Chapter 17 17

Chapter 17 17
Chloe’s pov.

The wooden bench creaked under my weight as I sharpened my sword; the one Alpha Cain gave me.
Every stroke along the blade made me feel relaxed, it was the only activity that truly made me feel at ease.

Somehow, it stopped me from overthinking because all I ever wanted to do was make sure my sword was sharp enough to smite our enemies during battle.

I didn’t realize Antonio had slipped into it, until I caught his cologne. He smelled of cedar mixed with tobacco, his presence was surely impossible to ignore. He stood at the doorway, I imagined a smirk was playing on his lips right now because that was his favorite thing to do.

“Hello, Princess,” he said, breaking the quiet.
“Hi, Antonio,” I responded, barely looking at him.
“I noticed you’ve been really quiet since Henry came,” he observed, “Do you think Alpha Cain is making the wrong decision letting Alpha Henry into our team?”
I stopped polishing, Of course, it was a mistake trusting Henry, just the mention of his name brought bad and awful memories but this wasn’t personal, it was just common sense. I slowly slid the sword back into the case strapped to my side turning to face Antonio.

“What can I say? My opinion doesn’t matter, Alpha Cain holds all the power, I can’t decide on his behalf.”I mused.

A little chuckle rolled off his lips, "You are right, Princess Chloe,” he smiled at me again. Sometimes I wondered what was funny because anytime I looked at his chiseled face, it was always full of smiles.
“I’m always right, but it doesn’t matter now, does it?”
“Your voice matters though, if there’s anyone the alpha would listen to, it’s you, you just have to find a good reason and he'll take your suggestions into consideration,” Antonio said.

“Well, it seems like he already made his decision,” I said glaring at him, my eyes shimmering with tears.
“Maybe, yes, maybe not, you’d never know, The Alpha is like a puzzle, he is unpredictable, no one can figure him out.” He grinned tilting his head backward as he walked towards me.

Before I could utter a word he’d already drawn out his sword, taking steady steps closer to me, his gaze was playful but sudden.

“What’s this?” I snapped.
“Why don’t you tell me?” He asked, “Let’s see if you still have that fire on you.”

He lunged towards me, but I dodged his sword, making him stumble forward.

A smirk played on his lips as he regained balance,
“Nice reflex!” He commented.
“Thanks.”

I quickly drew my sword from my waist, our steel clashing against each other sparks dancing in the air, he kept coming harder at me, every attack, deliberate and strong.

But I was fast enough, I spun around him, and kicked his leg so he could stumble off the floor, then I grabbed his sword, throwing it off the ground. “ I win!” I winked at him.

“You’re back! I missed you.” He grunted, breathing loud and hard, chest heaving.
I arched a brow, my face shocked. “ I don’t understand, I never left. I never stopped being me.”

“You got distracted for a minute,” he got up on his seat, circling me slowly like he’d sighted a prey.

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve been emotionally weak, thinking about your former mate and what your twin sister will think about your appearance, you fight but deep down you are worried, your head is full of so much thought.”

I swallowed hard, blinking back the tears because I knew every word he said was right. It was nothing but the truth and it pierced my heart, because I hated how right he was.

Why do I let these people get to me again?

But what surprised me was how Antonio could sense my moods, how he read me like an open book, like I was transparent. We’ve known each other for barely five years but he knew me more than my own parents.
He grabbed my sword out of my grasp and closed the distance between us until I could feel his body heat.
“How do you know this?” I asked looking up at him, our eyes locked and we could see each other's faces in them.
“I know you, and I also know that you love Alpha Cain.”

“I do…with all of my heart.”

“Then fight for him, not for Henry.”
I grabbed him by the collar, my breast resting against his broad chest, “But what if this is all a plan? To betray us, what if this is all a trap to end my life? After all, he rejected me and chose my sister. Trust me, he wants me gone.”

Antonio looked deeply into my eyes like he could see my soul, he then held my waist and slid the sword back into the case.

“I would never let anything happen to you, Princess.”

This was the first time he’d ever sounded this affectionate, also it was the first time I’d noticed the shade of his hair. It was almost dark blue when the sunlight filtered in through the window. And whenever he smiled? I noticed a dimple on his right cheek. How did I miss that?

My heart began to race and my palms were sweaty, I couldn’t understand why I felt this way. As if he sensed my discomfort he pulled away, picking up his sword. “ So what do you say? Do we fight till death… or keep wasting time worrying about people we killed in our minds?”

“We fight till death, beta,” I said with a smile playing on my lips.

“That’s the spirit,” he said bowing curtly.
Antonio playfully spun his sword, "How about a quick practice, before we go into battle?”
“Let’s do this!”
He grinned and we began to fight, our blades meeting so many times. Antonio was strong, at one point he was winning but I had the upper hand. I waited for the perfect time before striking him with the handle of the sword and that sent him stumbling to the ground. He was breathing hard now.
I pressed my boot on his neck pointing the sword at his face. “Any last words?” I muttered, swallowing hard.
“You are a beautiful warrior !” He said laughing recklessly. “In my next life, I’d never challenge you.”
“Oh please, don’t ruin the game.”

“Oops, sorry, I guess I've incurred your wrath now.”

I winked at him offering him a hand which he accepted, when he stood my head barely reached my chest area.
“Let’s go,” he said storming out and I followed suit.

“I’m so ready to slaughter the witches,” I muttered under my breath, unable to hide the excitement he had invoked.
~

Finally, we parted ways. He went to meet the other pack elements while I followed Alpha Cain through the passageway outside, thunder rumbled from afar over the mountains.
The marble corridors were filled with the noise of our boots, and the air smelled like rain already.

Cain didn’t say anything, his grey cape flapping as the wind blew, he appeared to be troubled but I had no idea why.
“The witches know about our plan, I’m sure they commanded the storm to hide the full moon, they don’t want us to transform.” He said his voice filled with rage.
“It must be Henry’s…”

“No…. It’s not.” He cut me off.

I bit down on my lower lip. “I don’t think we should trust him.”
Alpha Cain stared at me then he patted my cheeks lightly in a fatherly way. “Of course, the bluebloods don’t trust anyone, not even ourselves.”
I nod and he pats my shoulder softly, “The storm is going to be dangerous, tell the remaining warrior to hold off and wait, I need to find out the root of this problem before it gets out of hand.”
“Yes father,” I said and he turned and rounded the corridor disappearing into the darkness.

I stood alone moving closer to the window, from this view I could see the storm clearly, the sky had turned dark, and no sight of the moon.

I thought about Henry again, and how he rejected me in the past.

I shouldn’t have these thoughts now but I couldn’t help myself.

Sometimes I asked myself if I hated him for rejecting me or was just scared I’d fall all over again?

“This is silly,” I sneered, resting my fingers on the cold stony railing. “He’s married to Lacey, not you.”

Lightning struck followed by a deafening crash of thunder. I flinched as the breeze blew my hair off my face. Maybe this was a sign to go back in and alert the guys.
Suddenly, a sharp whistling sound flew towards me, and instantly I tried to hide. I was too slow. The glass had chatter and pain burned my left cheek. I stumbled to the floor holding my bloodied cheeks.

It was an arrow. Someone had fired an arrow straight through the window, in a guise to attack me.
The question is, who’s trying to kill me?