76. Amore Mio

KIARA

"Selene can make mistakes…" Alejandro said quietly.

"Maybe, but I"m strong. You know that." I turned away to check my brownies. Deep down, I knew he just needed some love… but I also needed him to take that first step.

"You fucking are…"

The smell of brownies filled the air.

"Kiara."

I looked at him, as he struggled to say what he wanted to.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I was-"

The beep of the oven made us both turn. He looked away, picking up his glass, I wanted to know what he had wanted to say. Damn…

I walked over to the oven, grabbing the gloves and took my brownies out. Taking a knife, I took the tray to where he was sitting and cut them into pieces. I wasn't even done, and he reached for a piece. I tapped his hand with the knife, my eyes flashing.

"I didn't say you could have any."

"Too bad, I don't fucking care." He said, taking a square, giving me a challenging look.

"Jerk." I muttered. "What were you about to say?"

"When?"

"Before the oven went off?"

He cocked a brow, looking at me mockingly.

"Nothing. You sure you're not fucking delusional?"

"I didn't imagine it." I said, my irritation growing.

He smirked, "You can't even fucking deal with my attitude for two fucking minutes, and you thought we'd ever fucking work..."

My heart ached at that, he was broken inside. I could see that much. I could also sense his emotions. Something I realised was becoming much more obvious since I had unlocked my abilities. I had always been able to sense random things, but now I noticed I could pinpoint them.

"If we were together, I'd have slapped you one by now. Oh wait, I did that even when we weren't together."

He clenched his jaw. "Yeah, no fucking idea how the fuck you got away with that shit…"

"Cause I"m special." I said with a smug smirk.

"Guess that's fucking true." He said, taking another piece.

I tried not to let his words get to me, as I poured myself some milk, topping his glass up too as he moved on to his third piece of brownie. What was this man? The way he was gobbling these down…

"You like chocolate a lot, huh?"

"Guess so… I think it was the only thing I really liked in this shit hole called life." He said.

"Was?"

"Yeah…" He said, his eyes meeting mine.

"Why the past tense?" I asked, now taking a piece and biting into it as I leant my elbows on the counter.

Once again, he didn't reply, a deep frown on his face.

"If I hadn"t pulled that shit I did… Would you have accepted us?" He asked quietly.

"How about we play a game? We both get to ask three questions. The other has to answer truthfully." I suggested, taking a slow bite of my brownie.

"Fine." He said, sounding a little uncertain.

"Then do you want me to answer that one?" I asked.

I realised he was looking anywhere but at me.

"Yeah." He said, now looking me in the eyes as he took another brownie square.

"Yes. I would have. I was waiting… Waiting for you to tell Jasmin that you'd found your mate… But you didn't." I said, not able to hide the pain in my voice. I stared into the distance, trying to remain composed, but all I could see was him saying to her to ignore me. "My turn. Why don't you want me?

"I think I"ve already answered that."

"No, all you say is you're a monster, or too messed up for me. Why do you say that? Give me one reason." I said, taking a sip of my milk.

He seemed to hesitate.

"When I first shifted… I was thirteen. I heard my dad talking about me to my mom… he never liked me. Said I was fucking worthless… I lost my shit and confronted him. My anger took over and I tore him apart just the way I do to every fucking thing. I don't remember anything after I lost my shit… but I will never forget the scene of that room when I came to." He said quietly, his face cold and emotionless, yet I knew beyond that mask of indifference was a soul tormented by many thoughts and emotions.

My stomach sank, I never knew he had killed his father… Didn't their parents die in a rogue attack?

"Then your mother…"

"Yeah, she did nothing to me. In fact, I supposedly loved her, but I murdered her too. Now, do you get why the fuck I don't want you near me?"

My heart thumped as the realisation settled in. He was scared to hurt me…

"That was not your fault, you were not responsible. It was an accident." I said firmly. I was not going to let him beat himself over something he had no control over! How must he have felt? A thirteen-year-old who had just shifted. He didn't reply and I sighed.

"An accident that killed her."

"So, you were scared to hurt me?" I asked. The sad thing was, his actions hurt me more than he ever would physically.

