When Olive returned few minutes later from the bathroom, she found hot towels in a flask and two shopping bags on the bed. She immediately took the hot towel and placed it around her neck. She winced at first but it was later soothing so she let it stay there. She checked the contents of the bags and found out they were new clothes.
"Why does he keep buying new clothes? How about the ones he bought for me the other day? Where are they even?" she asked no one in particular.
Olive found a short black dress and loved it immediately. She straightened it on the bed and decided to wear it. She did and it looked splendid on her. It had a round neck, and was printed from the waist to her knees. Little shiny stones were studded around the chest area and they glittered as she moved her body. She walked to the mirror and finger-combed her hair. There was nothing to use to style it, so she just let it fall beautifully on her. Besides, she had a silky, not too stubborn hair.
"Shoes," Olive mumured as she looked at her bare feet on the floor. She frowned and checked the bags again…no shoes. But then, she remembered she wore shoes earlier so she ran into the bathroom to find them. But all the things she had worn were discarded by Alpha Knight.
She pouted angrily and walked into his closet. She opened his glass wardrobe which contained tons of shoes and began to find something unisegz. Too bad, all the shoes were huge and not fit for the dress. But fortunately, she found a pair of black, small sandals with just two wide straps. One in front, the other behind to hold down the heel. It was perfect.
Soon, Olive was out the door of the bedroom and walked through the wide hallway towards the huge receiving room. She entered and marveled at the beauty of it. She felt like she was in some kind of palace. Well…she was actually. She ran to the aquarium and placed her hands on the cold glass, gawking at the beautiful fishes. Then, she ran towards the fountain and giggled at the falling water.
Olive couldn't believe she was free from The Vrek Cult. It felt like her soul was loosened and was roaming free.
Ding! She heard the elevator door open and she turned around to look. It wasn't Alpha Knight and her heart saddened. She wanted to see him. His presence alone made her feel complete despite how rashly he behaved. That was toxic, she knew.
"Not happy to see it's me, aye?" Jericho teased and she chuckled softly. He looked her up and down then smirked.
"You look beautiful in that dress, Olive. Doesn't make you look like the baddie you are."
"I'm not a baddie," Olive defended with a frown that was obviously a pretending one. Jericho laughed and pulled back his hair with his palm, showing his pretty face more.
"I just wanted to check how you were doing. But I see you're fine. Where you heading out?"
"I…wanted to."
"Oh, can I accompany you then? The Balendin Pack Castle isn't a place to wander on your own."
"Tell me about it," Olive mumbled under her breath. Jericho chuckled.
"Let's go then," she said and walked towards him. He held her hand and they walked into the private elevator. Olive felt weird with her hands in Jericho's. She didn't know how to politely remove it without looking too awkward. He had a comforting palm, smooth yet firm. But how could she prefer to be holding the Big Bad Alpha's hand instead? Hands that had a lot of blood on them.
Well, her hands weren't clean either. So…they were a match right?
She gulped down and bit her lower lip nervously. They were using his private elevator. But where were they going? She just wanted some fresh air after being locked in his quarters for half the day. She never stayed indoors that much.
"Jericho, where are we—"
"Anywhere. But I suggest we go to the Circular Cabinet," he cut in.
"Circular Cabinet?" Olive asked with furrowed eyebrows. Jericho grinned at her and the elevator door slid past them.
Olive's eyes were met with a totally circular room having different shapes on the wall. The wall was a dark, shiny, and wooden wall with different cabinets in it all round. Some were big, others small. Some square, others rectangle and triangles. The floor was also a wooden floor, same color with the wall. But very smooth and reflective.
Across the room was a bar and a long counter in front of it. Then a white couch in the middle of the room, long enough to contain seven people. There was a glass table in front of it. An aesthetic hanging chair hung close to the open window and a pretty lady sat in it with a book in her hands. She had short brown, straight hair.
Around the bar were three men, all of whom Olive recognized from the previous day. And in front of an open cabinet was Alpha Knight, dressed in his usual black outfits, with a wine glass in his hands. He looked menacing, yet mesmerizing. Olive couldn't stop looking and she had forgotten to step out of the elevator. She also didn't notice the eyes that were seriously boring into her from all angles. Including the one of the lady whose mouth had fallen open.
"Come on, Olive," Jericho snapped her out of her spell and she blinked repeatedly. She stepped out with him, still holding his hand. She walked just a step behind him and they walked inside fully.
"Oh my God! It's true!" the lady exclaimed and hurried out of the chair, dumping the book. Olive was taken aback and she clutched unto Jericho's hand.
"Hey, Dolly. Easy. Don't frighten her," he reprimanded with his hand stretched forth towards Dolly, as if creating a barrier.
Dolly looked as if she had seen an angel for the first time in her life.
"She's so beautiful. Gosh, why did Wayne get such a beauty? He deserves an ugly looking witch!" she spat and glared at him. Everyone was looking at Olive, so they didn't notice Wayne's countenance that had changed from a frown into a deeper frown. He was fuming with rage.
