Chapter 18 A Weird Mistake
CHAPTER 18: A Weird Mistake
Aric's POV
I watched her face the moment I said it.
“Red River Village.”
The change was almost invisible.. almost but I saw a tiny flicker and a brief pause in her eyes before she smoothed her expression back into calm.
If I hadn’t been paying attention... if I hadn’t been studying her since the moment she walked into my hall with her back straight and her chin lifted far too high for a so-called human bride... I would have missed it completely but I was watching her.
I had been watching her every breath, every shift of her weight and every careful choice of words. Her lips curved into a soft smile that seemed too controlled.
“It means nothing to me,” Seraphine said lightly like she was commenting on the weather.
I couldn’t stop myself. I laughed and it felt good to laugh especially when I knew it unsettled her.
“Not that I can tell,” I replied.
Her brows twitched.. just once but it was gone as fast as it appeared but it was enough.
I leaned back against the balcony's railing behind me and crossed my arms relaxed and casual.
“You mentioned it once when you arrived. Then again later when you thought I wasn’t listening. I don’t ignore patterns.”
She stared at me silently with her face carefully blank.
“So,” I went on, enjoying the tension thickening between us, “I asked my Beta to look into it.”
Her eyes sharpened immediately.
“Which Beta?”
“Caspian,” I said. “Annoyingly thorough. Never misses a detail. He’s the sort who reads everything twice.”
Her jaw tightened and I could see it now... the anger building beneath her calmly, slowly and steadyly like fire under ash. She tried to hide it but it crept into her shoulders and stiffened her posture.
“Red River Village,” I said evenly, “was a human settlement. Small, poor and according to human records, it was massacred by lycans. Just another human lie.”
Her hands curled into fists at her sides and I smirked before I could stop myself.
“Oh, that hit a nerve.”
She snapped, “Humans don’t lie about things like that.”
I laughed again, shaking my head.
“Humans lie about everything. Especially when they lose. They love stories.. tragedy sells better when there’s a monster to blame.”
Her eyes flashed brightly and furiously.
“You think slaughtered families are stories?”
“I think humans are very good at crying wolf,” I said calmly. “Every famine, every sickness and every bad harvest... somehow it’s always our fault. Lycans did this. Lycans did that.”
She took a step toward me.
“Because you do.”
I shrugged.
“We don’t need to massacre villages. Humans manage to ruin themselves just fine.”
That did it.
“You’re disgusting,” she spat. “You stand there and talk like you’re clean but you're the most dirty thing I've ever seen!”
I tilted my head, studying her.
“And you stand there pretending you don’t care. Funny thing is, you’re terrible at it.”
Her voice trembled with rage now.
“Red River Village wasn’t a lie.”
“Of course it was.”
“No it wasn't!” she snapped sharply. “You were there!”
I suddenly seemed to freeze and I stared at her, then let out a short and sharp laugh.
“That’s a new one,” I said. “I’ve never led an assault on any human village.”
“You led that one,” she shot back, pointing straight at me. “I saw you.”
“You saw someone,” I corrected. “Not me.”
“You wore the mark of an Alpha,” she fired back. “Your fangs was soaked in blood.”
I scoffed.
“I’m not a coward who attacks defenseless humans.”
Her words was bitter and full of pain.
“That’s rich coming from you.”
My smile hardened.
“Careful, little bride.”
“Careful?” she snapped. “You think I’m afraid of you?”
I stepped closer, deliberately invading her space.
“You should be.”
Her breathing quickened.
“I watched children die because of you!”
That was when I felt it.. the heat and the raw anger pouring off her in waves. It stirred something dark inside me, something sharp and cruel that liked pushing wounds just to see how deep they went.
“Humans exaggerate,” I said softly. “They see one dead body and turn it into a legend.”
Her hand moved quickly and in one blink, the knife was gone from my waist.
Steel flashed and coldly kissed my throat and Seraphine stood there with her chest rising and falling rapidly with the blade pressed just enough to make her point. Her grip was steady and deadly.
The guards outside would have been dead before they even realized what was happening but I didn’t move.. I smiled.
“Well,” I said calmly, “that answers a few questions.”
Her eyes widened just a little.
“That,” I continued, “is exactly what I wanted.”
She froze and I leaned forward slightly, letting the blade press closer.
“You’re not an ordinary human bride, are you?”
Her control was flawless with no shaking and no wasted motion.
“Sardor was right,” I said. “You moved too fast, clean and precise.” I chuckled under my breath. “You’re a damn good human warrior!”
For a moment, she said nothing but then slowly and carefully, she lowered the knife and slid it back into my belt with no apology.
She turned to walk away and I caught her wrist.
“Why are you really here?” I asked quietly.
“Let go,” she snapped, struggling.
I didn’t.
“Did the humans send you to kill me?”
She fought harder than I expected with strength surging through her slim frame.
“Let. Go.”
I tightened my grip and pulled her closer instead. She snarled and slapped me on the cheek.
Pain should have come but it didn’t.. something else did.
Desire coursed through my chest so hard it stole my breath and I inhaled sharply. What in the seven hells...
She tried to pull away again.
“You arrogant...”
I dragged her closer.. too close to my body My body betrayed me as every instinct flared at once wildly and uncontrollably. I had wanted women before but this was different.. this was hunger!
“Stop struggling,” I muttered.
“Get away from me,” she hissed.
I didn’t and unstead, I leaned in and gods help me... she didn’t pull away.
Her breath hitched and her eyes darkened and for one second, the world held still and then she closed the distance and our lips met…!