Chapter 89: 90: Closing the Rift

ARIEL

Dianne is telling an exaggerated tale of today’s events to the reporters, recounting her daughter’s ~harrowing~ experience.

My mother has assembled a media circus—and she’s the ringleader.

I’m tired of her manipulation.

~This ends now.~

I grab Dianne by the arm and drag her away from the cameras. “Ariel, I’m in the middle of an interview!”

“The interview is over, Dianne. Now you’re going to listen to what ~I~ have to say.”

I lead her into the palace, then Alex’s office, and shut the door.

“Sit,” I command.

Dianne looks flustered, but she takes a seat near the fireplace, and I sit across from her.

“We need to talk,” I say, starting what will no doubt be the most uncomfortable conversation of my life. “We’ve needed to talk for a very long time, actually.”

Dianne stays silent, so I continue: “All my life, I was invisible to you…until I became a queen. ~Now~ you suddenly see me. Now you want to be seen ~with~ me.”

“That’s not entirely true,” she replies quietly.

“Don’t try to downplay it, Dianne,” I say, standing my ground. “You’ve always been dismissive of me until I mated into royalty. When I was a warrior in training, you didn’t have a single second to spare on me.”

“I just wanted the best for you,” she protests. “What kind of a life could you lead as a warrior?”

“The one I choose to live,” I say. “This whole time I’ve been trying so hard to please you. To live up to your lofty expectations. But all I really want is for you to accept me for who I am.”

“You’re faulting me for wanting my daughter to have the best life possible?”

I’m not going to let her play the victim. Not this time.

“Your support comes with strings attached, Dianne. You’re only there for me if I do exactly what you want. But I’m never going to be the perfect daughter. Or the perfect luna.”

There’s an awkward silence between us for a moment.

“I…I don’t know what you want me to say,” Dianne finally says, avoiding eye contact and looking into the fire.

“I want you to say that you’re proud of me, no matter what I choose to do. I may be a queen by title, but in my heart and soul, I am, and always will be, a warrior.”

When Dianne turns back to me, I’m shocked to see tears streaming down her face.

I’ve never seen her show this much emotion. Or ~any~ emotion.

“I know that I’ve been a horrible mother to you and Natalia. And I can’t ever take that back.”

I feel tears forming in my own eyes. “You were never there for me. Not before I was kidnapped by the Hunters. And not after, either. I felt like you hated me. And I didn’t understand why.”

I’m surprised when my mother reaches over and grabs my hand. “No, Ariel, I never hated you, I just… I never wanted to be a mother. So, I was harsh with you. I wanted you to succeed where I didn’t.”

Dianne breaks down, her words spilling out faster than the tears can fall from her eyes.

“Goddess, I wish I could take it all back. Give you a better childhood. Give you the love you deserve. But Ariel, I didn’t have any love to give. I hated myself for so long because I was unhappy.”

Dianne forces herself to continue, even though she’s sobbing: “Your father is a great man, but I don’t love him. I never did. And when I got pregnant, I buried my dreams and became a bitter, resentful woman.”

It’s hard hearing my mother say this. Especially about Dad.

I want to hate her. I really do. But I can’t find the hatred within me anymore.

I have to let this go if I’m going to move forward.

Dianne looks at me, her mascara running down her cheeks. “All I can offer you now is my deepest regrets. I’m so sorry.”

There’s no denying that she’s acted selfishly for years, but her words don’t sound like excuses. She’s being honest for maybe the first time in her life.

My voice shakes as I speak: “I wish we could go back too, but we can’t. You have to live with the decisions that you’ve made in the past. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t find happiness in your future.”

Dianne nods, squeezing my hand tighter. “Can you ever forgive me?”

I nod back. “Yes, I forgive you. I don’t know if I can fully trust you again, but I do forgive you.”

I pull away from my mother and leave her alone by the fireplace. But before I go, I have one last thing to say to her:

“There’s still time to find your happiness, Dianne. It’s not too late.”

***

As I head back to my bedroom, I hear Xavi crying from the nursery. When I open the door to check on him, I see Natalia rocking him in her arms.

“Shhhh, it’s okay,” she says softly. “Mama’s got you.”

Xavi slowly closes his eyes, nestled safely in his mother’s arms.

I’ve already cried enough today, so I hold back the tears, but it makes me emotional to see Natalia reunited with her son.

I sit next to her on the couch near Xavi’s crib and place my head on Natalia’s shoulder.

“I’m glad you’re back home,” I say.

“Me too,” she says. “But I’m not sure how long I’ll stay.”

I sit up and look at her. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t get me wrong... I’m grateful that you’ve opened your home to me, but I need to find where I really belong.”