"Do you want me to write it on a fucking poster for you?"

"No thanks." I said, rolling my eyes.

"My turn… Do you want to reject me?"

"Yes and no. You hurt me, I won"t deny that. That moment… The one that every girl dreams of. That we'll find our mate and it'll be a beautiful moment, the way Mom used to tell me about hers and Dads… but mine is just this dark… painful… agonising memory. My mate who's meant to love me told another woman to just ignore me and carried on making out. I will never forget that... Yet at the same time…I don't know… I don't think in my heart I can reject you right now..."

I nibbled at the brownie, not wanting my emotions to surface.

"I fucked you up pretty bad, huh?" He said, smirking humourlessly.

He took another brownie and I looked at him.

"Do you…have any feelings for me?" I asked. I hated the fact that my heart was pounding loudly.

He looked at me and the tension felt thick in the air.

"It's late…" He said, ignoring my question as he turned away and stood up. I tried not to focus on his perfect body. My eyes fell on the huge tattoo that covered his back.

He didn't deny it… but wasn't able to say it either. My heart was pounding and I could hear his too… Was he always going to run away? I turned from him, gripping the worktop as I fought the tears that now filled my eyes. Don't cry, Kia.

Urgh, I hated this.

"If… If I tried, do I still have a chance?"

His words were so low that I wondered if I had heard correctly.

"If you tried?" I asked, my voice shaky despite my strongest attempt.

"Yeah." His deep voice resonated within me, and I closed my eyes.

"Yes." I said quietly.

I didn't know how long it would take, but maybe if he worked hard enough… we could fix this. He had already made that start unknowingly when he told me that his mother was the reason behind him not wanting me near him…

"Good to know." He said huskily, trying to sound as unbothered as ever, but I didn't miss the beat of his heart or the relief that I sensed coming from him.

"Alejandro." I said.

He paused, waiting for me to speak.

"You won't hurt me. You've had countless chances, but you haven"t. Even when I slapped you, you didn't hurt me. The only time you hurt me… is when you kept pushing me away." I said softly.

He didn't speak, but I knew he had heard me loud and clear. His next words made my heart explode into a storm of fireworks.

"Good night, Amore Mio."

My heart skipped a beat, my eyes flying open as I turned, but I was only greeted by the door closing behind him. Leaving me alone in the kitchen with my brownies. My entire body felt warm at those simple yet beautiful words that lit up the darkness that had settled within me. I looked at the half-finished tray of gooey goodness and smiled gently.

A ray of light had appeared, and I wanted to keep faith in it. Come whatever.

***

77. Two Queens

KIARA

‘Amore Mio'… My love in Italian… The words Alejandro had said before he left the kitchen. Words that only gave my wolf hope whilst creating uncertainty and curiosity about what the future might hold. These words filled my mind and entered my restless dreams. Dreams where he marks Jasmin, tells her to ignore me before they walk away. Dreams that hurt. The scene constantly changed from his whispered words of sweetness to him turning his back on me.

"Rise and shine Kia." Mom"s voice made my eyes open suddenly.

"Mom, ever heard of knocking?" I asked, rubbing my eyes as she pulled the curtains open.

She gave me a small smirk.

"Yeah, I just didn't want to."

I rolled my eyes, my eyes falling on the two mugs of hot chocolate that sat on my bedside table. I knew she wanted to talk… great…

She sat at the end of my bed. Without her trademark red lipstick that she was rarely seen without, she looked years younger. I swear, we could pass as sisters rather than mother and daughter… although I looked more like Dad.

"How are you feeling?" Mom asked, picking up the mugs and passing one over to me.

I scooted up and leant against the headboard.

"I"m…" Fine. That was the automatic reply that came to my lips, but I wasn't. "It hurts. You know how I always felt about finding my mate and then this happens."

Mom nodded.

"I know you're angry at me because I didn't tell you, but there wasn't anything to tell."

"You know I was angrier because if I knew, I wouldn't have let you stand by and watch him mock that bond and yourself as he dared to even attempt to take Jasmin as his mate." Mom said, her aura filling the room and her eyes flashing silver.

