Chapter 5: Conflicting Feelings
“We deem your claim to the throne valid by all accounts. The trials will commence on the Full Moon Festival. Show us… that you are worthy of the crown you once abandoned before.”
I felt my heart beating once again as soon as the Elders started to step out of the room. Medea gritted her teeth before stomping her ornately designed shoe on the marble floor and storming off.
“Your Highness,” Kieran called as he offered his hand to me. “Shall we enjoy the night first before going back?”
Before I could reply, I felt another hand grab my arm. My jaw twitched as I turned to look who it was, only to be met by a pair of jaded green eyes, the ones that used to stare at me all night long.
Augustus…
“The waltz will start soon. Let’s dance,” Augustus commanded, his grip tightening around my wrist. I yanked my hand away, to no avail.
“Alpha Augustus,” Kieran growled as he grabbed Augustus’s wrist, trying to peel his hand off me. “Her Highness clearly did not want to dance with you.”
His jaw clenched as he met Kieran’s burning gaze. “What, is she mute? I believe she can talk for herself, you impure hound.”
“You—!”
“Kieran.” My hand landed on his chest, stopping him from lunging at Augustus. “I’ll dance with him. For old times’ sake.”
He straightened his coat, still not peeling his gaze away from Augustus. When he realized that I wasn’t joking, Kieran stormed off like a kid.
I have never seen him act that way, nor did I want to, but somehow, his jealousy was sending Fluke into a frenzy that she began to howl again.
“Mate… my mate!”
“You should keep your eyes on your partner now, Your Highness,” Augustus whispered to my ear before pulling me into the middle of the dance floor. He placed my hands in the right places, as if he had memorized them.
The whispers around the hall were deafening, and I wanted to tear off my ears right then and there. But Augustus, not paying them any piece of his mind, continued to sway and glide through the dance floor to the sound of a sultry violin and trumpet piece.
“You… lost weight,” he commented as he guided me through. “I didn’t remember you being this thin.”
“Cut the act,” I hissed. “My weight is none of your concern, Alpha Augustus.”
His teeth gritted, meeting my hostility. “I’m just worried about your health. You weren’t exactly the healthiest, Hestia.”
I sarcastically laughed. “Ha! I didn’t know you could still care after leaving me in the middle of the forest, half-dead, for wild animals to eat.”
His grip tightened around my waist. “If I truly left you for dead, then how are you able to stand and dance with me right now? I was blindsided by Medea, Hestia. She told me you ran away!”
“Ran away? From our marriage? I really should’ve done that before I met who you really are.” I secretly stomped on his foot under my dress. “Loving you… was the greatest waste of my time.”
“Waste of time?” he echoed, his jaw tightening as seconds passed. “When I told you I love you and that I wanted to marry you, that was the truth and nothing else!”
“If that was the truth, then why did you never claim me, Augustus?” I shot back, my voice cracking. “Even Kieran offered himself to me the moment I asked him to. But you—”
“Stay away from him,” he cut me off. “Don’t you know how dangerous he could be? He’s a White Wolf! Those impure bastards don’t—”
My eyebrow raised. “Impure? At least he was willing to love me. Kieran saved me after you discarded me, Augustus. I don’t think you have the right to judge him when you weren’t even half the man he was!”
Maybe some of the words I said were to make him jealous. After all, I had loved Augustus for 18 years of my life. Letting him go…
It was as easy as the trials.
“When I stood beside you as your Vassal before, I truly meant it when I said that pledge…”
My eyes avoided his. “And yet, here you are, a Vassal for somebody else… Your actions are far different from what you are doing.”
His grip tightened as he made me look at him. “I’m only warning you once, Hestia. Drop out of the competition while it’s still early. Or else… don’t blame me if I’m going to be hard on you.”
I do not understand why he even grabbed me to dance when he intended to argue with me, let alone dictate what I should or shouldn’t do. I should be the least of his worries.
“Look, Alpha, I’m honestly not scared of you,” I whispered aggressively as we approached the end of the song. “But what I know is that I’m going to make you pay for the hell you gave me, tenfold. You should beware—”
Fluke’s howls grew louder in my ears when Augustus pulled me and slammed his lips on mine. I slapped his chest countless times, as I almost got deafened by Fluke’s resounding howls. I bit hard on his lip, making him pull away.
“You. Fcking. Asshle!” I gritted my teeth, meeting his green eyes once more. But before I could open my mouth to speak, I noticed that they were wet and…
Was he crying?
“I missed you, Hestia… I really did. And you don’t know how many nights I stayed awake, waiting for you—”
“Sorry, Alpha, but drama’s over.”
My mouth gaped as another man, dressed in a red-and-black ensemble with golden embroidery, suddenly swooped in and took me from Augustus’s hand. I glanced over the stranger’s shoulder and saw Augustus trying to go after us, to no avail; one of his mother’s friends suddenly appeared to ask him for a dance.
“You should focus your eyes on your partner, trouble.”
I stumbled for a few steps when our eyes met, heat coursing through my body as he crossed the remaining space between us, trapping me to dance with him. Despite not seeing his face, those dark eyes told me who he was.
It has been a year since… and yet, this stranger from the Reds never stopped leaving me in awe.
Once again, I hear Fluke scream, “My mate!”
“Why did you suddenly leave the cave when I left for food, my little trouble?”