

"I don’t know where to begin," he grumbles with a tightened jaw.

"From the beginning, obviously." Reaching behind, I grab the back of my t-shirt and pull it off. Crumbling it up, I aim for the laundry basket in the corner and it lands perfectly inside.

"It’s Amaia. I don’t know what it is about her, Taka, that makes me throw all caution to the wind and just chase her." He painfully sighs as I quietly listen. I take off my jogging shoes and then push my socks into them.

"I went to the library and ended up kissing her and it was wild like my whole world had been set on fire, like a delicious fire. I carved for it to consume me."

My body goes stiff at his revelation. Alnitak has more self-control than I and he doesn’t go around kissing girls. Although he is friendly with everyone, he keeps his boundaries and takes them seriously but since he has set his eyes on Amaia, I can see him pining over her like a sick puppy.

"So you kissed her and now you are feeling guilty about what your future mate will say. A mate that might not exist," I ask, picking up the shoes and walking to the shoe rack to deposit them in.

"No, that’s the problem. I didn’t feel any guilt or remorse. Instead, I wanted to taste every inch of her body. My cock had gotten so hard that it pained, Taka," he laments as I grab my nightsuit from the cupboard and turn to face my twin with a grimace.

"But, Alnilam ran her background check, and it turns out she is mated, and she lied to me. She left her mate behind to seduce Huradis into making her way to the academy and it seems like we are her target. Have you seen how Kacir is wrapped around her finger?" He sits up and rants in one go.

"She has a mate?" I ask, stunned and Alnitak painfully nods.

From the moment I saw Amaia, there is a part of me that finds her familiar, but when Alnitak mentions Kacir, I connect the dots as to why she seems familiar. And why he wishes to remain close to her.

Why has she rooted herself so quickly among us, making everyone bring their guard down? Why was she able to trigger me so easily?

She looks like her...there is a resemblance between them, and I can see it now, so can Kacir.

"Yes, she does and I am so lost now. She said that her mate rejected her and left her in the forest to die. Zevran keeps howling in my head, calling me names and he believes her." Alnitak sighs again.

I walk over to my bed and just drop myself on it.

"I am not an expert, Ali. But our wolves are usually right about these things. No party is always hundred percent correct. So maybe a little bit of truth is on both sides. Just don’t get hurt in the process," I offer my advice before closing my eyes to let the pain of my own decisions consume me.