Chapter 261: Chapter 261 Emotions
(Third POV)
In The Witches’ Castle
Alaric and Theo were led to the guest chamber. As they walked down the hallway, Theo kept glancing and growling at the witches who were stationed to keep watch.
Alaric closed his eyes as if mentally telling himself, all these will pass soon.
"I don’t know why we are even stepping foot in their castle after they made my father rip his heart out." Theo spat out through the mindlink.
"We basically don’t have any choice, what if they decided to fight us? I’m already cooked as you can see, you would be the only one defending us." Alaric replied through the mindlink.
"At least we fight with honor. I feel like ripping their throat out... detestable beings." Theo growled.
"At least let us hear what the Queen has to say." Alaric groaned.
"This doesn’t seem like you, you got roasted for free." Theo pushed back his glasses which had some cracks in them.
Alaric turned to face him, "Let’s forget about me and talk about you." He paused, his expression slowly turning to that of a proud sibling. "Your Lycan blood has awakened."
Theo swallowed, before looking away.
"What? You don’t like it? Is Fenrir giving you a hard time?" Alaric’s expression turned to one of worry.
"You don’t understand," Theo began. "I have never thought I would be a Lycan in my entire life. Although Damon told me not to lose hope, for a century now, I have felt like a son who could not live up to his father’s name.
I know I should be happy about it, however, I’m not. If it had awakened in a different situation maybe I would, but it was awakened because of the pain of losing Damon... not just that, it was the disappointment in him... I hated him the moment he chose to give his life for Aeris. He abandoned me just like my parents had abandoned me..." His voice cracked, his fist tightened beside him.
"He was the only one I have ever looked up to in my life, the only one... and he chose someone else over me... I hate him, Alaric." His eyes welled with tears.
Alaric’s gaze turned solemn, he too was disappointed in Damon, he gave away the lives of many because of someone they were not sure was Ember.
But if he were in his shoes... he wondered if he would make the same choice.
"It is your right if you want to hold it against him, but we both knew what happened to him when he lost Ember. He became a beast that was terrorizing his own allies... and we both knew how long it took for him to go back to his senses. It could be that he didn’t want to go through that pain again..." Alaric grimaced from pain.
"His actions might be selfish, but for someone who had lost his mate twice and had gone mad twice, if I were in his shoes, I would have chosen to give my heart too."
Theo let out a shaky breath, and a tear trickled down his cheeks.
Alaric continued. "We only lost him once, and we were so devastated. Imagine the pain of losing a mate which is ten times our feelings... try to understand from his own point of view."
"I know Alaric, I know." He inhaled sharply. "The fear of being abandoned again was just too overwhelming." He looked away.
"We are here, wait here, and someone will come to summon you." A lady with short brown hair said, glaring at them before walking out.
Theo didn’t fail to glare back at her. He helped Alaric lie down on the couch.
Alaric groaned now and then.
Theo’s brow furrowed in worry as he sat down next to his legs. "Do you think they would be okay? I admit I hated Aeris, but after sacrificing half her heart for Damon... I can’t help but admire her with respect." He muttered the last part, it was so low that if Alaric wasn’t a werewolf, he wouldn’t have heard it.
Alaric turned to Theo in amusement. "She was cool, wasn’t she? I guess she’s worth dying for after all."
Before Theo could respond, a looming yet familiar presence stood by the entrance. Seraphina folded her arms across her chest, her back leaning on the frame of the door. "Really? So you would die for her?"
Alaric and Theo snapped their heads to the door, one had a look of disgust and the other had a look of longing and mixed emotions.
Seraphina strode into the room, her hips swaying as she walked.
Alaric’s jaws dropped.
The couple of times he had seen her, she had cloaks on. This was the first time he was seeing her in pants.
Her fiery red hair cascaded down her back, and her clothes clung to her body, accentuating her curves, her presence feels like fire yet carries restraint. Her green emerald eyes landed on Alaric, they softened a bit before hardening into a cold fury.
Alaric only came back to his senses and he felt someone pushing his lower jaw up.
He quickly swallowed, completely disorganized. He blinked as he turned to Theo, the next second his eyes were back on the approaching seduction.
Theo rolled his eyes at the wolfish behaviour of his friend. His gaze softened, knowing the witch was Alaric’s mate, he didn’t want to be hostile to her and risk hurting and angering Alaric.
"I asked you a question..." Seraphina stood in front of Alaric, her eyes narrowing down at him. "Would you die for her?"
Alaric mindlessly nodded his head before abruptly shaking it. "No, I wouldn’t." He shamelessly popped his elbow on the couch, resting his head on his hand.
Pain shot through his entire body, however he ignored it, forcing a smile on his lips. "You know, I still haven’t gotten your name."
A faint smirk formed on Seraphina’s lips. "I don’t give my name to men who couldn’t win against me in a fight." Her expression was unreadable.
"You didn’t win against me in the fight... I just didn’t want to hurt you. And besides you were only able to land a strike on me because I was in pain and grieving... anyway, wasn’t I a gentleman?" He grimaced before forcing a smile.
"Those are qualities of a weak man." Her green eyes burned as they held his. "And weak men die quicker."