33. More Drama

Chapter thirty-three

More Drama

*AURELIA*

I wish I could stay here with Arden for the rest of the night, but unfortunately, we need to return to the party. If it were just the party itself, I would have ignored it, but Marilou's birthday is approaching. Mate or not, I will never become the person who abandons her friends.

Arden and I swiftly take a shower together, which gives me another chance to take a look at his body. He doesn't have the typical alpha build, but it doesn't matter. He is a bit leaner but still has muscles, proving he trains a lot. And that trail of hair from his belly button downwards just looks like it's waiting for me to explore it.

Arden hugs me from behind. He has his hearing aid removed for the shower, so I resolve to touching his hands and leaning against his chest. We stay like that for a while before we finally step out of the shower and slip back into our clothes. My original hairstyle is pretty much ruined, so I just brush my hair out and leave it down.

With that, Arden and I make it back to the gathering, neither of us certain what kind of reaction to expect.

What we didn't expect is…

The moment we step back into the party, a growl tears through the air, my eyes falling on Lion. For a split second, I'm confused, barely able to grasp what's going on. Then Lion dashes forward, past Arden and me, and towards Tori. A young man is trying to lead her to the dance floor, but she suddenly stops walking and tries to tug her arm free.

"Let me go," Tori says.

The guy seems to be drunk. "Come on, don't be so shy."

"Leave her alone!" Lion yells, tugging the guy away from her. "She is mine!"

What… what!?

WHAT!?

I used to be fairly confident that nothing could ever shock me, but this… this is so much, I have difficulty registering what Lion is saying and what his words mean. My mind goes crazy, rewinding and searching for all the moments I can remember since Tori turned eighteen. Turning my attention to my friends, I notice they look equally shocked. Jazz's face shows mere disbelief, Nox looks like his brain is working at high speed, Val, who has hurried to us the moment she heard the commotion, looks like a deer caught in the headlights, Marilou looks surprised, while Terry just glares at the whole scene.

"The good thing is," my mate mutters towards me. "That no one is paying attention to us."

"This is a weird time to show your cynical side," I say, but I can't help but smile.

The guy who wanted to tug Tori to the dance floor scoots backwards. "I-I didn't know she was someone's mate."

"But you certainly knew that she said ‘no' the moment you asked her for a dance," Lion growls.

"She didn't say no immediately," the guy defends himself. "She agreed to dance, and I was leading her to the dance floor, then she changed her mind."

Lion looks furious, throwing his arms in the air. "What am I even doing here!? I'm so stupid… this is not worth it."

His words seem to have triggered something in Terry because he lunges towards Lion, pushing him away from Tori. "Stop playing with my sister!" he yells. Before he can deliver a punch at Lion or Lion can attack him back, I finally find my footing again.

"Stop it," I bellow, my aura turning more commanding and domineering, stopping the two of them instantly. I gaze towards Nox, and he steps forward.

"Let him explain first," Nox says calmly.

"Noctis is right." Eric pushes through the crowd, turning towards them first and clapping his hands, before smiling at them dashingly. "The show is over. Everyone, please return to the amazing food, to your dates. Eat, kiss, make love."

As usual, his gift comes forward, and the tension subsides. The crowd disperses, completely ignoring us. "You can use my and Val's apartment," Eric says to me. "Do you need me there?"

I gaze towards my friends. Terry still looks furious, Tori looks confused, and Lion… almost sad. "I think I can handle it," I tell him. "Arden and Nox are with me. And Jazz is there, too. She is the beta female in her pack."

Valerie approaches me. "I will come with you," she says.

Eric nods, his eyes gazing over me, then he smirks and turns towards Arden, whispering something to him. Arden doesn't say anything but flushes slightly.

I make the brief decision to separate Tori and Lion for now, believing they will be more open when they aren't in a room together. The girls leave with Tori, while Nox and I take Terry and Lion. I'm sure Val, with her sensitivity to people's feelings, will get the truth from Tori. I doubt it's a black-and-white situation.

