The Curse Of Rejection
Facing Her Father

AYSU

Since she was naked, Beta Richard had his back facing her. But one could tell that he was waiting for a response to his question, so, for many seconds, Aysu stared blankly and silently at the broadness of his back.

Then, moments later, without blinking much, she turned to look at Ximun who had hastily torn off one of the huge window drapes that shielded daylight to cover her with.

“What did you mean by that?” she asked and the man raised a brow in question.

“Wh- What are you talking about?”

She nudged off his hands which were trying to secure the material around her body. “You said earlier that you would not be around for a while. Why won’t you be? Where are you going?”

“Aysu…” Ximun frowned in worry and his hands seemed to struggle with demonstrating something. “Aysu, your-”

“Are you planning to leave me alone in this strange place?”Aysu blinked without much emotion. Inwardly, she could tell that Ximun was confused about her refusal to acknowledge her father’s presence. She was truthfully not ready to deal with that yet. So, as she watched her husband cover his nakedness, she said, “You know you are all I have here.”

“Aysu,” Ximun gently gripped her shoulders, “I am not headed to a far place. I am going to be here, in this palace. I just might get so busy that we won’t be able to meet.”

“Oh. You could have said that later. I was really looking forward to a great time with you.” She looked down at the floor as though shy. “I have been fantasizing a lot but you just had to ruin it.”

“I am sorry about that. I can be a huge fool at times.”

Their eyes met and the chaos from earlier was quickly resolved. Aysu could then smile easily as she asked, “So, this mating ball, do I really have to be there? Can’t we be,” her fingers found the sculpt of his chest, “off, having our personal mating ball on that day?”

Ximun didn’t hide his grin. His hand captured hers and he helped her reach the bareness of his chest faster. When her palm rested against the part of his skin that covered his beating heart, he replied, “We can do that. Now, then and forever. But we have to show our faces at the ball. The wolves of Night Crimson Pack might be very picky about the topics they discuss but they never leave out royal gossip.”

Aysu nodded as though she fully understood. “So, there is a chance they’ll talk in hushed tones about what happened when we first mated?”

Ximun sighed in mini-regret. “Unfortunately, yes.”

“Meh.” Aysu shrugged and took a step closer to get a better whiff of her mate’s scent while caressing his chest with her simple touch. “Who cares? As long as we have settled that matter between us, we don’t have to be bothered.”

Ximun said nothing but maintained a smile in his eyes and on his lips. That smile persisted so much that a flustered Aysu had to ask, “What? Is there something on my face?”

“Yes.” His sharp response piqued her interest. “Eternal beauty.”

“Oh my.” Aysu tried to hide her smile as she leaned into his chest. Ximun welcomed that increase in contact and hugged her closer. “That’s so cheesy.”

“As long as I am not lying, it doesn’t matter if it’s cheesy or not.” He looked down at her, his hands holding her waist in a way she could never ignore. “How are you this pretty, Aysu? Looking at you is enough to make my worries disappear.”

“Okay. That’s enough. I am not that pretty.”

“Says who?” A throat-clearing sound from their third party interrupted the fun conversation. Aysu ignored it since she was not yet ready to face that man but Ximun was curious about the degree of her silence, so he asked, “Do you want him gone?”

“Did you hear about the serial killer rumours?”

Ximun deduced her true emotions from the way she dodged his question. So, after an understanding nod, he said, “I did. That’s one of the reasons I will be gone for a while. There is a huge chance the killer will be at the mating ball, so we have to devise a plan to nab him or her.”

“So they are not rumours?” The first time Aysu heard those talks was when she attempted to tour the palace on her own. That night, Magnetino had left for a meeting and she was left alone to satisfy her growing curiosity about the new place she had just been married into.

“I am afraid not.” The excitement in his eyes died immediately and one could tell that the issue was one of the greatest weight on his shoulders. “In the past three lunar years, about thirty deaths with the exact M.O. have been recorded. I know the people have been non-vocal about the issue for a while because they know that the warriors and detectives of the pack have been working hard to solve the case. But it is only a matter of time before they come for our heads. There is a limit to the level of fear and suffering the pack members can endure.”

Aysu, while Ximun spoke, made her imagination race. She wondered about the details of the murder. Also, she imagined the numerous possibilities of the culprit’s identity. And those thoughts led her to a particular junction.

She looked up at Ximun who was wearing the deepest concern on his face. “Let me join you.”

