The Sounds of A Breaking Heart

[GRANT]

"So you were just going to leave without saying goodbye?" a voice interrupted Ulrike and Grant. They were currently outside the throne room and were about to make the corner that led the way out of the palace. Both of them had one goal and that was to save Heide.

"Nour?" Grant said, not even turning back, only turning back when Ulrike turned to see who had said they were leaving. He knew his mate was probably distraught seeing him leave again, but Grant didn't want to think of that.

Maybe because he had important issues to deal with or maybe because he was scared that he was slowly falling for the kind of danger that Alanor would give him. Alanor had rejected him to keep him safe, and yet the universe was determined to drag Grant to the center of it.

Nour was warm and loving, but with Alanor, there was no knowing what he would do at any time, like a moody season.

Sure, Grant hadn't interacted much with Alanor, but seeing as Ulrike and Zelina, not to mention the high priest of Greroth, had all rallied to reach him, there had to be something that they didn't want to happen.

It was the kind of excitement that Grant would never be able to get within the confines of Acrod, and he couldn't just tell his mate that.

"I'll wait for you outside," Ulrike said when he saw the desperation in Nour's eyes. Those eyes reminded Ulrike of a heart that was so close to falling apart. A heart that was doing its best to hold on, but one that was slowly fading in the distance.

Honestly, Ulrike felt his own heart break for Nour. The poor omega had been given a mate who was obsessed with another. What kind of fate befell a kind man like the one before them anyway?

Ulrike wanted to tell Grant to be there for his mate, but he couldn't because frankly, they didn't have enough time to deal with mates or even the bonds that bound them.

It was unfortunate what was happening, especially since Ulrike had assumed that Grant's mate had known about the mission the first time. Well, the heartbroken face Nour was wearing was proof that the Acrod enforcer hadn't given his mate the closure before they went to war.

What the hell was he even supposed to make of this?

"No need," Grant said to Ulrike, who just paused and looked at Grant like he was insane. 

Or maybe he was, because this wasn't how mates were supposed to address each other. There was a hunger for affection and approval in Nour's eyes, and he wanted the approval of his mate, one who wasn't even paying attention to him. Poor guy.

Goodbyes were supposed to provide closure to mates, considering there was a very high chance of them not ever coming back alive, and Grant not telling his mate earlier was a betrayal.

Ulrike knew that Grant was still hoping to be Alanor's mate and it was twisted in its own fucked up way.

Maybe he needed to tell Grant that Alanor was mated to the prince of Udrad, but would that make any sense given that at this point, Ulrike was more than sure that Alanor hadn't said shit to the lycan prince Unar.

There were just so many things that Grant needed to work on but more than anything, he needed to remember that Alanor rejected him, and Alanor never went back to people he had abandoned, no matter what the circumstances were.

"Nour was just leaving," Grant said and Ulrike sighed. They were creating a storm, but then again, there was a monster that would consume the whole of the midlands if they didn't get the word out there that Heide was trapped in the forest too.

Between the Nour storm and Alanor's wave of crazies, it was easier to side with Alanor, because they couldn't deny the fact that there was nothing worse than Alanor's mere existence, especially since he was fueled by anger.

But were they going to ignore the possibility that the scorned mate would probably ruin them in ways worse than the realm had ever seen? Or maybe they didn't know that this same mate was the man Alanor loved the most other than his little family?

"Oh, I see. Well, I'll get the horse, meet me up front in five minutes," Ulrike said, excusing himself before Grant came up with another excuse to ignore the second chance mate he had been given.

"Is this what we are turning into?" Nour asked, and Grant just let out a frustrated sigh.

He wasn't in the mood to deal with an omega who didn't know when to shut the fuck up and that in itself made Delbert fisted his hands. His energy was slowly filling the room and for a moment there, when Delbert's eyes met with Ultike's there was a sparkle.

"Can I please explain later, I have a mission to complete? I promise I'll come back. But for now, just lead the warriors with Delert alright? Goodbye Nour," Grant said, not even reassuring the mate he had abandoned six whole weeks that he loved him.

Well he didn't and that was not something that Nour was new to. It would hurt a lot, but then wasn't Nour always the broken one for trying to hold onto a bond with the man he was sure was madly obsessed with his best friend?

Enforcer Grant Hindley was playing a dangerous game with his omega mate and if he wasn't careful, Grant would probably be coming home to someone different from the one before him. 

He needed to make sure his mate wasn't angry when he left, because even hell was aware of what happened when a mate felt betrayed. 

If he was being honest, Grant didn't care too much about the wrath because once Alanor took him back, he would be out of Acrod and away form the weak omega the universe was forcing on him.

"Goodbye too, Grant. I love you," Nour responded and Grant kissed his forehead before leaving to go find Ulrike. He knew he wasn't doing right by his mate, but he assumed he would have enough time to fix his relationship with Nour.

However, would he be back on time to make things work with Nour, or would he be going back to someone who didn't even want him?

Heartbroken, Nour stood at the door of the Acrod throne room as he watched helplessly through the windows as his mate left on horseback with the hound of the southern forest. 

He hadn't asked for much, and yet his mate hadn't even given him an ounce of love. 

Maybe this was how they were meant to be, but why did it hurt so bad?

Ulrike didn't ask Grant how he had dealt with his mate, because he knew he wouldn't like the answer. One thing was certain though; if Grant was banking on being Alanor's mate again, then he was in for a rude surprise.

That was because Ulrike knew from the moment he saw the bread in Alanor's hands years ago, that Alanor's heart was with someone else. They all hadn't known what or who the person was, but when they knew that Unar was Alanor's mate, everything made a lot more sense.

"We'll need all hands on deck with the wolf, why don't you reach out to Zelina? We'll need her too," Grant said when they were almost at the forest of the midlands. He wasn't wrong though. They were about to face an uncertain path and they needed all the hands on deck.

Of course, with the wolves trapped in the forest, there was no war that the vampires needed to fight, but that didn't mean that Zelina would just up and leave her people like that. She would always be there for them, even if it was important that the war between the vamps and wolves ended.

"You guys are back fast," Zelina commented as she got up to go to Ulrike and Grant.

She could see the conflict in her mate's eyes, and knew it had to do with something that had happened back at Acrod. Maybe they would talk about it later but right now they needed to focus on the matter at hand.

'What are you hiding, Ulrike?' Zelina asked herself as she looked into her mate's eyes.