Chapter 41

AURORA

Jekia’s declaration was clear, and his intentions were set. The only way to end this was to take down the Golden Queen, the alpha Faerie known as Lila.

This showdown had been brewing from the start, and it was bound to shape the future of our mystical world. But despite the gravity of it all, my mind was consumed with worry for Rin. He’d been injured protecting me from the Wendigo, and I had this nagging feeling that he’d let it happen.

Things didn’t improve when Emelio whisked us back to the palace. Rin retreated to his room as soon as we arrived, shutting the door behind him. His sudden departure left me stunned, but Jekia and Rayne seemed unfazed as they stood with me in the parlor.

“He’s still not over it, huh?” Rayne remarked, sounding weary.

Jekia sighed softly. “No, but he needs to let it go. Sulking won’t do him any good.”

I turned to him. “Maybe I can help. He might listen to me. Plus, he’s hurt. He needs to let us take care of him,” I suggested.

Jekia looked thoughtful. “I’m not thrilled about you trying, but I don’t see another way. It wouldn’t help if Lana or I tried to force him out. Not this time.”

Emelio chimed in. “Letting Aurora talk to him won’t hurt. I can make sure nothing bad happens, and I think Rin’s got a lot more self-control now. He just needs to realize it.”

Jekia nodded. “If you think that’s best, then let’s try it. He needs to get that wound treated soon.”

Rayne looked uneasy. “You’re sure she’ll be safe alone with him?”

Emelio reassured him. “Absolutely. You know I keep my word.”

That was enough for Jekia and Rayne to step back and let me do what needed to be done. If Rin was still punishing himself for what he’d done to me under the spell, then I had to convince him to stop.

Emelio led me to Rin’s room, standing with me by the door. “Remember, don’t use the stone to speak. The spell might reactivate and try to control Rin again. He might be stronger now, but we can’t be sure,” he warned.

I nodded to show I understood. Emelio then draped a silver chain around my neck, an amulet with a deep blue stone hanging from it. “This amulet will let you speak. It might also comfort Rin. He seems more relaxed when you can talk to him.”

“Thank you. I’ll do my best to help him,” I promised, relieved to have my voice back.

“We know you will,” Emelio said. He waved a hand over the doorknob, and I heard the lock click open. “I’ll know if anything goes wrong and I won’t let you get hurt again. But Rin might try to scare you off. He’s really hard on himself.”

“I can handle it, and I’m not scared of him anymore. There’s no reason to be.”

I won’t lie, a part of me was still a little scared, but I pushed that fear aside as I opened the door and stepped into the room. It was quiet and dark, the only light coming from the moon outside the windows. I took a deep breath, walked towards the bed, and looked around.

“Rin?”

“You shouldn’t be talking,” Rin said softly.

I followed his voice to a window where he was sitting on the floor, his back against the wall. He was still in the same clothes, and his shirt was stained with blood on one side. Fear gripped me, and I rushed over to him.

“I’m not using the stone to talk. Emelio gave me this amulet. But that’s not important right now. You need to let us help you. Your shoulder’s bleeding a lot,” I said.

“I’m okay,” Rin replied, his voice barely above a whisper as he stared out the window. He wouldn’t look at me. “You should take care of yourself. You don’t want to hurt your stitches, and you pushed yourself too hard running from that creature.”

“Stop making excuses! I’m fine! I’m worried about you, and I’ll worry more if you won’t even look at me!” I told him.

I’d never been so assertive before, but I knew I had to be. I couldn’t let Rin destroy himself, and he was on a fast track to doing just that.

Rin tensed at my words, finally turning to look at me. “I’m okay, Amore. I just need a little more time alone, then I’ll take care of this.”

“You’ve had three days alone! Isn’t that enough?!” I shot back.

“It’ll never be enough!” Rin retorted. He quickly calmed himself and looked away. “I messed up big time when I hurt you. It was my fault for not being strong enough to fight off that witch’s spell!”

“So what?” I shot back, trying to keep my voice steady. “Nobody’s perfect all the time. It’s okay to feel insecure or jealous. You might not be human, but you’re close enough. Everyone has moments of weakness.”

“But I’m not supposed to!” Rin protested, shaking his head. “I was always taught that alphas need to stay strong, to not let anything overpower them, not even their own emotions. Rayne and I have to be like this because we’re next in line for the throne if anything happens to Jekia. If we can’t meet those expectations, then his kingdom, the one he’s worked so hard to build and maintain peace in, will crumble!”

Suddenly, I began to understand the real issue. This wasn’t just about what had been happening to me.

Rin was finally letting out everything he’d been bottling up since he was a young fox. My situation was just the tipping point, causing all his pent-up uncertainty and pain to spill over.

But this was also the best thing for him. Rin had been suppressing his feelings for so long that they were eating him alive, making him want to run and hide instead of confronting them. This made him the perfect target for the Golden Queen, just as Lady Flora had warned. The weakest link would be the fox son who felt like he didn’t belong, even as a young child.

I sat down next to him, trying my best to empathize with him and understand his feelings.

“I get it. Even though I haven’t been here long, I understand where you’re coming from. You’ve told me yourself, and I read it in your journal too,” I admitted.