Someone else was holding his mate delicately. Another man was touching her.
"Jericho!" he boomed and Olive flinched as she turned to look at him.
✧Chapter 16✧
Their eyes met and he didn't look away. He didn't want to.
"Why did you bring her out?" he asked while looking at her.
"She was on her way out already when I met her."
"And where did you meet her?" his eyes moved to Jericho's.
"Your lobby."
"And what took you to his quarters?" Jake asked from the bar. Jericho scratched the back of his head.
"I was going to check up on her," he answered.
Wayne looked enraged.
"You left here to go check up on her without my permission? Who even asked you to check up on her?!"
Olive's two arms wrapped around Jericho's arm in fear and she closed her eyes tight. Dolly frowned and stood in between them and Wayne who had surprisingly walked closer.
"Hey, young man! Lower your tone or I'll cut that tongue of yours. You're scaring your mate. No wonder she tried to escape. You're finally given a perfect gift from the moon goddess and here you are acting all bossy."
Olive was surprised at the way the lady was speaking to him. And he actually stopped talking and lowered his shoulders. Who was she?
Dolly turned to Olive and gave her the sweetest smile. She placed her hand on her shoulder.
"Hi, I'm Dolly Knight. Your future sister-in-law."
Wayne scoffed and walked past them to the bar.
"It's nice to meet you, Dolly. I'm Olive Roger."
"Come here. Sit down with me," she pulled Olive and they sat on the couch.
"Are you hungry? Should I get something for us to eat?"
"I…"
"I'll get us a box of pizza, hurriedly," Dolly cut in and mentally communicated to Terry to go get pizza from the kitchen for them.
"Why am I the one who always gets food?" Terry nagged aloud. But with one glare from Dolly, he moved his butt out of the room reluctantly to go get it. Olive marveled at the authority Dolly had.
"Boys. Always so provocative."
Olive chuckled and naively packed her hair to one side of her shoulder, exposing her neck. Dolly gasped when she saw the red finger marks on her white skin. Her eyes flung to Wayne.
"Did you…did you do that to her?"
Everyone's eyes looked at them.
"Wayne you hurt your mate! You almost ki||ed her!"
Jericho ran to Olive, knelt down and looked at her neck.
"$h|t," he mumbled. She immediately covered her neck with her hair again.
"It was an accident," Wayne's unemotional voice spoke up. He looked not bothered. But he was. Yes, he almost ki||ed his mate. Again.
"We have to do something or the poison would spread," Dolly looked worried.
"Poison?" Olive asked while holding her neck.
"When he was choking you, his claws dripped poison and infected you. That's why these marks are not healing. If we don't get them out, you might die in your sleep in a few weeks," Dolly explained and Olive's surprised eyes met with Wayne's dark ones. He saw the look of sadness mixed with anxiety and fear in her eyes. He looked away and his eyes met with Jake's.
'Mates, huh,' Jake mocked telepathically and Wayne's wolf growled into his ears. He looked away and dropped his glass on the bar.
He began to walk out and Jake who had been standing silently, with Crusoe followed him.
"And where do you boys think you're going?" Dolly asked but none answered her as they left the room. Olive looked down at the floor. She knew none of them liked her at all. But she was feeling more dejected that her mate would be a part of those people who didn't like her.
"Hey, don't feel bad. Come with me to my room. I'll help you treat that. I'm a doctor you see," Dolly smiled at her. Olive took her outstretched arm and got up. She followed her out after giving Jericho an appreciative smile.
Meanwhile, in Alpha Knight's quarters, someone was really angry with himself and the temperature had dropped.
"Wayne, calm down," Jake pleaded while he himself was two metres away from him.
"Alpha," Crusoe called. Wayne's hands were grabbing his hair tightly that it looked really painful. His skin had turned red, and he could shift and turn feral any moment from now. His men were scared that he would hurt them and destroy things so they maintained their distance.
"What is going on with you?!" Jake yelled at him.
"Shut up!" Wayne yelled back and the men took two steps backward. Crusoe looked at Jake helplessly. Jake sighed and took a step forward.
"Olive is fine now. Dolly says she wants to see you," Jake lied and immediately Wayne dropped his hands from his hair.
"Who wants to see me? Olive?" he asked, his eyes still red.
"Yes, Olive. She's in Dolly's room," Jake answered. Wayne exhaled and ran his fingers through his hair again.
"She… She h@ťěs me, " he muttered and began to walk in circles, with his fists balled tight.
"No, she doesn't. You're her f_cking mate, Wayne! She's attracted to you so just return that attraction. What's stopping you?"
"I don't know, Jake! It's just hard."
Jake sighed and telepathically informed Dolly that he was bringing Wayne to see Olive. Dolly approved.
"Come on, let's go see your mate," Jake said and began to walk away with Crusoe.