We send the girls to Eric and Val's apartment while the rest of us decide to head for Arden's office. Once inside and the doors are closed behind us, Terry pushes past Nox and stomps forward. "She is my sister," he yells at Lion. "How could you play with her!? You are my best friend! WHY HER, for fuck's sake! She deserves better than that!"

Something seems to snap in Lion because his eyes darken, and he pushes forward. "It was her fucking idea," he yells, anger and hurt in his eyes. "She wanted to hide that we are mates. It was her idea! And I just went with it. But, of course, it's all my fault!"

"What the fuck," Terry hisses. "I don't believe a word. Tori would never do that!"

"She wouldn't, huh?" Lion growls. "Seems like you don't know your sister as well as you think you do."

"Bullshit," Terry blurts out. "Tori is a romantic. She was dreaming about meeting her mate and how he would lay eyes on her. Love at first sight and all."

Lion stares at him, a hint of guilt suddenly flashing in his eyes.

"So, it's all her fault, huh?" Terry huffs.

Terry isn't wrong. That's truly Tori's dream. I know that's pretty much how my oldest brother, Liam, met his mate, Annie. He saw her at a party, laid eyes on her, then basically walked over to her and swept her off her feet. Perfect first impression, perfect reaction. Love at first sight.

With Arden and me, it was similar but not the same. Arden isn't as dominant as Liam, and we are both more rational people, less romantic. But that doesn't mean we weren't happy to have met each other.

"It's not like she was overjoyed when she laid eyes on me," Lion points out. He sounds calmer now but still upset. "Do you think this is how I imagined meeting my mate? I wanted to be the one to sweep her off her feet."

"Why didn't you?" Nox asks softly. "It seems like you both want the same thing."

"Because it's Tori," Lion mutters.

Terry throws his hands up in the air. "And because she is Tori, she isn't good enough?" he snarls. "Is it because she is an omega?"

"No!" Lion yells. "I don't give a shit about her rank. But fuck…" He rubs over his head. "She is my friend and my buddy's sister. I never saw her as a… you know… available girl."

I have put it together by now, or at least I think I did. "You found out you were mates on her birthday, right?" I ask quietly. "You had a shift and came later. Tori was outside when you arrived, and you must have bumped into her."

"Yes," Lion admits. "I climbed down from my motorbike, locked eyes with her, and I knew it."

"And then?" Nox urges.

"I felt the mate bond," he admits. "But then I realized it was Tori, and she is great and all, but it didn't feel right. I was confused. And I think she was, too."

"Did you tell her that she is stupid?" I ask.

"No!"

"That she is shallow and has no depth to her."

He swallows and I know it's true. "She started it," he blurts out. "She was shocked we were mates, and not pleasantly so. Like it's bad to be mated to me!"

"It's not a competition, Lion," I say. "It's not a competition about who's the biggest asshole."

Terry crosses his arms in front of his body. "Fuck," he mutters.

"And now?" Nox asks. "Do you want to reject her?"

"Are you insane!?" Lion blurts out. "I would never hurt Tori like that and reject her! I just don't know how to do this… like this mate thing. It would have been so much easier with a stranger."

"Funny you say that," Terry says. "For me it's the opposite."

"That's because you are in love with Marilou," I say. "But Lion never viewed Tori as anything but his friend and your sister."

"My point stands," Terry says. "Tori and Lion are friends, but not super close. Technically, Tori is a stranger to him. What do you know about her?"

"Well," Lion brushes through his hair again. "I don't know…"

"Exactly. She isn't just a shallow girl that likes shopping," Terry points out.

"He is right," I say. "Did you know that Tori regularly visits a retirement home for humans, to hang out with old residents who don't have any family?"

Lion stares at me. "I had no idea."

"She also likes Lego," Terry points out. "She is obsessed with collecting and building their pieces."

"She likes puzzles," Nox adds. "She got a weird holographic one recently, where every piece looks the same. I helped her build it and almost went insane."

"It blows my fucking mind that she likes these," Terry agrees. "It will take her forever to piece this together."

Lion stays quiet.

"You say you don't want to reject her?" Terry asks.

"I would never," Lion mutters. "But maybe she wants to."