“What?”

“Let me join the team. Let’s nab this killer together.”

Ximun was flustered, no doubt. “Aysu, I-”

“Don’t say no. I know that I will be of great help, so please say yes.”

“Uh… I will think about it. But-”

“I am sorry but,” Beta Richard butted into their conversation, “I really need to speak to my daughter.”

Aysu drew a sharp breath. “Can’t you tell that your daughter, the one you sold off, is not ready to speak to you?”

Her response shocked her father. “Aysu, wait. Calm down, it’s not-”

“Calm down?” Aysu jumped out of her resolve to ignore her father for a long time. She finally faced him and the anger she had for his actions was fully etched on her face. “ You want me to calm down? I sent you tons of messages. I waited for your responses to ease my desperation to feel normal in a strange place, but for some reason, you were never reachable nor could you respond. So, tell me. Why should I calm down?”

“I know this situation makes you doubt me.”

Aysu shook her head. “It doesn’t make me doubt you. It makes me disappointed in you. The fact that you could not trust me enough to speak the truth about my marriage to Ximun tells me that you don’t regard me the way I thought you did. And the way you ignored all the means of communication I used to reach you tells me much more.”

Beta Richard took a step forward. “I know I messed up. That’s why I sent Gideon to take care of you. I was just too ashamed to show my face and-”

“Please. Gideon would have gone through hell and high water to reach me despite your instruction. You just did what you did because you are a terrible person.”

“I am.” He nodded, no arguments posed. “I am a very terrible person, Aysu. My business was almost failing and the only way I could-”

“Why are you here?” Aysu could not bear to listen to her father talk about how he sold her under the guise of replaceing a way to break her curse. “Why have you decided to show up after numerous messages?”

As she asked that question, she took a step back and found comfort in Ximun’s subtle embrace.

“The Alpha King wants you to-”

“Are you also part of the wolves that are trying to turn me into a traitor?” Aysu had slight pain in her voice.

“Aysu, I have no choice. The council members voted to bring you back.”

Aysu started to dread the strange nature her father was manifesting. Though there was slight remorse in his tone, the calmness in his position told her that he wasn’t willing to fight the terrible fate the wolves of Tarmish Pack were trying to pin on her.

“How can you do this, Dad?” Aysu asked. “How can you show up to tell me that I should go back to that place where they are so desperate to turn me into a traitor? That’s as good as telling me to die!”

“Aysu, why would I want you to die?” Beta Richard asked, his pose still very calm. Disturbingly calm.

Aysu’s heart felt stabbed the more she studied her father. “I… Because I am not your real daughter? Isn’t that a good reason?”

“Why would you even say that? I have done nothing but take good care of you all these years.”

“And do you think I don’t know that?” Her voice went up a notch and this time, silent tears were embedded in them. “I know how much you took care of me. But now, I am not sure if you did that because you loved me as a daughter or if you were just fattening me up for some huge sacrifice you would have to make in the future!”

“Aysu-”

“What are you even doing here?” She briefly looked up at Ximun and asked, “Did you call him here?”

“I couldn’t. He failed to reply to my messages as well.”

The duo faced Beta Richard at the same time. And Aysu asked, “So, why are you here?”

“You will replace out soon.”

“Are you here to take me back?”

The man shrugged. “You clearly don’t want to go back.”

“I just-”

“I will leave for now. It seems my presence is stressing you greatly.”

Aysu started to regret her earlier words. The emotions that heaved her chest reduced and after a deep exhale, she called, “Dad, wait. I want to-”

Beta Richard flashed her a very meaningful smile which made her heart wrench in pure regret. She had just made assumptions based on what she could see and that managed to drive a wedge between them. But before she could make a move to fix that wedge, her father walked away and she was left with the remnants of her messy thoughts.

“Aysu?” Ximun called and with teary eyes, she looked up at her mate.

“Ximun,” there was a slight quiver in her voice, “I just messed up, didn’t I?”

He cupped her cheeks with urgency. “No, you didn’t.”

She shook her head. “I did.”

“No, I-”

“You faced your father and poured out your fears. Look at me, Aysu.” Her trembling eyes fell back on him. “You faced your father and now he knows what you think about his actions.”

“I feel bad. I spoke out of turn.”

“I will make you feel better. That’s why I am here.”

“You will?”

Ximun nodded in response and the next thing, he pressed his lips against hers and brought back the ignition they had earlier discarded.