Page 172 of Alpha Leo and the Heart of Fire
I hesitate before balling my fists and stepping inside.You just spend a little time… then you turn, and you leave.
The moment I look around, I realise he wasn’t just thinking this would be a quick visit. On the coffee table in front of the corner sofa are bowls and plates with pasta, roast potatoes, and enchiladas. The place is clean, and a cinnamon and spice fragrance fills the air.
The door shutting behind me makes me snap out of my thoughts.
“Come on, take a seat and thank you for this,” he says, giving me a grin as he raises the bottle. For a moment, he reminds me of Liam.
No. Liam is my brother, Atlas isn’t.
I feel a sliver of guilt, knowing he has nothing to do with hisparent’s decisions. Even Alejandro told me that he was raised without Fred even bothering to visit him at all.
“You’re welcome,” I say, walking over to the sofa and sitting down gingerly on the edge. He places the bottle down before opening the fridge and getting some juice cartons out.
“Are these okay?” He asks, holding up a mango carton and an orange.
“Yeah, totally,” I reply, looking at the oil painting on the wall of a boat sailing.
He comes over, placing the cartons on the table before sitting down. The sofa dips under his weight, but I am grateful he has left a big gap between us.
“Pasta? I did ask Luna Kiara if you were okay with it,” he says. His voice is gentle, almost as if not wanting to trigger me. He is making an effort, and I really need to give him a chance. That’s what I’m here for…
“So, Kiara was being sneaky, huh? Yes, it’s fine. It all looks good. You didn’t need to make anything. I mean, I didn’t come to eat, I’m not hungry or anything.”Wow, nice, Azura. “I mean, I’ll eat because you made it and went through the effort…”Really?Word vomit at its finest. He laughs lightly and nods.
“She did, but I’m grateful for it. You know I’ve wanted to meet you for a while now. When Alpha Alejandro told me you wanted to see me… I was…I’m grateful.”
“I guess I’m glad I’m doing this… kinda…”I trail off, instead just giving him a small smile as he begins plating some food for me…
Ten minutes later, we are both eating, and he makes light conversation. Although I am mainly answering him, he is the one keeping the conversation going and I am finally relaxing alittle.
“So, you’re mated?” He asks, motioning to my mark. I place my hand over it for a moment, smiling slightly.
“Yeah, to Leo Rossi. Alejandro’s nephew.”
“Oh… nice.” He seems to realise who he is. “Are you happy?” My smile fades, and he shakes his head.
“Shit, sorry, I just meant he treats you well, right? It’s just that I know what Fred was like, too… I’m sorry.”
I guess I’m not the only one with a blabbering issue. He is looking down, but I can tell he is tense. I reach over, placing a hand on his leg.
“Hey… it’s okay. You don’t need to worry that I’ll get offended. The hardest part was facing you, and I totally aced that…” I say lightly before smiling. He looks up, and I am surprised to see the sadness in them.
“I’m sorry, on behalf of both him and my mom, for what happened to your mom… how their actions affected her.” Yeah, talking about her does hurt, about Fred, too, but it isn’t Atlas’s fault. I sit back, picking up my glass, and take a sip.
“I’m going to be honest. I hate the fact that your mom got with him when she knew he had a mate. If she didn’t know, it’d be different, but she did. I don’t know if it was a full relationship or a one-night thing; either way, I’ll never forgive her. But I’m not going to hold you responsible for their actions,” I say, thinking it is the right thing to do… just as Leo had done. He looks at me, a slight frown on his forehead as he nods.
“I agree. She didn’t do the right thing. Thanks for giving me a chance.”
“Can I ask why you even want to know me? I mean, neither of us knew our sperm donor, we weren’t raised by him… so, why?”
“I just wanted to have the chance to get to know you. I mean, does it matter if we weren’t raised by him? We’re still related by blood. You’re still my sister, my only sibling.” I frown slightly; Iget that… just the way I want this baby to get to know Corrado… to get to spend time with Leo…
“Okay.”
“Okay?” He raises an eyebrow.
“I’m ready to at least try to get to know you. Fred’s abuse towards Indigo really affected me… but I know it’s not your fault… and I know it’s going to take me time to open up… but I guess what I’m saying is, we can try to be friends.” I shrug, stabbing a potato and shoving the full thing into my mouth. Okay, it is a little big, but if I can take Leo’s dick, I sure can take a tiny potato. I can see he is trying not to smile.
“Sure, I’d really like that.”
