*Adriel's POV*
"Sir,Alpha Lohan is here yet again. Should I let him in?"
I kept my eyes on the letter I was writing
"Is he begging to see me yet?"
"He looks very regretful of his outburst earlier, he is desperate" the messenger said with some similarity of pity in his voice.
I signed my name on the letter and ordered him in.
A few minutes later,Lohan stormed in, slamming the door behind him. His eyes looked deprived of sleep above anything else. They held hate and undeniable pain after a great betrayal. He slowed his , taking his time,as if calculating his moves against me. He will be a fool to try anything stupid. I will have his head right in this room. But who am I to discriminate based on intelligence? After all,the foolish and the wise taste all the same.
"Cakes?"I offered,poking a bit more at his self-restraint.
"They taste like optimism.Your favourite mood."
"You were the one that caused the fire,"he began,in a voice so angry the words came with a small tremble.
"Yes." I answered calmly,cutting the velvet cake.
"You bastard!"he snapped.
I laughed and shook my head. I placed some cake in my mouth and prepared myself for a lecture from the boy. I hope it ends in violence, and my letters are decorated with red.
"We had a deal; you told me to make her break the engagement. To make sure it happens…I did exactly so"he said through gritted teeth. "Even knowing of Alpha Denzel's fury, I made a plan, and I told my mother—"
"To hit her?" I asked, cutting him off.
His eyes watched my grip harden on the table knife.
"Oh no, don't let me cut you off now.Continue,You were saying that you not only knew of the slap,you planned it."
Silence.
"Isn't that so? Don't stop now that you have reached the climax of the story." I left my blood rage even at the mere thought of the incident.
"It was my mother's idea,"he murmured.
I stared at the coward in disgust. "And you agreed to it?"
He swallowed and said nothing.
"My job is nowhere near done,It seems like I should have burned it all to ash." I said I was cutting myself another piece of the cake.
"No,you can't! " he yelled, coming to the table like a man running to his own grave.I waited for him to get closer before I could react.
"You are supposed to protect my pack from such fates. We have a deal!If she calls the engagement off, you protect the Forchesca pack.It was just a freaking slap, but I did my part."
I grabbed him by his shoulder and pierced the knife in his collarbone,so close to his neck that he knew that I could have killed him if I wished to.
"I asked that there would be no harm to her!" I spat as he fought to break free from my grip. "And fucking includes hitting her, you idiot."
The red liquid poured down his torso,making his light green attire ten times darker. He grunted and winced in pain as I pulled out my silver knife and pushed him away. I heard a sharp snap as my knife left him.
"You damned fool!" I cursed loudly.
He staggered away,holding his chest.
I walked calmly towards him."Don't fret,you won't die by my hand. However,I will most certainly burn the rest of Forchesca land for daring to lay a finger on my lady."
His inner wolf took over his lungs, and he growled loudly and raced towards me. I stood still and waited for his next move . For that reckless move made out of anger and impulse. He vibrated deep in his throat and his eyes turned canine. I waited patiently for him to shape-shift as I held his gaze. It didn't come. His anger started regressing, and little by little, he turned back to normal.
"You poor soul,plagued by chains of fear and self-restraint,.You will be way more interesting if you show your wolf often." I smiled.
His eyes watched me with careful disdain,his silence intact.
"Consider the fact that you lived a great blessing; I kill people for far less."
I walked around the table and took my seat. "When I burn the rest of your lands,you, their Alpha, will be there to help them rebuild. Injured, yes,but alive." I continued,paying my full attention to my dessert. "Now,leave before your blood soils my rug any further."
I rubbed the bloody knife over a piece of cake as his steps faded away contemplating eating it or not.It was not a boring idea.
I chewed a while while taking steady breaths to reduce the tension that had built in me. The taste of his blood proved my theory ; just as I said, the foolish and the wise tasted all the same.
*Kiara's POV*
I returned from my morning ride around the fields early after hearing that I had a guest,none other than Lady Forchesca herself. I wasn't eager to hear an apology or an explanation, yet I found it strange that she came.And so early too.The audacity or perhaps the intense regret—they all seemed too strange, and the curiosity had made me force my horse to go a bit faster than usual.
I smiled at her when our eyes met. The type of plain smile that crept on my face when I didn't know what else to do. She stood up from her seat with a rush of urgency.
I sighed and greeted her with a bow; she did the same but lower.
"Lady Forchesca,the last thing I want is a crisis between our packs or grudges over trivial matters. You are already going through a great loss, and if it is an apology to give, worry not. I have already forgiven you, and it isn't necessary."
"Thank you. Is your father home? she asked quietly, poking her head around .
I was a bit disappointed in how dismissively she handled my forgiveness, but the hush in her tone piqued my interest even more. So I ignored everything else and focused on our discussion.
