Her Chosen Mate

Part 28

(POV - Aria)

Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Aria tried to ignore the pang of disappointment.

Her deep purple dress was stunning, the color customary for the Alpha's true mate, regardless of his chosen Luna. She'd dreamed of wearing the color, along with a claiming mark to match, but the bruises that Marcus had left on her body had faded to almost invisible yellow blotches. Which were easily covered up by makeup and April's expert hands.

Her neck was too bare, and she even considered taking scent blockers to help her fade into the background, but April had ripped the bottle out of her hands.

"We're going to be front and center so he can see the damage he's done," she said defiantly. "I want to see the look on his face when he sees you in this color."

Truthfully, Aria did too. She didn't know what she was expecting to see, but she hoped it would somehow make up for all the pain she'd endured up until that point.

When they arrived at the banquet, however, it took all of Aria's self restraint not to turn on her heel and go home. Packs from all over had come to Aiden's banquet. The hall filled to the brim with overwhelming scents. She recognized some of the packs as those her father had negotiated peace with and joined forces to protect their lands.

But there were far too many packs she'd never seen before, and the scents of so many Alphas forced into one tight space made her anxious.

She walked into the hall, arm in arm with April, who looked absolutely stunning in her sapphire dress. There was no sign of Aiden and Meredith just yet, but Aria suddenly caught a whiff of their scents, intermingling with one another. She had to fight back the surge of tears that threatened to ruin April's hard work. It was stronger than ever, making Aria question why the bond between her and Aiden had gone dormant. Had something happened between them recently? Had Aiden somehow found a way to sever the bond between them?

April wrapped her arm around Aria, obviously knowing what had made Aria so upset upon walking into the banquet. She steered them through their pack members, and Aria felt the weight of their gazes on her back, full of pity. April guided her to her parents, where her mom quickly enveloped her in a gentle hug.

"Let's get you outside for some fresh air, hm?" Aria's mom said, her hands rubbing calming circles into Aria's back. She only nodded, and they both walked to the nearest balcony where Aria inhaled gulps of fresh air, trying desperately to calm herself down and ignore the stares she was getting from the guests.

"There you go, sweetheart," her mother cooed, holding her hand tightly to her chest. "You're okay, just keep breathing."

Aria did, drinking the air down like it was water. It helped a lot, and Aiden and Meredith's mixed scent faded slowly.

"I can't live like this, Mom," Aria murmured brokenly, dabbing at the tears on her cheeks with the back of her hand so that she didn't smudge the makeup that April had spent hours working on. "It feels like my soul is being shredded every time something like this happens. What is it going to feel like when he finally marks her? Or when they announce that she's carrying his p-pups?"

Aria's mother frowned, her brows pinching in sadness. "My sweet Aria," she soothed, gently brushing away a stray tear from Aria's cheek. "I can't imagine the pain you must be enduring. And you do it so well that I'm sure no one even guesses at how much it hurts. I want you to know that I'm so proud of you for being so strong. And someday you'll find a mate who is worth your time and love."

"Will I?" she asked miserably. She'd resigned herself to a life of loneliness, of having to watch as Aiden and Meredith do all the things Aria had dreamed of for so many years.

"Of course!" her mother said, sounding more confident than Aria had expected. "The same way he chose another mate, you can too. And I know that there's someone out there who will love and cherish you the way you deserve to be loved and cherished."

Aria definitely didn't think so. She had been brought up to believe that her true mate would be that person, and she didn't know what to do now that her true mate had rejected her.

"What if I don't find that person?"

Aria's mother smiled. "There is no doubt in my mind that you will find him. You are too wonderful not to love."

Her heart twinged a little at that, and she hugged her mom tight, thanking her for always being there to take care of her. They walked back inside,April immediately accosting her.

"Okay, I'm still waiting on more details of your steamy little rut-fest," she demanded, pulling Aria a few steps away from her parents so that they wouldn't overhear their conversation.

"April," Aria whined, glancing around at all the guests, whose eyes kept flicking back to her.

"Come on, please?" April pouted. "How can you keep these ridiculously juicy tidbits of information from your favorite person in the entire world?"

Aria sighed and looked around again, stepping closer to April so no one else would hear.

"I know you're just trying to distract me and I appreciate it," she whispered, April's cheeks turning pink at having been found out. "And because you're such a good friend and, yes, my favorite person in the entire world, I'll tell you, okay?"

April nodded excitedly and leaned in as close as possible.

"You have to remember that the only other wolf I've been with is Aiden," she murmured. "And that was... not a good experience. But this male was something else, April."

"Three days is a pretty average rut, but I saw the marks on you when you got home."

Aria nodded, remembering the collar of hickeys that adorned her neck. She'd secretly loved them, and loved looking at them, trailing her fingertips over the purple bruising and recalling the way Marcus had given her each one.

"We barely stopped," Aria breathed, suddenly feeling warm at the memory. "And when we did, he fed me, April. By hand. He pulled me into his lap and fed me. God, it was so hot."

"I'm so jealous," April whined, her bottom lip jutting out cutely. "Please tell me he fucked you like that too."

"April, shut up!" Aria pleaded, her cheeks burning. "But, yes, if you must know, he did fuck me while he fed me. Happy?"

"Jealous," April cried quietly, eyes closed and eyebrows pinched. "What else?"

"Well," Ari paused, chewing on her bottom lip shyly. "Do you remember that one book I told you about, when I asked you about this one thing I hadn't heard of before?"

"Somnophilia, yeah," April nodded quickly, before realization dawned on her face. "Shut up, you did not!"

Aria nodded, feeling the pain in her chest ease a little, distracted by April's diversion. Talking about her time with Marcus helped her put Aiden at the back of her mind, and she was able to breathe a little easier even though his and Meredith's scents still cloyed at her nose.

"We did," she admitted. "I was so tired after the first day and he kept waking me up, so I told him to just... use me while I was sleeping and, oh my God, April, I don't think I've ever experienced anything like that. He seemed to really enjoy himself as well."