“So you did see that. I thought I smelled your scent on it, but it didn’t really matter. I couldn’t blame you for being curious, especially back then,” Rin sighed.

“I’m not usually nosy, but I wanted to understand you better. When I read your journal, I realized that you were also searching for something you felt was missing. I was doing the same when I ran away from home. We were both trying to figure out who we are and where we belong in this world. Even though your family has always accepted you, I know it must have been hard for you to be the only fox here, and even harder without your father,” I reasoned.

Rin tensed up at that, but he answered me honestly.

“It was hard, and he wasn’t around much before he died. He had another family when I was two, and he rarely visited me. It was supposed to be better that way, but I always resented it, even though I didn’t resent his other family.”

“And you had every right to feel that way. I’m sure your mom and Jekia felt the same. From what I’ve seen and heard since I’ve been here, it seems like Jekia worries about you a lot,” I pointed out.

“I know he does.” Rin sat up a bit straighter, wincing as he moved his right arm. “I can’t deny that Jekia has always treated me the same as Rayne. He’s always defended me, especially when others would say I wasn’t really his son.”

He smiled, shaking his head. “That always made him so angry. Those were some of the only times I ever heard him raise his voice and lose his temper. Mom would always have to step in to calm him down, but she’d be just as upset and demand they apologize to me.”

“I guess they learned not to question it so much, huh?”

Rin let out a pained chuckle. “They did. But there were many who accepted me as Jekia’s son. They treated me just as well as my brother. I was just too blind to see it, focusing on the few who judged me. I guess I’ve always been a fool when it comes to my emotions. I’ve always let them get the best of me.”

“Wouldn’t anyone feel overwhelmed in your situation? You and Rayne have different fathers, and you’re both destined to be ruling alphas. That’s a lot of pressure.”

“It always has been,” Rin agreed. He seemed to be reflecting on things now, his ears drooping as he looked down. “I’ve been foolish about a lot of things for a long time. I ran away from those who cared about me, from the only man I’ve ever known as my father, and now I’ve been running from you too, all because I can’t handle my emotions. Some alpha I’ve turned out to be.”

I wanted to hug him, but I was worried about hurting his shoulder, so I settled for squeezing his hand and leaning closer to him.

“You’ve made mistakes, but that doesn’t mean you’re not a strong alpha, Rin. I think it makes you one of the strongest because you can admit your struggles. But I don’t want you to keep beating yourself up, especially over what happened to me. You would never intentionally hurt me, and I know you’re strong enough to resist her spell. But you need to let me help you, let your family help you. We’ll never abandon you, and I’m sure you’ll never abandon us,” I assured him.

We sat in silence for what felt like forever, though it was probably only a minute or two, before Rin rested his head on my shoulder, taking a shaky breath to compose himself before speaking.

“I know, and I promise I’ll never abandon you or my family again. Please, don’t leave me. I can’t lose you,” he whispered.

I wrapped an arm around him, my fingers gently combing through his hair and tracing the curve of his ear. “Rin, I’m not going anywhere. No matter what, you’re my fox,” I assured him.

“Could you ever love me?” Rin’s voice was barely above a whisper.

“Absolutely. I love you, Rin. So much. And that’s not going to change,” I replied, my voice steady and sure.

I felt Rin stiffen slightly, as if he was fighting back tears. It took him a moment to find his voice again.

“I’m so glad to hear that. I love you too, more than I ever thought I could love anyone outside my family,” he admitted.

“I know you do. But Rin, let us help you. Stop shutting us out. We’ll get through this together,” I urged him.

“Okay,” Rin agreed, his voice shaky. He sat up slowly, wincing in pain and wiping away tears with his good arm. “I’ll let them help. This damn wound is killing me.”

I stood up and switched on a lamp to get a better look at his injury. I knelt in front of him and gently pulled back his torn shirt.

“No wonder you’re in pain. This looks bad, Rin. It’s still bleeding,” I observed.

“Indeed,” Emelio chimed in, appearing beside us. “Good thing you’ve decided to stop being stubborn. You know how much damage a Wendigo’s claws can do.”

“I know, I know. Can we get some help in here? I’m going to pass out if we don’t,” Rin pleaded, his face growing pale.

Help arrived quickly. Jekia, Lana, and Vishu joined us. I stayed by Rin’s side as Lana helped him remove his shirt, revealing the full extent of his wound. It was worse than I’d thought—deep and jagged, stretching from his shoulder to the middle of his chest. It almost looked like the wound was burning from the inside.

Vishu brought over a bucket of water and some cloths. Lana and I began to clean the wound as Jekia watched from a nearby chair, speaking to Rin in a calm, steady voice.

“I’m relieved to see you’re coming to your senses. You had me worried,” he admitted.

“I’m sorry. I know it sounds like an excuse, but it’s taken me most of my life to get my head on straight,” Rin confessed.

“I don’t see it as an excuse. We all need time to work through our issues. I won’t judge you when I’ve had my own struggles. Nobody’s perfect, Rin. We just do our best to improve as we go along,” Jekia counseled.