Chapter 72
1280words
"Ember?" my brother called out to me, fear and desperation in his voice, but I only closed my eyes and leaned against the chair I sat on,
"Ember, answer me!"
"I rejected him, Axel. Just as Ashley said. I rejected him. "
"Why? Would you do that? Aside from the fact that you've possibly just rejected the most perfect man, look. Look what that is doing to you now. How is this in any way worth it?"
"Because-"
"Axel, you shouldn't be causing her so much strain right now."
I reached out and placed a hand on Ashley's, "It's fine." I said, and looked up at Axel,
"He is, by far, the best man. And perhaps, in another life, I would have loved him, the way a man deserves to be loved by a woman. But I can't, Axel. I simply can’t be the woman he needs, and the guilt was killing me. The guilt was after my very existence. I simply could not do it to him. I simply could not."
"How great is this Paris bloke anyway?" Axel asked, sounding a bit defeated. And I smiled my first smile since being with Jean yesterday.
"great enough to still keep me tangled up after all this time," I said softly,
Ashley let out a sigh, and sat next to me, "I might kill him if he hurts you again." she said, and squeezed my hand.
My brother Axel said nothing, but kept watching me, "I'll deal with Paris in time. For now, we need to find a way to draw you out of your funk."
"funk. That's a pretty mild way to put it." I said and buried my hand in the palm of my hand,
"How does it feel though?" Axel asked. Trust Axel to ask the deeper questions that were too hard to speak of,
"My wolf won't respond to me." I said plainly, "I feel empty on the inside, and If I do manage to feel anything, I feel as though a knife is cutting through me. The pain is too real. Almost as though I could simply die from it."
A look passed between Ashley and Axel, but I was too weak to try and decipher it.
"that pretty much falls in line with the things I've heard other people say." he said, and smiled at me, "I've heard meditation and nature walks help. That stone should help revive your wolf again, and as for reviving you, I'm here, so is Ashley, and Pa, as well as William."
I was teary-eyed as he spoke and briefly nodded, "No, I told you so, though?"
"no. You should know we don't do that here."
I fought tears again, but this time around, I was fighting grateful tears.
PARIS's POV
Ember didn't attend the next meeting. I did not need anyone to tell me something was wrong because I knew Ember's passion. So this behavior was simply odd.
"Where is Ember?" I asked Bella, her assistant at the end of the meeting.
She looked from the papers she was gathering and smiled gently, "she called in sick. She's been a bit down for days now, as she hasn't come into the company for a few days now."
"Ember is unwell?" I asked, completely flabbergasted, and Bella shook her head,
"I spoke to her today though, she sounds stronger than she has in days, so I'm sure she will be back to her normal self in no time. Don't worry," she said and patted my hand in a friendly manner before getting lost in a conversation with one of the other elders.
"ember is unwell," I said to myself in confusion. Werewolves rarely became unwell. There were only a few things that could render a world bedridden or homeridden, and my mind raced with all of the things that could be wrong with Ember.
I took out my phone to call her, but all five trials went to voicemail. I didn't have a good feeling about any of this and needed to get to the bottom of it as soon as I possibly could.
But my options were so limited. She hadn't been to work for days, and it was a weekend, so her office was out of the option. I had no idea where she lived. She had made a point of not making me find out. Now I hate myself for not even trying.
I did not know where to even begin.
"Jackson?" I said into the phone.
"sire?"
"I need to find Ember," I said with some frustration.
"Find Ember? Did she get lost?"
"she isn't lost. But she is seemingly unwell... I need to find her right away. Nothing seems right."
"Do you have an inkling where she has been living these past months?"
"not an idea."
"So you realize this will be somewhat hard, do you not?"
I groaned outwardly, and collapsed on one of the chairs,
"Do you think her new mate will know?" I didn't like the idea of asking the man for help. But my options were so limited.
"her new mate?"
"yes."
"Well. I could try. I've been gathering some information on him, so I know a couple of places he could be found, and lines he can be reached on. Give me a moment."
As I waited, a tall figure filled the door of the room I was in, and I sat up when I saw who it was,
"Well, what do you know?"
"Excuse me, sire?"
"You can stop sending me any information at the moment, our fish has found his way to me."
"you mean Alpha Jean is there as we speak?"
"affirmative. Why don't’t I get back to you?"
"Of course." I hung up on the phone and stood. When Jean noticed me, he narrowed his eyes and walked toward me like a man ready for a brawl.
That was fine. I was ready to fight too.
"Where is Ember?" I asked him the moment he got to me,
"you're asking me? You, of all people, are asking me?"
"You are her mate, are you not? You should know. I heard she is unwell."
His brows drew together more in confusion than anger, and he shook his head, "what do you mean she is unwell?"
It was my turn to look at him in confusion, "what do you mean, what do I mean? You are her mate. Should you not always be at her side?"
"You really don't know do you?"
"I don't know what you are talking about."
"stop acting the glum. I came here to brawl with you, you are really killing the whole point of it by acting in this manner."
I took a step back, "Pardon me, Jean. But I swear you're confusing me here." he looked at me more intently, before what seemed like clarity donned on him,
"It's true then. She hasn't told you. You still don’t know. It makes some sense now."
"know what? What should I know?"
"Excuse me, I must have a word with that girl," he said and began to turn away, but I gripped him hard.
"what is it I am supposed to know? What the hell are you going on about?"
He slowly turned to me, and looked at me cooly, "I suppose you are unaware that Ember has rejected me as her mate."
His words that should have brought joy, only brought on more confusion. Ember had rejected Jean as her mate? But why?
"But why?" the words fell out of my mouth without me meaning for them to, and he scoffed,
"Why else? But for one as insignificant as yourself."