"No,he went out." I replied calmly.
She took a step closer to me. I stood firmly despite my instincts asking me to back away.
"Can we speak privately?"she asked. I studied how desperate her voice was and looked around the almost empty room.
"Of course,let's go to the library."I replied, leading the way. I took a quick glance at Carlotta before leaving the room.She gave me a knowing gaze but remained rooted to her spot.
I shut the door behind me and turned to her. "The doors are sealed tight; it is only you and me. You can speak freely now."
"You were right down there. I am going through a difficult time. It was heart-wrenching ,watching everything my husband and I built and cultivated to go down in flames. Turn to nothing.To useless Ash." She said, softly staring out the window.
I watched her sad moment coldly,my inner monster refusing to feel any pity for her.
She turned to me with a weird zest out of nowhere. "Do you know who caused the fire?"
I took my time with the response. "When Lohan came here a few nights ago, He said it was caused by witches."
"Yes, it was a supernatural, fierce fire. Water didn't do anything but feed and anger it." Lady Forchesca said she was slipping into another daze. "But who sent the witches ?"
"I assure you, Lady Forchesca,my father had nothing to do with it. He had just received the news of the–" I paused and searched my dictionary for an euphemism. "Incident.Lohan came a few minutes after with the wild accusations." I said.
"Oh no,I don't blame your witches. We so often forget that witches are a neutral nation. They work with vampires and sirens as harmoniously as they work with werewolves and elves."
"I guess that's true." I nodded. "Either way,I grieve with you all the same."
Lady Forchesca took off her wool scarf and placed it on the table. "Will it surprise you that the person who ordered the fire was a vampire?"
My heart skipped a beat. But I forced my face to appear neutral and composed. "You just said that witches work for everyone; how can you narrow it down to only vampires?"
I waited for an answer that never came,so I posed another question. "Do you have any suspicions?"
"It is more than a suspicion." Lady Forchesca drew in. "I know exactly who it is. It was the infamous elder Valerian brother."
I chuckled lightly. "Those are some grave accusations."
"Yes, yet he admits it."
I blinked hard,not knowing what to say. I dreaded asking his reason for the single word "you" that I felt would be thrown in my face.
"Classic Adriel." I muttered under my breath,but obviously not low enough because my guest picked it up.
"You know,I noticed something between you two at the Grand Courtier's Ball. Tale as old as time,two souls from different worlds fall in the inescapable lust of a forbidden romance.Sexual heat. "
I said my head high. "If these words get even the least bit more offensive from there,I will certainly hit you." I warned.
Her eyes widened a bit, so I offered her some soothing tea, and she politely declined it.
"I'm just saying he was a soft spot for you."
My cursed cheeks warmed up to this. All I had noticed were glints of mischief and sexual allure. I never let my mind roam in other aspects. All in the defence of not letting myself drown in disappointment from the realisation that nothing was there. Or ever could be.
Her eyes were sincere,I think. "I do not hate you,"she said, picking up on my silence. "In fact, I like you a lot. I feel you are a very promising young woman. All I did was for the benefit of my pack. Every action I perform is for them."
I swallowed, feeling a subtle sting in my cheek and empathy grow in my heart at the same time.
"We have lost nearly everything, mostly my inheritance. We have only 38 percent of what we once owned, and we are slipping into extreme poverty by the minute and losing our ranks among the werewolves. Yet he wants to burn even more." she said,her strong voice breaking under the weight of the pain. "He wants to burn it all."
"I don't know what to say," I sighed.
"Say you will help then." she said, grabbing my hands. "Promise you will help us." She begged.
"I can't." I whispered, my conscience pricking me the whole time.
She wiped away tears before they fell. "Will you have said no to Lohan too?"
"Don't do that,"I begged.
"Lohan was heartbroken when he learned he had to let you go. I was the one that convinced him to act accordingly.It is not like him, he knows nothing about the distorted world of politics ; he plays the violin like it's a message from the gods, and until his papa died, that was all he cared about. He was never ready to be crowned Alpha, yet he gave it his all, you see?" She wiped another tear with the end of her scarf. "He would have gladly come if he wasn't sick. The Valerian stabbed him with a silver dagger because and because of your father's influence..no werewolf pack was hospitable enough to lend him a hand. He bled profusely and is still trying to recover his lost blood." She narrated like a mad man as she stared at her wet scarf and looked up at me. "You have to help us,"she said hoarsely.
"How?!" I cried. "I don't even know where to find him; I won't know what to say; I won't.."
"I will show you,and you will beg on our behalf. Please." She dropped to her knees and kissed my hands. "You are our only hope."
I sighed reluctantly . "I wil tryl talk to him."
"Do you promise? she asked, hope in her eyes.
"I do."