Chapter 17~Talk
~Third Person POV~
The room was silent as Phoenix turned off the TV and everybody got lost in their thoughts.
“I’m best friends with the moon goddess. How does it feel?” Kenzie said breaking the silence. Phoenix looked over at her and smiled as she realized Kenzie was trying to bite back her excitement.
“It’s weird like I see and understand things differently. I can feel all the power in the room. My wolf has a crown embedded on her side now so that’s cool.” Phoenix said softly. Kenize looked like she was about to say something else and Luca took her hand in his and gave it a light squeeze as if to say stop pushing.
“You were going to sell your soul?” Mateo asked calmly. He wouldn’t look at Phoenix and that was enough to let her know that he was anything but calm.
“Teo-”
“Yes or no Phoenix.” He said cutting her off. It was clear he was trying his best not to explode. He was hurt and couldn't help but wonder if she would try and sell her soul for him? Why would she want to sell her soul, to begin with, when they could’ve all worked together to figure something else out. Phoenix tensed as he used her real name and slowly nodded her head.
“Yeah, I was.” She answered calmly. Mateo’s eyes found Lucifer’s and without thinking he balled his fist up and stood up before hurling his fist at Lucifer’s face. Phoenix knew exactly what Mateo was going to do before he did it.
“Stop.” Phoenix gasped holding her hand out. Mateo’s fist froze mid-swing and Phoenix stared at him wide-eyed. She slowly brought her hand down and watched curiously as Mateo’s hand followed her movement.
“He tried to stop me and he couldn’t, we all know how I get when I want something,” Phoenix explained before letting her hold on his hand go.
“Did you just use your powers on me?” Mateo asked turning to face her with a frown. He heard what she said and he wasn’t as mad at Lucifer but the dude kept it a secret and Mateo refused to let him go that easy.
“By accident, I didn’t even know I could do that.” She answered honestly. It was true-she’d just woken up and hadn’t gotten a rundown on her powers yet.
“How could you possibly want to do something so stupid for him?” He asked pointing at Peter. The room was silent like everybody wanted to know the answer to that too. Peter wanted to jump in and tell Mateo to fuck off but he knew that would just make the situation worse than it was and he was also a little shocked by what he saw on the TV. He’d been in love before and he remembered everything about her but he couldn’t wrap his head around her and Phoenix being the same person.
“He helped us, Teo.” She said softly. Mateo’s eyes hardened and Phoenix immediately looked down at the ground not being able to hold his gaze.
“Really? I could’ve sworn he was the reason we were captured in the first place.” Mateo growled and it was clear he was beginning to lose his patience but he was doing his best to keep from saying that would bite him in the ass later.
“So what Mateo? Let’s not forget he also got us out and then he led us to the doctor and then he fought right by our side.” Phoenix said crossing her arms over her chest and she was clearly beginning to lose her patience right along Mateo.
“THEN GIVE HIM A FUCKING THANK YOU CARD DON’T SELL YOUR SOUL TO THE DEVIL FOR HIM!” Mateo screamed, throwing his arms in the air.
“Don’t yell at me.” Phoenix said, taking a deep breath.
“Are you not understanding the severity of this Phoenix? You were going to sell your soul and then what?” He asked trying to get her to understand. Noah looked between the two of them cautiously-he wanted to take his sister’s side and tell Mateo to stand down but at the same time, he was pissed at her too.
“I don’t know Mateo, I would’ve figured it out.” She said running her hands through her hair. He scoffed and shook his head.
“How stupid can you be?” He spat. As soon as the words left his mouth he regretted it. He wanted nothing more but to build a time machine, go back in time, and take those words back. He watched Phoenix warily as he tried to figure out what she was thinking. Her arms dropped to her sides and the room silenced as everybody waited for her to respond at this point they all felt like they were imposing but they were afraid of getting up and getting dragged into their argument. Phoenix’s blood began to boil as she looked at him. Her mind was racing as she tried to figure out why he couldn’t understand that she was just trying to help Peter and if it ended up being a mistake then it would’ve been her mistake to fix? She was so lost in her thoughts she didn’t even realize she was slowly turning the temperature of the room up.
‘YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN OR YOU’LL KILL EVERYBODY IN HERE!’ Her wolf barked. She blinked as she snapped out of her thoughts. The others didn’t seem to notice that they were on the brink of death but were too busy trying to figure out if they should risk trying to leave or just stay. Phoenix took a deep breath and let her fist slowly open up before rubbing the sides of her thighs.
“Nix.” Mateo said reaching for her. The regret was written all over his face and it’d been there since the words hastily flew out of his mouth. She took a step back out missing his hand and pursed her lips together as she looked at the ground.
’Sorry.’ Phoenix mumbled to her wolf.
’It’s okay you just need to remember you’ll feel everything more intensely now.’ Her wolf responded softly. Phoenix nodded her head and looked back up at the group.
