Fire And Ice

Chapter 89 - Retribution: Rejection

Callum's P. O. V

I could hardly believe my eyes.

When we'd met at the Mate Ball, the very idea of my mate being alive had been inconceivable, talk less of the possibility of her and Alpha Ari being one and the same. Without the knowledge of who she was, I'd only been left with what I'd thought of as a coincidental resemblance. But now that I knew, I almost wondered how I'd missed it.

It wasn't till Cade had gone crazy over the sudden detection of her scent and I'd laid my eyes on her, sitting in the house as if she owned it, that the realisation crept up on me. The final piece had been the unnatural strength the drive to protect her from Harry had brought out of me.

There she was, enthrallingly menacing in every way. When she'd uttered my name like it was a curse, all I could think of was how I would give anything to have her say it again for the rest of my life. I'd been a riot of emotions, with elation, relief, guilt, desire and more warring for dominance in my heart.

But now, out of her presence, I had the chance to think.

My mate, Alpha Ari, was standing over the howling wolf of our Alpha, holding up his tail like it was a trophy. Her laughter mixed with his howls in some disturbing medley that raised every hair on my body. Coupled with the blood spatters on her clothes and face, and the savage look in her eyes, my gut was screaming at me to run.

But she was alive.

She was here.

I was watching from the locker room she'd entered the arena through. I'd decided to wait for her here last minute, as opposed to sitting with my dad. Every time Harry had charged at her, it'd taken every ounce of willpower to keep me from racing in to protect her.

Evidently, that hadn't been necessary.

She approached the Alphas, thanking them for showing up and advising them to return to their packs as soon as possible. I might have wondered why she decided to insist on that if I wasn't too busy fretting over how she'd react to me alone.

'She could have denied it when Harry called her our mate.' Cade rationalized, his voice brimming with hope and excitement, 'It'll take all the grovelling skills you've gained from all that time as a puppet, but we might have a chance to be with our mate.'

This was a side of him I hadn't seen since we'd lost her. I wanted to hold the same unadulterated hope, but I couldn't help but wonder if the girl who'd so readily torn the tail off another would even be open to the very idea of forgiving me.

I might not have been the ringleader of her torment, but I was far from innocent.

She finished her address and began walking back to the locker room. To the very one I was in.

I panicked, the question of if being here was even a good idea making me consider bolting away. Just as she reached the room, I decided to remain, hoping she would at least hear me out.

Her scent filled the room and seized my senses as she wordlessly walked over to the locker where she'd left her phone and other things. She put her belongings back in her pockets and shut the locker door with a metallic thud.

Then she turned to me.

With her full attention now on me, every thought in my head evaporated. Splattered with blood and devoid of any expressions, she still took my breath away. Everything in me ached to reach out and touch her.

She raised a brow, "Well?"

Blinking, I wrangled my thoughts into words, only managing a breathless, "You're alive."