He Once Loved Her

XIMUN

Ximun’s feet staggered upon hearing her response.

Yes, a part of him suspected that would be the response, but hearing her answer the question in the affirmative stabbed his heart.

“D-did you just say yes?”

“I did,” Mayana shamelessly responded. “I know it was wrong of me, but that Aysu is not meant to be with you. She is not the one for you. She doesn’t-”

“So, you decided to kill her? Because you think differently of her, you decided to get rid of her?”

“I-”

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” Ximun roared, his hand reaching to knock down a nearby, innocent object. “You made an innocent woman suffer! You killed her baby, Mayana!”

“I just wanted to-”

“You just fucking wanted to do what, Mayana?” A deep vein formed on his forehead. “Was it a mistake? Is that what you are trying to say right now?”

“Ximun,” Mayana took steps back, “please calm down. I-”

“I swore to kill whoever is responsible for trying to end Aysu’s life.”

“You… You can’t possibly…” Mayana’s head danced from left to right. “You can’t kill me Ximun. I don’t deserve this. I don’t-”

“You don’t deserve it?” Ximun sneered. “You killed a soul, but you don’t deserve it?”

“She’s a worthless omega orphan from The Tarmish Pack,” Mayana frowned deeply, “how can you treat her in such a royal way? Ximun…”

“Take one more step and I’ll crush your bones,” Ximun warned when he saw that she was about to reach for his hand.

“But-”

“I can’t overlook this, Mayana. I don’t care if you once meant something to me.”

“But-”

“Get on your knees,” he ordered, his heart now very hardened. “Do it fast and I’ll make your death less painful.”

“You can’t-”

Her attempt to speak despite his warning made him span his fingers around her neck and without an ounce of mercy in his eyes, he tightened his grip, while the view of Aysu’s tears remained the only thing his mind could conjure at that tense moment.

“Xi…” Mayana tapped his hand furiously. “Ximun. Wa… it.”

Ximun was too deep into avenging Aysu’s loss and troubles. He didn’t bother to check if Mayana’s soul was still around or not, he kept pressing into the nerves and veins of her neck and wished her dead. Besides, he already vowed in the depths of his soul to end the life of the person responsible for the chaos Aysu faced. So, even though Mayana tried screaming with all she had, he failed to hear her and remained focused on the task at hand.

And soon, minutes later, the woman was limp. The best form of suffering he could give her had finally ended her life and seconds later, Ximun came out of his tinted thoughts. And as he loosened his grip, the woman crashed and her lifeless body would have hit the ground and become a mess if he had not caught her.

Ximun lowered his body and sat on the ground while Mayana’s slightly warm body rested in his hold. He could not bring himself to look at her yet, so he looked ahead. And standing at the entrance was Aysu whose eyes were slightly widened in shock.

Ximun could have been startled by that, but his mind was so hardened at that moment that all he could do was sigh in slight fear.

“Ximun,” Aysu whispered as her feet gently approached him.

“I killed her,” he replied, his voice also faint, his eyes still cold. “She tried to kill you, Aysu.”

“And,” Aysu’s steps were awfully slow, “she killed our baby.”

“A life for a life, Aysu.”

“Yes.” She nodded. “A life for a life.”

Ximun tried to read her eyes. But that didn’t give out much. So he tried to search her thoughts. There was nothing there.

The silence in her mind threw his mind in chaos and he became a little agitated.

Then, without a pause, he began to babble, “I had to kill her. She tried to harm you and she was being so cocky and-”

Aysu’s embrace shut him up.

“Thank you, Ximun,” she said, her voice enough to calm his rowdy soul. “It must have been difficult to do this, so thank you.”

With his eyes closed, Ximun leaned into the hug some more and relished the peace it brought his soul. Surely, the peace and calm he was feeling was something his past relationships failed to bring him, so he welcomed it with full arms and used it to assure himself that even though he was hasty in dealing with her, Mayana was well punished for what she did.

Soon, as he rested in Aysu’s warm embrace, sleep approached him and he welcomed it since it had been a while since he properly experienced the bliss of a good slumber.

AYSU

Aysu could tell that Ximun was torn. And that was understandable.

He had just ended the life of a woman he once loved, so he was bound to experience a little chaos in his mind.

But her feeling at that moment was contrasting his, so Aysu wondered if she was allowed to show it. While she barely cared if the woman was once with Ximun, Aysu was glad that the person responsible for the huge loss she suffered had been dealt with.

“Miss Aysu,” the voice of the guard that led her to that room dragged her out of her thoughts. Her arms tightened around Ximun and she looked up at the man. “I will take care of the woman. Should I get someone to help you move His Majesty to his room?”

“His room is far away, isn’t it?”

The man nodded. “It will be a little tasking for you since you are still recovering. How about I move the Alpha? If you don’t mind, you can remain here for a while to avoid random walk-ins.”

“I like that idea.”

“Will you be fine staying alone with the body?” The man wasn’t in any way bothered by the lifeless woman. Well, if he had already seen worse, that moment was certain to be nothing to him.

“She can’t bite. Unless she becomes some sort of were-zombie.” Aysu’s slight humour was enough to cause a smile.

“That would be nasty,” the man replied. “Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.” He moved forward and helped Ximun out of her hug. Then, seconds later, the Alpha was sprawled on the man’s back. “I will take the secret route so that the King doesn’t get embarrassed when he wakes up.”

“There’s a secret route?” He nodded. “Hmm. You can do that. I’ll be waiting here.”

“Alright, Miss Aysu.” Without wasting a minute more, the man moved and soon, all that was left was Ximun’s scent and the smell of death.

Aysu, after a deep exhale, looked towards the woman and noted that even in death, she was slightly admirable. She looked graceful and undead.

“You shouldn’t have killed my baby, Mayana,” Aysu said. “I am sorry that you are dead.”

‘Touch her,’ Alora spoke from nowhere.

“What?”

‘Do it.’

“Why?”

Alora remained that unhinged voice that would always push Aysu to do ridiculous things. ‘Just do it.’

“Okay, fine.” Aysu left the uncomfortable position she was in and after a few ground-scratching sounds, she was closer to Mayana. Then, she knelt beside the body and after seconds of hesitation, she reached for the woman’s hand.

The moment that contact was made, a force caused Aysu to close her eyes. And before she could tell what was happening, that force transported her soul to an unknown realm that was brighter than the room she was just in.

Aysu narrowed her eyes and was about to question Alora about the mysterious transition when something pulled her hand. She looked down and saw that her hand was still enveloping Mayana’s. And a scream followed when that woman stepped forward as though she didn’t just die in the hands of the he-wolf Aysu was learning to love.