Darius hadn’t expected to see Aurelia so soon.
In fact he wasn’t sure he would ever see her again.
Yet there she stood a few paces away from him, as present as the snow in the north.
Two witches stood beside her looking ready to burn the hall down if they must.
Behind then the golden portal crackled softly before collapsing in on itself, leaving only silence in its wake.
No one on the hall dared to move nor speak, they all had their eyes fixed on the outside.
Aurelia stepped forward.
The silver anklet around her ankle chimed softly with each step, the delicate sound carrying through the stunned silence of the room.
Her dark dress flowed around her legs as she walked.
She walked like she owned the air they were breathing, her strides slow and confident.
“I didn’t know my mate was getting married” there was an amused smirk on her face as she spoke.
Her grey eyes swept through the room before landing on Elena.
She paused, then clicked her tongue.
The dismissive sound filled the room.
Darius felt Elena stiffen beside him when Aurelia stepped forward again.
Almost immediately warriors moved.
Growls mumbled through the room as the protectively positioned themselves between her and the alter.
Their eyes fixed on the stranger and her companions.
Aurelia rolled her eyes.
“Careful now…” she stepped forward regardless of their aggressive growls “You wouldn’t want to upset me”
Darius stepped down from the altar before the situation could escalate further.
His shoes echoed against the stone floor.
The warriors parted for him immediately.
“Why are you here?” he asked.
For a moment Aurelia simply stared at him.
The amusement remained on her face but something flickered behind her eyes.
Something tired and wounded.
But it was gone so fast he almost thought he imagined it.
He stepped towards her.
Each step made his heart race faster than the last.
Soon he stood before her, close enough for her tropical scent of pomegranates and citrus to fill his nostrils.
It was a scent that reminded him of warm beaches and summer days with his parents in the south.
Soon they stood toe to toe.
Aurelia lifted her head to meet his eyes.
“You moved on so fast,” she sighed.
Darius frowned.
“I don’t think I owe you an explanation, Priestess.”
His words made her snicker as though he had just said the funniest thing in the world.
“I would appreciate it if you left.” His tone was firm but it did nothing to intimidate her.
“And why would I do that?” she asked as she folded her arms across her chest.
Darius turned to face her.
The smile on her face widened.
“Tell me Alpha,” she tilted her head slightly, “where exactly would your son and I go?”
Darius turned sharply to face her, for a moment he simply stared at her.
The words refused to register.
His son?
What?
Aurelia sighed when he didn’t answer immediately.
“See?
That’s exactly the problem.”
The wedding hall erupted into whispers.
The sound spread through the crowd like wildfire.
Guests leaned towards one another, exchanging shocked looks and hurried questions.
Even some of the warriors looked stunned.
Darius barely heard any of it.
His gaze dropped to Aurelia’s stomach.
Nothing looked different.
Then again it had only been a few weeks.
His mind flashed back to that night in the forest.
The scent of pine.
The warmth of her skin against his.
The ways she felt, the way she tasted.
He immediately shoved the memory aside.
“No,” he said.
Aurelia blinked.
“No?”
“No.” The word came out harsher than intended.
“You expect me to believe you appeared in the middle of my wedding to announce you’re carrying my child?”
Aurelia’s eyes narrowed.
Beside her Clover muttered something under her breath while Diane looked one word away from committing genocide.
“Well I definitely didn’t come all this way for entertainment,” Aurelia replied.
Darius folded his arms across his chest.
“You could be lying.”
That seemed to amuse her.
She laughed softly and shook her head.
“Still brainless, I see.”
“Aurelia.” Her name came out of his mouth as a warning.
“No, please continue.” She gestured for him to go on.
“Tell everyone how the evil witch travelled across the continent, interrupted a wedding, brought witnesses and fabricated a pregnancy because she had nothing better to do.” Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
A few people shifted awkwardly.
When she put it like that, it sounded ridiculous.
Darius clenched his jaw.
“What do you want?”
For the first time since arriving, the amusement slipped from her face.
The question seemed to catch her off guard.
Aurelia briefly looked away.
But he noticed.
When she looked back at him, her expression had hardened.
“I want?” she repeated quietly.
Darius frowned.
The witches beside her suddenly looked uncomfortable.
Aurelia let out a dry laugh.
“What I want is to be on my island eating honey cakes while my sisters argue over which flowers to put in the summer festival.”
The hall fell silent again.
“What I want is to not be pregnant!.” She stepped closer crowding his space.
Darius stiffened at the proximity.
“What I want is to not be standing here.” There was no amusement in her voice anymore, just anger and exhaustion.
Aurelia crossed her arms tightly over her chest.
“But unfortunately none of that is possible.”
She lifted her chin.
“So here I am.”
Only then did Darius notice the faint dark circles beneath her eyes.
If one looked closely enough, they could see the redness rimming them as though sleep had abandoned her for weeks.
The tension in her shoulders.
The way she held herself so rigidly.
She looked tired.
Aurelia sighed and took a step back, rubbing her temple as if the entire conversation was giving her a headache.
For a moment Darius forgot about the wedding.
He had wanted to argue with her, to demand answers.
To point out how ridiculous this entire situation was.
But seeing how exhausted she looked beneath all that pride and arrogance made the words die in his throat.
The woman standing before him wasn’t triumphant.
More annoyed, and tired and moments away from screaming.
But beneath all that was determined.
Then something stirred inside him.
Warmth spread in his chest as a voice came through his consciousness, a voice he hadn’t heard in weeks.
“Mate”
check out my book