"So, you"re mad because I didn't react?" I asked sceptically.

"Yeah, you should have slapped him a few and rejected him right there on stage. I would have loved that. The idiot couldn"t even take you saying those words in private. Imagine if you did it in front of everyone." Mom said, a cold smirk on her face.

I nodded. Mom really was epic…

"Yeah... Mom… I"m not you." I said.

She sighed. "Yeah, guess not, but I"m proud of you. After sleeping on it, I realised you handled this so maturely. It actually makes me really proud of you. I know you're not a child and you can handle yourself, but as a mother, I want to give you some advice." She took a sip of her hot chocolate and I watched her. I loved how Mom understood me, once you got past her temper anyway.

"Shoot." I said, smiling slightly.

"I know he's your mate, but what he did was wrong. Very wrong. We all make mistakes but even after I got pissed at Jasmin, I realised she's just another victim in this. He gave her hope and she believed in that. Yes she hurt you, and I won't forgive her for that, but I also know that's a very biased opinion as a mother. The situation was messy. We all do and say things we may not mean. Yes, I disliked what Jasmin and Alejandro did, but I love how you handled this like the queen you are. No pun intended."

I smiled at that. Taking a sip of my own drink, the warmth running down my throat was pleasant.

"And I"m not encouraging you to accept or reject Alejandro. That's your choice… But I will say one thing, he needs to work to redeem himself. Never settle for anything less than the very best. I know he didn't want to reject you and your father also said he has taken care of you."

Yeah, in more ways than Dad knows… I kept my face emotionless as Mom continued.

"But if he wants you… then make him atone for the pain he's caused you. You deserved the best. In your situation, I wouldn't have been as calm as you were." Mom said. "Let him show you he can be the man you want in your life."

"I talked to him last night… He told me his reason… and although I don't agree with him, I understand where he"s coming from." I said quietly.

Mom looked at me with a gentle smile.

"And?" She urged.

"He asked that if he tried… was there a chance?" I said, blushing as I remembered last night.

Moms' eyes widened with clear surprise.

"He said that?"

"Mm." I nodded. "I said yes."

I looked at her, awaiting her reaction nervously. She smiled and nodded after a moment.

"If that's what you want, but make sure you are able to heal before getting into anything." She said softly.

I nodded. I knew she was right; I also knew I hadn"t handled things the best. I didn't know he was my mate at the time or I would have fought for him before I just backed away and slept with Rayhan. We couldn"t change the past, but we could work on the future.

"I"m sorry things didn't go the way you wanted, but you're a Westwood. I guess like your father, you were bound to get a difficult mate." She said guiltily.

I smiled softly.

"You know, I always wanted a story like yours and Dads…" I said.

"Our story had its own hardships… It wasn't perfect, but that's what makes it special." Mom said quietly. Her eyes were filled with so many emotions and I saw the pain and sadness in them. She smiled softly, playing with the necklace Dad had proposed with. I wondered what was going through her mind.

"Well… It"s true, my story isn"t a fairy tale either, but I intend to get my happy ending. Dad was your forbidden Alpha and Alejandro… He's my cold-hearted Alpha… One whose heart I will surely thaw…" I said, gazing out at the shining sun. "You know Mom, he was good to me before this whole mate thing… He said I was perfect the way I was and how he would do his best to stay away from me."

"Kiara… You two haven't…"

My heart skipped a beat as I looked at Mom, my stomach fluttering at the thought of that night. My cheeks burned as Mom gasped.

"That son of a…"

"Just once… It was a two-way thing, Mom… and you can't say anything, ok? I know you and Dad were at it even before you found out you were mates." I said warningly.

Mom clenched her jaw. "He's thirty-four and he-"

"Mom, consensual remember?"

Mom sighed. "I still can't believe he... you… that asshole…"

She ran her fingers through her hair. "Goddess Kia. I mean, I knew Damon and you were sneaking around, but Alejandro?"

My eyes widened in surprise.

"Wait, you knew about Damon?"

