Chapter 15 Face of danger
Chapter 15:
Scarlett
The world was quiet and nothing was moving around as I looked out the window.
Not even birds moved.
The air stood still, joining me in my depressed state. The trees watched back with the sadness that consumed my wolf. I was now fully healed but my wolf was still bleeding. My heart was even long dead.
And hearing that Asher had gone to help my brother, only intensified the suffering I was going through. Because it was all a lie. I knew this but I couldn’t tell anyone. I was useless.
My vision blurred and the tears streamed down my face. I couldn’t protect my family from the cruel man I had come to realise was my mate.
My throat constricted. It was becoming too difficult to breathe when the door opened.
“Princess?” Luciano’s warm voice filled the room, and I quickly wiped my tears off my face.
I moved away from the window and settled back on the bed. “Hey, what’s the update?” I asked, ignoring the crack in my voice.
He stepped in and held a plastic bag in his hands. “I got what I promised but I am going to need you to promise me that you won’t cry anymore. To defeat Asher, you need to be fearless and determined.”
Pain shot through me at his words, and I swallowed, only nodding. I didn’t think anything could fuel my determination back to live but I didn’t want to disappoint Luciano either. He had already done so much for me.
“Look, I have been by his side for a very long time, and I know that if you stand up for yourself like you used to, he will weaken.” He came to sit on the bed with me and took my hands.
“Remember when you tried to get the people’s acceptance by caring for them?” he asked and I nodded, my thoughts still not buying his motivational speech. “Well, can you remember how worried he was?”
I took a moment to remember how angry Asher had been that day…
“That should show you that we can beat him from the inside, just like you had planned. But this time around we are going to do it together with a bright smile on your face and a strong-willed wolf inside of you, do you hear me?”
My eyes dropped to our hands and my insides recoiled back to my depression. “It’s useless Luciano… I cannot defeat him…” I managed to let out, but his hands squeezed around mine.
“Do not say that, Scarlett. Think about your parents! Think about your brother! You need to do this for them. You of all people know how much they have had to fight to get to where they are today… this is your turn to fight too…”
Tears filled my eyes as his words wrapped me with warmth so thick, I couldn’t stop the emotions from racking through me—
“Your brother is always open about his plans to find your parents someday and your little brother too… Do you want them to come back one day and find out that you could have saved the realm, but you didn’t?”
At this point, I couldn’t stop the tears anymore. I let them flow just as his words got into me. He was right. I couldn’t give up. Asher could be defeated.
And, if the kitchen incident had scared him, then I would prepare more of those.
I wiped my tears and straightened up. “What can we do now?”
Luciano smiled and showed me the contents of the plastic bag he was holding. They were some kind of green pills packed in a transparent satchel.
“These are pills that will help you not take in even if Asher comes to you. This way, we will stall his plans from going any further. Without a child, you know that Asher wouldn’t be able to win…”
My heart sank but at the same time, I felt hope rise within me. It was saddening to know that I couldn’t have a child with my mate but thinking of the kind of monster he was, I realised it was for the best.
I took the pills and moved them into the lowest drawers in the room.
“We need to do more for the people.” I said turning to him once again, “Now that he isn’t here, we can make use of the opportunity.”
Luciano got up from the bed and came to stand by me. “True, I was thinking of taking you to the training school for minors and then we can go to the royal orphanage.”
A small smile formed on my face, and I nodded. “When can we go?”
“I will make the arrangements and come pick you up by evening. How about that?”
I took hold of his hand and held them between mine. “Thank you so much, Luciano. I promise to do everything I can to win this, not just for my family and my people but for all the good people here too.”
Determination burned in his eyes, and he nodded at me, before slowly pulling out of my hold. “I’ll be back.”
With that, he walked out of the room, and I quickly returned my focus to the drawer. I took out the pills again and read the description. I was to take just one pill daily and even if Asher wasn’t around now, I didn’t want to take the risk.
I popped one of the pulls into my mouth and returned the rest to its place. Next, I went to the bathroom and washed my face. As the water dried off, I stared at my reflection.
The circles of sadness were still there but Luciano’s words of motivation echoed strong in my ears. I wasn’t going to let Asher win. Mate or not, I was going to stop him.
Determined, I moved out of the room and headed to the kitchen. Since we were going to visit the orphanage and the training center, they were going to need food. I had to make sure they had it in abundance.
On getting to the kitchen, I was surprised to find it empty, but I didn’t let it bother me. Besides, it was going to save me from giving too much explanation.
I went to the storage and pulled out packs of spaghetti with the necessary ingredients. Then without wasting any time, I got into the cooking.
As soon as I began stir-frying, the kitchen echoed with sounds of rushing feet. And I smiled inwardly, knowing fully well that the kitchen staff had finally noticed me.
“My lady Luna!” their chief explained as soon as he saw me. “Please, let me do it.”
“Let us help you,” the rest chorused like their chief’s words had been their cue.
I smiled and turned my attention in their direction.
Initially, I wanted to tell them to leave and let me focus. Or that I could do it alone and they also needed their rest but as they watched me, waiting eagerly for my response, I didn’t think their presence was needed.
But looking at them, I knew that if I said something like that, I was going to hurt their feelings. Plus, I really wanted to make this meal with their help. It would make things a lot easier.
“You may help me by bringing in disposable bowls that I can serve this with…” I said and a smile spread over their faces.
They rushed to the cupboard and pulled out the number of plates they could find. Then I designated other mini works to them, and in less than two hours, we had spaghetti meatballs and grilled chicken ready for dinner.
“Can I come with you?” Bee asked from the corner of the counter where he stood, fixing the packed meals.
I shrugged. “I don’t know but I’ll speak to Luciano for you. If you really want to go, you can go with us.”
But his cute face suddenly darkened, causing even me to pause.
“Is something wrong, Bee?”
He blinked and looked side to side, before coming to where I stood. “My lady, why are you going with the Beta?”
Confusion splashed over my head but the more I thought about it, it suddenly cleared out. “Don’t worry, Luciano is my friend. He wouldn’t tell Asher about it. We will have fun—”
“I understand your excitement and your intentions, but you see, the beta isn’t someone you should be trusting. He is the king’s right-hand man. And he is known for being too loyal.”
His concern glowed in his eyes and a small smile danced on my lips as his presence reminded me of my brother. My dead heart swirled, happy that even in the face of danger, I still had people who believed and cared for me.
I closed the distance between us and patted his hair. “I give you my word, Bee. Luciano will never go against me…”