Possession

Chapter 11

I wanted to know more about who Theo is mated to. I've been here for a little while, and I have yet to meet the Luna.

So where is she?

I've been sitting in my room for the last hour, just asking myself that one question.

Where is the Luna?

It's not like I can ask Theo about it, so I guess that means I'll have to ask Aurelia. With great reluctance, I pushed myself off the bed and went in search of the one person I can ask.

I hadn't seen her since the meeting with Theo, but he mentioned that she would be in the room by mine. As soon as I exited my bedroom, I heard bickering come from hers.

It wasn't necessarily loud, but it's not like they were making an effort to be silent. I could make out Aurelia's voice, but I couldn't quite place the owner of the second voice. Tiptoeing closer, I pressed my back against the wall right by the open door, so I was able to hear a bit better.

"You can't just show up," a man growled.

Is that Valerio?

"He's my brother. If anything you're the one who shouldn't be here," she spat back. I know it was wrong of me to eavesdrop, but part of me felt obligated to stay.

"When are you going to stop pretending that you don't love me?" Valerio asked.

My eyes widened as I heard him speak. Were they really doing this right now?

"I don't love you. I stopped loving you the second I lost him," Aurelia hissed. I could almost hear the tears in her voice.

Who did she lose?

I felt the air around them swirl into a pit of sadness.

"I never meant to endanger your life or his. You know I would never do anything-"

He was cut off by her cynical and mirthless laughter.

"That's the problem, isn't it? You didn't do anything to save him. Valerio-"

This time he cut her off with an argument.

"Aurelia I loved both of you-I still do-and I know that I fucked up. I know that I wasn't who I needed to be, but-"

"Just stop. I can't keep having the same argument with you every time I come over here. Just accept the fact that we're done, and there will never be an us," she finalized.

He seemed determined to keep arguing.

"I won't accept this. You're my mate, that's not a choice Aurelia, that's fate. We're meant to be and I will never stop fighting for you," he stated with determination.

I couldn't see either of them, but I heard her defeated sigh before she spoke.

"We may be mates, and it may be fate that we're supposed to end up together. But that all changed the second you chose not to be there for your family. You left us. We needed you and you just left. Do you know what that was like Valerio? Do you?" She asked harshly.

He didn't respond, and she just kept going.

"I had to sit in this very room when out of nowhere we were under attack. I couldn't even fight back because my belly was so big. Before I could even piece together what was happening, a rogue came in and attacked me. He kicked and punched me so many times I lost count, and he just laughed in my face. He knew I was pregnant and he laughed," she emphasized.

"As soon as I heard about the attack I was here. I got him off of you and made sure he would never hurt you aga-"

"Do you think I'm not hurting?" She shot through his argument before he could even form one. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Valerio and Aurelia were going to have a baby.

"You weren't here to protect me, and now I don't have a child or a mate. And you know what? It kills me that I can't be with you. I want to be in your arms Valerio, but I can't trust someone who let our child die," her voice became shaky.

Valerio seemed to be at a loss for words.

"I know that it's unfair for me to hate you for something you had no control over, but every time I look at you-or even think about you-it just reminds me of our baby," she sobbed softly.

The only sound to be heard was the almost silent cry of Aurelia.

I was waiting for Valerio to argue and try to win her over, but he didn't. He didn't speak or even try to console her. A few moment later I heard heavy footsteps from her room, and I quickly went around the hall corner.

Valerio sped past me without noticing, and for just a brief second, I swear I saw tears in his eyes. He went down the steps and out of sight, leaving a sobbing Aurelia.

Not sure of what to do, I decided to try and comfort a friend. I knew now wasn't the time to ask about the Luna or the baby, and for now that was okay. I slowly and carefully approached Aurelia's room.

After a single knock on the door frame, she looked up with wide eyes as she frantically started wiping her tears away.

"Noelle, what are you doing here?" She asked, trying to change the subject.

I offered her a sad smile, and her shoulders slumped in defeat as she stopped wiping her tears.

"How much did you hear?"

I shrugged and scratched the back of my head awkwardly.

"A good portion of it," I said softly. She nodded and then sat on the edge of the bed.

She patted the spot next to her, and I took that as a sign for me to come in. Sitting down, I looked at her and waited for her to say something.

"You know, you can talk to me about this. I know that we don't know a whole lot about each other, but you've helped me through so much. And sometimes talking it out can be helpful," I suggested.

The corners of her lips moved upwards, but it was by no means a smile.

"I guess I should start out by saying that everything went to shit the second we were under attack," she started. I nodded slowly. I had never heard about the rogue attack here, but I guess it was never big enough to spread.

"Only three people died that day. It sounds horribly to say, but in a pack as big as this one, three people isn't a whole lot," she shrugged.

I continued listening, wondering what she would say next. I had a feeling something else happened that day, but I just needed her to confirm my suspicions.

"My baby, one of the pack warriors, and Dahlia all died that day."

I raised a brow at that last name. Who's Dahlia?

"Who's Dahlia?" I voiced my thoughts.

She looked at her lap and shook her head slowly.

"Dahlia is the reason my brother is so closed off with people. Dahlia was his mate," she informed me.

My eyes widened drastically as I took it all in.

Theo's mate was murdered.