"Obviously, I"m not stupid. He wasn't a bad kid and I made sure your dad never saw him when he snuck away often enough." Mom said giving me a wry smile.

I blushed. Wow, Mom didn't mind…

"Well, glad you didn't tell Dad, or he'd want to destroy him too…" I said.

"I think if he knew about Alejandro, he'd be a lot more pissed…" Mom said amused. "You're a woman, your dad can't really say anything anyway. There is nothing wrong with owning your sexuality and enjoying sex. I hate how men can do everything and no one cares, but when it's a woman, then there"s an issue."

"Shallow minded people?" I suggested. I really did have the coolest Momma on the planet. She nodded.

"Just make sure you know what you want." She said as she finished her drink. "Well, get dressed, there"s about to be a small meeting. As the king's mate… You should be there. Alejandro is leaving soon to follow some clues Indigo and Fred found… and I think it"s high time you showed everyone what you're capable of."

I nodded, this involved me and I was not going to sit back and let more people die… The mention of Aunty Indy and Frederick made me want to tell Mom about them… but I couldn"t, I needed to speak to Aunty Indy first and I couldn"t delay that any longer.

***

78. Her Ace

ALEJANDRO

Last night I had slipped up and said Amore Mio to her face. That was fucking messed up, especially since I was about to fucking mark someone in front of her.

I needed to take a step back and see where to go from here. She had given me hope, a hope I didn't deserve, and one that I didn't know I couldn't live without.

Seeing her baking those brownies… in my house. I wanted her here forever. I knew in that moment she was the one I wanted to wake up to every morning. The last thing I saw before I fell asleep at night. I wanted her to warm my bed, just how she was fucking warming my heart.

Yeah, I knew I cared for her, but accepting her... That part still fucked me up. She was strong and I knew she could handle me… Not to mention I was too fucking weak to live without her.

So here the fuck I was, after a long run, thinking all night and day about her… I knew I needed her… But I needed to work on the shit I fucked up and to trust the fact that I wouldn't hurt her…

It was going to be a fucking nightmare, but I was ready to at least fucking try.

I told Claire to bring my food to my room as I handled the paperwork for some business issues I had to attend. Although I usually had some of my men handle it, there was some shit only I could deal with. I had just finished eating and was headed to my home office.

Since all the fuckers were gathered here, I guess we would just hold the meeting here.

I opened the door to find Rafael and Darien already inside, both men stopped talking when they saw me.

I bet the fuckers were talking about me.

"Alejandro." Rafael said with a smile.

"Excuse me, I'll be back in ten for the meeting." Darien said, quickly excusing himself.

I gave him a murderous glare as he walked past before I took out a packet of cigarettes and lit one.

"You were out most of the night." Rafael said as I leant against the wall, taking a long drag of my cigarette.

"Yeah? And that's your fucking business why?"

"I didn't say it was. I"m just concerned about you, Al." He said, coming over to me as he crossed his arms.

"Don't be, I don't need you."

"What did I do?" He asked quietly.

I clenched my jaw as I stared off to the side. I didn't need this shit.

"What the fuck do you think you did?" I asked coldly.

"I wish I knew. No matter how different we were… We were there for one another. Why did you start pushing me away?"

"That's your fucking assumption." I said, now glaring at him.

But there it was, the ever so present concern, yet no fucking anger. What happened? Did the anger gene skip him and I got the full fucking brunt of it?

"Then why do I anger you? I see it and sense it. This irritation you feel when I talk to you."

"That's because I hate your fucking fake sympathy and concern that you have plastered on your damn face, twenty four-fucking-seven." I said coldly. My aura swirling around me. Sure, there was a time we looked out for one another and he always supported all my fucking decisions… but that time had long passed.

"It's not fake, I wish I could show you how I feel inside Al... I love you. You're my brother and nothing can change that." He said quietly.

"Oh yeah? Then why is it that you never trusted me? Tell me Raf? Didn't you think I was behind those fucking attacks years ago before the actual fuckers came to light?" I asked coldly. I was finally asking the question that always burned at the forefront of my mind.

He frowned.

