Chapter 2

"Mavros is here?" I scanned the sea of faces for him, even though I wasn't entirely sure I'd recognize him. After the goddess freed us from the curse, I forgot what they looked like. It was as if the memory of the dream I had was erased completely.

"He is the reason I forgot about the drinks. He said he wants to see you."

I paled. Mavros was the reason I murdered my mate, he was the reason I lost my brother. Did he want to kill me now? He definitely wanted to end my family bloodline.

"What does he want from me?" I fidgeted with my dress. "Does he want to kill me, too?"

"No," Aspro rushed out. "My brother is over that killing thing, I guess. He only killed because Fitia asked him to. My brother was only carrying out the goddess' orders. He won't kill you. Besides," he held my hand. "I'm here. I won't let anything happen to you."

Honestly, I did not know why Aspro cared so much about me, but I liked it.

"There you are," Maya. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

Maya was the only Romero left after me. My older sister and only sibling. It didn't matter to me if she didn't have the royal blood in her. She was amazing. I loved her to the moon and back. It'd kill me if she ever left.

"You have?" I hugged her.

"Yes." She paused when she looked at Aspro. "Val, who is he?"

"Caelum." The name rolled off my tongue. I took it he did not want anyone to see him as a god, rather, a regular wolf.

"Is he perhaps your chosen mate? Have you chosen him?" She bounced up and down on her toes, despite the heels. "Has she chosen you?" She asked Aspro.

"N-no. I don't think it's-"

Maya's eyes went wide. "Val, are you shy? Is that why you are yet to pick him?"

"Maya stop." I pulled her away from Aspro to stop further embarrassment. How could I choose him? He was a god, for goodness' sake. It wasn't done anywhere.

"Did I say something wrong?" She loved over my shoulder and at Aspro. "Is he a mated male?" She didn't let me answer. "He doesn't smell like he is."

"I didn't choose him." I said firmly. "He's a..."

"Hot guy you'll regret letting go of by the end of the night." She finished for me. "Look around you, Val. There are Alpha males everywhere. I know a lot of them just want to climb the social ladder, but it doesn't really feel the same with him. I think you should give... what did you call him? Caelum?" She clapped my shoulder. "Give him a chance."

If only she knew. Aspro was a god and in the history of werewolves, I had never heard of a mere mortal being mated to a god. Much less choosing him as a mate. It was strange. He was easy to talk to and all, but it didn't mean he'd want to be mated to me. Thinking about it felt like an abomination.

"I can't choose him."

"Why the hell not?" She was pissed. I didn't understand why.

"Because," I chewed on my lower lip to stop myself from revealing his identity. "Because he's gay."

"He's gay?"

"What's gay?"

FML.

I slowly faced Aspro, wearing a mask of shame. It was a good thing he didn't know what gay was, but with the way my sister was looking at him, he'd figure it out.

"What's gay?" He repeated.

Maya was kind enough to fill him in. "Liking the same sex." "Liking the same sex." He was silent for some seconds. "I like the same sex?"

Ground, please open and swallow me whole.

"You don't?" Maya questioned, frown lines wedged in between her eyebrows. "What's going on here?"

"Sis, can we talk about this later?" I tilted my head, hoping she'd get the memo and leave. "Hmm?"

She narrowed her eyes. "You've got a lot of explaining to do, young lady."

"Yes." I agreed. "I'll explain things later."

Even though she wasn't convinced, she walked away. Well, that was a close one. Aspro came to stand in front of me. He didn't look too pleased. I was in trouble.

"You told her I like the same sex." He pointed out, crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't."

"I know." I sighed. "Would it better if I told her you were a god?"

"Yes. Much better."

"I'm sorry, okay?" I averted my eyes. "I just panicked."

"It's okay." He said. "Now come on, let's go see Mavros."

We weaved our way through the crowd with people eyeing Aspro as though he had a sign upon his head that read, the queen's chosen. Aspro didn't pay any mind to them. At least that was what I thought. Like those movies, I glimpsed a fine young man in the corner when I turned my head. He sipped from his glass as he leaned against the wall. He wore a black suit and his black hair looked like he just came out of the shower. Wet and curly.

"It seems you've seen him already." Aspro observed, smirking.

"That's your brother?" My eyes remained glued to him.

He was like those men in movies that, if they smiled, the girls around could faint from just how good looking he was. The bad boy that all girls seemed to fall for. Even the supposedly shy ones.

"Yes. He's good looking, isn't he?" Aspro whispered.

"Yeah."

So after two years, I finally got to see the man who possessed Layton. I had to hand it to him. He was a handsome man. Just like his brother. The only difference was Mavros gave off a bad boy kind of vibe and Aspro was that gorgeous man who could sweep any lady off her feet and onto his bed. Goodness, what was I thinking?

