Chapter 32

Chapter 32
|| MONICA's POV ||

Patience!

I told myself for the thousandth time as soon as I landed in front of my castle. My castle! The castle that I grew up in, the castle that held my memories.

How could I forgive the man who was smiling like he had never murdered a whole family?

Pain and rage blurred my vision. Facing the sinner was a great challenge for me. My wolf wanted his blood, his cry, his pain. I was itching for violence but I knew that I would never be successful if I acted recklessly.

Gerrat cast me a disgusted glare before replying to Zion with a fake smile,
" Ah..I see..Why don't we go inside? You have traveled too long."

He led us inside the castle. The more I took steps towards my castle, memories began to hit me hard. The sound of my brother laughing, the yelling of my mother, my childhood self shouting and playing with my father everything began to play in my mind. I found it hard to breathe, so hard that I had to stop at my pace.

King Lucius was walking ahead with Gerrat. Gerrat let him sit down on a dinner table, occupied with all the fancy dishes. I noticed that he had brought major changes to the decorations. This hallway was no longer used as a courtroom. Perhaps he felt too guilty to keep all the old things in its place.

Swallowing hard, I approached King Lucius instinctively to sit down. Before I could sit, Gerrat suddenly blurted out coldly,
" What are you doing woman? How dare you think of eating with the king? You have a different place to sit down. Go over there!"

He pointed at a lower table on the ground. My jaw clenched hard in anger as I realized that he was insulting me openly. I had to endure it for the sake of my revenge. I made my way to the direction but a pair of strong arms caught my wrist. I hated to hear a furious command, coming from Lucius whose eyes were red,
" Sit down here, little slave."

I was awestruck by his command. It was probably the first time that someone had given me respect. I loathed myself more than anything. He was giving me respect yet I couldn't give him loyalty. Swallowing down the emotions, I turned around to sit next to him at the dinner table. Alpha Gerrat looked surprised and angry at the same time. He didn't say another word when I sat next to Lucius.I took it as my first winning since it implied that I had managed to make some spot in Lucius's mind.

Throughout the dinner, Lucius took special care of me. He helped me pick the dishes and from time to time paid attention to me. I felt bad for him for lying to him all the time. Alpha Gerrat barely talked throughout the dinner. When they began some business matters, I excused myself from the table to wander around my old home,
" Your Majesty! I am going to use the washroom if you permit."

Lucius hummed softly and gave me a low warning,
" Go. Don't get lost. Come back soon."

I could tell that Lucius didn't trust Gerrat fully. Smiling at him, I walked in the direction of the washroom. How could I make the mistake of getting lost when I knew every corner of the castle?
___________

Everything changed in this castle. From the curtains to the paintings, all of them changed. Using the washroom was just an excuse for me. I traveled through the rooms and noticed as much as possible.

My track froze in front of the corridor that had a separate space. I remembered that it had a painting of our family. But now it was all gone, left empty and dirty. A voice rang behind me which snapped me out of my thoughts,
" Why is this little girl wandering in this big castle?"

I whipped my head back to face the person standing. My eyes froze at the familiar face, leaving a deep hollow in my chest.

How could it be.....

My uncle! Lucas Drakos!

He stood in front of me, wearing a playful smirk on his lips. My breathing caught in my lungs when I realized that he wasn't dead. Someone told me that night that all of my family members were killed. Uncle Lucas used to love all of us dearly. I couldn't understand how to react in front of him.

Did he recognize me? Could he smell my blood? What was he doing in Gerrat's castle even after knowing that Gerrat had killed our whole family?

I opened my mouth to speak when he blurted out,
" Who are you? Never seen you here girl."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. I was only twelve when the murder happened. I believed that my face was like a faint memory to them. I muttered a reply, my head humming with so many questions,
" I...I was just lost...I came with King Lucius."

His eyes narrowed at the name. Letting out a shrug, he responded eagerly,
" Is he here? Good heavens! You should go back to your master. This castle isn't safe for a lonely girl like you."

He replied and raked his eyes on my body. I felt so disgusted by his eyes that I wanted to punch at his face. Where did my sweet Uncle Lucas go?

Memories flooded my brain. I remembered how he was close to my father. Although he was his step-brother, they never acted like enemies. With a heavy head, I returned to Vincent's side with Uncle Lucas.

As soon as Gerrat saw Lucas, he happily introduced him,
" King Lucius, meet my best buddy, Lucas Drakos. Without him, I wouldn't be able to be here."

They hugged each other passionately. I felt a deep stab in my heart when I understood everything. Lucas... Uncle Lucas.. working for Gerrit?

My heart sank deeper into the bottom. I couldn't believe that the man that my father trusted was no better than a traitor. Uncle Lucas was siding with Gerrat all the time. Did he know about our murder? Didn't he try to stop Gerrat?

I couldn't stand the pain of betrayal anymore. My hand slipped and the fish bowl fell to the ground. Lucius asked worriedly, looking down at me,
" Are you okay? Do you feel sick?"

Yes...I fucking feel sick in my heart!

I murmured an apology, trying to force my tears back,
" I..I am sorry..I was just distracted.."

Gerrat rolled his eyes, throwing a harsh comment,
" That's why you shouldn't bring slaves to the dinner table, my lord. They don't know manners and spoil everything. Agatha was much better."

I blurted out a reply before I could stop my tongue,
" As far as I know, Alpha Gerrat was a slave before becoming the king and Alpha. If he can overcome his boundaries, I am sure that we can overcome them as well."

Gerrat's face clouded in anger over my reply. King Lucius looked shocked but he gave me a small smirk. My heart felt a lot easier to see his support. I never thought that I mattered to him anyways except for fucking.

Uncle Lucas tried to ease the atmosphere, not before glaring at my face,
" Ah.. Let's not talk about the past anymore. We should discuss our state affairs more. I heard that King Zion is growing too much."

I felt sad for my father for being betrayed by his dear brother. How could Lucas do this to my father when he gave him unconditional love? How could he smile with the enemy who destroyed my entire family overnight?