“I know we’ve had our differences in the past, but believe me when I say that this is your home too. And Xavi’s. Besides, I don’t want you going anywhere with Xavier still out there.”

“Thank you, Ariel, but you have to understand... Xavier is exactly the reason I need to go.”

“Natalia,” I say, grabbing her shoulder. “Don’t tell me that you still feel something for that monster. He’s—”

“No, that’s not it,” she says, cutting me off. “I gave up my life for Xavier. And that was a mistake. But my destined mate is still out there somewhere. I don’t know if he even wants me, but...”

I smile at my sister. “But you have to at least try.”

She nods and smiles back.

I give Natalia a hug, careful not to disturb Xavi. “I’ll do everything I can to help you find your mate.”

“I... I love you, Ariel.” Natalia’s words sound so foreign, yet so familiar at the same time.

“I love you too, sis.”

***

I lie in bed with Alex, grateful to have a moment alone with my mate.

As we face each other, he runs his thumb across my cheek. “It always amazes me just how strong you are.”

“I feel the same way about you,” I say.

“The unification ceremony was a total failure... I’m not sure how strong that makes me.”

“Alex, you stood up for what you believed in. You didn’t take the easy way out. That’s the strongest decision you could’ve made.”

“I just hope the pack will trust me as much as you do.”

I run my fingers through Alex’s wavy golden hair. “The unification ceremony may have failed at bringing humans and werewolves closer together, but it’s brought ~us~ closer together.”

Alex smiles. “I agree.”

He lowers the collar of my shirt and kisses my shoulder.

His lips feel warm and smooth against my skin.

I raise my arms and he pulls my shirt over my head. Then he removes his own and draws me into his chest.

Alex kisses my neck, and it brings me back to the memory of when he first marked me.

It ignites a fire within me, and my wolf pants with excitement.

Alex’s compassion, loyalty, and love spread through my mind and warms me from the inside out.

I’m filled with an uncontrollable urge to feel close to him.

I waste no time removing the rest of my clothes, then ripping off Alex’s trousers.

“My wolf is going wild for you,” I say.

“And mine for you,” he replies. “Let’s not disappoint them.”

I straddle Alex and kiss him deeply, holding his arms behind his head.

He roughly grabs the flesh of my ass, then pulls his hand back and gives it a smack.

I position myself directly over his member, and he hardens immediately.

Alex slides himself into my sex, and I arch my back, moaning in ecstasy.

The feeling of my mate inside me is a pleasure unlike anything else—and each time is better than the last.

“No matter how many times I’ve had you, my wolf still craves more of you,” Alex says.

My hands hold onto his pecs for dear life as he thrusts into me and my body shakes like an earthquake.

My orgasms are like thunderous tremors, each one hitting a higher point on the Richter scale.

“Oh my Goddess!” Alex is splitting me open in the best way possible, and the rolling sensations are making my vision blurry.

“Ariel, I’m going to—” Alex pulls out and climaxes, his seed erupting onto my stomach.

He sits up and kisses my forehead, then takes a deep breath. “Damn, you blow my mind every time.”

I laugh as I push Alex back down on the sheets. “Well, then you’d better brace yourself. I’m just getting started.” His eyes light up with excitement.

You know what they say about earthquakes…

There’s always an aftershock.

***

I wake up to the smell of fresh bacon and eggs, and the rich aroma of newly ground coffee.

“Mmmmm,” I moan as I open my eyes and stretch my sore muscles.

Last night was a ~major~ workout.

I get out of bed and walk over to the vanity, where Alex has left me breakfast on a tray.

And there’s something else: a newspaper. It’s jutting out from underneath the plate.

I feel a sense of dread as I grab it. ~Oh Goddess, what do they have to say about me now?~

But when I read the headline on the front page, my lips widen into a smile.

^WARRIOR QUEEN FIGHTS IN STYLE, SAVES KINGDOM^

I feel a pair of strong arms wrap around my waist.

“Do you like the breakfast?” Alex whispers in my ear.

“I love your thoughtful little surprises,” I say, turning around and kissing him on the cheek.

“Well, I must confess—I have another surprise,” Alex says mischievously. “But it’s definitely not a ~little~ one.”

“What do you mean?”

“Go out on the balcony and you’ll see,” he says, giving me a slight push.

I pull back the curtains, open the French doors, and when I step outside—

“Oh my Goddess! Alex, are you—”

In the middle of the field below is a lightweight propeller plane.

Dom grins and waves to us as he loads our bags into the modest aircraft.

“I thought we could use a break,” Alex says.

“What did you have in mind?” I ask, intrigued.

Alex takes my hand, and his emerald eyes twinkle in the morning sunlight.

“You’ll just have to trust me.”