Chapter 69
POV: Prince Raven Pierce
“Why do you need to order Arlan to sedate me?” Tamara’s eyes squinted as she furiously stared at him.
He let out a deep sigh as he moved the pawn on the chess board that was in front of him.
She had just woken up, yet here she was, trying to look like a raging wolf, although her facade was saying otherwise. She still looked so weak and vulnerable. But he must commend how fast she has recovered. The Maria Flora had been a great help for her recovery like it always does.
Now, she was already standing in front of him trying to confront him about his order to sedate her. Well, he had no other choice. She might be triggered once again, and this time it was the least of the things that he needed right now. She couldn’t let her shift in that form again.
Tamara had already woken up and based on her capacity to provoke him for a confrontation right now, she had already almost fully recovered. But his brother was still lying in his bed and hadn’t regained consciousness.
He gritted his teeth at that thought. Even Elder Zeparu didn’t know what was happening to him and why he didn’t seem to respond to the Maria Flora.
“Stop being so impolite, Raven. I am asking you.” Tamara’s voice drifted him back to reality as his mind was totally leading him somewhere else.
“You needed that.” He simply replied and continued playing the chess pieces without any opponent but himself.
“And I am not being impolite. I am thinking of something else. You already saw my brother’s condition, and it wasn’t good enough. No more changes or anything… well, not as of the moment.” He bluntly continued.
He saw how Tamara’s face softened at that mere statement about the King.
‘So whipped.’ He mentally thought as his left brow unconsciously shot upwards.
“W-What happened to him anyway?” He could sense agony and unsureness in her voice.
Prince Raven let out another deep sigh as he leaned against the black single sofa and intertwined his fingers before crossing his legs as he stared coldly at the queen.
“Haven’t they told you?” He seriously stated.
Tamara let out an exhausted sigh as she occupied the seat across him.
“I want you to enlighten me about everything, Raven. And when I said about everything, you must tell me everything no more secrets. Because I didn’t want to be left in the dark not like what happened to my sister.” She bitterly told him.
He felt his heart clench and she knew that she had hit the right spot. He looked away as he felt his wolf let out a loud growl inside him. He grimly closed his eyes to recover himself from those hurtful words.
“I know that you had your reasons for not telling Shahara about it, Raven, but I am telling you not to make the same mistake that you made.” Her voice instantly turned cold and distant.
His inner wolf wanted to stop her from talking about Shahara, but he knew that she still had gaps and anger statements towards him. Besides, what else could he give her a goddamn reason to do? When even he at his darkest moments blamed himself for what happened to Shahara.
She heard Tamara let out a deep sigh so, he unconsciously opened his eyes and met her dark brown almond-shaped eyes, the same shape that his Shahara had.
“I know you had your fair-share of pain like I did, Raven. And I am sorry if, deep in my heart, I have blamed you for what happened to Shahara-”
“But I am…” He lowly whispered as he cut off her words.
But Tamara slightly shook her head.
“No, Raven. It isn’t your fault that you thought that it would be better for Shahara to be left in the dark. You want her safety. It is about the enemies. It is their fault for putting Shahara through her tragic demise. So, please, let us work together to end this once and for all. I was curious about your position, as well as mine. I wanted to be strong and be ready for whatever situation might happen. Enough is enough and I won’t let anyone die in front of me, just because I am being weak.” Tamara gently explained.
Prince Raven knew that Tamara’s words were kind and just. But he also knew that his brother wouldn’t like it when he found out that he had laid everything to Tamara.
However, what any other choice he had right now? His hands were full, and he needed someone to help. Hades was still unconscious, and their plan had slowly crumbled down without them knowing it. He needed someone now, and he didn’t want his brother to feel the same feelings, the same agony, and the same grief that he had felt when Shahara had taken him away from him.
He let out a defeated sigh.
“Fine. But promise me one thing.” He seriously agreed.
He saw Tamara’s face soften and was pleased with his reply.
“What is it?”
He wanted to shake his head at the abrupt excitement that was laced in Tamara’s voice.
