DIANA
"Okay, wait. Let's calm down first," I said, which was actually meant for me as I couldn't help but panic after what I heard. "Did you just say that we will be going back with you now? Back to the palace? That palace where your highness lives?"
"Yes. I am certain I am talking about that palace."
A loud and ear piercing screech suddenly erupted within the whole room after I abruptly stood up, pushing my chair back, but I could no longer mind the pain it brought in my ears as I was too shocked after clarifying what I heard.
"I'm sorry, but isn't this too fast and all? I mean, everything was actually as fast as I could handle, but at least I could accept them slowly. But if you would force me now to come back with you, I may really end up breaking down from all the pressure."
"If I am being honest, I can't cope with this fast pace as I still need time to process it all and also time to prepare. You might give that time to me even if I am in your palace, but I couldn't concentrate knowing that I am already away from the things I am used to," I continuously mumbled.
I don't know what's gotten into me—if I am having a panic attack or what—but as I was speaking, I was already nervously fumbling with my fingers while walking back and forth in one place.
This could be because I was finally sent with nervousness and apprehension of what would happen now that I am no longer a simple human of a pack but a future luna, a queen of a kingdom.
What shakes me more is that it is now registering to me that I am actually not mateless. I have found my mate, and that mate was not even ordinary but a lycan and a king with that.
And all of this had made my mind overheat with thoughts, and what he said about me going back to the palace on this day became the trigger for it all to burst. And it just became so overwhelming that I myself couldn't manage to calm myself.
So when a very warm arm wrapped around me, caging me in that firm and big body, covering and preventing my shaking body, I could only lean on it tremblingly as I let my tears flow and cried silently.
It also took me less than half an hour to calm down, and when I realized how presumptuous my position within his arms is, I quickly stood up from his warm embrace, ignoring the feeling of being lost, which I could not think about since I was focused on the embarrassment that came up.
"I-I'm sorry..." I mumbled as I made sure not to meet his eyes.
It took him a few seconds before he responded, and I only thought that he might be trying to stand up from sitting on the cold floor with me.
"There's no need for that. It should be me who's asking that. I'm sorry. I guess I was also being hurried because I did not even think about your own opinion and decision about this very important matter and decide on it myself."
I swiftly look back at him when he said that, looking at him with suspicion since I can't just believe his words as soon as possible.
"Don't worry, I am not talking sh*t here. I will never do things, rushing it and deciding alone. And to make you assure with that, tell me when you want to come back to the palace."
I narrowed my eyes on him. "Can I really decide that?"
Instead of answering, he used his big palm to cover his face like he wa saying how done he is with me. Then I heard him sigh and weakly said, "Yeah."
As if I would let that chance slip. So without hesitation, I quickly stated another condition that wasn't part of what we had already agreed with.
"Since I will become a queen of your kingdom, I have to learn many royal things such as etiquette. So how about give me one week to have a private study with all those while I am still here in the pack, enjoying my last week of freedom. Only a week, I promise I will go to the palace after learning everything. I'm a fast learner, you know?"
I even flashed a genuine smile just to make a point when he look at me once again. And like an old man, he once again sigh before turning his back on me.
"Fine. Whatever you say is right, right? Then let's just do that. I'll send you teachers for your private study. It'll be be a plenty road to finished everything so might as well free all your time and focus on learning. Let's go and find the others."
Hearing him agreed willingly, I grinned widely. It really made me happy and the hate meter of him has decrease but only a double digit points of ten. Now it was only a full one-hundred.
"Okay. How about you all sleep here instead of going back?" I ask as I walk side by side with him.
"No thanks. Maybe next time."
I wasn't disappointed or happy with his answer. I just shrugged my shoulders and silently followed him towards the back of the house, towards the garden. But we aren't even totally outside the house when we heard the ruckus outside.
Curious about what is going on, I take a fast glance towards Gener before walking ahead of him, and what welcomed us the moment we entered the place was a one-sided brawl.
Yes, it was one-sided because only one person looks so determined to fight, while the other one looks like it has no plan on fighting back and will let the other bully it.
To make it more detailed, what we saw were two wolves; a bigger black wolf was being pinned down by a smaller light brown wolf who was growling while scratching and biting here and there.
The black wolf is unfamiliar to me, but the smaller one is more than familiar to me. Aside from having a duel and riding on top of it, the brown wolf is undoubtedly none other than Kylee. When I look around at the other people around me, aside from the right hand man, Gener, only Kylee is missing.
