Aurelius's fangs lengthened. He buried his head even further into the crook of her neck and closed his eyes. Images of Charlotte in a pool of blood flashed before his eyes, and his eyes flew open. That is what would happen if he marked her now.
He withdrew his hand from her waist, and she breathed ,moving away from him.
He took her out of the cage, and they went their separate ways. Days had passed, and Charlotte already had her final manuscript and two more copies of the book. It took her lots of sleepless nights to complete, so she felt a bit ill after she was done.
As she was in the walk-in closet, she sneezed as she was working. Aurelius suddenly paused in the bathhouse and relaxed.
"Stay back, omega Charlotte," he ordered. The two other maids left immediately. Alpha Aurelius and Charlotte in the room stare at each other as the door shuts.
"Come here,"
Charlotte walked towards him .
He placed the back of his hands on her forehead and discovered that she had a fever.
"Lay on the bed while I make fire," he coaxed.
"Would you like to share breakfast with me?"
"No, I have eaten already, thanks for your kindness my king"
"The food must be bland. Don't you want steak?"
"I ate meat already today. My sister knows someone. I can't tell you in detail."
"Suit yourself then.
"I must go now. The maids would start to suspect what's not true"
"My private servants won't breathe a word of my personal affairs with any living soul. No matter his or her influence."
No wonder Madame Rueda didn't bother asking the workers; it would have been a lot easier for her that way. If they divulged the secret of their king, they could also betray him.
"Why are you being so nice to me?"
"Because your sister is very powerful," he teased.
She sighed and lay on the feather-stuffed bed covered with silk sheets. She thought about her life journey so far. She left home without any belongings and became a maid at the palace only to find out that she might be the king's mate. She didn't ask again because his true response would rattle he
Alpha Aurelius went into the walk-in closet and brought a thick blanket made of wool. "Did you have that all these while?"
"No, it was woven."
"It must have taken a lot of time."
"It didn't."
"They won't want to offend the alpha king, I bet they wove it for days without sleeping."
"It's their job."
"What a nasty bully," Charlotte snorted.
"I'll reward them ," he said, trying to redeem himself. He felt an indescribable urgency to please her.
"Do you know what a flute is?"
"No."
"Do you know what music is?"
"No."
"Come to think of it, I've never heard anyone sing it and make sounds with instruments here. You like a boring life around here. All you know is to work, eat, and procreate," she mumbled to herself .
Charlotte didn't see it, but Alpha Aurelius's eyes darted around at the mention of the word "procreate".
"My hometown is more developed and better than your country."
"The east?"
"Yes. I've been there sometimes; it's quite different from here
You are all copycats, trying to be more of a human than being a wolf."
"And how has being more of a wolf helped you?"
As he was about to reply, he sensed someone coming towards the door. He ladled her along with the blanket and headed to the closet.
"Don't throw me into the closet," she protested.
He shut the door and went to sit at the edge of the bed, acting like nothing had happened. Madame Rueda barged in, and Alpha King Aurelius welcomed her with a fierce glare.
"You won't barge into the king's room like that as from today," he growled.
"Where is she?"
"Leave now," Alpha King Aurelius snarled.
"Who knew you could be this possessive?" Madame Rueda said with a soft smile, and Aurelius looked away.
Madame Rueda scanned the room once more before walking out. He sensed that she was far from his chamber. He then walked into the closet and found the little omega raking through his treasure chest. She had a pearl bracelet on her slender wrist.
"What are you doing?"
"Playing princess with real gemstones," she said with a grin before turning back to the chest. He really should scold her for going through the king's private property. Sadly ,he couldn't bring himself to do that.
"This is what we call a flute," she exclaimed.
"Oh, I don't remember having that," he mumbled. He felt glad within him . Something in his possession could make her countenance brighten that much.
"I could play for you one day."
"Why don't you play it now?"
"What will I get in return for playing it?"