“Just don’t let yourself get hurt or else, the monster will surely be awakened.” He darkly told her.
And he didn’t want it to happen. He wouldn’t let it happen.
***
POV: Lamina Darkwood
“I have received the invitation for the hunting game. It will be held on the night of the full moon.” She mischievously declared as they were eating their dinner.
Cessair smirked at her.
“Great. It is already the day after tomorrow. The King isn’t attending the meeting, and the prince is trying to cover it up even though we all know that Tamara is still in grave danger. Cornelius is certain that the person he bit on the South Side was the King himself. Maybe, he was trying to discover our secret laboratory, but unfortunately, he failed. And now, we might say that Aeron’s inventions are truly a success.” Her husband smugly commented.
Lamina let out a hearty chuckle while their children were just staring and listening to their conversation.
“Let us wait for the hunting game, darling. If it is a success, we already have the upper hand. If not, we will continue with our next plan.” She wickedly stated.
Cessair just raised his wine glass and gave her a toss, which she instantly cheered.
“And I believe, Aeron and Leah needed to do something for me.” Lamina ruthlessly said as she glanced at her two children who were staring at her with pure curiosity written all over their faces.
***
POV: Kage Esmeray
He was still in the woods of the West Side, with his mind still in the middle of sorting things out. He didn’t know what to do, but he was positive of one thing.
Kage let out a deep sigh as he thought of Dreyson and Elder Zeparu, who might be very worried about him now.
But before he could even stand up from the fallen log, where he was sitting, a noise from the broken twig immediately got his attention.
He growled at whoever or whatever it was trying to conceal his presence, but his wolf was intensifying his senses. So, he was sure that someone was hiding in the huge tree. He suddenly remembered Lamina, who had the same aura and had discreetly hidden her scent. His forehead creased.
‘Is she here again?’ He seriously thought as he clenched his both fists.
“I know you’re there, so show yourself!” He coldly ordered as he acted like he didn’t care who was there and trying to spy on him.
His lips pursed together firmly as he saw Aeron and Leah step out of the trees where they were hiding. His brows furrowed more as he couldn’t even distinguish that it was them, who were there. And when did they get in there?
He knew that he wasn’t a hunter nor a sentinel who had trained to perfectly use their senses in the highest possible manner. But he had also heightened his senses even more compared to an average wolf. And now, he knew why. Maybe because he was half-royal. He bitterly swallowed that fact which he was trying to deny even to himself.
“What do you want?” He acted like he just didn’t care as to why the two Darkwood siblings were there.
Then, he realized, he was also half-sibling with the both of them.
‘My life totally sucks, huh? I couldn’t even identify myself anymore.’
The pain that was lingering inside him suddenly resurfaced once again. He mentally let out a deep sigh as he maintained an unreadable expression.
“I overheard something about you.” Aeron seriously stated.
Kage gritted his teeth, but he maintained a straight face. Whatever Aeron was trying to pull out now, he already had this kind of clue as to what he was trying to say.
“And do you think, I care about what you overheard? Just leave me alone, dude.” He playfully stated, as he slightly shook his head and started to walk away from them.
“Wouldn’t you want to be our brother? We are here because we discovered that you are our brother, Kage. Will you… will you join us?” Leah’s voice made him stop his tracks.
Kage swallowed hard as he was in his deep thoughts a while ago. He knew this was his chance. And no matter how much he tried to deny it to himself, he knew that Lamina’s words were right. Without a doubt, if his identity was revealed, he would be labeled a traitor.
He turned around and faced them. His dark grey eyes coldly stared at the two people standing in front of him waiting for his answer.
Yes.
Maybe, they were trying to poison his mind. But this was the best thing that he could ever do, and he had already made up his mind.
“Meet me before the Hunting Game here. Same time.” He simply said before walking away from them who were shocked by what he had just told them.
Kage bit his lip as he stopped his tracks a mile away from where he had met the Darkwood siblings. He swallowed hard as he stared at the moon giving him light amidst the darkness.
No matter what would happen because of his decision, he wouldn’t regret a goddamn thing.