STARLETTE
Wondering who it was, I turned around to see a wolf with a striking resemblance to Maximus. Perhaps his brother? But I had never heard of the Alpha King’s brother.
“Who-who are you?” I stuttered, too stunned to even speak coherently.
“I am Lucius. Maximus’s brother, obviously.” He grinned with a glint in his eyes, confirming my guess. “Older brother.” He added.
“Older brother?” I asked, my eyes narrowing in confusion. How come I had never heard of him before now? And how could Maximus be the Alpha King when he was the older brother? The older son’s were usually the heirs to the throne.
“Yes.” He nodded, a mischievous smile lingering on his face.
My mouth formed an ‘O’ as I stared at him. My mind raced with so many questions-questions I chose to keep to myself.
“So…” he folded his arms across his chest, his gaze sweeping from my head to my toe. “You are the breeder and the said mate.”
Before I could reply, he continued, an amused smile playing on his lips. “You’re more beautiful than I had imagined.”
“Thank you?” I raised my brow, unsure of what to respond with.
“If my brother doesn’t value you or ever mistreats you…” He opened his arms wide. “I am single and available. Come to me. I’d treat you like a queen.”
I kept staring at him, still stunned and unable to find the words to say in response.
Silence settled in, and we kept staring at each other.
“Has anyone shown you around?” He asked after a while, raising a brow. “The palace is a very beautiful place. Not as beautiful as you are, though.”
“Uhm…” I gulped, darting my gaze at Bella. “Bella is doing that.”
“Come on. She doesn’t know the best places. Come with me; I’ll show you around.” He didn’t even give me the chance to object, as he grabbed my wrist and started pulling me along, which I willingly followed.
He was weird. Really weird. But there was something about him that interested me. I just couldn’t place what it was.
Bella began to follow us, but Lucius stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her. “You’ve been dismissed.”
“But-” Bella tried to protest, but he cut her off.
“Leave. Now.” His voice brimmed with unwavering authority.
Having no other choice but to obey, she nodded before turning around and walking away from us.
We continued our journey with his hand still wrapped around my wrist. He promised to show me around the palace, but here he was, walking me through the woods, and I didn’t even question him. For a split second, I had thought of losing him and running for my life, but I quickly snapped myself out of that dump thought. He was an Alpha. A royal Alpha, for that matter, and he would catch me effortlessly.
As we walked, I observed the woods, noting the possible routes for escape. After several minutes, we finally arrived at a secluded treehouse nestled high up in the branches of an ancient oak tree. The air was thick with the scent of pine needles and damp earth, and the distant sound of a babbling brook from the stream not far from the tree house added to the tranquilly of the scene.
“What’s this?” I asked curiously, taking in the rustic charm of the treehouse.
“I usually come here whenever I seek peace and quiet.” He told me.
“Ohh….” I couldn’t find the right words to say in response.
“I built this years ago, and I’ve never brought anyone here. No one else knows about this place, and no one could find me here.” He bragged.
I raised a brow. “Then, why did you bring me here?”
“I don’t know.” He admitted with a shrug, his gaze lingering on the towering oak tree. “Maybe I sensed that you needed an escape. From reality.”
He inched closer to the oak tree, but I remained still, staring at him. His words stirred something deep within me. He understood me even though I never said a word about my troubles to him. There was more to his mysteriousness that I’d like to find out.
He turned to look at me, a smug smile playing on his lips. “Are you coming or not? It’d be sad to come all the way here without entering my little escape house.”
Blowing out a sharp breath, I closed the distance between us, and we both climbed onto the tree house.
The interior was cozy. It had shelves filled with books and candles. The view from the window offered a peaceful panorama of the surrounding forest, creating the perfect space for someone seeking solitude.
“You read.” I remarked as I stared at the books on the shelves.
“Obviously.” He responded, chuckling softly.
I nodded slightly, my eyes wondering around. As I continued staring at the books, a question lingered in my chest to ask him, but I didn’t know how he’d take it.
