Atlas's POV
"I didn't think Iris meant this much to you," I said, my tone light, but my eyes stayed locked on Vincent's face. His jaw clenched, the desperation flickering in his eyes betraying the calm façade he tried to maintain.
Growing up, I'd always assumed their relationship was one-sided—a pathetic infatuation on her part. But watching him now, picking up her scent from me as if it were a lifeline, I could see something had shifted.
"Interesting," I drawled, taking a deliberate step closer. "I thought you didn't care about her at all, Vincent. But here you are… so wound up you'd think I'd stolen your mate."
His glare was sharp enough to cut steel, but I didn't stop. "Word around the palace is you've even moved the wedding date up. I have to say, I never thought I'd see the day Vincent Eryndor, the mighty Alpha King, would be desperate over a woman."
Vincent's mask cracked—a flash of something raw and furious—and then smoothed back into place. He exhaled slowly, the faintest smirk tugging at the corners of his lips as his fingers brushed over the green metal on his finger.
"I know you're my beta, Atlas," he said, his voice like ice, "but don't mistake your place. Push me, and I'll remind you exactly who's in charge."
That damned metal. The source of his confidence. The thing that made him untouchable. My stomach churned at the sight of it, but I refused to let him see it.
"Of course," I replied, my tone dripping with mockery. "Though it's fascinating to see how far you'll go to cling to control. Tell me, Vincent, is it her you're worried about? Or are you afraid you'll lose yourself without that leash on your finger?"
His smirk vanished.
"You're playing a dangerous game, Atlas," he warned, voice tight.
"I'm not the one afraid to lose," I shot back, taking a step closer. "But maybe I should thank Iris. She seems to have a talent for showing me all where your priorities truly lie."
His expression darkened, his fingers tightening around the metal as though he could crush me with his glare alone. But I held my ground, my calm composure an unspoken challenge.
"Careful, Atlas," he said, his voice low, controlled, but laced with venom. "I've let you run your mouth for long enough."
I remained silent, letting the tension run thick in the air and then I gave him an unexpected response. "You're right your Majesty, I've overstepped my boundaries, I apologize." I tiled forward slightly in a curt bow although it was to mock him.
For all his confidence, I knew the truth. Without that cursed object, Vincent was nothing but a man clinging to the illusion of control, the one his father passed down to him.
His face twisted, a flicker of uncertainty breaking through his fury, but he hid it quickly.
"I've had enough of you Atlas, you're dismissed!" Vincent declared waving me off. The irritation on his face clear as day.
"As you wish your Majesty" I said with a smile, savoring every moment I spent getting on his nerves.
I turned on my heel, leaving him to seethe in his own anger, though I could feel his eyes boring into my back like a predator ready to pounce.
As the heavy oak door closed behind me with a soft thud, the tension in my shoulders eased, but my mind was far from calm. My heart thrummed in my chest, though whether from the exchange with Vincent or the thought of Iris, I couldn't say.
Iris… Her name now lingered in my mind like a persistent melody, refusing to be ignored. Something about her seemed different, a difference I couldn't look away from.
The girl who once clung so desperately to Vincent now stood apart, defiant, a quiet storm brewing behind her eyes. It was fascinating.
She had always been predictable—easy to overlook. But now…
My jaw tightened as my thoughts shifted to the conversation we'd had in the hidden passageway. The deal. Her decision.
I hadn't expected to run into Iris or better still offered to be her lover but somehow the idea crawled it's way into my mind as she explained her attempts to escape Vincent's clutches and I couldn't resist taking it mostly for my own pleasure.
The reason I had given her for making such a bold offer wasn't far from the truth.
Back at Avador a bride was said to have been prepared for me since I didn't have a mate yet and frankly I wasn't interested but they continued to remain persistent and I couldn't ignore much longer.
But now that I had a choice, for some reason now Iris felt like a good one, maybe because she belonged to Vincent or maybe because our interests simply aligned.
Her appearance had also somehow etched itself into my mind and I couldn't shake it off. Her voice, her defiance, her fiery hair falling In tight waves as she caught her breath.
For a moment, she hadn't just been Iris, the girl pining for Vincent. She had been something more. Everything seemed the same on her yet different, like an entirely different soul in the same body. My sudden interest in her surprised me.
My plan had been simple, report to Vincent, finish my business here in the capital, and return to Avador. Distance myself from the chaos, the politics, the games that always seemed to revolve around the palace and capital itself and begin my plan for revenge against him.
But Iris had changed everything.
I now had to stay for three more days for her to decide whether or not she wanted to be with me instead of Vincent. I felt my blood rush with excitement.
My lips curled into a dry smirk as I stepped out the court, glancing up as the sunlight warmed my face. The sky painted in soft shades of orange that reminded me of her hair. Three days.
It wasn't much time, but I truly hoped it would be enough. Enough for her to make her choice.
And maybe… enough to figure out why I suddenly cared so damn much.