Chapter 13- Healing and Hurting

Sabrina's POV

With everyone enjoying the feast and celebration of my brother's coronation, bodies gone and the
castle running normally again as if there was never a massacre, the werewolves carried on. Enjoying
the bottomless drinks and rare meat on display.

Josey overindulged on the champagne, who knows what her tolerance levels are now being a hybrid
and all. My brother stayed alert, as always. With the attempt on his life, I doubt he'll sleep with both
eyes closed.

"Why are you standing up here, looking down at us? Still think someone will try to kill Cj?" Maximus
asks. His scent wafting through my nose, opening up all the memories I buried deep in my brain.

"I just need to breath. Too many emotions in one sitting. It us overwhelming.." I say turning to face my
first chosen mate.

He stayed shirtless but was kind enough to wear a new pair of dress pants, thank the goddess.
Standing here with a naked ex mate, never mind our animalistic ways, would be awkward. How would I
explain it?

I had changed in to a different dress. Still gold but silky and flowy, less dramatic but definitely elegant.
The problem is, had he been naked this would've been awkward because I'm commando. Right? Oh
well.

"I had a chance to talk to your mate. He's not that bad actually.." Max tells me, which has me raising my
eyebrows at him.

"Not that bad? In what way?" I ask, completely curious to find out what he meant when he said that.
Although the other half of my brain was telling me that he was trying to make conversation.



"I mean he's an okay guy. I can't fault him, goddess knows I tried. We all want to fault him, I'm sure
Xander wants to." Max says to me and I chuckle.

"I wanted to fault him too when we met but he surprised me. He's still a virgin waiting on his mate and
when I told him we could never work because I see myself more of an earthling, he came down to earth
to learn our ways. His patience, I mean this guy is just... I can't fault him. He's also easy on the eyes." I
say before taking a sip of my first and only glass of warm champagne.

I've been holding on to this glass for probably an hour, lost in my thoughts.

"Yeah, we all didn't miss the tongue war you both had in the middle of all the fighting." Max says
disapprovingly.

"Yeah, Josey gave me a mouthful but you don't get to disapprove. You don't get to anything." I say,
turning my entire body to face him.

"I know, I know.." Max says with his arms raised in surrender.

"I'm an ex Kimberley. I'll forever be jealous." He says, his body leaning on the railing as he watches my
sister try to dance.

"I understand." I say as I turn to look down at the crowd too. We stay silent while standing next to each
other while the memories we shared together played over and over in my head. Even if he stayed the
perfect chosen mate, I'd still end up with Aiden.

Even if Percy chose me and not that whore of a nanny, I'd have to break his heart. My world was
different and it had a mate, a true mate that was chosen for me before Percy was chosen for me. It's all
so confusing how Ethia was able to meddle this much in my life.

And then Xander....



My poor Xander.

The dreams we had together, the dream to have a girl and name her Alexandria. A name I chose
because it was fitting, a female warrior who will be unstoppable.

"You look deep in thought.." Xander says which confuses me. Last I checked, I was standing here with
Maximus.

"Yeah.." I say. Not sure what to say to him.

"I saw Max walk away and I figured this was my only chance to get you alone, to talk." Xander says to
me.

"I was thinking about you actually." I say.

"Oh? Surprised I don't have a mark on my neck?" He asks and I nod my head yes. Well I wasn't
thinking it but I noticed the lack of a mark on his neck hours ago.

"Sabrina, I won't lie to you, the mate pull is doing it's job. I want to be around her 24/7, touch her and
make her mine but I can't shake off this gnawing at the back of my head. You, your scent that's still
lingering back at the pack house. Just knowing you played match maker with me makes this whole
mate thing feel like a sham." Xander says.

"I know. It's weird for me too." I say but Xander chuckles.

"No. Weird is seeing Josey sit and laugh with her ex mates. Still having to smell your scent back at
home, seeing you now and having to watch you kiss whatshisface, that's painful. I still want you,
goddess knows I still want you but I want her too and don't tell me I'm conflicted, no." Xander
confesses.