“Phoenix.” Mateo said. Her attention turned to him and he opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off.
“Don’t apologize your right it was a stupid plan but it was only plan B. It was just in case the moon goddess couldn’t send him home. I get that your mad and you would’ve rathered I talked to you about it instead of just rushing into things and I’m sorry, okay?” Phoenix said softly. Mateo smiled sadly and shook his head.
“I’m sorry too.” He said walking up to her. He smiled at her and pulled her into him before hugging her tightly. The truth was he was scared-he knew wolves weren’t immortal but he always thought somehow even in the afterlife Phoenix and he would find each other. As soon as they touched Phoenix read his thoughts. She frowned at what he was thinking and pulled away slightly. She started to say something but then remembered everybody else in the room. She peeked over Mateo’s shoulder to look at them and they nodded their heads in understanding before walking out of the room. Peter hesitated for a second as he looked at Phoenix but as soon as she looked back at him he snapped out of it and basically ran out of the room making her frown. She let it change into a smile as Mateo pulled back to look at her. He noticed it but didn’t push it. He gently took her face in his hands and leaned his forehead against his.
“You know I love you right?” Phoenix asked softly. Mateo frowned in confusion at the question but nodded his head.
“Yeah.” He said trying to figure out where this was going.
“And I’ll always love you even when I lose you and you aren’t anything but a memory.” She said gently. Mateo’s eyes widened at that and he slowly let his hands fall from her face and he took a step back.
“It was an accident I didn’t know I could read minds until you touched me.” Phoenix blurted out throwing her hands in the air. Mateo relaxed at that he figured maybe she wasn’t really Phoenix for a second but now the thought was gone especially considering he had blocked his mind off from her so he could think in peace.
“And I’ll always love you even when you move on to be with somebody else.” He said referring to Peter. He didn’t have to say his name for Phoenix to get the message. She studied him closely as she took in his words.
“What?” She asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Phoenix I may not have been there at that exact time and maybe you didn’t even realize it but your eyes light when you found out he was your mate and when we were all watching it on the TV your eyes floated over to him and you smiled-the I love you and I hope you know it smile.” Mateo said, smiling at her.
“I don’t love him.” Phoenix denied rolling her eyes. That wasn’t true at all but she refused to admit it. Mateo chuckled but didn’t push it any further knowing she’d admit it sooner or later.
“If you say so. I think you have some one-on-one sessions to get to. I’d start with Alex and Kim.” Mateo said before kissing the top of Phoenix’s head. He started whistling a tune as he walked out of the room and Phoenix flicked her wrist throwing a pillow at the back of his head as she recognized it as ‘here comes the bride.’ Mateo laughed but didn’t turn around to face her already knowing she was fighting back a smile. She stood in the room for a second letting her thoughts flow freely.
‘You should talk to Peter instead of just standing here thinking about him and smiling like an idiot.’ Phoenix’s wolf said snapping Phoenix out of her thoughts.She blushed deeply realizing she was just thinking about Peter and scolded herself when she realized what she was doing.
“Shut up.” She mumbled walking out of the room.
‘You can get your feelings back you know.’ Her wolf mumbled.Phoenix tripped over her feet at that comment but quickly regained her balance.
‘What?’ Phoenix asked, completely flustered.
‘There’s a way to get the memories and the feelings back.’ Her wolf responded.Phoenix didn’t respond as she tried to make a pros and cons list in her head but she could only come up with one con.
‘Let me think about it.’ She said softly.Her wolf already knew what her answer was going to be but didn’t push.She curled into a ball in the back of Phoenix’s mind and closed her eyes as she let herself rest. Phoenix did her best to block Peter from her mind but it seemed like the thoughts of him wouldn’t leave completely. She stopped and snapped out of her thoughts and looked up to see Kim and Alex sitting in the living room watching TV. She knocked on the wall catching their attention and they immediately jumped apart. She bit back an eye-roll knowing exactly why they were acting all jumpy and was trying to be understanding.
“You can relax. I’m not going to kill you because you’re in love.” Phoenix said sitting on the couch across from them.
“Sorry.” Kim mumbled awkwardly.
“I need a decision.” Phoenix said leaning back and crossing her left leg over her right. Alex frowned at her stoic tone and studied her closely.
“What?” Kim sputtered.
“I’m the moon goddess now so I need your decision to you know-make it happen.” Phoenix explained passively. Kim and Alex shared a look and Phoenix sighed deeply.
“Look I’m okay. I’ve accepted it just like you did when it was me and Mateo. It’s just annoying that every time you guys see me you feel the need to act like you aren’t in love.” Phoenix said softly. The pair immediately felt bad realizing what she was saying was true but in all honesty, they were just trying to help her through this-they didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable.
“We-I thought it would help,” Kim whispered avoiding Phoenix’s gaze. Phoenix stayed quiet as she waited for Kim to look up at her. She finally looked up and Phoenix smiled warmly at her.
