Chapter 33 Theron’s bracelet.
Amarien's POV
I sprang away from him, back away like a mouse caught in a trap. My heart panted with ferocious intensity.
It's Alpha Theron.
What's he doing here?
How did he find me?
“W w w what do you want?” I muttered, my lips trembling. Tears rolled down my face.
Have I walked into a trap?
They say Alpha Theron only shows up to the human world, with one intention: To kill as many humans as possible.
Silence settled in the room. A damning silence. Theron's icy blue eyes searched mine. His presence in the room suddenly made the space feel smaller, like the air in here was running out, and I could suffocate at any moment.
“Are you going to kill me…” I shivered.
“Your scent…” he said. The smirk on his lips was gone. “Your scent brought me here.”
I swallowed. What's my scent about that gets me in so much trouble? First, it's Daevir, then the emperor. Then Theron?!
“How did you know my name?” My lips quivered. A part of me hoped for a miracle. Maybe Daevir would burst in at any moment to save me just like he had always done.
Maybe this was a dream. A nightmare I had to wake up from and never stray far from the palace again.
But it wasn't.
THIS IS REAL.
And Daevir won't be coming. He is back in the South. He was meant to be protecting us from…him.
“Your scent speaks your voice. I could hear its whispers from a thousand miles away.” He leaned closer to me, making me stumble backwards till my back was against a wall. I shut my eyes as I saw him raise his hand at me.
This is it!
I'm dead!
Oh, but no…,
I felt his fingers brush my cheeks. I opened my eyes, and he was leaning so close I felt his breath on my face.
Tears streamed down my face.
“I’m not going to kill you, Amarien. Why should I do a disservice to the emperor’s trinket?"
I swallowed, my body still shivering.
“What are you doing all by yourself in the woods?” he spat.
I opened my mouth to speak, but couldn't make up words. Not after I just found out a damning secret that could cost the world.
“I'm here to help my friend.”
“Are they ill?” He tilted his head.
I nodded. “He appeared to be a werewolf overnight. He hates himself and wants a cure…”
He threw his head back and roared with laughter that shook me to my core. My sweaty palm held on to the wall.
His laughter stopped abruptly, and his gaze resumed on me. “I see.” He grunted. “So…” he stood upright, “Tell me, Amarien. Does your friend wield a sword and bear a title of…I don't know…a kingdom?”
I shut my eyes. Who am I kidding? Of course, he knows I'm talking about Prince Daevir. If a wolf were to recognize a fellow werewolf, it would be Alpha Theron.
“Talking to you about my prince is treason…”
Theron rolled his eyes and scoffed. “His identity as a werewolf alone is treason.”
“You knew all this while, yet you didn't expose the prince?” I spat. My curiosity was beginning to evaporate my fears.
Theron's gaze lowered to me. He was so tall that he had to look down to match my eyes. “I know many things, Amarien. Exposing it all will be terribly anticlimactic.
He leaned closer, pressing his hand against the wall, while his other hand brushed my chin. “For example, I know Daevir is facing his destiny just like I had two years ago. Mine came much earlier, but who cares? There is no room for comparison when we both share the same fate.”
What is he saying? Why does he speak in parables?
“You don't seem as bad as what they say you are.”
Theron chuckled. “As I said, the legends haven't done me enough justice.”
I felt my palpitating heart slow.
No.
He isn't here to kill me. If anything, he came here to have a conversation. Why with me of all people? I am the bride of his worst enemy.
And what does he mean by 'he and Daevir shared the same fate'?
One would almost think they are brothers with the way he spoke.
“Your scent…” Theron said again.
“I promise, I'm not doing anything…”
“Shhhh,” he placed a finger on my lips and leaned into my neck, sniffing. I felt the bridge of his nose brush my skin, creating shivers that almost paralyzed me.
“You're so frail…” he muttered.
After a moment, he pulled back, his eyes still on me. “Do you want me to walk you back home?”
I shook my head, no. That will only get me in trouble with…everyone. It's one thing that they think that I'm the cursed concubine with a wolf stuck in my wardrobe; it's another for them to see me walking with the mortal enemy of the human race.
I can't.
“You're so frail…” he muttered again as if I was something impossible.
It wasn't pity. It felt like awe.
Theron pulled back, his hands reached for his pocket, and he pulled out a bracelet and swung it gingerly in the air.
“Living in the palace would get you in a lot of trouble.” He said as he lowered the bracelet into my palm and tied it. “Break the bracelet when you need my help.”
When?
Why did he say that like he knows I'm going to need him soon?
There's no way I'll summon Theron into the palace. But before I could give it a second thought. He was gone.
And the bracelet was tied to my palm. I couldn't take it off.