CHAPTER 141: The Ghost of My Mate
RHEA
I haven’t seen him since after leaving him in the room earlier. It has been a few hours. The remaining of the council is here, within this house, after Kovas called off the warriors that were battling theirs.
I haven’t seen Kovas since then either.
I remain downstairs, in the sitting room with the rest of the council, pacing front and back.
If he’s awake, I know he wouldn’t want to see me, and I don’t really intend to stay here for long.
I’m just here to know if he’s fine, and then I’m gone.
Whatever happens next, it’s on the Council. Not me.
From the corner of my eyes, I see Marcella and the moment I do, I step out of the room and into the hallway to stop her. “Is he awake?” I ask her.
She doesn’t look at me with hatred in her eyes, but there’s some sort of anger in them when she sees me.
“He is.”
Something inside me eases.
“How is he?”
“You shouldn’t be asking that, Rhea.” She whispers in a low tone so the others can’t hear. “Not after what happened.” “I had to do it-”
“No, you didn’t.” That stings more than I want to admit.
“If he asks for me, just tell me. And if not, then I’ll just head on my way out.” I tell her.
“Where will you go?”
“Anywhere.”
She lowers her gaze and nods before leaving toward the stairs. I turn and look outside the window, at all the destruction that the rain has caused. The garden is destroyed. There’s not much of the beauty left of it and I know that after the sun rises, it will look even more worse.
My one hand rests on my waist, and my other moves to my neck, just rubbing it gently. There’s nothing, not even a single trace.
Just memories. And pain.
The rain still drums outside. Gentle now. My chest rises and drops as I keep gazing into the distance.
“Rhea,” The sound of my name takes me out of the trance I almost slip into. “Did you get anything?” Cade asks me as he steps out and closes the door behind.
“He’s awake, I tell him, still looking ahead.
“Oh, that’s good.” I hear his footsteps as they inch closer to me. “Are you fine?” It’s a question that I don’t really want to
answer.
My throat closes when I try to respond. “I’ll be okay.”
“You did a lot for the council, Rhea. I just want to let you know that it won’t be forgotten.”
I chuckle a little, “I did what was needed.”
He steps even more closer to me and I finally turn away from the window to meet with his eyes, which are warm, and they hold concern for me, for everything that’s happening.
“You don’t have to carry this alone,” he says, his voice lowering.
His hand reaches my face and brushes a stray hair behind my ear. My breath stutters, just a little bit, as his hand stays there. I’m frozen for a moment.
I’m not sure what to feel about it.
But then his hand lowers to mine and wraps his fingers around my palm. I can feel him. The warmth of his body. The smell of his scent. But something inside my chest doesn’t stir. There’s nothing that I feel for him in this instant.
“Cade,” I pull my hand away. “I can’t.” My voice comes in a whisper.
“Come with me, Rhea. When I go back, come with me and we will start again,” he tells me, his voice hopeful. “I can’t do that.”
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CHAPTER 141: The Ghost of My Mate
“Yes, yes, you can.”
“You don’t understand,” I shake my head softly and then release a breath I’ve been holding. “I’m never going to feel the way for anyone else that I felt for him. I already thought that he was my mate, that he was everything, and I cannot–I don’t think I will be able to forget that feeling or what he made me feel. You deserve a mate who will give you all her love, and I cannot be that person.”
Something inside me turns hollow when I say those words.
“You don’t have to feel anything. I won’t ask it of you.” His voice turns hoarse.
“But I will. I have tried to, but I can’t. I cannot be your mate, Cade.”
His face turns grim with sadness from my response. It’s the truth. And I need it do it, I need to get it out of the way. The mate bond.
I’ve been feeling it–how it tugs at me still, how it wants to pull me closer, how my body aches for something that it needs. But my heart–it won’t move. It already belongs to someone else.
“I reject you as my mate, Cade.” My voice breaks a little when I say it.
His face turns even paler. I don’t know if it hurts or if he’s even in any kind of pain. But there’s something in me, something inside me that is fading, slowly and surely like I’m losing something.
“You’re making a mistake, Cade says quietly.
“Perhaps,” I sigh, “But it’s a mistake that I choose to make.”
Cade doesn’t snap or argue. He’s not the man who’s filled with rage and fury. Maybe if we had met before, maybe if I knew about this before I ever met Aron, I would’ve loved it. I would’ve been happy to be his mate. But it’s just too late now.
We stay right there, suspended in time for a few moments, his gaze locked with mine until we begin to hear footsteps coming down from the stairs.
I look away and softly wipe my cheeks.
“Aron is prepared to surrender,” Kovas says as he reaches down the stairs. “His territories and himself to the Council.” He gives me a brief glance before looking at Cade.
“Okay-”
*But under one condition.” He cuts him off.
“I can speak to the rest of the councilmen. What is it?” Cade questions him. I stay quiet, watching.
“That the Bloodclaw pack and its wolves stay as they are. Under my protection. I’ll take control of them as an interim Alpha.” “But you’re not an Alpha-”
This time, he interrupts me. “And you’re not one either.”
Cade crosses his arms and steps forward, “If the Council agrees, you’ll be monitored. No shifting in the structure. No power plays. No secret plans.”
“I’m aware of what you want.”
“Then, I’ll speak to them right away.”
With that, Cade disappears back into the sitting room where the remaining of the council members are, still waiting. My eyes trail him till he’s gone, and then I look at Kovas.
“Is he fine?” I ask him.
“He’s breathing. That’s far more than enough.”
I suppose I can take the hate I’m getting from Kovas. It’s nothing new.
“Does he want to-”
“See you?” Kovas cocks a brow and then scoffs. “No. He doesn’t. It’s the last thing he wants. Marcella told me that you’re leaving. Good luck to wherever you’re going next, Rhea.” His voice is dismissive. And with that, he leaves and walks away, heading back up the stairs.
My stomach knots and clenches. It’s what I had expected.
Aron would never want to see me, not now. He would be the last one.
It’s what I’ve wanted, what I wished for these past few weeks. To be rid of him, and I am finally.
And yet it still feels miserable.
But it’s time to go.
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CHAPTER 142: Going Home
