Jealous

Xael

Xena is already gone to work by the time I get home. Fiona tells me that Xaden was asking about me.

“You need to figure this thing out before you lose her,” Fiona warns me.

“I know. I will reject Gwen the moment I get the assurance from the Epsilon that she won’t die.”

“And if he says she will die?” she asks, and I have no response for her.

“It looks like you have made your decision. Let Xena go before you hurt her.”

“I have made the decision. I chose my wife and will always choose her. You should know this!” I snap at her. Not wanting Gwen to die does not mean I love Xena any less.

“Choosing Xena means not caring if your mate dies or not. It means staying in her bed the whole night, not this,” she sneers before walking away. I grab her hand.

“Did she say anything?”

I am really freaking out. Xena being mad at me terrifies me.

She lets out an empty laugh.

“Fiona.”

“Xaden was sad that you did not eat breakfast with them…”

“And?”

“Xena told him that life changes all the time. That families are not always perfect. She said parents sometimes divorce and he must train his mind to expect anything. Xena never wanted to marry you because of this. Remember what your promises were.”

I curse inside. Xena is decisive. She is emotionally preparing Xaden because she has decided to leave me. I need to handle this thing with Gwen very fast. I will reject her as soon as I know it is safe. I won’t sense her after that. Until then, I need to watch Xena closely before she does anything impulsive.

I head to the hospital as soon as I have showered. The court will be meeting to decide if they accept Gwen to the pack or not. I need to clear things up with Xena before then.

I am assuming that she is punishing me when she ignores my calls and does not come out to see me. I guess I will see her at the court later. She will be forced to sit next to me. She will know when our minds link that nothing happened with Gwen.

“Is everything fine?” Carl asks when I return without Xena.

“She is angry, and refused to see me, but she will be fine once she knows that I slept in the lounge,” I tell him.

Three hours later, the court convenes and there is no sign of Xena. The elders are exchanging looks and everyone is whispering around when Carl walks in and approaches me.

“Her car is still packed at the hospital. She is there, but no one has seen her in over four hours,” Carl tells me.

I clench my fists. Xena is really pushing my buttons now. She knows how much I hate rumors. There are already speculations about Gwen’s presence here and her absence will fuel that.

“What about the Epsilon?” I ask Carl. The faster I reassure Xena, the better.

“He is away for the annual meeting in the northern hemisphere. He will be back in two months’ time.”

Damn it! He told me this a month ago. I forgot about it.

“In the absence of our Luna, I think we should postpone this court. As you all know, her opinion is very crucial in this matter,” one of the elders addresses the pack after an hour of waiting.

I nod and instruct the Gamma to take Gwen back to the guest house.

Everyone leaves, except the elders and I know what is coming.

“Is all well between you and our Luna, Your Highness?”

I raise my eyebrow.

“Your mate is here, and the Luna is not,” he proceeds.

“So?”

“I don’t mean any disrespect, Your Majesty. We don’t want to be caught off guard,” he explains.

“With what exactly?”

“Should you decide to divorce your Luna for your mate. The council needs to be prepared to ensure stability of the pack.”

“That will never happen! This court is adjourned!”

I storm out and find Fiona with Gwen in the courtyard. I am taken aback when I hear them laugh. I somehow expected Fiona to be rude to Gwen because she loves Xena.

Gwen runs to me the moment she sees me. I move to the side to avoid contact with her.

She swallows her saliva and drop her head. She needs to get used to this.

“Is Xena mad because you brought me here?”

“You shall refer to her as Luna,” I correct her, and she starts apologizing and frantically shaking her head.

“I did not mean to disrespect her. I will never, you have my word. I hope she does not make things hard for you.”

Fiona laughs at that. “You clearly don’t know Xena. I would not be surprised if she decided to hunt down her mate to get back at him.”

I shoot Fiona a deadly stare. If she is trying to get me jealous, it is working. Xena is volatile when angry. Her finding her mate right now would be a disaster.

“She…She wouldn’t. I am so sorry. I did not mean to complicate your life,” Gwen apologizes.

“It’s okay, Gwen. You need to go back now,” I instruct. The last thing I need is Xena finding her here.

“Oh, come on, Xael. Gwen does not know anyone here. I was showing her around. I will take her back before Xena gets back.”

I leave them talking. I am irritated when I discover three hours later that Fiona has not sent Gwen back. It’s like they have become overnight friends. I am about to shout at them when Carl informs me that Alpha Damilion and his entorouge are at the hospital. What the fuck are they doing here at night?

“His pup is Xena’s patient,” Fiona says, but I get the feeling that there is something more she is not saying.

“But?”

“He has been calling her too much. His Luna died, so he is now single, and you know how they all get enchanted by her.”

Fiona’s words send me flying to the hospital. I hope Xena does not do something stupid.

Clint stirs inside the moment we spot her. The idiots are on their knees before her. This is disrespect at its best. Proposing to my Luna in my pack. I walk to them, someone has a death wish. I get that Xena is angry, but she does not get to disrespect me like this.

I feel like a complete idiot when Damilion explains his actions. He did not attend the regional meeting at the Lycan king’s palace because of his dying son. I am still beating myself up when Xena collapses. Can this day get any worse?

I watch her sleep, guilt watching over me. I have not seen her smile or laugh since my return. She has been a perfect Luna and does not deserve all the complications I came with when I brought Gwen here.

“Two months until the Epsilon returns and we will be like before. I will make it up to you,” I murmur a promise. Our love should be able to withstand this until then.

She wakes up two hours later and just looks at me.

“You collapsed. Your sugar levels were too low,” I tell her.

She did not have lunch the day before because we were meant to have it together when I arrived, but I came with Gwen. She did not have supper either because I seduced her and kept her in our chambers. The Gamma told me that she only had half-an apple for breakfast. That is all she had eaten in almost forty-eight hours.

“You were given a glucose drip, but you have to eat,” I say before taking a bowl of pasta near the bed and try to feed her.

She turns her head away from me.

“Xena, please.”

“I will feed myself. You might want to go and check on your mate.”

I let out a sigh. I guess I deserve that.

“Nothing happened, I swear. Gwen is having nightmares. I…”

She lets out a laugh. She does not believe me and it hurts. I have never betrayed her, yet she can’t give me a benefit of the doubt.

“Why can’t you just hear me out!” I yell and curse inside as soon as the words leave my lips. I have no right to yell when all this is my fault.

I curse more when Gwen runs in and kneels in front of the bed. I clearly told Fiona to send her back.

“Your Highness. Please forgive me. I did not mean to come between you.”

Xena looks at Gwen and at me with an expression I can’t read.

“You don’t have to accept me into the pack, but please don’t punish Xael. I will leave the pack if you want me to.”

Xena does not say a word until I pull Gwen up and lead her out. She does not say a word when I return. I try everything under the sun to make her talk and fail. I always feel like an ass when I use my Alpha voice on her, so I let her be. I will organize something special to cheer her up tomorrow.