Chapter 67

Alec stood in front of the house they kept Ari in, but he didn't make any move to walk in. He just stood there like he did many times ever since they brought Ari there, but today was different.

Today he had to.

He heard about everything; he heard about the last three nights.

And so he finally opened the door to walk in, and was greeted by the pack members who were keeping watch over who used to be his friend. Now he wasn't sure what they were anymore, but that didn't mean that he didn't have any regrets he wanted to rectify.

No matter how hard everything was.

"You may leave now until tonight. Alpha's orders." He told them watching them nod their heads obediently before they gathered their things and headed out. It was a lie to buy him some time alone.

Alec found himself facing another challenge as he looked at the door to Ari's room, but he knew he couldn't chicken out now.

He walked over and knocked softly.

A little part of him hoped that his knock wouldn't be heard, that he could just walk away and pretend he didn't come here at all, but his father's words were repeating themselves in his head and he couldn't just walk away.

The door opened and Alec never got used to how beautiful Ari was, and it hurt because it reminded him of Eli whenever he went to pick him up. To Alec, Eli was more beautiful even if that opinion wasn't shared by everyone. No matter how breathtakingly beautiful Ari was, it has always been Eli who managed to take his breath away.

Knowing that this was taken from him because of Ari didn't make him feel anger anymore, it just made him feel sad.

"There's no point keeping you locked up. You can go out for a bit."

Ari looked at him in bemusement. "Am I allowed to leave here? Leave town?"

"I wish I could let you, but..."

"But what?" Ari urged making Alec sigh.

"You can't be seen by anyone. Nobody knows you're here."

The look on Ari's face was one that was justified in its frustration and anger. Honestly Alec had expected to find a shell of the person he once knew, someone so broken from all the injustice that he faced. The fact that Ari seemed somewhat okay and was still talking was nothing short of impressive. It almost made him push down the guilt. Ari seemed fine, so everything was okay!

But those were just empty excuses people use to make themselves feel better. Alec was upset, he was angry at Ari, but he was just a man who tried his best.

And sometimes men are helpless.

"Ari," He started not sure how he'll follow up with his words. There was nothing that prepared him for a situation like this. "I know how I- how I was when I brought you here. I was angry and upset-"

"And I mentioned Eli." Ari cut him off knowing what he did, and it made Alec's jaw clench.

"He broke up with me."

Ari should have laughed at that. All what Alec did was drive him away from a friend he wanted acting so jealous and afraid that his precious mate would be taken away, and even after all that he was – with no real effort on Ari's part.

It all just happened because some things just happen without reason, that's how maddening life is.

While it was okay to be angry at the world whenever such things occur, it was still no excuse to blame others for them. Alec had no right to be angry at Ari, not until Ari took advantage of Eli's feelings for him to hurt them both. That's when Alec had all the right.

And that's when Ari made one of his many mistakes.

That was so like his mother, not him, and the realization of that made him want to stop being anything more like her. It was enough that he saw her face whenever he stared at his own reflection. A beautiful face that was so ugly to him.

And now he is becoming as ugly of a person as she was.

"I did everything to make sure Eli's okay, I was excited he was an omega like me." Ari spoke softly hoping that Alec would stay and listen, and he did as he stood there unmoving. "None of you cared about my side of things, everyone just hated me for it. There's much you didn't know, but I admit I did resent you even though I understood why you did what you did."

Alec didn't say anything, glaring at the wooden floor under him looking pained.

"I never made Eli fall for me. He did it on his own. I wanted him to be happy with you."

"That's why I am so mad." Alec finally spoke, his hands were balled into fists. Feelings are unreasonable sometimes, he knew it. "I admit, you've always been a good friend to me. To Eli. But I can't not stay angry at you. He's mine, my mate. You took him away."

Biting his lip, Ari shook his head. "I didn't take anyone away. He's nobody's."

"I know. That's the problem here, I know." Alec hit the wall with his fist, but it wasn't out of anger that he did so. It was out of anguish. This almost made Ari gravitate towards hurting him even more, it would be so easy and fun to do so, but he needed these thoughts to stop. "This is why I am sorry. We're both miserable here, but I never wanted this to happen to you. I can't imagine what you are going through as well. Yet I still-"

Those words made the wickedness in him dissipate.

Ari didn't want to hurt Alec anymore.

The blame Alec was placing on him was born out of his unreasonable feelings, it was just like before, but it was also different. There was no intention to hurt him whenever his feelings got the best of him, but this time he followed it with acknowledging that Ari was hurting, too.

Really, that was all what it would have taken.

A simple acknowledgment because Ari was never acknowledged before.

Not by him, not by most.

"Even if I wished to steal him away, I can't. I never wanted to." Ari sighed thoughtlessly placing a hand on his mark without realizing that he was doing it, but that thoughtless move brought Alec's attention to it. "He does love you, Alec. Just give him some time."

"Does he?" Alec sighed sliding down against the wall until he sat on the floor in a hopeless manner. This wasn't an angry resentful person, this was just someone with a broken heart.

"I believe so." Something about that moment was just serene, and Ari found himself sitting on the floor close to Alec as well. They felt like friends again. "The first time he saw you, he forgot he was with me."

That made Alec look up at him. "Did he really?"

"Yes, really."

That made a light laugh escape Alec and he felt his anger and sadness slightly vanish. While it is still there, it was lesser than before. A seed of hope was planted, and if all what Eli needed was time, he was willing to wait.

But then a heavy coat of negative emotions returned, and Alec moved uncomfortable in his place feeling smothered by it. He was averting his eyes from Ari. The shame and guilt was eating away at him.

"About this whole thing with Constantine..."

Ari looked at him wondering what's to follow.

"It's horrible. You shouldn't have been forced like that. I don't know how you're still... okay." Alec fumbled and mumbled his words suddenly finding it so hard to speak evenly. "I don't know what my father is thinking. This- It's disgusting."

"Why is he doing this?" Ari asked quietly curious to what his answer may be.

The answer wasn't easy for Alec to say, it sounded like a justification to everything that has been happening, but he answered truthfully thinking that Ari deserved to know the reason for all this.

"Him and two other alphas are sending your- um, Constantine, to kill the alphas in neighboring territories. They're pretending he's rampaging while they seize everything." Alec spat not liking the whole thing at all. The new lands and wealth that they got was undeserved. Blood was spilled for it, and Ari was a victim who was dragged into all of this.

There was no emotion displayed on Ari's face, and Alec hesitatingly spoke again.

"You're not hurt, are you?"

That question wasn't what Ari had expected as he frowned shaking his head. To him, it was a weird thing to ask because he was used to all his injuries disappearing so fast whenever his mother decided to hurt him. She always said they didn't matter, that they'd go away by tomorrow. "We heal fast."

"No." For some reason his answer horrified Alec. "It doesn't matter if- Did he hurt you?"

Something told Alec that there was something very wrong with Ari. This wasn't a normal response for his question, the disregard for his own well-being was alarming. It made him wonder just how this whole ordeal messed him up. Alec didn't know that it was Ari's own mother who caused it.

Constantine never hurt him.

So Ari shook his head in response not realizing why Alec was looking at him sadly. Because if he could, he really would have stopped all this.

But men are sometimes helpless.

And as always, people are always too late when it comes to Ari.