Chapter 153: Episode 153.
Aire stepped out into the garden slowly.
The evening air brushed against her skin gently, cool enough to calm the lingering heat beneath her body after everything that had happened with Xander.
The palace grounds were quieter today.
The wolves still watched her differently now, and the servants lowered their eyes too quickly around her as guards tracked her movements without pretending otherwise.
However, none of them stopped her from walking.
Aire moved deeper into the garden paths. Her loose dress brushing softly against the stone beneath her feet.
The flowers stretched across the garden in soft colors if white lilies, moon roses, and small blue blossoms growing beneath the hedges.
Aire crouched beside one.
Her fingers hovered above the petals.
The memory of the dungeon still lingered inside her body, and the visions she had seen from the bracelet before she was taken in.
Aire swallowed quietly before finally touching the flower.
The reaction she got from the flowet was immediate.
The wilted petals straightened instantly beneath her fingertips.
Life surged visibly through the stem from her finger tips. The flower bloomed fully before her eyes.
Aire stared.
Her breath caught softly.
A small relieved smile almost touched her lips then the world shifted aost immediately as Aire froze instantly.
The garden disappeared around her. Another image replaced it so violently her breath stopped.
Mabel stood beneath dim torchlight.
Aire recognized her immediately. Standing before her was a tall broad-shouldered man. His hair burned deep red beneath the torchlight.
His wolf scent flooded the vision even through the distortion.
"Mate." He called at Mabel. His voice sounded rough with disbelief.
His eyes stayed fixed on her like he had found something sacred.
"Mate," Mabel repeated softer this time, her expression neutral, but not hard.
Aire felt emotions through the vision instantly. She felt relief from the ginger haired man, but almost nothing from Mabel.
The male took a careful step toward her. Visibly, Aire could see that he feared frightening her.
"Mabel..." he whispered again.
Just when Aire thought Mabel would hold him, she drove a claws directly into his chest.
Aire gasped sharply.
The vision lurched violently.
The man stumbled backward in complete shock. Blood spread rapidly across his shirt.
His eyes widened on shock, and twisted pain. Mabel twisted harder.
Aire felt the pain through the vision so strongly it made her chest tighten.
The male collapsed to his knees.
Mabel stood over him breathing hard. Aire could see the look of relief in Mabel’s eyes, instead of remorse.
The vision shattered violently.
Aire stumbled backward with a horrified gasp.
Her breathing turned uneven instantly. "No..." she gasped, refusing to believe that whoever she saw was Mabel.
Aire took a step back, and her knee wobbled.
Her back collided suddenly against something solid. A chest, warm and strong. Also familiar.
Aire spun around instantly in panic.
Her heart nearly stopped before relief flooded through her just as quickly when she saw who stood behind her.
Nate.
His hands immediately steadied her waist carefully.
"Aire." His voice sharpened slightly the moment he saw her face.
Her skin had gone pale, and her breathing was wrong.
Nate frowned deeply. "What happened?"
Aire shook her head immediately. "I..." Her throat tightened. "I need to go back to my room." She replied, having no idea how to tell him she might have seen a wrong vision because that couldn’t be Mabel.
Nate’s eyes searched hers instantly. His gaze locked into hers, intense and questioning.
He stepped closer slightly. "What did you see?"
Aire looked away.
That alone somehow answered enough for him.
Nate’s jaw tightened faintly, getting worried at her lack of reply. "Aire."
"I just want to go back."
The firmness iin her voice stopped him from pushing further.
Nate studied her for another long second before nodding once. "Alright."
His hand moved carefully toward her lower back. His hold was guiding, yet possessive in a way neither of them acknowledged aloud.
They walked back toward the palace together quietly.
Aire stayed close to him unconsciously.
Every few steps, Nate glanced toward her again, watching amd making sure she stayed steady.
The mating bond between them pulsed constantly now, heavy and impossible to ignore.
