Chapter 25
Iris
On hearing that, my mind drifted, pondering on how my life would be once he left the pack. I was already swooning, getting excited that he would protect me from the hatred of the pack, but then it occurred to me that I might not survive it if he left.
I ran my tongue over my chapped lips and cleared my throat. I was in no position to make demands, but I’d decided that whatever happened at the Red Sea Pack wouldn’t repeat itself.
“Agreed, but I have a request to make,” I said nervously.
He lowered his lashes, squinting his eyes in confusion. “Don’t push your luck, you have no say in this.” He replied harshly.
Maybe I should have kept my lips shut that moment, but my mouth was quite faster than my brain and the words fell out before I could stop myself. “I want you to teach me how to fight.”
His aloof expression cracked, and then a smile broke through which slowly extended into full-blown laughter.
His act of mockery should have made me embarrassed but it didn’t, rather, I stood transfixed, watching a different kind of glow envelope his face.
I’d never seen a man look so handsome while laughing and he pulled it off effortlessly. He caught himself when he noticed that I was gaping at him then straightened, all traces of humor gone from his face.
“Why should I do that?” His cold and stoic demeanor had returned.
“While I was kidnapped, I realized my helplessness and it hurt me that my survival was dependent on my captors, and trust me, that’s the worst position to be in. If you hadn’t come to save me, I’d have been dead meat by now. I don’t want to be in such a position again, the moon goddess might have created me without a wolf but that doesn’t mean I can’t gain some fighting skills…”
“And now you want me to help you?” He cut in and I nodded, hopefully.
He kept mute and my anxiety intensified. I had no male friend who would be comfortable teaching me how to fight, and even though he couldn’t be regarded as my male friend, there’d be no questioning eyes if people saw me with him.
“What do you say?” I asked impatiently.
He folded his hands behind him and walked closer to the pond, toward a wooden chair and he lowered himself on it.
My impatience was growing by the second but I knew better than to pester him.
After what seemed like an eternity, he finally responded. “I can’t assure you that I’d be available to teach you what you want to learn because of my busy schedule so I’ll send Hegar to train you himself. He will handle you more gently than I’ll do, but if he troubles you, don’t hesitate to tell me.”
My heart sank at his words and it was at the tip of my tongue to ask him why he had to hand me over to someone else.
‘Have some pride, Iris,’ I chided myself in a whisper.
“Thank you,” I trudged toward him. “There’s something else I need to ask.”
His face looked pale and uninterested which got me worried. It was annoying that his body was getting weak from the effects of the poison and he couldn’t tell me about it.
“Where will I stay? Your father doesn’t like me and so does your brother, even the pack. My house is a mess and it lacks security,”
“Don’t worry about that. You can stay in my room for today while I prepare an apartment for you.” He said coldly.
Weird imaginations crept into my mind and the memory of the first kiss we shared caused my body to tremble with anticipation at the mere thought of sharing a room with him again tonight. Last night, I was under pressure to help him become conscious but tonight would be different.
We hadn’t mated yet, but my body craved him like a drug and that was why his coldness hurt me deeply even when I shouldn’t be bothered.
I didn’t even want to remember that he’d abandoned me the moment he found his bracelet.
Once again, I appreciated him sincerely. After hearing his story I was determined to not push him from doing what he didn’t want, but my body kept betraying me.
He stood up abruptly, his impassive mask unflinching. “You should stop getting aroused unnecessarily. It’s not going to change how I feel about you.” He said surlily, huffed and then stalked off.
My soul left my body at his callousness but I kept my emotions in check. Crying had never solved my problem and it wouldn’t now. All I had to do was find his bracelet and leave the pack once it was found.
A fatigued sigh expelled out of my body while dragged my body to his room. Though I’d slept throughout the night, the conversation with Gradel had drained all the energy my body managed to accumulate.
However, the exhaustion jumped out from my body the moment my name rang in the air through a familiar voice, and then I whirled with a bright smile to find Hazel running towards me.
She wrapped her arms around me tightly, sniffed my body and pulled away abruptly with a smug grin on her face. “You smell so much like him,” She observed, wiggling her brows in a teasing manner.
I slapped her arm playfully, my cheeks heating up quickly. “Is that all you have to say after seeing your friend who escaped death?”
“Oh, I’m so sorry, honey. When you left the execution ground that day, I kept praying that nothing bad happened to you. Thanks to the moon goddess, my prayers were answered. Please don’t pull such a stunt again.” She chided me worriedly.
I nodded in agreement as we strolled into Gradel’s room. His bed had already been tidied and it would be rude of us to mess it up again so simultaneously we opted to sit on the floor.
“The moon goddess intervened because I was on the verge of being killed, but Prince Gradel saved me and his right-hand man too.”
A rueful look crossed her face. “Hegar, right?” She stated.
“Yes, he’s the one. I’m worried about him and I want to see him. Do you think it will be possible to visit him and know how he’s doing?”
She looked hesitant but she still nodded in agreement. “We have to get permission from your mate because I’m not sure he’ll be comfortable knowing that you wanted to visit a male in his house no matter how close he is to the person.”
I scoffed and jerked to my feet in anger. If Gradel would behave that way then he was unreasonable, but I couldn’t tell my friend that whatever we were both doing was just for show.
“You don’t have to be bothered about that, Hazel. It’s not like I’m going there all by myself. I have you and no one will molest us since I’m wearing his scent.” The hesitation was present as her eyes spoke volumes of how she contemplated doing what I asked of her so I took her hands. “You don’t have to be scared, sweetheart. I’ll take full responsibility for whatever happens.” I assured her.