Therefore, I conclude that the two fighting dogs—I mean wolves—are those two, Kylee and Zamiel.
"Don't intervene," I said when Gener wanted to reprimand the two.
I did not wait for him to answer and silently walked over to Cornelia and the others. Aside from my friends and my family, even Gener's subordinates did not try to meddle between the two and just stood silently on the side, watching the fun.
Because I don't know and have no idea what's going on, and for sure Gener is also clueless, it's better to know the situation first before jumping.
And as honest as I can be, I really wanted to know what happened for the two to end up like that. I've known Kylee for two decades, and I know he's not the type to get angry easily. Plus, when he's angry, he keeps his silence and will ignore the person who made him mad.
But seeing how he looks now—to the point that he let his wolf take over—the situation might be really bad.
"Oh, D! You're finally here!" Tania, who was beside Cornelia, whispered-shout. "You have to stop Lee as soon as possible!" she worriedly added.
I seriously said, "I will, but first you have to fill me in with details or I might misjudge."
Then Cornelia sneaked out. "A tea connoisseur was spotted."
I immediately scowled at her but did not refute her. Not because I agree with her, but because I really wanted to hear what happened. There is no time to bicker with Cornelia.
"I too am clueless about what happened. We were walking together with Alpha Frank and Luna Michelle while Lee was dragging Cornelia ahead of us. I didn't notice anything, and when we did, Lee was already in his wolf form, attacking Zamiel, who immediately shifted to his wolf."
Hearing that, I reluctantly look at Cornelia, who seems to be boasting like she just won a war. And since I just wanted to be informed before I could meddle and stop the two, I ignored the annoying face of Cornelia and acted like what I was doing was normal.
"Tell me, Cornelia, or I won't let you come with me," I said, half seriously and half threateningly.
And I almost smiled in victory when I saw her pouting. Luckily, I maintained my serious facade as I waited.
"Tut. What a brainy b*tch. You win, happy?" she said with a grunt.
I just raised an eyebrow as I waited for her to share her tea. I mean, she shared details with me.
As Tania said, Lee dragged me away in a hurry. I asked him what was wrong, and he didn't answer. He looked so serious, with a big frown on his forehead and his mouth clenched. Before I could ask again, our path was blocked by Zamiel. All I heard from him was the word "mate" before Lee suddenly shifted and pounced on Zamiel with an angry growl.
And my chin almost fell to the ground from shock and surprise at what I heard. Before I could understand what Cornelia was saying, I felt a slight pressure that quickly dissipated. Then the magnified voice of Gener echoed in our ears.
When I looked around, I saw everyone holding each other for support. That's when I realized what Gener was doing. All I can do is grit my teeth in annoyance.
Hmp! So full of himself. How dare he show up in front of me? So what if he's powerful? So what if he can make everyone here today feel his strength and power?
"What's going on?" he asked, more or less demanding.
I saw Luna Michelle worriedly signaling Alpha Frank to speak, but the alpha shook his head. Then he motioned to Gener's side, so I also looked at Gener. And there I saw him looking at a certain place, and when I followed it, it was at the black wolf. That means that Gener is asking the black wolf.
I watched the black wolf gently nudge the light brown wolf above him, who felt the suppression from Gener, making it weakly fall above the black wolf. Then the light brown wolf became the n*ked Kylee.
When I saw how feeble Kylee had become, I glared fiercely at Gener, blaming him for whatever had been done to my friend. But I wasn't sure if he didn't feel my daggering stares or if he was just ignoring them completely, so his eyes remained on Zamiel.
I had no choice but to look at them again to see a n*ked Zamiel walking at a fast pace towards the place he left his clothes while carrying the limping and weak Kylee. He used his dress coat to cover Kylee while he struggled to put on his pants hurriedly.
After all of that, Zamiel walked towards Gener, still carrying Kylee. I also walked towards them, worried about Kylee, who was obviously struggling in the arms of Zamiel, but to no avail.
"Are you okay, Lee?" I asked first.
I don't know if it was because Lee looked embarrassed or what, but he did not answer me and hid his face from me. In the end, he could only bury his face in the crook of Zamiel's neck. If not for the obvious red on Kylee's ears and the back of his neck, I would have thought that he was acting coquettish in front of Zamiel.
"Report," Gener interjected, completely cutting off my chance of asking and talking with Kylee.
