Chapter 80 Chapter 79
Evelyn.
Days blurred into an endless stretch of time, and my world revolved around the confines of the secluded chambers where the Alpha King was imprisoned in his wolf form. Despite the agony it brought, I remained by his side, my unwavering determination unyielding. My days merged into nights, and my nights into days, as I sat beside him, sharing my meals, recounting stories of our kingdom, and singing gentle melodies in the hope of bringing him back to his human self.
I lost track of how long we spent there, but my focus remained on helping him. He howled in pain and struggled against his restraints, and it broke my heart. I fed him, spoke to him, and never let my eyes wander from his form. His once commanding eyes now held a desperate, frenzied glint, and his powerful frame thrashed against the restraints that held him captive.
After a while, I began to get concerned of how much time had passed while I was down here. I turned to the duke Ethan when he came with a platter of food on a tray, walking towards us. "Duke Ethan, how much time has passed since we've been here?" I inquired, my eyes still focused on the Alpha King.
He gave me a weary look and sighed. "It's the evening of the second day, Evelyn." I swallowed hearing those words, nodding my thanks as I refocused my attention back to the Alpha King. He stayed with us for a while and seeing that everything was fine, exited the secluded chambers.
Taking the huge piece of meat that has brought in with the platter, I placed it into the cage, grabbing a grape from it's bunch as I gestured to the piece of meat. "Food has been brought in, you should eat." I whispered to it, giving it a small smile. But he remained unresponsive, merely glancing at the food before turning away, his wolf-like instincts apparently still dominating his actions. A melancholy smile tugged at my lips as I witnessed his disinterest, knowing that patience was my closest ally in this situation.
I quietly ate my meal, forcing it past my throat till I lost interest as well, and just curled to myself, resting my head on my knees. Exhausted from the emotional turmoil of the past days, I eventually drifted into a fitful sleep on the floor beside him, the cold, hard surface offering no comfort, but my thoughts never strayed from the man within the wolf.
The moment I awoke, my senses crackled with an acute awareness that something had shifted in the chamber. The heavy, almost oppressive aura that had enveloped the room had given way to an electrifying tension. Slowly, I sat up from the floor, casting my gaze towards the cage.
And there he sat, the Alpha King, no longer a frenzied wolf, but a man, his human form restored. His features bore an impassive expression as his enigmatic eyes locked onto mine. By some magic, he already had a piece of clothing covering his entire body, his long black hair sticking to his face, and making his handsome face haughty looking. The sight of him in this momentous state filled me with a potent mix of awe and trepidation, and I swallowed tightly as I held his gaze, my heart pounding in my chest. Now that I think about it, he's never let me see his body before. Always hiding it away, always clothed. Could it be...? I stopped myself from thinking about it, focusing on the issue at hand.
For a long time, all we did was look at each other, with my hands gripping the huge steel bars, while he stayed at the darkest corners of the cage, his eyes the only thing shining through. Eventually, I broke the eye contact, lowering my gaze to the floor.
"You know, dealing with your wolf is so much better than dealing with you." I whispered, my voice tinged with sadness. His eyes narrowed, the atmosphere tensing but he didn't say anything else, turning his gaze away and staring into the distance. My lips began to tremble and I moved closer to the cage, my heart hurting.
"I'm sorry for saying that, I didn't mean it that way." I said, hoping that he would at least give me a reply, but he just stared ahead in silence. Had it been I knew my way out of here, I would have lept to my feet and ran out. My sorrow deepened with every passing moment of his silence and I grew desperate.
"You should leave." He finally spoke, his voice like gravel. "Get the hell out of here." He growled, closing his eyes.
I stiffened, my eye widening in shock. He turned to look at me, a deep frown on his face. "Or, do you want to make fun of me?" He asked.
"No, I... I would never do such a thing." I started to defend myself but cut it short, an exhausted breath leaving my lips. "Always the pessimist. You knew everything, didn't you?" I asked and watched as his face grew harder. Tears stung my eyes but I continued speaking. "About my plans to kill you. You knew it, didn't you? After all, you were the wolf that saved me from those men... You must have known from the beginning what my intentions were."
Despair wrapped itself like a snake on my heart, squeezing it out as tears ran down my cheeks. "Why didn't you say anything? Or try to stop me? Were you that eager to die?! Did nothing make sense to you anymore!?" I yelled, my voice echoing in the secluded chambers as I broke down in tears. "If it truly did not matter to you anymore, why did you drag me into it?!"
"If you're going to just talk, you should just leave." He repeated, his eyes still closed. I gritted my teeth, growing vexed.
"I don't want to just talk! I want to understand why you're doing this! I want to understand you!..." Tired, I let my hands fall from the bar as I stared at the ground. "I'm tired of this. I'm tired of going back and forth with you. One minute you're cruel and heartless, the next... You're doing and saying all these things." I covered my face in my hands as I continued to cry. "I've lost too many people in my life. I can't afford to lose anymore." I whimpered, sniffing loudly.
When I turned my gaze up to look at him, the grief I felt was mirrored in his eyes but nothing else was there. He still had that inscrutable mask on and it was hard to gauge his emotions. Finally, he looked away, seemingly curling deeper into himself.
"You should leave." He repeated again, this time quieter and filled with pain. "Go!" He yelled and I flinched, startled. He rubbed his forehead with his hands. "Go away, please." He begged, his voice shaking.