His Other Half

Eighty-two

Not edited

Malik

"The rest of you can leave." Abeba's words flooded Ahsha with so much anxiety that I could feel it spilling into our bond. "What?" Isaac barked taking a step protectively in front of his mates. "Absolutely not," Ahsha said growing defensive. "It's fine habibata," I tried to comfort her before she met my eyes. Worry etched into her stare.

"We'll see you right after." Pablo smiled rubbing her lower back trying to soothe her. "Hey, relax," Ares called taking her hand and kissing her fingertips. "Relax?" She huffed. "Are you crazy? My grandma wants to kill two of you and I'd be outside, but you want me to relax." Which was a very strong possibility. "I'll be here the entire time, little one," Asir stepped forward.

"Me as well," Ashraf added looking from her to Isaac. She calmed a tiny bit before her attention went to Abeba. We watched as Oshun took over her eyes. She bowed showing her elders respect even when dealing with so many emotions. "Do not hurt them." Her voice sent a chill through my body. You could hear the power and the threat in her words.

She turned and looked at us. I cupped her cheek affectionately before kissing her lips. Pablo grabbed her chin staring into her eyes before a shaky breath left her lips. "We'll see you shortly, sweet mate." He whispered. We could feel her rapid heartbeat and were trying our best to alleviate any tension. Pablo then kissed her softly. He let her go earning a quiet sigh in return.

Her eyes then met Ares. Although his face didn't show it, I knew my brother well enough to know his emotions were raging. Which meant Ahsha was being consumed with all our worries on top of her own. "Hey, relax," She mimicked his words gaining a half smile from him. He grabbed her jaw pulling her lips to meet his. She eventually had to push him away. "Damn." She whispered.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't see any of that," Bastien spoke as he guided his children outside. Ahsha turned meeting our eyes as the huge doors slammed shut in her face. "I can't feel her anymore," Pablo said and in unison, we all touched our chest. "What did you do?" Veronica yelled. Dark mutters left Ares.

"My grandchildren seem to think that each of you are worthy of being with a royal in the Oyeyemi Family." "Why are we here when your issue is really with them." Veronica countered. I grabbed Pablo's arm stopping him. "That response is why the only friend you have is your cousin." Camryn huffed.

"And why the Queen nearly took your head off. You're inconsiderate of the people around you and still expect to be welcomed with open arms. That's not how it works." Camryn said reminding me of Ahsha. "What do we need to do to keep our mate?" I asked. Abeba looked my way. "Keep her?" She huffed in disgust. "Do you think you deserve to 'keep her'? After everything you three put her through you deserve nothing!" Her voice shook the room.

Her eyes shifted to Veronica. "And you—you are not worthy to be mated to the Prince. You do not deserve the title of Princess. You let your insecurities fuel you and you drive people away, then you whine about it. The four of you do not deserve your mates and for some reason that I can't understand, they still choose you." Her words were harsh, and they left a bitter taste in the air. "Ahsha chooses us because she loves us. She knows us." Ares began.

"Not as the Kings and not even just as her mates but as people. She took the time to learn about us and our family." Pablo added. The Desrosiers women looked at us. "I'm sure that's true but can she say the same thing about you? We know you love her we can see it. However, the issue we have is trusting you with our granddaughter. She's not just the Queen or your mate, but our daughter. We've been with her even before she was born and to be forced to see how careless you three were with her—,"

"You can't make us feel any worse for our behavior than we already do. Ahsha has given up so much by being with us. Just tell us what you need us to do to show you we won't make the same mistake twice." I spoke.