By the time they reached her chambers, Aire looked exhausted again.
Nate immediately turned toward one of the nearby maids. "Prepare honey water."
The maid startled slightly. "Y-yes, Alpha Nate."
"And ginger tea," he added. "Now."
The maid hurried away instantly.
Nate turned back toward Aire. "You should rest." He suggested, as he ckosedbthe door of her chamber.
Aire nodded faintly.
Then after a small pause, she looked up at him. "Can you give me a moment?"
Nate visibly disliked the request immediately. The bond reacted possessively inside him. His wolf hated leaving her alone now if it shouldn’t.
Aire noticed the hesitation in his face. "I just need a second."
Nate stared at her quietly before finally nodding once. "I’ll be outside." He said.
Reluctantly, he stepped away.
The moment the door closed behind him, Aire exhaled shakily.
Her mind replayed the vision again immediately. She couldn’t understand what business she had with seeing that.
The red-haired male, the blood, and his death.
A knock sounded against the chamber doors a few minutes later. Before Aire could answer properly, the door opened.
Aire’s heart dropped when she saw who walked in.
Mabel stepped inside smiling brightly.
"Aire!" Relief filled her expression instantly. "You’re finally out of that horrible place."
Mabel hurried toward her, then stopped.
Aire was staring at her strangely.
Mabel’s smile faltered immediately. "Aire?"
Aire stayed silent for a moment, and her cold gaze remained. She shut her eyes for some seconds, inhaled quietly, opened them, and looked at Mabel again.
"Did you have a mate?" she asked quietly.
Mabel froze. However, she froze only for half a second. Yet Aire saw it.
Mabel recovered quickly. "No." She lied to Aire’s face.
Aire tilted her head slightly, her gaze still detached and cold as she held Mabel’s gaze.
"Ginger-haired omega," she said softly. "Doesn’t that ring a bell?"
Mabel’s face changed instantly. She recovered quickly again, but not as quickly as she should, and it left her disoriented.
"I..." she started slowly before trailing off. Her eyes narrowed faintly now. "How do you know that?" she gave in.
Aire stared at her carefully. "I saw him."
Mabel swallowed. "With your powers?" she asked carefully.
Aire nodded once. "I saw him call you his mate."
Mabel’s breathing shifted faintly.
Aire continued quietly. Her jaw tightened, and she hated how Mabel tried pretending. "And I saw you kill him. I thought you just said you once had no mate."
Mabel immediately shook her head. "He tried to attack me." The words left her lips too fast. "He did."
Aire frowned. "No." she refused to take a lie. Her voice stayed soft. "I saw him."
Mabel’s expression tightened.
"He wasn’t attacking you."
"You didn’t see everything." Mabel interupted her desperately.
Aire stared at her silently.
Mabel stepped closer quickly now. "You saw one moment," she insisted. "Not the full story."
Aire’s eyes stayed fixed on her. She have never seen an ugly truth she couldn’t bend for the people she love. All Mabel had to do was give her thr clarity she needed.
Mabel grabbed onto the explanation desperately. "He cornered me."
"You stabbed his heart with your claws before he even touched you."
Mabel’s face hardened slightly. "You don’t understand what happened."
Aire shook her head. She wouldn’t take an obvious like. "A mate can’t attack you."
The room went silent.
Mabel’s expression changed instantly.
The softness disappeared completely, and her eyes turned colder, sharper, and more calculating.
"Really?" she asked quietly, her voice almost taunting.
Aire frowned faintly.
Mabel tilted her head.
"Didn’t Nate attack you?" she asked coldly. "Didn’t he nearly kill you?"
Aire went still.
Mabel continued carefully now.
"And after that, didn’t he help put you in chains underground?"
The words struck harder than Aire expected.
Mabel stepped closer again. "I’ve been your friend, Aire." Her voice softened deliberately. "Surely you won’t condemn me for defending myself."
