Cillian III

Mordeu shifted in his position, and Fjall placed a hand on Alana’s shoulder as a show of comfort and concern.

She gave him a wary smile, but her eyes drifted back to Mordeu, whom she had been staring at since the beginning of her story.

“He gave reasons to my mother, and it succeeded in pacifying her anger, but I was left with a broken heart, and I was angry and sad. My mother kept those reasons from me and only told me that Cillian was not for me, that I should move on. No matter how many times I asked her why, she never gave me an answer.”

Fjall smiled pitifully at her. “And so this anger and need to expose their secrets originated from a broken heart,” he nodded. “It’s understandable now why you hate them. I will no longer call your obsession stupid. Cillian should pay for what he did to you.”

Mordeu was surprised at what his brother was saying. He swatted Fjall’s hand from Alana’s shoulder, ignoring the look of confusion that took over Fjall’s appearance. Mordeu proceeded to draw Alana closer to himself so that she would be standing right in front of him. Placing two hands on her shoulders, he tried to appear very convincing, as if his life depended on it:

“I know how bad having your pure, intentional love unreciprocated by that special someone feels. However, if you continue harboring such negative emotion towards him and his family, it would come off as if your heart still longs for him.”

Alana shook her head. “I do not love him anymore, I just hate him and his family for what they did to me. They hurt me and embarrassed the coven in front of The Lord and Her Majesty. They made a mockery of The Coven, and I could not bear it. I don’t care if people think I’m not over him. I know why I do the things I do, and others are not of importance.”

Alana was capable of bringing Mordeu to frustrated knees with just a sentence. He was already tired of listening to her talk and making excuses for her actions, meanwhile the real reason was already known.

Alana continued, pulling Mordeu from his thoughts. “I only care what you think, because you matter to me.”

The way she looked at him, Mordeu could finally see what Fjall was talking about. Alana did possess an affection for him, one that was not as platonic as he had hoped. Luckily, it was still in the newborn stage, and it could be terminated in due time.

Nevertheless, watching her eyes soften as she looked at him straight in his eyes, with emotions of desire and intentional love seeping from them, Mordeu could not bring himself to terminate the baby.

He groaned within himself and removed his hands from her shoulders. With a step back, he successfully put a good and subtle distance between them.

“You matter to me too,” he forced a smile. Alana’s eyes glistened with hope, and her smile grew wider, resembling a pup that had been gifted a treat.

“You’re my very good friend, a sister even.” He patted her shoulder and looked away from her.

Still, he caught her smile fall.

Without giving her another look, Mordeu continued with his attempt to convince her against her plans. “I just simply think you should let the fates repay them. Probably what had happened was bigger than you, and your mother could not risk telling you. If she believes that his reason was good enough, do you not trust that she wants the best for you?”

Mordeu finally looked at her. He watched her eyes fall as his words dug into her heart and jerked her rationality awake. If she had a good relationship with her mother, then maybe she would reflect on what he had just said. There was a possibility that she wouldn’t, but Mordeu could not for a second allow himself to think of the negatives.

Fjall shrugged. “I don’t know what to say now, but I think I’ll have to join Mordeu on this one. Maybe it’s as he said.”

Alana lifted her eyes and turned to Fjall. Her eyelids were shaking and her focus shattered like broken glass. Mordeu could see that she was thinking above and beyond about what he had told her. Probably before then she had never seen things from this view before, and the sudden realization was more complex than she thought.

Just like Mordeu, she probably thought: why would her mother betroth her to someone that would be given a mate?

“There’s something my mother isn’t telling me. There’s something going on with this family,” Alana finally spoke up.

Mordeu’s mouth slightly parted as he stared at her, bewildered. He had hoped that when she was lost in thought, she was seeing things his way, or maybe accepting that someone has the right to reject your love if you’re simply not the one they wanted. However, that was not the case.

Alana was still hung up on the family, and she so desperately wanted to expose their secrets to the public. Mordeu regretted why he had asked that question. If he had known this would be how everything would’ve turned out, he surely would’ve hesitated or even stopped himself from communicating with Alana from the beginning.

Alana’s train of thought was interrupted by the sudden appearance of two guards who were accompanied by the esteemed Ayra.

Mordeu’s gaze flickered to Fjall on seeing Ayra in her white clothes, perfectly styled hair, and the brazenness of her demeanor. She walked before the guards with the air of authority hovering over her like a black cloud of misfortune.

“Which one of you is Fjall?” she inquired, her eyes dancing between the brothers who stood on both sides of Alana.

Ayra’s face was stern like she knew not how to smile, her eyes were strong, and her tone precise. She was standing in front of her mate, but she was not losing her cool. She could obviously feel the longing and the lewd desire, but she chose to ignore it.

Unlike Fjall, who was completely losing his mind over her. She had called him by his name, and his senses went haywire.

“It is I,” he forced out, trying to appear calm despite having his heart set on fire by lust.

Ayra looked him over a couple of times. Mordeu recognized a hint of lust in her gaze, but more than that, there was that uncertainty he did not appreciate.

“Your name is at the top of the list. As such, you get to protect my brother today. Is it convenient for you?” she asked.

Fjall’s heartbeat was irregular, racing like he had just run a marathon. Mordeu feared that he would pass out from the overwhelming feeling, but he didn’t. He simply nodded his head to Ayra, as he could hardly say anything.

Ayra managed a smile and led him away.

Alana scoffed after Ayra, Fjall, and the guards were a good distance away from them. “They hurt me, but she keeps acting like I have done something wrong. That arrogance—I can’t wait to wipe it off her face.”

For certain, Ayra was arrogant, but Mordeu desisted from saying anything about that family. He was not interested in making the family his main focus, and unfortunately for him, his brother was gone, and the person standing beside him was too obsessed with that family.

“Alana, I feel very tired. I want to lie down for a bit. I’ll see you later,” he said to her.

Her face contorted with worry as she looked him over, resisting the urge to feel him up. “Are you okay?” Her voice was filled to the brim with concern.

Mordeu nodded his head and smiled. “I’m very fine, just tired.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll come find you later.”

He had lied.