It's Simply That I've Always Loved You

Chapter 9

When the welcome party finally starts to calm down and no one else seems to be in great need of his presence, Byakuya walks over to where Rukia is curled around her future mate and kneels down, his hand coming to rest on her back. He can feel the steady inhale and exhale of her breathing here and it relaxes a part of him that had been agonizing over her loss, over the expression on her face when she walked away from the pack and from him once and for all. When he had mated with Hisana, Rukia had been part of the deal, and Byakuya loved her fiercely and would have done anything he could have to kept her safe.

Hisana’s death had driven a wedge between them, Byakuya’s decision to put space between himself and everyone he loves meaning that both of them were left hurting when they should have been supporting one another through their grief. It might have been a ridiculous notion, but his week with Renji had been an eye-opening experience as far as his feelings on the matter of his dead mate are concerned, and now he has to mend his relationship with Rukia.

If he leaves things as they are, another argument could drive her away once more, and she would take her friends with her. The last thing Byakuya wants is for his pack to be ripped apart, fully intending on following through on his promise of making this their new home so they never have to think about leaving or end up wandering the wilderness subject to the whims of any other pack around them. Rukia is the core of this group, he can see that without having to try, and it hardly surprises him. She is a natural born leader and has always been.

“Rukia.” Byakuya says her name softly, smiling faintly when she lifts her head from the mane of Orihime’s autumn fire hair to peer up at him with heavily-lidded eyes. “I was wondering if the two of us could speak in private as we agreed to do this afternoon.”

The words have her sitting up with a murmured apology to Orihime, drawing one knee up to her chest as she looks up at him. “All right, Brother. Let’s talk in your room where it’s quiet.”

“I apologize for borrowing Rukia, Orihime.” Byakuya bows his head to her when Orihime looks up at him, and Rukia scoffs at him. “I’ll return her as soon as we’re done talking.”

Orihime yawns and lays back down on the grass. “Just don’t keep her too long, I’ll get cold.”

When Byakuya leads Rukia into his home, a wave of nostalgia washes over him and he bites down on his tongue, willing himself to remain calm as he leads her through the living room and down the hallway that leads to his private quarters. The last time she had been in this building had been during their last conversation, the one that started out quietly enough before escalating into Rukia shouting at him, demanding to know how he could remain so cold, so aloof, so disconnected from everyone and everything and ever be the alpha the pack needed.

She stormed out. Byakuya was certain he would never see her again, certain it was her final stand before she departed for good. Certain he had lost the sister he never knew he wanted in his life, having grown up an only child, and knowing it was all his fault.

“It smells like Renji in here.” Rukia walks around the room, head tilted back as she scents the air and Byakuya huffs at her. Though the housekeepers had tidied the room and changed the sheets on the bed, as well as storing away the extra bedding Byakuya had been using for his nest, there is no denying the heavy scent in the air. “You two were together for a while, huh?”

“My heat was exceptionally long because of the sheer amount of time I spent suppressing it.” Byakuya admits, wincing when Rukia scowls at him, brows drawn together.

She walks up to him, her hand curling in the fabric of his shirt as she pulls him down to meet her eyes. “You shouldn’t be doing it anymore, then. I know you don’t want children but there are other and safer ways. I didn’t even realize such a thing could happen.”