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.