Chapter 10
I followed Theo out of the Palace and into the forbidden garden. As I thought that just a month before I had stepped into this place by chance and had almost perished, I couldn't help but reminding myself that life is full of uncertainties, and you can never know what will befall you.
The garden was eerily silent, probably because Theo's aura was so powerful that even the bugs and birds didn't dare make a sound here. The skulls hanging from the trees, grinning and pale white under the moonlight, were even more bizarre.
We came to a grassy knoll, and Theo put his arm around me. "In ten minutes it will be full moon time, when the moonlight is strongest, and when my power is strongest."
As I gazed up at the night sky, I spotted a full moon shining brightly amidst a sea of stars. The details on the moon's surface were sharp and well-defined, almost as if I could reach out and touch it.
"Your Majesty, what must I do?" My voice trembled with some nervousness mixed with excitement.
"You don't need to do anything, just lie down," Theo's voice softly replied, picking me up before laying me down on the grass. His face was so close to mine that his warm breath tingled my skin, and his glittering golden eyes gazed at me as if they penetrated my soul.
"I'll shift later, don't you be scared, babe. You can keep your eyes closed." Having said this, he gave me a peck on my lips, stood up and undressed.
Soon he stood naked in front of me, his body Michelangelo's David bathed in the soft light of the moon. As the moonlight cast its glow over him, I could see the fine contours of his face, the deep-set eyes, and his perfectly proportioned torso with the sinewy muscles that seemed to have been carved out with a knife, full of virility.
I gulped and resisted the urge to rush over and touch it.
Suddenly, I felt a chill running down my spine and the could hear the sound of the wind whistling in my ears. I glanced Theo's canines emerge and sharp nails emerging from his fingers. With a crack and a twist, I heard his neck realign. I felt dizzy and closed my eyes.
I felt a tongue licking my neck and tickling me, which made me giggle. I opened my eyes and they met with a pair of amber-colored eyes, full of tenderness.
A white wolf was lying in front of me, his beautiful snow-white fur glowing in the moonlight and radiating a mystical energy, as if he possessed some otherworldly power.
I remembered that night I came back from the bar; it wasn't a dream about a wolf, but Theo was really saving me.
I reached out and gently petted the fur on his back neck, asking, "Is that really you?"
He seemed to be enjoying this and let out a moan. "Babe, it's me." His voice was soft like a spring breeze, and I my body suddenly felt warm.
Exposing his razor-like teeth, he bit down on his front paw, and soon blood gushed from his front paw. He extended paw towards my mouth and ordered me to drink.
I opened my mouth to allow the blood to drip in; it was warm with a hint of sweetness, not at all better as I had expected. It tasted yummy to me.
I must have drunk half a cupful before Theo withdrew his front paw.
A warmth flowed down to my stomach, it soon spread to every vessel in my body, and suddenly I felt a sharp, stabbing pain in my chest.
I writhed on the ground in pain and coughed violently. I sensed an unfamiliar strange taste in my mouth, and I spat out a mouthful of a viscous black liquid.
I lay on the ground and gasped for air, the pain in my chest having eased. I felt lucky to be alive and looked back at Theo, who had somehow shifted back. He approached me and took me in his arms, wiping the sweat from my forehead with a wave of his hand.
"Your body has been detoxified, and you are now able to shift; soon you will have your own wolf."
"Oh, thank you!" I reached up with tears of joy in my eyes and touched his jawline, his beard raking across my fingers and a tingle travelling through my entire body.
He sensed my desire, and the next second he pinned me down, pressed his lips against mine, and invade his tongue into my mouth. I held his waist tightly, and I wanted to be as one with him.
His tongue slid down my neck, past my collarbone, and then onto my full breasts. He made a purr sound and then took my nipple in his mouth. I felt shivers run through my body and sank my nails deep into the skin of his back. I started to moan and felt my breasts swell up and almost burst.
His tongue continued to move down, and my primal desire to let him enter grew stronger and stronger. Just as my consciousness was about to collapse, his world suddenly flashed in my head: I'll shift soon.
I thought once I shifted into a wolf, only then would I find my fated mate. I would wear a white wedding gown and receive the blessing of the Moon Goddess, hand in hand with my fated mate...
Thinking about it, I instinctively snatched at my underwear before it could be removed.
"Don't ...." I struggled to squeeze out my words.
Theo looked up and gasped impatiently, "What's wrong, Babe?"
"I… I feel guilty under the moon." I stammered.
Theo stared at me as if he could see through my discomfort.
He sat up lay next to me and relented, "Okay, I won't force you, but I can't give you any promises."
Hearing his words, my heart stuttered. Although I had never expected anything to happen between Theo and me, I was still a little sad when he said he couldn't give me any promises.
"Do you know why this place is called the Forbidden Garden?" he asked me, breaking a long silence.
I shook my head.
"Because my mother is buried here." His voice was calm and expressionless.
I followed the direction of his finger as he pointed towards a tombstone among the flowers not far away.
"You know my mother's identity?"
"Um…." I stammered.
"The best memories of my life were before I was five years old, when my Mom would read me bedtime stories, kiss me and say good night before I went to sleep. In fact, when my father discovered me, I cried and didn't want to leave her for him." His voice trembled with emotion, and after a pause he continued.
"Mama told me, I was born a rogue, I can only be a whore; I can't choose who I have children with, and now I am even less qualified to choose to let you stay. I am letting you go so that you can have a choice in the future. Because you are the son of a king, no longer the son of a whore."
My heart was full of mixed feelings at this time. I had never thought about choice before, because I didn't need to choose.
I was the Alpha's eldest daughter and the first in line to the throne, and I was destined to be the Alpha of the future, I had liked Jacob because he was destined to marry me through a union between our Packs; everything else, as long as I wanted it, seemed to be available to me.
But now I realized that I had become someone with no right to choose, and not even my life was in my own hands.
"At least my mother died with the choice of being buried among her favourite lavender rather than surrounded by weeds in a cemetery. Let's go back." His cold voice brought me back from my thoughts.
Theo's shadow stretched out before him, and he looked lonely and isolated in the still darkness. I followed his every movement closely, but was unable able to catch up or talk with him.
When I awoke the following morning, Esther announced that Theo and Luke had left Lycan Territory for a few days.
With nothing to occupy me, I was bored and was alone in my room with only my phone for company, and before long, I could sense my stomach growling. So I went to the kitchen to find something to eat.
When I entered the kitchen, I saw the maids, Lily and Rosemary, having their tea. They were enjoy themselves and giggling as they talked, but when they saw me coming in, they immediately fell silent.
I smiled politely and asked, "Is there anything to eat? I haven't had my lunch yet."
"It's long past lunchtime, you can make your own if you want to eat!" Lily glanced at me, and I sensed hostility in her tone.
I ignored her insolence and opened the fridge, taking some plain cucumber sandwiches out.
"Those sandwiches are teatime food for us servants; if you are not a servant, you had better not touch it," Rosemary said abruptly.
They were clearly looking for a fight as Esther had told me that I could eat everything in the kitchen. Besides, they hadn't objected when I ate in the kitchen before.
"If I can't eat the servants' food, please make me a sandwich," I said calmly, folding my arms as I eyed them.