Chapter 55 Chapter 54
ADRIANA'S POV
The hallway was deathly silent, it almost felt like the house was deserted because I didn't see anyone even after I got to the first floor. I regretted not using the elevator and taking the stairs, I also regretted not wearing shoes but I didn't want to be in that woman's presence any longer. Just one glance at her unsettled me, I didn't know what would have happened if I'd stayed onger.
I stopped outside when I reached the ground floor, having no idea where to go from there. I looked to my left, then right, then left again before sighing and taking the right. I keep walking through a seemingly never ending hallway until I stopped at a door that I heard voices in, I tried to sniff to get a whiff of their scent but all I managed to locate was a lot of old furniture. I couldn't fully rely on my sense of smell, I knew that one. Yes, it was good, but that didn't make it good enough.
I considered opening the door to check who was inside but I decided against it. I was dumb to even come here in the first place. Xander didn't trust my father enough to bring him into his home like this. They must be in his office or maybe a meeting hall. My father wouldn't waste his time by coming to see me, they were probably having a meeting and he thought why not. He might want to see if I was shit now so he could feel joy.
He definitely wanted Xander to make me miserable, that is my only explanation for why he would willingly offer me to a man that was known to be heartless and unforgiving. If you heard five things about Xander, three and a half would be bad and only one and a half would be good. And not good in the sense of being good, no, just good enough that he wasn't that bad.
He was infamous for his torture techniques too. I've read it in books about lycans. Their history has just always fascinated me, maybe because I heard they used to enslave werewolves as they were lesser than them and since vampires mostly kept to themselves, they felt like they were at the top of the foodchain. They were, and they abused that power.
"The alpha is waiting for you in his office." I jumped when I heard a deep voice speak from behind me. I placed my hand on my chest, trying to steady my heart that was beating crazily fast.
I hadn't heard the footsteps, that's what scared me the most. I turned to the person that spoke, a man dressed in the guard's uniforms stood about three feet away from me. His eyes were cast over my head, not meeting my eyes or even my face. It wasn't submission by lowering his head but it was still weird because this didn't make it any different since he refused to meet my eyes. That was a kind of respect reserved for high-ranking members and definitely not me.
"Oh, where is he?" I stuttered through the question, looking down though the man was a lot taller than me, so much bigger in very aspect. Which was to be expected.
"Come." His gruff voice commanded, he sounded annoyed which made me feel weird. I didn't even know so I couldn't tell if he was upset with me but it still made me feel weird. I was about to follow him when I heard another voice. A familiar one this time, though the tone was not what I was used to hearing.
"Stop right there." Daciana commanded. I steered my body to the direction of her voice. She was walking down the stairs and she took her time coming down each one, not bothering to take her eyes off the phone she was pressing. She was dressed differently than when she came to the room earlier. Now in faded blue jeans and a crop-stop that exposed her abdomen and bellybutton. She had a piercing there and a jewelry peeking out. "Is that how you're supposed to speak to your alpha's soon to be wife and your luna?" she said when she reached the both of us.
Since I'd started walking, I was closer to him now and she stood less than a feet away from him. I noticed how his spine straightened and his chest puffed out, not in an attempt to intimidate her but to look serious. His eyes were downcast now, I almost felt bad for his neck that was bent very low, it would be impossible for him to not have a cramp by the time he lifts it up.
"I'm sorry your grace. It won't happen again." She pocketed her phone and raised her eyes up to his. Her lips were turned down, her face expression nothing but seriousness. I also felt the need to stand as still as I could, her aura simply made you want to submit and I was used to it, except this time I didn't feel compelled to simply submit. The feeling was liberating.
It probably had to do with her being nice to me, accepting me and wanting me to be her brother's luna. It would never happen, it's why I don't even bother arguing when I hear them say it. Unless I missed a part of my life, there was no way Xander mentioned he was making me his luna. I understood Daciana wanted me to be that but I didn't and so did her brother.
"Apologize to the person you wronged." Her voice was cold when she replied, her eyes even colder.
"I'm sorry luna, I didn't mean any disrespect." The guard bowed. My throat went dry and I couldn't bring myself to speak so I just nodded. Daciana dismissed him with a shake of her head and then she turned to me, the warmth back in her eyes. She gave my hand a squeeze.
"How are you feeling now? Why aren't you in bed?" She was still looking over at me. When she was satisfied with what she found, her back straightened and she smiled.
"Xander said my father is here and he asked of me," she nodded in understanding, her mouth making an 'O' shape. I wanted to ask her if she would come with me, I didn't want to be alone with Xander and him, I also didn't want to be alone with either of them. I knew one's motive while the other remained a mystery.
"Oh, you had better get going now. I wanted to go and get us the food we can eat out back. The sun will be good for you." Her eyes assessed me and she nodded to herself. "Your skin is getting pale so it would be best if we got a little sun, don't you think?"
"Yes, it's okay." I replied, playing with the hem of the sleeves of my gown.
"Okay, let me show you to Xander's office then I'll have the maids pack a picnic basket for us." She took my arm and started dragging me toward one side of the house. She stopped outside an intricately designed door and knocked on it thrice. I waited for the person inside to give us permission but it never came. Daciana, who I doubted was waiting for it, pushed it open.
"See you when you're done." Daciana blew me kisses and then turned to leave.
My eyes travelled to the other side of the room, where Xander was sitting behind a huge mahogany desk. His face was passive, like it had been before he left the room. My father was seated on the chair facing Xander, though he was staring at me. He'd chosen to sit on it sideways.
"You can clearly see I didn't kill her." Xander said rudely. I watched the both of them closely, the hatred between them was crackling in the air, the tension palpable.
"She doesn't look very far from it though." My father replied, eyeing me with disdain. He is probably disappointed I'm not dead yet, though he would have felt the bond between break. We may be far but it would have worked, he took his time to see what would happen then. He may have thought after finding out I didn't have a wolf and how I was just a weak wolf, Xander would just discard me. He has done that to a lot of women, I'm probably just a prototype. Not even worth being killed.
"As long as she is breathing and can do all that I want, then I find her more than worthy." My stomach jumped, happy with that reply though it wasn't a compliment to me.
"Don't you dare!" my father growled while Xander only sat behind his desk, his face the perfect representation of calm.
"Be careful how you speak to me, in my own home." My father opened his mouth to say something but Xander beat him to it. "And don't forget that I can make you disappear while you're here and no one would ever find the corpse." I lifted my head, my eyes clashing with his immediately. He looked anything but uncomfortable as he said that.
If you saw him, you wouldn't say he was the one promising death to someone so casually.
"Can I speak to my daughter alone?" father asks instead, he knew he wouldn't win this war. My heart thundered in my chest when I felt his eyes on mine. I was more than happy when it looked like he had forgotten I was in the room with them. Turns out he was just waiting for the right time.
"Speak to her in my presence or don't bother."