I remember how Tori has stayed away from all the other guys since her birthday, how sad she has been recently, and how drunk she got a couple of days ago. My heart aches for her. She has these huge expectations for love, and they are not fair to put on Lion, but it still sucks. She probably thought by his initial reaction that he didn't want her, and then retaliated. Neither of them is great at communicating. "I doubt she wants to reject you," I say.

We all stay silent, not sure what to say, before Arden breaks it. "I don't know any of you much yet, but isn't it cool to be mated to a person you already appreciate? I think not knowing who your mate is can be a scary feeling, especially for someone of lower rank. I have a disability, so I was pretty certain my mate wouldn't want me. Of course, I got fortunate with who the Goddess chose for me, but I can imagine that Tori felt worried, too."

"Of course you are lucky," Lion says. "You are mated to Aurelia of all people! That's a jackpot!"

Terry and Nox exchange a gaze. While Terry goes back to glaring at Lion, Nox rubs over his face and sighs.

"What!?" Lion exclaims.

"Are you fucking stupid?" Terry spits.

"Yes, so enlighten me!" Lion blurts out. "You know I'm more of a muscle guy and not too smart."

"It's disrespectful," Nox says bluntly, before Terry can answer and probably say something worse. "You are saying Arden got so lucky because he got a shot with Aurelia."

"But he is," Lion argues. "Everyone would be lucky to be mated to one of my friends."

"Yeah, we know that," Nox says, "but that's not the way someone else would hear it. And it's certainly not how Tori would understand it! If she was listening now and heard you say how awesome it is for Arden to be mated to a woman like Aurelia, it implies you didn't get so lucky."

"Especially, considering you and I had a fling once," I add.

Lion groans. "Why is this so difficult?"

"It's not that difficult," Terry grumbles. "You just need to be a tiny bit considerate and actually value your partner. It's not rocket science."

"He isn't wrong," I say. "You need to communicate better. Seriously, going on months like this was insane. And Tori appreciates the small gestures. She is far less high maintenance than everyone thinks she is."

"What's better about Aurelia than about Tori?" Arden asks. "I don't mean any insult by that," he says, gazing at me. "I appreciate everything about Aurelia and think she is amazing, more than anyone I've ever dreamed of. But how did you conclude that she is better than Tori?"

"Because she is alpha?" Nox wants to know.

"No!" Lion exclaims. "I couldn't care less for rank."

I can see Arden eyeing Lion thoughtfully, wondering what his mind is putting together now, but he seems to have another one of his moments of realization. "Did you want a warrior girlfriend?"

Lion blinks before his cheeks flush slightly. "Not to say that I wanted one, just that I expected it…"

"How is that better?" Terry huffs.

"I get why you are upset," Nox tells Terry. "But constantly lashing out at Lion won't help. In a way, it seems both he and Tori had expectations that weren't fulfilled."

"Didn't you have any?" Lion asks me in return.

"I wanted someone who understands me and won't mind that I am an alpha," I say. "I never had a real expectation or dream-mate, though."

"Very similar for me," Arden agrees.

"I just want Marilou," Terry says.

"And I just want a girl that will love me despite my past," Nox says.

"So, it's just me who sucks," Lion says.

"Not just you," Terry mutters. "Because when Marilou happens not to be my mate, I will have hurt her and my future mate."

"I wouldn't say either of you is wrong," Arden says. "I think it's much more normal to have expectations. I would say we are the odd ones here. It doesn't matter what kind of expectations you have. What matters now is how you handle them once you find your mate."

Lion brushes through his hair with all ten of his fingers. "Fuck," he curses. "I fucked up."

Again, we are silent, not sure what to say. We hear the cheers and firecrackers from the party. "It's midnight," Arden mutters.

"It means it's the 1 st of January, now," Terry says, anxiety suddenly filling his eyes. For a couple of minutes none of us say anything.

Then, there is a careful knock at the door. I can smell Marilou before she even enters the room. She lets her eyes glide over us before she looks at Terry. Her eyes get watery, and she bursts into tears all of a sudden, sobbing uncontrollably.

Oh no. Please don't let that happen. That would be the second catastrophe today.