After having breakfast, Acera escorted Sophie back to his room. He could sense she didn't want to go back into that room and it was understandable, however, there was no other option. It's for her own safety as well as ensuring the others who shared the same roof.
The silence was frightening, but none of them bothered to say anything as Sophie went into her cell and Nancy closed the door behind her after Acera marched for his room.
His step halted when reached in front of his office door, which was next to his room. He sniffed the air and his eyes turned dark for a second before he reached for the doors and opened them.
The inside of the office room looked like it was hit by a tornado. Stationery items and all the paper files were scattered throughout the floor collecting dust.
The decorative glass items were smashed near the desk. And the only window this room had was wide open, with curtains flying aggressively from the harsh winds blowing up. The inside of the room matched the stormy weather outside.
Acera narrowed his eyes at the person sitting on his chair with his back facing him. The room dwelled in the dark. He didn't bother to turn on the light; his sight was enough to let him know who that person was.
A thunderous sound of the lightning strike from the sky echoed in the background as Acera made his way through the mess created by that person towards his desk, not caring that his office room was in utter turmoil. His gaze stayed focused on that person as he closed the distance.
Sensing another presence in the room, the person sitting on the chair rolled it to get face-to-face with the owner of the seat.
"You finally manage some time for me. I should be grateful for your presence, your highness." said a sultry voice.
A woman sitting on the chair with her long model-like legs crossed over one another, causing her short dress ridden up to reveal too much of her pale white skin. Her small face was half-hidden by her thick brown curls, but not doing a good job to hide her swollen eyes. She had a glass filled with alcohol in her hand. She gleaned at Acera before chunking the content in the glass down to her throat, flinching at the burning sensation at the back of her throat.
"How long have you been drinking?" Acera asked, eyes never leaving her sad face.
She threw the empty glass to smash it against the far wall, barely missing Acera's head. If not for his sharp reflexes, it would have hurt him. Her scarlet red eyes sadly glared at the man ahead of her.
She giggled, "That's none of your business, Your Highness. I suggest you better go take care of your little mate. The poor thing is stuck here all alone in the house full of predictors hungry for her blood." She said mockingly before stretching her hand to pick up the bottle of alcohol sitting on the edge of the desk.
Acera clenched his jaw at the manner she kept calling him. It irked him to hear that coming from her mouth. She always spoke to him with warmth and liveliness and that's how he preferred her.
She was the only person in the entire world who showed her kindness and love after his mother. She was the only one who knew him inside out. However, right now Acera's heart hurts seeing this person in an awful state, and more awful was the awareness that he was to be blamed for her condition.
With the speed, he grabbed the bottle before she could reach for it and tossed it against the wall. Small chunks of glass collapsed all over the well-carpeted floor of the office.
"Everything related to you is my bloody damn business! Celia. Now, will you stop doing this to yourself!" Acera shouted at her. His eyes were glittering icy cold in the dark, looking scary enough to scare away even a demon, but the woman standing in front of him burst out laughing like crazy. She knew he couldn't hurt him physically, at least. Emotional damage was up for discussion, though.
"Where did this great concern go when you walked all over me? We are together for all our lives and all it took was a day to turn your back on me as soon as you found someone who stake some stupid soulmate claim on you. We are soulmates! She is a foe. Why can't you see this?" Celie was enraged at Acera for keeping Sophie in the castle and after witnessing him show her the special place which was reserved for them, her anger surpassed the levels.
"How naïve I was to keep telling myself that whatever you are doing is for every one of us. I believed that no matter if some random wolf turned out your mate, she couldn't stand against what we had together. Silly? How could you be so stupid, Celia!? How?" Celia kept rambling, sobbing, letting all her emotions out.
Meanwhile, Acera didn't say a word, letting her pour her heart out. He knew somewhere it was his fault only if he had told Celia about his plan beforehand, so they wouldn't end up like this. However, he thought she would know him well enough to fall for this. Though now he couldn't help but regret not doing things another way.
Looking at her crying face, he couldn't stop himself from comforting her and turned to the other side of the desk to take her in his arms.
She tried to resist at first, but eventually let herself accept the comfort he was offering. They both knew they couldn't resist each other for too long. Even a simple touch was enough to calm them.
Acera kept his arms protectively around her as her face was burrowed in his chest. Letting her innocent tears wet his shirt while he was smoothly patting her head.
"It wasn't like what you see. How could you even think I could do this to you? You are too special for me to lose. Even a soulmate can't replace you silly. However, it's all my fault for not telling you about my plan. I'm sorry." He whispered smoothly to her ear once she calmed enough to reason with.
Hearing the words claimed by Acera puts Celia's heart at ease instantly, but a part of her brain stays on guard.
She held Acera's shirt collar in her hand and pulled her back to look straight at him in the eye boldly and demanded.
"She means nothing? Show me."