"Wait, I'll go alone," Wayne objected and walked into the elevator alone. It closed and few minutes later, he walked into the hallway which contained his sisters' rooms. He knocked lightly on Dolly's.
"Come in," Dolly's voice answered from within. He opened the door and stepped in gently. The first person his eyes caught sight of was his mate, sitting in the bed with a plate in her hand, and pizza moving up towards her lips. He stopped in his tracks as he watched her. Her face looked up and met his gaze. She dropped the pizza immediately.
"Go on. Eat," he said in a calm, deep voice and she obliged. Wayne looked to his sister.
"How is she? The poison?"
"Extracted. Thankfully, it wasn't much. Or it'd have taken a whole day to get it all out."
"I'm sorry I did that. I just… lost control," he sincerely apologized while sitting down opposite the bed, on Dolly's sofa. Dolly crossed her arms and stared at her brother intently.
'Something's going on within you, Wayne,' she said to him through their mind link.
'Even I don't know what it is. It's like I'm being torn apart by my own hands,' he replied while still gazing at his mate eating pizza peacefully.
'You like her. Terry told me about the way you reacted when you found out about her. You wanted her. But why are you suddenly acting like you don't?'
'Trust me, I do. I just don't know why I act like I don't. I didn't like the way Jericho held her hand earlier,' Wayne's finger twirled his locks as he continued to stare at the overly cute and hungry Olive.
Dolly began to pace around with her index finger tapping her lips and her arm supporting her elbow up.
'Something doesn't want you to have a mate. It's fighting you to turn against her,' she stated. Wayne's face furrowed into a frown. He knew what she was talking about. But he couldn't let that happen, right? He had taken full control already. Why was it resurfacing again?
'You know what? I'm leaving you both. Just don't try to ki|| her again. If you feel like you're getting out of control, leave the room immediately and call me,' Dolly said firmly and he nodded. She turned to Olive with a smile.
"Hey, I'll be going to get a few things from the healers for you. Just something to strengthen your immune system. Be back in a jiffy," she announced. Olive nodded with a smile even though she knew Dolly was purposely leaving her and the Alpha to be together. She had noticed how they were communicating but decided to act like she didn't know.
She was not part of the pack yet, so she couldn't access their mind links. She therefore couldn't communicate with them. Except if they were both outside their pack territory, only then they could mind link. That too wouldn't even be a strong connection.
"How do you feel?" Alpha Knight asked after Dolly had left.
"Pretty good," she replied and licked her fingers slowly. He trailed the way her tongue moved up and down her tender fingers and he felt a strange constriction in his throat. He gulped down and chided himself inwardly, for being seduced by a lady licking her fingers. He got on his feet and walked to the table where he picked the box of pizza. He came to her side of the bed and sat down facing her. He placed another slice of pizza on her plate then looked at her.
"Eat up," he ordered and she picked it and took a bite. She didn't know why, but she was extremely hungry. As he watched her, he remembered Jake's words. He badly wanted to show her he cared. Considering what she had gone through at The Vrek Cult, he wanted to let her know that her safety was now his concern.
"Olive?"
"Hmm." She looked up at him while licking her lips.
"Is there something you would like to do? To pass time?" he asked.
"I… No. Not really."
"What was your hobby back at the cult?"
She slowly dropped her pizza in her plate and kept it on her lap.
"Well, I used to spar with the boys," she answered.
He chuckled softly and placed the pizza box at the end of the bed.
"Are you good?" he asked. He hadn't seen her in action before, and Cynthia kept saying she was a weakling after she was caught. Plus, he knew the cult wanted her dead, which was why they sent her and not a troupe to attack him.
He thought Olive was truly a weakling. But then, he remembered how she had beaten his men up. And how she was fighting Cynthia. His eyes lit up at her.
"I wouldn't say I'm good, but I'm not bad," she answered and he nodded with a smirk.
"I'll arrange for a match then. I wanna see you fight."
Olive frowned. Which mate would love to see his partner get into trouble?
Suddenly, her eyes fell and she felt her heart getting heavy. She had realized that she actually wasn't anything to Alpha Knight, really. They were mates, but that was just by nature. He didn't look at her with longing and desire. She wasn't anything special to him aside that title only. She exhaled and bit her lips nervously. He noticed her countenance immediately and he stared at her lowered face.
"Anything the matter?" he asked. She looked up at him.
"Actually, there is something I would like to do," she said.
"Let's hear it," he replied curtly.
"Promise me that you'll let me do it," she begged. He nodded.
"I promise," he obliged.
She bit her lips nervously for some seconds as she stared at the rock-hard stern face of his. He looked tired and was lazily pushing away strands of messy, brown hair from his face.
"Alpha Knight, I want to go on evening strolls and drives for one full week… with you only," she said and Alpha Wayne's eyes jerked towards her in an amused glance. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair worriedly. Yes, he was worried. He didn't know why she suggested that, but he knew her request was dangerous. And only he knew why.