Half Faced Alpha
Chapter 41

Natalia sat on the edge of her bed, her hair turned towards the sunlight. The pack was lively, not exactly a ceremonial mood, but they seemed happy. Very unlike her. Her heart broke in pieces like the scattered sunlight, and she held the necklace of her mother between her palms. It had been so hard playing naive all through the years. Playing clueless. Now that she thought of it, her mother and Axton were just the same.

Her mother had known she would do that to him, and that was why she had safely tucked her in. It was like some twisted plan, and it has all gone haywire because Natalia had forgotten her role. Some sentences are incomplete if you are not reading this novel on Narugi.com. Visit Narugi.com to read the complete chapters for free. Because she had forgotten to come to Axton like a sacrifice that night, and because her foster father had decided to take her to safety.

Her mother had our her revenge on Axton before her own daughter, and it brought more tears to Natalia's eyes. The one place she felt even remotely wanted was with her father. Now he was gone. And then with Axton and now he was...

She immediately stood up and walked to Axton's room. She peered in. Beta Scott was not there, and she knew it was one of those rare times when he left Axton briefly. She turned the door knob and opened it, then stepped inside. Alpha Axton's eyes were closed, and somehow he looked even skinnier.

She walked to him slowly, then took the seat she assumed Beta Scott had been sitting on before he left, and then sat on it.

She touched his hand, feeling the dry, wrinkly skin under her own palms, and she closed her eyes.

Tears rolled down her cheek as she felt the skin under her.

"How did this even happen? What sort of twisted love is this? Why Did you have to be the one to do it yourself? Why did you not...send someone else? Why did you not tell me before I fell this madly for you?"

She released his hand and shook her head, then pushed her fingers into her hair.

"Last night...I would not have gone to the ceremony if I knew it was going to end that way. I would not have dressed up so much to impress you. I would not have tucked it safely in my heart when you said you would be my home. I should have stayed away." She gave a long sigh as she traced a long finger on the skin, her eyes taking in his expressionless face.

"Are you asleep?" She asked in her teary voice, making no effort to stop the break in her words. "Can you hear me, Axton?"

"Yes. Yes, I can hear you."

She sniffed and removed her hand from his. "You know why I can not forgive you now, right?"

"I know." He didn't open his eyes. He didn't need to see all the tears he brought to her, and all the pain he knew would be clearly written on her face.

Things were better when she was ignorant. She was clueless, but she was happy. Or at least, she pretended to be.

"My mother...this is not about her as much as it is about you."

"I know. I am not the man you crave." He still kept his eyes closed and didn't make an attempt to touch her, even though having her in his arms would take away a lot of the hurt he was going through.

"You told me that once before. You said it back then and I should have believed you, right? I should have known what you meant."

He didn't say a word, and they fell into silence, the only sound audible was of her heavy breathing as she cried.

"Natalia, I would like you to know something."

She looked up to him, and wiped her face with the back of her hands. "What?"

"You are the only woman." He said, and then with great effort turned to her, so she could see his right eye. "You are the only woman I have ever kissed in a bath house. You are the only woman I have ever kissed in a carriage. You are the only woman to kiss me without my permission. You are the only woman whose scent I can recognize. The only woman who I really crave with everything I have. And...the first woman that...the first woman that I cried for."

Tears rolled freely down her cheeks again, as he stretched his right hand to her. He could only touch the tip of her fingers, and that was enough. A small smile spread his lips, and he looked back up at her.

"I hate myself for making you cry... if in a million years I am asked if I regret letting down all the guard I had put up... The answer would be no. Even if I end my life here, Natalia...because of you, I believe I have lived long enough. and I have lived well enough." "Do not talk like that," She said, her tears blurring here vision. "I still need time."

He shrugged, if it could even be called a shrug. "You can take all the time in the world. Rest assured, I will be here, waiting for you."

She nodded and moved away, her hands going behind her. "I will...take my leave now."

He watched her go, before he released his breath, then dabbed at his own eye.