O Bucată Din Inima Mea

With his recovery as complete as modern medicine could bring, Artorias had since moved out of the infirmary and back into his room in the Carpathius wing of the castle. He almost wished he hadn't. It had been no secret to him that Bowen had gone out and brought some stranger back into the castle and taken to spending all of her time with him. It frustrated him in ways he didn't know how to deal with. Not only had his sister deliberately disobeyed Hallows laws by bringing someone into pack lands without informing him, but now she was avoiding him while seemingly doing everything she could to get under his skin. He had lost track of how many times he heard the two wolves coupling at all hours of the day. Each one felt worse than the last, but he couldn't voice his frustration, had no outlet for the jealousy that wouldn't result in him outing himself further. It made him wish she would just come out and tell everyone the sinful emotions he felt so he'd at least be able to do something instead of being trapped in this limbo state. He couldn't confront his sister, he couldn't kick the stranger out of his home without causing a scene and outing himself again. All he could do was grit his teeth and bear it—and break every training dummy he put together in his dojo.

The late evening found Artorias pacing the halls of his castle, trying to put the tumultuous thoughts in his head and the hurricane of emotions in his heart to rest enough for him to find some sleep. He'd left Briar upstairs in his room under the guise of going to get a drink, staunchly refusing her help so she could sleep. He wanted to be alone right now more than anything else. The last couple of weeks had found him smothered by attention and he was more than ready for life to return to normal—or as normal as it could get with his relationship with Bowen forever changed. Try as he might, he couldn't get Bowen out of his mind. Gods, how he wanted to forget, to reach inside himself and tear out the damned feelings that had gotten him into this wretched mess in the first place!

Dark paws wandered dark corridors, silver moonlight spilling in through large windows. The Carpathian castle was silent as everyone else was asleep, only the night guard on duty patrolling the battlements far outside on the walls. This was the solitude he had sought, drifting through the halls like a silent phantom as he took in every inch of his home. His wandering eventually led him down to the great hall, where a fire burned in the large hearth, warming the hall and casting an ethereal orange glow about the dark shadows. Artorias came to stand before the fire, gazing deeply into the flames that bounced and reflected off the matching hues in his eyes. He watched the wood burn away into cinders, his mind unwinding of its troubles and burdens as he did. Artorias loved fire almost as much as he loved water. Both elements, raw and powerful, were also hypnotic. It brought to him thoughts of his pack, his home, and what he wanted the Hallows to be as he began his full fledged reign in a few short months. What had begun as a distant fantasy was now fast becoming reality.

The sound of paws on the floor caught his attention, fiery eyes peering through the dark in the direction of the sound. Artorias walked slowly towards the sound, approaching just as a wolf rounded the corner. Amber eyes blinked in surprise to spot the auburn and ivory fae that had been avoiding him like a leper. She gasped; he just stared at her. For a long moment, neither of them moved, the two siblings seemingly stunned by the other's presence. Bowen's ears folded and her gaze dipped from his. Artorias could smell the heady scents of sex and the stranger on her, strong and fresh. His jaw tightened, lips pursed into a thin line as those emotions raged stronger inside him. Without a word, Artorias stepped past Bowen, moving on to cross the great hall again, wandering past the burning fire while every part of himself began tow age a war against itself. Heart, mind, body, soul, emotions, all of it battling, to what end he didn't know. But if Bowen wanted to avoid him and try to upset him, then he'd opt to not play that game.

"Artorias" | "Corbin" | "Argent"