“Alex is and always will be my first love and I will always love him. Which means I won’t accept anything less than happiness for him.” Phoenix said softly.
“And you make him happy.” She added shrugging. She smiled trying to ease the tension between the two and it helped significantly. She watched as they relaxed completely in front of her and she felt her smile widen. Kim and Alex looked at each other and couldn’t fight the smile that made its way to their faces. Ever since Phoenix left them alone together they’d gotten closer but were afraid to explore it because of how Phoenix would react.
“I need you to actually say the words to each other.” Phoenix said breaking through their thoughts. Alex looked at Kim again and she nodded her head before leaving the living room. Phoenix frowned at her retreating figure and turned to look at Alex. He stood up and held his hand out for her to take. She uncrossed her legs and gently put her hand in his. He pulled her flush against him like they were dancing and started to slowly move her around.
“If you wanted to dance all you had to do was ask.” Phoenix teased. Alex chuckled and she snapped her finger putting light music on in the background. They danced for what felt like hours allowing themselves to get lost in their thoughts. Alex stopped abruptly and pulled away from Phoenix to look at her face.
“You know I’ll always love you right?” He asked softly. Phoenix smiled sadly and shook her head.
“Pretty soon you’ll be deeply in love with her and then the kids that she brings to you.” She said softly. She could feel her eyes watering but she refused to let a teardrop for the simple fact that she didn’t want to make his choice any harder. Alex shook his head and pressed his lips against hers. She felt herself moan at the feeling of his lips and he pulled her closer into him.
“I will never ever stop loving you. You will always be my Hooded Luna.” He whispered pulling away from her. He pressed his lips against her forehead while she tried and failed terribly to keep her tears in.She nodded her head weakly and wiped the tears from her cheeks before taking a step back from him. Kim suddenly walked back into the room and looked between the two. Phoenix snapped her fingers and the music turned off.
“I need you to say the words.” Phoenix repeated looking between the two of them. Kim smiled as she looked at Alex. They walked up to each other and Alex took her hands in his own.
“I accept you as my mate Luna Kim Mitchell.” Alex said softly. Phoenix bit her lip hard to keep in a whimper as she felt a sudden pain in her chest. Her wolf whimpered inside of her head and curled herself into a tighter ball. Kim looked over at Phoenix as if to make sure she was really okay with this. Phoenix smiled and nodded her head. Kim took a deep breath and looked back at Alex.
“I accept you as my mate Alpha Alexander Carson.” Kim said smiling brightly. The pain in Phoenix’s chest intensified and she fell to her knees and grabbed her head in her hands as her wolf started to howl in pain in her head. Alex’s eyes widened as he took her in and he ran up to her. He tried to reach for her but she shook her head and pulled away from him. He ignored the sting he felt in his chest and backed off. She pulled herself up and smiled weakly at Alex and Kim.
“Congrats.” She whispered. She left the room before either of them could respond and wrapped her arms securely around herself. She let her legs lead as she lost herself in her thoughts once again. She froze as she realized where she was and mentally cursed herself for not paying attention. She cleared her throat awkwardly and Peter turned to look at her. He threw his drink back before turning his attention back to the bottle in front of him. She took a deep breath before walking up to him and sitting beside him. She waited for Peter to say something but he kept his attention on his drink. Phoenix rolled her eyes and took the glass from him before throwing it back. She frowned as the familiar taste of vodka filled her mouth and she turned to look at him.
“I would’ve thought you liked whisky.” She said frowning. He hummed in understanding but still didn’t say a word.
“Did I do something?” She asked softly. She hated how she felt a pang in her chest at the thought of him being mad at her. He looked at her from the corner of his eye and frowned before turning fully to face her.
“Let’s be honest you just want me gone but that isn’t going to be happening any time soon because your mate won’t allow you to sell your soul.” He spat getting up to leave. Phoenix physically flinched at the way he said mate and bit her lip nervously.
“You’d let me sell my soul if it meant getting you home?” Phoenix asked softly. He froze and turned to face her. He stared at her for a second wondering if she was serious.
“No-I wouldn’t.” He said simply. Phoenix found herself losing herself in his eyes and she slowly walked up to him.
“Why?” She whispered. She stopped directly in front of him and let her eyes fall to his lips as she waited for an answer. She slowly looked up into his eyes when he didn’t respond. He gasped sharply as she took in the look in her eyes. It was the same look his Katrina used to give him. He gently took her face in his hands and her eyes closed for a second as she sank into his touch before she opened them back up to look into his. Phoenix’s wolf whimpered in her head and mumbled in apology before releasing everything Phoenix ever felt for Peter. Phoenix stumbled back a little as she was suddenly smacked with memories and an overwhelming feeling of love. Peter watched helplessly as for the second time today Phoenix’s eyes rolled to the back of her head and she collapsed.