"Are you going to keep staring?" Aspro asked, dangerously close to my ear. What I felt at that moment was unexplainable.

"N-no." I stumbled on my words. "Let's go."

A few steps more and we were in front of Mavros. When he looked at me, I swear I almost fainted. He had that effect. His eyes were just like his hair and possibly his soul. Black.

"Val, darling, it's been a while." He brought his hand forward.

I considered shaking his hand. He was responsible for my twin's death, after all.

"He only killed because Fitia asked him to." Aspro's voice echoed in my head.

I took his hand, and he pulled me close. For a hot second, I forgot how to breathe. He was so close to me. It made me feel like I was losing my mind.

"How have you been? How's being queen?" He hadn't let go of my hand.

"G-Good." I stuttered. He let go of my hand.

He faced his brother. "Hello brother."

"What are you doing here?" Aspro.

"It's good to see you, too." Mavros quipped. "And to answer your question, I came to see Valeria."

"Me?"

He nodded. "You. Can we go somewhere private? I must talk to you about something important."

"As long as this ball is being held, the only private place is my room. Is that okay with you?"

He smiled wickedly. "It's perfect."

"Hold on there, brother." Aspro stood in front of me, completely preventing me from looking at his brother. "What are you really up to?"

"Nothing. I just want to talk to her. Is there a reason I should not?" Mavros walked around his brother and grasped my hand. When his brother said nothing, he waved his hand. "We'll see you later, okay?"

Mavros led me out of the ballroom. For a person hosting the ball, I sure was absent a lot. I barely spoke to any of the alphas around. I just hoped they wouldn't see it as being rude. From the way Mavros moved, I took it he knew where my room was. Besides, he'd been in my room before. It was the same day my brother saw him. I smiled wryly at the memory of Zayne going to tell father I had found my mate and refused to tell him about it.

"You look amazing in that dress." Mavros said. We'd come to a stop in front of my room.

"Thanks." I opened the door. "Come in."

He entered my room and went straight to my bed. He sat down with his legs crossed. This was just my opinion, but he needed to consider modelling. He was perfect for the job.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" I grabbed my reading chair and sat down.

"You and my brother."

"What about us?"

"Has Aspro told you why he came back after two years?"

Now that he mentioned it, I had yet to ask why he came to the mortal realm. He was supposed to be in the realm of the gods with Fitia. Both brothers had yet to tell me why they were here.

"No, he hasn't."

"Do you wish to know?" His eyes were fixed on me. "Do you?"

"Yeah."

I watched him get to his feet. He advanced toward me and stopped right in front of me. "A long time ago, my brother fell in love with a mortal who was called Zariya."

I don't know why I felt a chill lick down my spine when he mentioned that name. It was as if I knew this person and at the same time; I didn't.

"When the council found out, they summoned Zariya. They reprimanded her for falling in love with a god and, as punishment, they split her up. They sent the human side of her into the womb of a human woman, and the feral part was in a man. The man you know as your father and the woman, your later mother, Jade."

I was slowly putting two and two together, but I didn't want to jump to conclusions. I wanted him to complete the story.

"Fitia tried to make my brother feel better, so she made your parents soul mates just so Zariya could be reborn. She thought doing it would put a smile on Aspro's face, and it did. What she didn't expect was that he'd come to the mortal realm and fall in love with her all over again. My brother fell in love with you again."

At this moment, I was not entirely sure I was still breathing. My brain was in overdrive. Nothing was making sense.

"Which is why I came here. I want to stop my brother from making the same mistake he made years ago. I can't have him be the way he was when Zariya died."

I said nothing.

"Valeria," Mavros crouched in front of me. "Are you listening?"

I nodded.

"You look like you're going to pass out."

I nodded.

"Well, don't." He rubbed my thigh. "Snap out of it. It's not the end of the world. We are way past that already."

"Why hasn't the council summoned me if Aspro is in love with me? You said they summoned Zariya." Saying the name was strange.

"It's because you haven't reciprocated his love for you. The second you fall head first, they'll summon you. I'm here to stop that from happening."

Today could not get any crazier than it already was. I was reincarnated. I was reborn. In my previous life, I fell in love with a god. I fell in love with Aspro. Was it possible that I'd fall in love with him and face the same fate all over again?

"How? Will you kill me?"

He pinched my cheek as if I was a six year old. "Of course not. I have other means of keeping you from falling in love with my brother."

"What means are you...?"

Heat rose from my stomach to my chest when his lips brushed over mine, his eyes never leaving mine. His scent washed over me and my body reacted instantly. I had expected him to claim my lips. He didn't. Mavros pulled away and kissed my forehead.

"Confliction."