Love & Tribulations

Chapter 5

Erza's POV

They were right, imprinting makes you lose all your senses. Either that or I'm going fucking crazy. I knew that my mate was a vampire, but the fucking queen?

When I told my inner circle a month ago, they were in complete shock. They eventually came around, but my mother was furious, and I understood her concern, especially with everything that happened in the past.

I exhaled, trying to take my mind off of everything and concentrate on work. Although it was proving to be more difficult as time went by. Rose hadn't reacted to me the way she did when we first met. She mostly supervised and conversed with her group while her brother assigned tasks. My pack was small, so the extra hands were a relief. I was grateful she offered to help.

At first, I took a different route to my office each morning to observe her. Even though I'd cleared her and her group, I was still wary of having her near my pack. But at some point, it became my preferred route. Our eyes would meet briefly, and she'd offer a small wave before returning to her tasks. At the end of the day, she'd drop off documents at my office, but she never lingered. It felt like it was strictly business between us. Was I hoping for more?

The memory of our fingers brushing as she handed me some documents flashed in my mind. I shook my head, pushing it away. Finishing my work, I grabbed some documents and headed to James's office. I knocked before stepping in.

"I came to drop these off", I stated.

"I'll get these processed right away ", he replied as I sat down.

"She's driving me insane", I said, and he looked up, puzzled, "my mate."

"That explains it", he smirked.

"Explains what?" I inquired, perplexed by his statement.

"Your constant mood swings whenever she's around", he remarked with a grin.

I sighed, recalling the past few days—the stolen glances, the accidental touches that set my nerves on fire.

"She's your mate, it's only natural", he smiled. This is far from natural.

After discussing pack matters, I went to the dining hall. I scanned the hall before my eyes gravitated toward her as if she were the one I was looking for. She was seated with Tris and Asher at a table near the entrance. Just the sound of her voice had my heart racing uncontrollably.

She turned her attention toward me and smiled lightly, making my stomach feel fuzzy. I got some food from the kitchen before joining them.

"What were you guys talking about?" I asked, sitting across from Tris.

"Ms. Vlaire was just asking us about the performance and conduct of her group", Tris explained.

"I told you Rose is fine", she spoke after taking a sip of her drink. Her voice caused me to smile unintentionally.

(You wanna call her Rose, don't you?), Tris teased through the pack link. Where does she get these ideas from?

(What?!) I exclaimed, struggling to swallow my food while staring at her with wide eyes.

"Are you okay?" Asher inquired, patting my back more forcefully than was necessary. I quickly nodded to get him to stop and glared at Tris.

(It's fine, you don't have to hide it) she said indifferently as I stared at her in bewilderment.

"What are you two talking about?" Rose questioned, her eyes darting between me and Tris.

"You", Tris shot out, prompting Rose to turn to face me with a smile. My heart pounded a little quicker as I felt those butterflies again. For a moment, we just stared at each other before Asher cleared his throat. Shit.

"We have to go help James with something, right Tris", Asher announced, standing up and looking over at Tris. She gave him a confused look before smiling and nodding her head. Are they even trying to be subtle?

"Right, sorry we can't stay longer", Tris said smirking at me.

(I want all the details), Tris told me before leaving with Asher. I had to physically restrain myself from plaming my face. Idiots.

Rose chuckled softly, pulling me back into her presence. My gaze lingered on her lips before I caught myself, cheeks heating when I realized she had been watching me. Just act normal and talk to her.

"I hope the room is to your liking", I said, desperate for a distraction. It had been a week, and I felt ridiculous for not properly speaking to her sooner.

"The room is beautiful, thank you for allowing us to stay", she smiled, taking another sip of her drink. Seemingly unfazed that I'm asking her about her accommodations this late.

"Of course, it's my pleasure", I said awkwardly, as our eyes locked again.

"Would you mind walking with me?", I asked, noticing the growing stares in the hall.

She kept a fair distance as we walked to the garden, but her gaze was warm when she looked at me. "We haven't really had a conversation yet. It seemed like you were going to avoid me until my departure," she noted.

Oh, she noticed... Of course, she did.

"My apologies, that wasn't my intention. It's... complicated."

She studied me carefully before speaking. "We don't have to interact if it's difficult for you. Elias can drop off the documents from now on, and if I'm disrupting your routine, I can oversee my group elsewhere."

"No!... no, it's fine," I blurted. The thought of her pulling away made my chest ache.

"Good," she said, seeming relieved. We reached the garden's fountain and sat at opposite ends of a bench.

"About that night," she started after a moment of silence. "I didn't mean to cross into your territory."

I could feel my face heat up as I averted my eyes from hers. "It's just that I lost control of my body for a split second", she continued.

"It's fine, I was just worried that someone would've attacked you", I assured still feeling flustered.

"You mean you didn't want to rip my head off?", she asked in disbelief, "that's a first."

"Well that might've resulted in a war that I personally don't want", I replied, "and besides...you're my mate."

Her heartbeat spiked at my words, and butterflies erupted in my stomach at the sight of her soft smile.

"And is that okay? Having a vampire as your mate?" she asked cautiously.

I sighed. "I don't think most would take it well. It's unheard of. But that doesn't mean I see you any differently."

Her smile faded slightly. "The councils won't take this lightly. Our species have been at war for ages. Even with the truce, tensions remain high."

"I know, so many lives were lost over the years, it's difficult to just put that behind you. But vengeance does not bring back your loved ones; it only creates more deaths. I wish they could see that." I sighed.

She breathed out slowly, then met my eyes. "Hopefully, we can change that."

Could we? She was the queen of vampires, and I was an alpha of a single pack. What could I really do? But her smile made me believe, just for a second, that maybe we could.

"Are you free this weekend?" she asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

"You're not asking me on a date, are you?" I joked nervously. Shit, why did I say that?

She tilted her head slightly. "It's more of a refresher from work."

I cleared my throat. "What do you have in mind?"

"It's a surprise," she said with a small smile. "We'll need a transfiguration spell to alter our appearances and suppress our powers."

She stood and extended a hand toward me. Her hand was soft and delicate, eliciting goosebumps along my arm. This was the first time she initiated contact.

I'm not sure how to express how I'm feeling right now. Simply being in her presence lightens the strain that's been on my chest. But I know she won't be here much longer, and that notion weighs far more heavily than I anticipated.