𝐀𝐥𝐩𝐡𝐚 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠'𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐞

23. Healers?

It was 5 in the morning. Nate got up from bed and went into the woods, which was filled with fog. He hadn't slept once during the previous night as he kept thinking about what Ariana had said to him. Even now, he was thinking about that only while he exhaled puffs of cigarette from his mouth.

He was deep in his thoughts but not deep enough to not notice someone running towards him. The fog around him cleared and Ariana emerged from it. She stopped jogging when she noticed him.

"Now now Saoirse, stop following me like a lost puppy." He chuckled.

Ariana rolled her eyes. "As if."

She started jogging away from him. She stopped when she noticed him trying to catch up. However, she didn't turn around.

"Now now Nathaniel Astor, stop following me like a lost puppy." She smirked.

Nate gasped upon hearing it. "Did you just call me son of a bitch, my lady? I take offense!"

She turned around in shock. "What nonsense! I called you a puppy. Which means a dog's offspring."

"Exactly! A dog's offspring. Son of a bitch."

Ariana opened her mouth to say something but closed it. She didn't know how to reply to that. Her cheeks flushed with annoyance.

Nate's expression changed from anger to humor. He laughed out loud while shaking his head. "Oh Saoirse! It's so amusing to trouble you."

He kept on laughing while Ariana stared at him as if he were a lunatic.

"A great loss for His Majesty. You could've kept him amused for life. Alas! He rejected you."

Ariana clenched her jaw in anger. She narrowed her eyes at him and sneered. "I commend you, My Lord. You speak such highly of me regardless of not being able to be my brother-in-law."

Nate pushed his bottom lip forward in mockery. "However, your mate was able to be your brother-in-law."

Ariana turned around quickly to hide the tears that were forming in her eyes. She wrapped her arms around her while she took support of a pole.

Nate leaned against the tree beside her. He sighed deeply. "I'm sorry."

"I know I'm directing my anger at the wrong person. It should've been your sister. You don't even look like her but you remind me of her. You also remind me of him. It's just messed up. I know that we're kind of in the same boat. Actually no. You've had it worst than me. That Xavier is no one to me but she was your sister. Yet, she betrayed you. Your whole family did."

"I'm really sorry, Ariana." He whispered.

He searched in his pocket to take out a cigarette. "Here. A peace offering."

He saw Ariana wipe her cheek.

She turned around to face him. She stared at the cigarette in his hand for a while before taking it. Nate took out a lighter from the other pocket and lit it for her. She inhaled it once and a series of coughing followed.

"What the fuck!" Nate patted her back in attempt to push out the smoke.

"Why did you take it when you don't even smoke?"

Ariana gasped for air. "I don't know."

After a minute, coughing stopped and she started breathing normally.

Nate sighed in relief and chuckled. "Tell me Saoirse, how can you be smart and fool at the same time? You are the topper of our batch and yet you do dumb stuff like this? You took the cigarette from my hand with such confidence."