Nelson's POV
My event with Viviana the previous night filled my mind. I strolled down the hallway heading towards my private chamber as I decided to get things ready before the plans for my coronation were set to take place.
Letting out a sigh, the image of Melissa flashed through my mind, the look on her face as she slept peacefully this morning. I came in after spending the night with Viviana.
Even without the love in my heart for her, I couldn't help but feel how bad her life is at the moment, I couldn't help but think that maybe I have contributed in a way and ruined her life in the most disgusting way.
It was never my fault
No it wasn't!
It was all the fault of fate, freaking fate who place two separate hearts together and expect us to love each other.
No way!
Things of the heart don't work this way and the more it keeps bordering me, the more I realize that I just can't keep off Viviana, we have been in this for so long and I don't know I'll see myself cutting ties with her any moment from now.
Melissa
Yes Melissa!
She is beautiful, much more beautiful than Viviana, her look held so much innocence and the way she ignored me these days really made me feel so off balance.
Unlike when she arrived at the pack, I can't forget the sad expression plastered on her face the moment my father spoke to her with so much contempt.
Of course, I couldn't do anything to stop the moment, I myself isn't a saint but at the same time, issues like this could have been avoided if my father must have not agreed to such a deal.
I looked up and to my surprise, a few feet away from my study room was Conri who stood still waiting patiently for me.
"Good to see you Alpha" he let out with a smile as soon as I got closer.
As always, his lips stretched into a smile and I couldn't help but notice the look of certainty buried in his eyes.
"What is the excitement all about?" I asked, walking into the room and Conri followed suit.
Conri chuckled, "What excitement are you talking about?" He implored.
"Come off it old friend, there is something really special going on today, I can see it all in your eyes" I asserted.
A mild laugh escaped his lips, "Nothing out of the ordinary, let's just say that I am in a happy mood, that's all and you don't look bad as well" he noted.
"Why do you say so, Conri?" I was a bit puzzled.
"The excitement of you becoming the Alpha"
I took a seat, glanced at the table filled with papers and a pen, "There is no excitement attached to this, to be honest, I feel a bit nervous knowing that I have yo take all responsibilities all alone"
"You aren't alone Nelson. You have me as your beta and also the elders of this pack, we will have to face any issue together, the interest of this pack is all we fight for"
I smiled at his comforting words, "You are right.." I glanced at him, "I am sorry that I have been so busy these past days. And I do know that you are angry with me because I didn't come to pay a visit to you as we always do before you left the pack"
Conri chuckled, "Come on, that's all In the past and you don't have to apologize for being busy these past days. You are preparing for your coronation and of course,you are a married man now, it's efficient you spend more time with her"
Hearing him speak about Melissa, the smile on my face faded, a look I didn't try to hide away from him.
"Did I say anything wrong?" Conri asked in a softened tone, his gaze not leaving me.
"It's best we don't talk about Melissa"
"But why?" He asked to my surprise, "She is your mate and I see no wrong in saying things that involves her"
I looked away from Conri, my eyes fixed on the pile of papers but I didn't say any word but stared longer than expected.
"Are you alright Nelson?"
"I am fine"
"No you are not," Conri argued,"I know you far more than anyone else. Although we have had our disagreements back in the days, that doesn't change the fact that we were best friends when growing and we will always be. Fine…" he paused letting out a deep breath, "I heard it all from your sister that you were never in agreement of your marriage with Melissa but that doesn't change the fact that you are now married to her"
"I don't love her" I found myself saying but the look on Conri's face says otherwise.
"She is a sweet girl Nelson, don't forget that"
I turned to him, "She might be sweet but this is an issue of the heart Conri. You are a man like me, you should know better how I feel and not speak like I am a villain"
Conri didn't utter a word but stared at me, he folded his arms, there was an expression on his face, a sharp one that traveled deep into my soul.
"If you don't love her, why then did you save her life from being attacked"
My eyes widened in shock at my words, immediately, I felt dumbfounded, finding it very hard to say anything.
The event of that day deep in the woods flashed through my mind, the frightened look on Melissa's face as she was about to get torn apart, the screams and running away of the werewolf who was about to kill her.