Since I would also hear what really happened from Zamiel, I did not talk anymore and just waited for him to spill everything.
"Your Highness, I finally found my mate." Then Zamiel looked down at the omega in his arms.
Gener did not nod or answer; he did not even ask the following question. And I was really itching to ask on my own. But I know it's not my time to speak yet. Although I am their king's mate, it isn't official yet. And even if Kylee is my subordinate and a friend, I have no guts to ask Kylee directly.
Not because I'm afraid of him or anything, but because I don't use those connections for dictating or evading their own private matters. I respect my friends' and now, my subordinate's privacy just like I want them to respect mine.
I may love gossip or, just like Cornelia called me, be a tea connoisseur, but I still know my own limit.
Another thing was that I noticed how Zamiel looked and held Kylee in his arms. As far as I remember, it was an aftereffect of finding their mate. According to the memory of our past discussion about mates and stuff, once a wolf finds its mate—alpha or not—there will be an aftereffect in which the dominant person will have that protective and possessive stance. While the submissive person will have that obedient and compliant stance towards the dominant mate.
Take Zamiel and Kylee's current position as an example.
I never saw Kylee look so submissive before, yet there he was, in another man's arms, leaning so close to his man. While Zamiel also has that protective and possessive look in his eyes, even in the way he holds Kylee, it's like he wants to paste Kylee on himself and become one with each other.
In the end, I could only look away from the two. But I was already imagining what would happen to them, especially Kylee, when the aftereffect period ends. As I always say, I know Kylee. So I also know that once he has a clear mind, he will erupt. And the pitiful person will always be Zamiel.
As proof of that, take how Kylee unhesitatingly attacked Zamiel when the latter wanted to talk to the former. If not for Gener's interruption and using his strong pheromone to suppress those two, Kylee wouldn't fall into his weak state and would not be coerced by Zamiel's pheromone, making them completely fall into the aftereffect period.
As for me and Gener, maybe because I am a human, there's no need for Gener to coerce me, and there's no more reason for us to feel the aftereffects.
I heard Gener give instructions: "Take the backseat. Let Cairo drive the van."
Then he walks toward Alpha Frank and Luna Michelle. I did not follow them after that and just looked at my friends. I wanted to tell them to get their things, but it seems that they are well prepared. They have their bags in their hands. I even saw Zamiel pulling Kylee's bag while still carrying the latter in his arms.
No choice. I guess it would only be me who had nothing in hand. I was about to walk towards my room to get my bags when Selene walked towards me with a smile. Before I could ask her if she had something to say, she had already told me something.
"I'll go with you and help, D." Then she leaned closer. "While doing so, let me tell you the other details about what really happened," Selene whispered, making me look at her.
And that's only when I learned about what really happened. According to Selene, Zamiel really wanted to talk and claim Kylee as soon as he spotted my friend when they came. But as the king's right hand, he can still restrain himself and wait until the right time.
Kylee also felt the mate bond, but because he didn't want his identity as an omega, he had greater restraint about the bond. So when Zamiel blocked him, he finally snapped in anger and attacked Zamiel.
Kylee is an omega who didn't want to be an omega. As a man, he physically hated the idea of himself submitting to another man. And now that he knows that his mate is really a man, he will undoubtedly feel remorse and repulsion towards the mate bond.
As the unlucky mate, Zamiel needs to work hard by then. If he really wanted to earn Kylee's acceptance, he should have earned it first. And as for Kylee, my friend, I know that he also wants to find his mate. Zamiel might not be the mate he's wishing for from the moon goddess. I know that as Zamiel tries hard to earn Kylee's trust, my friend will soon accept his fate.
Just like how I may find the courage to accept my own fate...
I subconsciously looked at the back of the person walking towards the car. I couldn't help but think that I and Kylee were in the same kind of situation. We are both being tied by the goddess to the person we don't like.
Although that's the case, I can still think clearly and straight. I know that it would be hard for me to be the king's mate, and I will undoubtedly face many obstacles and problems while taking that road. But I will make sure I don't step down with my head lowered.
I may not hold this position for longer or forever, but before they can force me down, I will make them change their views about me—about humans like me. I will make them look up to a human like me, and when I do, that's when I will return everything back to Gener. I might be left with nothing, but with the experience and the recognition from everyone, I can return to the pack with my head held high.
For now, what I needed to do was accept my fate. About accepting Gener? What's the rush?