As if reading my mind, he muttered, cutting through my thoughts. “I know you must be wondering why Maximus is the Alpha King and not me.”
I snapped my gaze at him, listening attentively.
“It’s because I don’t have a wolf. Yet.” He revealed nonchalantly.
My heart broke at once for him. Being without a wolf had always been considered a curse. And because of that, wolf-less individuals have always been subjected to mockery. They were never able to live normal lives, resulting in a lot of them committing suicide.
Edward had royal blood. The blood of an Alpha. Even though he was wolfless, I was sure he was insanely strong. And because of that, he might not have experienced the mockery other wolfless individuals often faced. But despite that, things must not have been easy for him, as he would have been the Alpha King if he had had his wolf. Maybe, just maybe, he would’ve been a better king.
“I’m sorry.” I said, my voice barely a whisper, not sure if those were the right words to say in that situation.
“I’m over it.” He said, grinning. But beneath that smile, I could sense pain. Deep pain. “That was why I built this tree house to help me get over it. Books were the only things that kept me sane while I kept waiting for my wolf to show up. But the beast was too scared to show up. You know, scared of me.”
The grin on his face faltered for a moment, staring into an empty space before quickly recovering.
“I-Uhm-”
“Don’t worry. You don’t have to say anything. I’d really hate to see a beautiful damsel like you pity me.” He interjected. “Let’s talk about you instead. Who are you, princess?”
I was speechless, not knowing the right words to say. The least I could do was try to comfort him.
So, closing the distance between us, I wrapped my arms around him, giving his back a little pat.
“You’ll be fine.” I said.
We just met, and he had already divulged too much information. I really wondered why-why he brought me to his safe place, why he told me about his lack of wolf, why he wanted to know about me. And most especially, why he wasn’t being unnecessarily mean to me like his brother, my so-called mate.
I wasn’t supposed to trust him, but in a weird way that I couldn’t explain, I felt safe with him, just like he seemingly felt safe with me.
“Tell me about you.” He said as we pulled away from the hug, his signature charming grin lingering on his face.
“No. Let’s not talk about me.” I retorted with a smile on my lips. “Let’s talk about something else.”
We ended up chatting for a long time, talking about random things, while we laughed every now and then. I really liked his vibe. He was funny and definitely great company to be with.
We didn’t leave the tree house until it started getting dark.
“I know Maximus would have sent out a full search party by now. Let’s return before he gets too worried and beheads me when he sees me.” Lucius said.
I chuckled softly. “He wouldn’t.”
“Oh, yeah, he would.” His smile mirrored mine.
Once we were outside the tree house, he suddenly inched closer to me, standing just in front of me with barely a foot separating us.
I held my breath as he took his hand to my hair, tucking it behind my ear.
“Hmm. Beautiful.” He said for the umpteenth time since we met. But this time, it felt different. My heart skipped at the statement, his close proximity causing my breath to be laboured.
We remained like that for a few seconds, staring into each other’s eyes and uttering no words.
Suddenly, he promptly looked away and began to walk away in long strides, blowing out a frustrated breath.
“Are you okay?” I asked as I struggled to catch up with him.
He blew out a sharp breath, then stopped in his tracks before turning to look at me. “Forgive my manners.”
I nodded in response, wondering why he had a sudden change in countenance. A dark demeanour replaced his playfulness. Did I do something wrong? I wondered.
We continued the journey to the pack in an uncomfortable silence, with neither of us saying anything to each other.
As we got closer to the pack, we spotted soldiers dispersed everywhere, looking for something or someone. Perhaps, me?
“I told you.” Lucius winked at me, his playful demeanour resurfacing. “A full search party.”
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Maximus appeared in front of us and pushed Lucius so hard that his back collided painfully with a tree.
“Stay away from my mate!” Maximus’s roar thundered through the forest, causing the leaves on nearby trees to quiver in response.
Oh, no.