"I'm so sorry you had to watch that. I got so caught up in the moment, I lost my senses for a minute
there." I say, quickly looking away from him.

"You had enough sense to wrap a ball of fire around you both for protection." Xander teases and I
smile.

"Sabrina, at some point the mate pull will win and you have been fighting it longer than I have. It's a
losing battle and you're stuck stuck with him, immortality and all that bullshit." He says, making us both
laugh.

"I won't lie, it's getting harder and harder each day. I'm not fighting it anymore because I'm tired, so
tired of fighting all the time. I've lost you already, so why fight it? I'd rather lose you to someone else
than watch you die because of me. I can handle that pain." I say as a tear escapes my eye and Xander
wipes it off my face.

"It will get easier for us. Our love is great, so great it refuses to die even when we have different mates.
I guess we should find comfort in knowing that we tried and it was perfect for a short time. We had time
to be together and those memories are etched in our heads forever." Xander says, trying to comfort
me.

"Am I interrupting?" Cj asks walking towards us.

We both turn to face him.

"Yes.." I say.

"No." Xander says at the same time.

Cj chuckles as he pats Xander's shoulder.



"Can I steal my sister for a little bit?" Cj asks and Xander nods before leaving us. I watch him walk
away, my brain playing Celine Dion, my heart will go on because again, he was walking away from me.

"Don't be so dramatic." Cj says to me and I look at him funny.

"Look at your face! He's just down there drinking whiskey." He tells me and I groan out loud.

"Maybe I should just get Aiden to mark me. If he doesn't, I think I'm going to love two men all my life. I
have a very long life ahead of me." I say sadly.

"Yes you do but in the end, there'll only be one left right?" He asks me.

"Aiden..." I say and Cj nods.

"It's obviously too soon to be over Xander, especially since he formed such a wonderful bond with
Adrastos. We all love him for you but life happened and you have a good true mate. I like the fact that
he stands firm on what he believes and has values that make him a remarkable man." Cj says to me.

"I agree." Christopher senior says as he walks up to us.

"You can't fault that young man and the way he fights, who trained him? He took on so many people at
once, it was incredible." My father says.

"Father, you do know he's from a different realm? And he fights like that because he knows he can't
die." I say but my dad shakes his head no.

"That is one skilled fighter, don't discredit him like that." He tells me and I huff in annoyance.

Why am I annoyed? They are talking about my mate. Clearly impressed with him, which I was a few
hours ago because I kissed him. So again, why was I annoyed?



I walked away from my father and brother to get some air. I walk outside, taking my time to look around
and clear my head.

"What's wrong?" Aiden asks as he jogs towards me.

"Nothing. I just needed some air." I say.

"Why did you just need some air?" He asks..

"I'm just annoyed. I'm annoyed because my family is so taken with you, how you fight and all. You've
got them wrapped around your big fingers." I say in the most bratty tone.

My goddess! Wtf.

"Argh that did not come out right." I say.

"I think it did, it came out perfectly. You spend 5 minutes talking to Xander and now you want me to be
the bad guy. I did not choose you Sabrina, fate did I guess or whatever gods are out there. You think I
enjoy the predicament I'm in? I'm the new guy here. The one that has to break up a whole family
because the woman actually belongs to me. I'm the one that has to deal with the fact that my heart is
all yours but yours is not completely mine. I have to accept a whole lot, like a chosen mate who gave
you a child and threw you out with that child like garbage and now I have to break bread with him. I
have to deal with the fact that even though you found him a mate, you were elated to see that he
wasn't spotting a mark on his neck just after kissing me." Aiden shouts out in frustration.

My heart sinks.

"I'm the helpless one here. How do I navigate through all of this? I'm honestly trying my best but
instead of your family making it hard for me, or even Xander, you're the one sabotaging our union. You
agreed to give me a chance but you kill it every time." Aiden says putting his hands in his pockets.



"I can't fight you, that's not fair. Clearly this isn't going to work out. I guess we will have to spend
eternity avoiding each other." Aiden says to me before storming away.

"Yup! You killed his heart Sab. Way to go..." Josey says to me.


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