"What do you want?" She was about to say something but paused. Her expression grew dimmer. She dropped the flute back into the chest along with the pearl bracelet.
"I would like to take my leave now. Thank you for your generosity, great alpha king." He was perplexed about her change in mood.
She probably realized that she shouldn't be so jolly around the king. He remembered how his heart felt light earlier. He had the urge to caress her strawberry blonde hair that made him feel like it was autumn.
She walked out of the closet, and he sighed, wondering how long they would continue to be this way.
Ella headed to the tavern at night like she planned. The place was somewhat merry, so she decided to adapt.
She wouldn't be taken seriously if she dressed like a maid; hence she dressed as a merchant. She got on the table in the middle of the tavern and took a deep breath; she had to channel her charm into this.
After some minutes of drinking and dancing.
"Have you heard about humans before?" She said to the man beside her, a bit louder than normal. Werewolves had a keen sense of hearing. Her loud voice must have disrupted the normal frequency of the sounds they were hearing. Hence ,she was positive she had their attention.
"Why would I need to know about them?"
"Why shouldn't you? Even the wisest nobles in the land know little to nothing about them. There was a noble lady that traveled to the far East and learned about humans. She learned about their rich lifestyle and how they do things to make their lives easier and better. She then became wiser and richer after using all what she learnt.
If you learn about humans before others, you will become richer and even wiser, wiser than the King's ministers," she said in a low whisper.
It was still audible enough for a werewolf to hear.
"How do I gain this wisdom?"
"It is pretty easy as far as you can read. The power in what this noble lady calls a book is insurmountable. Why? Because once you have it, no one can take it away from you. It is not like the post of the minister that you have to fight for . It is not your werewolf abilities that can wane as you get older."
An old werewolf that she recognized to be a minister tapped her shoulder.
"Would you like to come and drink with us,little Omega?" He said with a kind smile.
"Sure, my lord."
"You can't go yet." The man she started the conversation with snarled.
"Well, there's enough to go round," she said, spreading her arms wide. and every werewolf in the tavern secretly heaved a sigh of relief.
"For just three people." She completed,putting her hands on her hips.
"I'll pay ten million shekels for the book." The old minister declared.
"My old minister here seems to be the destined owner of one of the books. It took me a week to learn how to say the word "book" but he said it once. He deserved this power." The last phrase stirred the hearts of all the werewolves at the tavern. Who wouldn't want an insurmountable power that they would feel they deserved though they got without any hassle at all?
"I will collect the payment in cash only."
The minister beckoned to his servant and whispered into his ear. The servant bolted out and came back five minutes later with a sack of money and a scale. They measured the coins as counting would take time.
"Here you go, my lord," she said as she brought out one of the books in her sack. It was quite voluminous and had a fancy fur cover.
Everyone ogled at the mere appearance of the book. The fact that there were only two copies left created an urgency. Soon, the merry tavern turned into a heated auction house.
"I will pay 12 million shekels," one shouted.
"I will pay 15."
"16."
"18."
"21."
It was now a game of influence. Anyone who called out a higher number attracted the attention of people in the tavern. They were immediately viewed as influential people.
The second book was sold at 34 million shekels, and the last 50 million shekels.
Ella had the urge to laugh and scream hysterically like a mad rogue. Charlotte wouldn't believe her eyes. She took the three heavy bags of coins and walked out of the
She got to the edge of the tavern and, she saw someone she had been avoiding for days, the last person she wanted to see.
Just as she was about to escape, he pinned her to the wall of the tavern, the big bag of money in her hands serving as a barrier.
His face was about to touch hers, but she bit on his arm hoping that would be able to help her escape but he didn't flinch. What would a little bite do to the Alpha King Gamma?
Thorne would like to mark her in a more ceremonious way but he wanted to secure t
heir bond first. He bent even further, his fangs grazing the fair skin of her neck as he whispered.
"I heard it doesn't hurt; so stay still," he coaxed as his fangs lengthened.