As Victoria unleashed her cold, merciless laughter, Alistair stood silently, his gaze fixed on the ground, his brown wings twitching ever so slightly. He could feel the tension crackling in the air, feel Victoria's emotions, her grief which she disguised as anger.
He knew what Victoria had been through, the grief of losing her brothers and one of her Ten in the same week. He'd witnessed her pain when Willow died, watched her retreat into a darkness even her Ten couldn't pull her out of.
She blamed herself for Willow's death, if she had been stronger, better, more, she could have saved her. Alistair wanted to scream at her, don't you see? She died for you, for your future, she was proud that she died for her leader, for her sister. She would hate to see what Victoria had become.
When Victoria snapped her fingers, sending the pair back to their world, Alistair's wings drooped lower. He wanted to speak, to say something that might soften her, but what could he say that hadn't been said a hundred times already? Victoria had built walls so high that even her Ten couldn't breach them anymore.
Alistair glanced at her from the corner of his eye as she stared off into the distance, her face hard, emotionless. But he knew her too well—he could see the cracks forming beneath the surface, the way her jaw tightened just a little more than usual.
They were trying to help you, he thought, though he would never say it aloud. They were looking for the Victoria that saved us all. The one we believed in. Not this...
He sighed softly, knowing his thoughts would remain unspoken, knowing that despite everything, he would follow Victoria's orders without question. That was his role, after all—to protect her, even from herself.
But as he stood there in the silence of the valley, Alistair couldn't help but wonder: How long can we keep pretending that this is the right path? How long until Victoria loses everything-including herself?
And in that moment, for the first time in centuries, Alistair felt a flicker of doubt.
YOU ARE READING
Chronically in love
WerewolfArthur Bennett has been waiting for his mate for years. When he found her she was supposed to run into his arms, they would fall in love in days, have children asap, and live happily ever after. Except, She's human, She's chronically ill, and worse...