"Come on, tell me Nelson, if you don't in any way care or feel something for her, you should have just let her die. That .even make it easy for you to be with the lady your heart beats for and not a human but instead of you allowing her die, instead, you reduced her and brought her back to the pack to be attended to, that means there is definitely a little act of emotion towards you to her"
"But how do you know about this Conri?" I asked looking very surprised, "You were not in the pack and this is something known by only those enclosed by the walls of the royal household"
Conri sniffed, "You should know that nothing goes around that I don't know about"
"My sister told you, right?" I raised a brow.
"Yes she did"
"I know it! Anabelle just doesn't know how to keep her mouth shut"
I felt a touch on my shoulder, I looked up to find Conri gazing at me with a smile, "The moon goddess must have her reason for this, get to know Melissa better because with the few times I have spent with her, she is really a nice girl and a sweet one. You know the way women are, the longer you harden your heart towards her, the more she stays away from you"
A knock on the door invaded Conri words.
"Prince Nelson!" We heard a loud voice calm out from outside.
Quickly, I got to my feet, walked towards the door and unlocked it only to find one of the guards staring at me with worried eyes.
"Prince Nelson!" He called out immediately, got on his knees, his eyes trembled with great terror.
"What happened?"
"An attack, we got attacked by some werewolves deep in the woods"
Shocked, I glanced at Conri who had a very serious look on his face.
"Attacked?"
"Yes, we got attacked, two of our men got wounded and one was taken captive by our attackers. I was lucky enough to escape that is why I am here to inform you of this news"
The whole room felt quiet, deep rage flashed through my body and I could feel blood rush violently through my veins.
"Did you get the chance to know what pack they are from?" Conri asked, visibly angry.
The trembling guard looked up at the beta, "Yes I did. They are the silver-eyed wolves from the Hunters pack. They had the trap set for us already, it was like they had an idea we were going to pass through that route on our way to the human world"
"Those bastards!" Conri let out with fury.
The last words of the guards caught me off guard and I couldn't help but feel very worried. If it is really true that they had an idea, then, it isn't a good sign at all.
"But it's not possible for them to have a knowledge of the route the guards intend to take" Conri spoke out, staring at the guard who had his head bowed down.
"Then it means one thing" I muttered, this time, I could feel great heat which arose in me, then the truth dawned on me, hiding me much harder than it has ever done before.
"Then it means that we have a traitor"
"A traitor!"
"Yes, a traitor. The hunters pack has been our pack's most notorious rival. They will do anything to get to us even if it means killing half of their population. The ancestral issue we have with them has eaten deep into their heart and we must fetch out who this traitor is"
"Prince Nelson" the guard before us spoke, still unable to raise his head up to us.
"We have to rescue our member who was captured by them," he recalled with fear in his voice.
"Leave now, I will call for a meeting with the rest of the guard very soon. For now, inform the guards guarding the gates of the pack, tell them to be on alert, we don't know the next strike this rival pack might choose to take and with the look of things, it might get more bloody than expected. I have a coronation that will take place very soon and I want nothing to ruin it" I warned sternly.
"Noted, Prince Nelson" the young man responded, got to his feet and ran down the hall as fast as his legs could take him.
"A traitor in the pack?" Conri asked as soon as we were out of contact. His words were more like a statement than a question.
"This is the only explanation"
"This is serious, who will want to have any business to do with our enemy. If this is definitely true, then it's best we find the culprit as fast as we can and be mindful with the information we get concerning the welfare of the pack" Conro said gazing at me as I begin to pace around, so many words going through my mind as I found it very hard to assert.
Who will want to betray the trust of the pack?
The hunters pack are more dangerous and poisonous when they are ready to strike and I won't take any chances for things to get messed up, I must act fast to avoid things getting ruined before my coronation as the Alpha of the Fridolf pack.
I turned my gaze to Conri who stood next to the door, "Call the elders, we have a meeting to hold and a guard to rescue,any other activities for the day should be abandoned and this meeting should be intact, no man must be absent" I noted.
"I will do just that" Conri notified and walked out of the leaving me to my thoughts.
As bitter as I was, I bit my lower lip in search of an answer to what might be going on. The whole thing looks very surprising, this is something that never occured during my father's regime and I must avoid it from coming to light in mine.
"Never! No one will ruin things before the coronation, no man, no werewolf, not even the moon goddess"
I picked up my cloak and walked out of the room locking it behind me.