"I did think maybe it was you, but what has that got to do with anything? I wasn't locking you up, nor was I trying to get rid of you. I trusted you, I still trust you and I always will because I know that before anything else, you are my brother." He said softly. "Please Alejandro, know I can never hurt you or betray you."

I had nothing to say to that… I had never looked at it like that.

"So, you"re saying, the selfless, good-hearted, Rafael Rossi didn't give a shit that people were dying and maybe his brother was the killer? A brother he wasn't going to even lock up? Wasn't that nagging at your fucking conscience?"

He smiled slightly.

"Can't I be selfish? I"m human…You were family." He said quietly. "I was willing to let it go."

I didn't say anything as I stood there smoking. I didn't know what the fuck to make of that… Rafael patted my arm, a smile finding its way on his face.

"So… Kiara…"

"We're not that fucking close." I growled.

He smirked.

"You know… She calls me uncle. If you two make it work, I think we will need to change that."

"Well, you are fucking old." I said mockingly.

Somehow, the anger I felt towards him had lessened… Maybe I needed to stop making fucking assumptions and actually believe that there were a few fuckers who actually cared.

"Only six years older than you brother." He said, now smiling. "I would never have made the pairing, but when you see you two now, you look great together. When she fell into your arms at the engagement, I won't lie, I actually thought you two went well… Who knew that even the Goddess thought the same thing?"

She had looked fucking perfect… A knock on the door signalled the end of our conversation so I went and took my seat. Time to get some shit together…

-----

Twenty minutes later, Frederick had finished explaining the odd occurrences, tracks and vanishing auras he picked up on in the Galloway Forest. Darien, Elijah, Rafael, Frederick, Indigo and Carmen, although I was still fucking pissed at her, were here as well. Adding their input on everything we had gathered. Not to mention Kiara had said not to go there… I wondered what the extent of her abilities were…

"I"m heading there tonight. Darien will take charge of the pack whilst I"m gone." I said, wanting to tell Elijah to take care of Kiara… If I wasn't around, she was safest with him, although I knew she was strong. I don't think I'd be at ease if she didn't have an Alpha around.

"Got it. How long do you think you are going to be?" Rafael asked. "If you want, I can leave Rayhan here to help."

"No, I rather that fucker isn"t here." I growled.

Elijah smirked and I wondered what the fuck his problem was.

"I don't see anything wrong with that." He said.

"He's very capable, Alejandro." Rafael added.

Yeah, I knew exactly what he was capable of and I didn't fucking want him anywhere near her.

There was a knock on the door and her intoxicating scent invaded my senses. My stomach did a fucking somersault as the door opened and she and Scarlett stepped inside.

"This is a meeting." I said, trying not to look at her, but despite my best efforts, I could see her breasts peeping out of her dark green cowl neck top. I tried not to focus on the silk fabric tugging at her breasts. Glaring at Scarlett instead, something that was a lot easier to do.

"We know. It's to do with these attacks and the obvious target, Kia." Scarlett said.

"Your point?" I said, trying to keep my irritation at bay.

"Well, just because we don't have dicks, does that mean we can't be here?" Scarlett said. Making Indigo and Carmen smile.

"That's not the issue, Red. Alejandro was just sharing his plan." Elijah said, looking suspicious.

"Great, do share." Kiara now said.

I looked at her, the green of her top only made her eyes look greener.

"It's kind of confidential. You don't need to be here." I said as calmly as I could.

Did I have to be fucking nice? I mean, I don't do nice… What the fuck, was I actually considering being nice? This shit was messed up…

"It's to do with me, so carry on." She said challengingly.

Our eyes met and I swallowed, don't look down…I could see her breasts peeking out from that fucking tease of a top and I knew every single pair of fucking eyes were on me. Was this the shit she expected from me? I"m not the type to fucking back down…

She pouted slightly, before biting her lip and then she fucking pulled the ultimate ace to win this shit.

It was subtle, but it fucking did the job… She pressed her breasts together ever so slightly with her arms and batted those damn lashes at me. Sending a wave of pleasure down fucking south.

Fuck.

"Fine. Stay." I growled.