Page 29 of Aries Mated

MATT

What was happening to me? I was anxiously chewing my thumb nail as I paced up and down, waiting for Kai, Atlas, and Maeve to return. I knew a million and one mindfulness exercises that could help me with anxiety, and not one of them involved chewing my thumb nail, but I just wasn’t in the right head space to even acknowledge that I needed to try to chill the hell out. I just kept focusing on the worst things that could be happening, and I didn’t like any of those ideas. Ihatedthe idea of Maeve being hurt most of all. I didn’t know the Bear King personally, and I wasn’t sure if he was the sort of person who could harm another. Maybe that was how he’d ruled and it was all kept secret. I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn anything at this point.

“Matt, where do you think Mom is?” Sol asked me, cutting through the tension. “I’m freaking out.”

That was my sign that I needed to calm down whether I thought it was possible or not. Honestly, it was a little bit easier to do so when it wasn’t for me. I found myself much more competent when I was working for someone else. I sucked in some deep, calming, mindful breaths and regulated my mood as much as I could. Once I was confident that my nerves weren’t shining through in quite such a terrible fashion, I stepped closer to Sol with a soft smile playing on my lips.

“Your mom will be back any moment, I’m sure of it,” I told him. “I know it’s hard right now, but it won’t be long.”

“TJ is doing my Lego project,” Sol informed me. “I was too, but I need a break. I think he’s just doing it to distract himself.”

Sol noticed more than I realized. I was sure that was what TJ was doing. I couldn’t distract myself if I wanted to, but he couldn’t just stand around and do nothing. We were opposites in so many ways, but I was pretty sure all our personalities complemented one another as well. There was something really sweet and intense about our bond. It had the promise of really becoming something. If only we’d had the time to tell Maeve how we felt and see if she wanted to be in a harem with. But Bear King Mobius had ruined that for us with whatever this meeting was.

I was pulled out of my musings when I sensed a new presence in the area. I guess I had more of my bear to the surface than I realized. I could feel the guys coming back. Relief flooded my body as I squeezed Sol’s shoulders. “They are here.”

He raced to the front door before me and swung it open. He called out to his mother and ran into her arms to embrace her like they had been apart for years rather than just a short while. I let out a throaty chuckle as TJ raced outside to join us a. Viola too. I had almost forgotten she was here with us. I guess she’d been hiding in the kitchen, worrying just like the rest of us.

We all stood back and watched as Sol and Maeve embraced. I couldn’t stop myself from smiling, loving the dynamic between the pair. It really was an enviable bond that I couldn’t get enough of. There was so much love between them, no matter what was happening around them, which was wonderful. It only confirmed what I already knew, that I definitely wanted nothing more than to be a part of that love. I wanted to be with Maeve, and I was so grateful that us men were on the same page. It was a start, and in my gut, I just knew she would want it too. She was ready to take that giant leap with us. I was itching to tell her that we all wanted to explore this, to get our feelings out in the open once and for all. I really cared about Maeve, my feelings for her were much stronger than they had ever been for another person. It was love, if I was honest with myself. But I cared about the guys as well. More than just in a friendship way. Our bond had already intensely grown to something so much deeper than that. The connection was there, we were harem material for sure, especially since we all had the understanding that Sol would alwayscome first. We just needed to talk to get it all official. God, I couldn’t wait until it was official, and I usually never liked labels. What was happening to me?

“Let’s get inside,” Maeve told her son. “As you can see, I’m fine. The Bear King just wanted to let Atlas and me know that Princess Azariyah is fine. It was nothing to worry about at all.”

I didn’t buy that, not really. There was something that Maeve was keeping from her son, which unnerved me. Perhaps things weren’t as rosy as they seemed on the surface. Perhaps there had been some threats made after all. I guess I wouldn’t be able to find out the truth until we were all inside the house.

“I’m going to take you to your room, Sol,” Maeve said once through the door. “Will you come too, Viola? Then you can get some rest. I’m sure you’re tired after today.”

Sol went willingly, which wasn’t much of a surprise. He likely did need that time with his mother, plus he had been looking exhausted for hours. Training to control his shifting, plus worrying was bound to take it out of him. That left TJ and me to hear about the meeting from Atlas and Kai.

“That was a real shit show,” he said through gritted teeth. I couldn’t help but notice that he had his hands curled into fists by his side. “Honestly, what a fucking nightmare. The Bear King basically wants us to keep our mouths shut. He’s spinning it as Princess Azariyah was just taking some time alone and that she wasn’t kidnapped. He’s definitely going with the ‘misunderstanding’ idea, which is utter bullshit.”

“Yeah, this is way above us,” Kai agreed. “Something is happening, but I don’t know what.”

“Bear King Mobius is sweeping what Sly did under the rug,” Atlas continued. “Trying to just get on with the Astro Games. As if the whole thing hasn’t already been a massive debacle, shrouded in rumors and mystery.”

“There is a big change coming.” Kai’s prophecy didn’t feel good. But when none of this made any sense, what were we supposed to think?

“Why though?” TJ demanded, now angry himself. “Why is the Bear King letting Sly get away with so much? Why isn’t he using this as a chance to kick the Unaligned Clan out of the games and out of the picture? They are only a threat to the Zodiac Empire anyway.”

None of us had an answer to that. At least, none of us in the room did. Maeve slipped into the room with worry in her eyes and the answer on her lips.

“We won’t find out what the Bear King is up to unless Princess Azariyah speaks out and tells us what actually happened to her and what’s going on. But she’s been so well trained by her father that I don’t see how we can make that happen.” She seemed to sense that we all had more of a question plaguing us. “Oh, Sol is asleep already. I think he was more exhausted than any of us knew. Viola is lying down as well. She’s on duty tonight because I’m going in to Pleasures. I said I would and I don’t want to keep skipping out…”

She looked exhausted herself. She could really use another night off, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen and it would be a waste of energy to even suggest it.

“So, how can we get Princess Azariyah to talk?” I asked instead.

“We can’t,” Atlas replied flatly. “She won’t if her father won’t let her. And we need to be careful about what we say as well. We should be cautious and stay out of it, or there is no telling what will happen.”

“Do you think the Bear King is dangerous?” I couldn’t keep the shock from my voice. I had never heard anything like that.

“I don’t know.” Atlas shrugged helplessly. “But he was being weirdly nice to us with thinly veiled threats. In the past, I have heard tales that it isn’t good to get on the wrong side of him, and now doesn’t seem like the best time to test that theory.”

None of us wanted to leave poor Princess Azariyah in a dangerous situation, but since we didn’t even know for sure that she was in a dangerous situation, what could we do? I swallowed down the thick lump of fear that tried to lodge itself in my throat.

Eventually, after too much silence, Maeve threw her hands in the air in frustration. “I am honestly so tired of all of this. My life has been nonstop drama for what feels like forever. I would love a night of justfun, you know? We haven’t had much time to enjoy ourselves…”

I liked the idea of that! I sidled closer to Maeve and kissed her on the cheek. “What would you like to do? Your wish is our command.”

“Well, I do have to go in to work,” she mused. “But that doesn’t mean you guys can’t come with me. There are some very nice private booths at Pleasures…”

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