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AURELIA


"What do you want to know?" He asked, taking a sip from the coffee I'd just made.

That was a good question, I thought to myself. The confidence I had put forth upon arrival was all a sham, in reality I was terrified of the new and strange place I was in, as I only knew three of the people in this vast territory, all of whom I'd only just met last night. I looked into his cool blue eyes and pursed my lips, what do I want to know about this puzzle of a man before me?

I took a sip of my own coffee before I answered, "Your life story. Your family. You. Everything and anything you can tell me."

"I think everyone already knows my life story," He stated, his face blank.

"Like I said," I spoke softly, "I choose not to believe in rumors."

He looked down at me inquisitively, as if trying to read my mind solely by staring. He looked at me as if I were a puzzle he longed to solve, as if he himself wasn't the most intricate puzzle of all.

"My parents are both dead, that much is true," he finally said, his deep voice flat. His face and voice held no emotion but his eyes— those crystal blue eyes— held everything that I needed to know. He missed them, but he wouldn't show that weakness to anyone. I nodded at his words in acceptance, and he raised a brow, "What? No apologies? Condolences?"

"No," I stated simply, shaking my head, "You are not a man who desires pity, nor am I a woman to pity others. You lost your parents, and that is terrible, but I will not apologize for your loss, because I don't know your loss."

Kai looked at me in what seemed like shock for a moment before his facade returned, back to the straight-faced machine that he comes off as to the rest of the world.

"What else?"

"Do you have any other family members?" I ask him, though I know that this could be a very dangerous discussion. In the werewolf world, and especially that of the Alphas, family is always difficult. Whether it be deceased members, rival members, or bitter resentments, when living in a world that emphasizes power for survival, family is difficult, yet family is everything.

He nods, "My grandparents. They live on the edge of the territory."

"I'd like to meet them sometime," I told him, taking another sip from my coffee.

"I'm sure they'd love to meet you," he says, then gaining a far-off look in his eyes, "Me, however, they probably won't want to see."

I frowned at his words, "That can't be right. They're your grandparents, why wouldn't they want to see you?"

"They believe that I've changed beyond their recognition," he explained. "They think that I am cold and cruel and beyond help, that nothing can save my soul from the darkness that I've chosen."

There have been many stories about the big, bad Alpha Kai Alistair, namely those that told of his brute strength and violence. I've heard stories of him ripping men apart with his bare hands, killing by tearing the heads of men clean off with his teeth, and obliterating entire packs over small disagreements. I've heard of his hateful acts against people as he tore through, blood thirsty and with no regrets. Some of them were probably true, to a certain extent, though it's hard to tell fact from fantasy when every tale about him is so great.

"Then they obviously don't know you very well," I told him confidently with a single nod of my head.

"You don't know me," he said in retaliation, and I could see the stone wall beginning to build back up as he hid his emotions from me, "You don't know what I've done to people, the rumors that you're ignoring, most of them are true, Aurelia. I'm not a good man, you just haven't been here long enough to see it."

He turned to walk away, and as he made his exit, I spoke quietly, though I knew he heard me, "It takes a good man to acknowledge that he can be better."

He kept walking, though, leaving me with two empty coffee mugs and an even intenser burning desire to know more about him, his life, and the things he's done.

A hand was placed on my shoulder and I turned to face Lyla, who wore an apologetic smile on her face, "He takes a while to warm up to people, but you'll get there soon enough. I'm happy he found you, though."

"Yeah?" I asked

"Yeah," she nodded, smiling, "I can tell you're a good, kind-hearted person, and I think you're the sunshine that he needs in his life right now. I think you'll be really good for him, Aurelia."

"Good. I just wish that he could see it that way, too," I spoke, and even I inwardly cringed at the desperation and longing in my voice.

Lyla, sweet as ever, just offered me a supportive smile, "Just give him time— he'll adjust. To be honest, I just think that he's not used to feeling like he has someone to lose, and now that he has you, he does. And I think that scares him."

"Trust me, he won't get rid of me that easily," I joked and she laughed.

"What are we laughing about?" Asher questioned, stepping into the kitchen and wrapping his arms around his mate from behind.

Lyla winked at me, "Just a little girl humor. You wouldn't get it."

"Oh really?" Asher challenged, turning Lyla to face him, and I knew that I was beginning to intrude on their moment, so I backed out of the kitchen quietly and turned to go up the steps of the house, peering into the rooms that I passed as I made my way along.

At the end of the hall, I found myself in front of an open door to a large room, a large bed with dark red covers in the middle of the left wall. I walked past it, though, and continued to the balcony outside, pushing open the doors as I looked out to the field below. From the scent in the room, I could tell it was Kai's, and I noticed the closed door on the right wall of the room with light filtering under the crack, but I ignored it. Sure, maybe I shouldn't exactly be in here after he had all but run away from me, but I felt pulled to the balcony, as I looked over to the sight below.

There were probably a hundred men and women training together, running, sparring, doing what they had to do to become better fighters. It was mesmerizing to watch how they trained as a well-oiled machine. No one stepped out of line, no one paused while they were meant to keep going. No one made a mistake.

I jumped slightly at the sound of his deep voice behind me, but I didn't turn from the sight in front of me, "Like what you see?"

"It's impressive," I answered with a nod.

He came up beside me, staring at me as I watched the pack members below train. He opened his mouth a couple of times as if to say something, but quickly shut it each time, thinking better on it. Finally, after some time, he spoke, "What about you?"

"What about me?" I asked, my eyes focused on a female below who was putting every male that approached her on their ass in record time.

"What's there to know about you?"

Turning to face him finally, I sucked in a breath. Oh, there is a lot to know indeed, the question is, do I tell him about all of it?

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