Rose’s POV;
‘Have I seen him somewhere?’
“Sister in law, it’s rude to stare” the young guy said, coughing a little to bring me back to reality.
Even his voice sounds familiar. Am I going nuts?
“Oh, I apologize. It’s just., you look a little familiar” I replied, coughing back in embarrassment.
‘A little? Not really! He looks a lot familiar but my darn brain just couldn’t recollect!’ I cursed my beautiful brain like always.
“I am pretty sure I have never met you before” he replied nonchalantly.
No doubt, the kid was confident but the way he spoke it was straight away rude. Nobody was interested in that miniature sized guy when I have the mighty werewolf king for myself.
“I beg your pardon?” I replied, plastering a tight smile.
“I wasn’t being rude, sister in law, if that’s what you are concerned about” was his another nonchalant reply.
‘Can he read mind? Is this kid special?’ I thought but his next statement dragged me out of my chain of thoughts.
“It’s just, they always keep me locked up inside palace walls. Either here or at my own pack house. Except for the higher rank werewolves of these two packs nobody has ever met me” he took a deep sigh before continuing,
“It’s even difficult for a normal werewolf from other packs to meet me, so, it’s next to impossible for a human who just found out she is a werewolf to meet me before” He explained.
He honestly sounded like he was fed up by this whole situation.
“Oh, I see” I nodded in understanding.
I didn’t have anything else to say. My brain was still stuck at the statement ‘they always keep me locked up’
‘Why were they locking him up this whole time?’ I looked at him and then everyone in the room confusedly.
I was about to speak what was going on in my mind but Luna Crystal’s next statement made me shut my mouth.
“You are exaggerating! Nobody is locking you up” Luna Crystal said with a small laugh.
“Look, he is being trained in the palace as well as in our pack house to be the next Alpha. So unlike other kids who has freedom to roam around, he is a little too busy. Kids these days” She waved her hand and Luna Queen Phebe and Layla joined in her with small elegant laughs.
The young guy and Cora was not really having it but I decided to trust the elders for now.
“Nick, where are your manners? Introduce yourself to Elijah’s mate” Luna Crystal glared at him.
“Oh yes” He swallowed hard and then turned towards me,
“We haven’t formally met. I am Nicholas Spencer” He politely said with a gentle bow.
“Future Alpha of Dark Sapphire Pack. Alpha Luke and Luna Crystal’s son” Layla added eagerly with a smile.
The young guy showed a bit disapproval with Layla’s interruption but I chose to ignore it as everything about this place is making me curious.
“It was a pleasure to meet you” I replied with curtsey.
“Likewise” He replied plainly.
“You are being too formal” Cora punched his arm lightly.
“You are being too casual” He replied coldly.
“Nicholas!” Luna Crysral growled angrily.
Nicholas looked down in submission and took a deep sigh.
“Please excuse me, sister in law. Perhaps, I will make your acquaintance some other time” saying that robotically in one breath, he bowed and left, didn’t really wait for my reply.
“Sure” I replied anyways.
“Is he still angry about that?” Luna Queen Phebe asked curiously.
Luna Crystal took a deep breath, anyone call tell she was not happy with her son’s behavior.
“You know how he is. They didn’t take him with them for the fight. He said don’t call me Alpha until you make me behave like one”
“But it’s for his own safety. He is not ready yet. He knows what has happened before” Luna Queen Phebe lowered her voice, insisted.
“I know but you know how boys his age reacts” Luna Crystal replied in disappointment.
“Don’t worry, Aunt and Mom,. Just leave him be. He will come back to his senses soon. Take it from someone who spends most of her time with him” Cora replied in a reassuring tone.
The moment Luna Queen Phebe’s eyes readjusted on me, Layla hurriedly stood between us like a giant stone wall,
“Then we will meet you at the dinner” She said with a small fake laugh.
Luna Queen Phebe looked like she is having an inner battle. After taking her sweet time she emotionlessly replied with,
“Very well”
We did curtsey and left the room with speed of light.
As soon as we were at a good distance from Elijah’s mother’s room, we looked at each other and burst into laughter.
“That was hell of an adventure. I never thought Elijah’s mate’s introduction will be that awkward” Layla spoke in between the laugh.
The mention of his mother was enough to remove the smile from my face.
“I think his mother doesn’t like me” I said in a low voice.
“You are being ridiculous, Rose. It’s just you are new and she does not really meet strangers. Once she will get to know you, I am sure she will like you a lot. Just like Elijah” She said the latter with a sly smile.
My cheeks turned tomato red. I wanted to hide my face in my palms but it will make things weird.
“Ooo looks like someone is blushing” Layla teased.
“Stop it, Layla” I hit her arm gently.
“I will show you your room. It is next to Elijah. Elijah left me responsible for you so I made sure everything is as perfect as my existence” She said proudly while flipping her hair.
Even though, she was all cheerful and laughing, I still couldn’t ignore the pain in her eyes.
I followed her like a lost puppy in that huge mansion. I was bewitched by its beauty. Everything was so detailed. It looked like that they have planned each and every corner carefully.
After climbing the stairs, we went towards the extreme left side. The entire chamber looked even more luxurious. It had more marble and woody finishing then the rest of the castle that I had seen but nothing looked overdramatic. Everything was just perfect.
“Elijah has a thing for wooden interior and Turkish marbles. Once he is back, I will show you his giant Turkish bath. It is biggest bathroom in the castle. He has an indoor swimming pool too” Layla said excitedly.
“Indoor swimming pool in his bathroom? I saw a huge swimming pool while we coming in” I asked weirdly.
“Yeah there is a huge pool outside for royal family and relatives, but he has a separate swimming pool too” She replied plainly.
Why separate swimming pool? First, Nicholas said he is always locked in the castle and then Elijah is also cutting himself off from the outside world. What is wrong with these people?
When I didn’t reply for a while, she added,
“It’s for two reasons but the main reason is, it’s for his own safety”
With the word ‘safety’ the image of Elijah bathed in his own blood from a few days ago flashed in front of my eyes.
“Layla, Is he in some kind of danger?”