Casper
Marching into my room, I banged the door heavily before slumping on the bed.
Breathless in anger after my encounter with Lilith, I grabbed my inhaler, taking a few puffs before dropping it noisily.
My lips twitched uncontrollably, and my body was tense.
I didn’t know if I was mad at myself for hurting Lilith or I was mad at Lilith for disrespecting me.
How did she know that I ate the same meal repeatedly for 10 years?
How dare she rub it on my face?
My pain, my past.
Eating the same meal wasn’t something that delighted me.
Who told her about it anyway?
It must be Anna, the day she spoke to her in the kitchen. I swear by the Moon goddess, I would cut off her stupid tongue one day.
But settling with the truth, the meal Lilith made was best. I had never tested an omelet as delicious as hers.
Not even my mother’s or Marina’s recipes came close.
But I want to admit it to her. Especially after exhibiting her disrespectful behavior.
The fact that she wouldn’t submit to my command drove me crazy.
My hand tapped my forehead when her tear-stained face popped into my head.
I felt bad for hurting her.
I hated myself.
Unable to stand the pain and the sight of her oozing blood, I left.
I was afraid I would do something stupid. My feelings would draw me to her, and that was the last thing I wanted.
I hated that she saw regret in my eyes despite trying to maintain a cold demeanor.
Maybe I shouldn’t have hurried like a coward.
Maybe I should have stayed.
No. I can’t stay.
My feelings weren’t stable whenever she was by my side.
This girl hadn’t spent up to a week in my house, and she was already messing up with my feelings.
I thought my feelings were dead the day I lost Marina, but Lilith proved me wrong.
My teeth gritted as I tried to fill my head with thoughts that would make me hate her, but it only filled me with regret.
I got up on my bed and walked to the door. My hands rested on the knob, about to turn it open before it stopped.
What the hell was I doing?
I’m going to apologize to her? So that she can curse me out and call me a jerk?
No!
Tendering apologies wasn’t my thing.
It was a sign of weakness, and I wasn’t weak.
Confused, I balled my fist hard enough to draw blood before banging it on the door.
I was torn between apologizing for my act or acting like what I did was right.
“No!” I concluded, clenching my jaws.
Meanwhile, I did worse to Raphael, and I never apologized. So why would Lilith be any different?!
Before I could walk back to the bed, a dull pain radiated from my chest.
I ignored it, but it became intense.
Unable to stand, I bent over, groaning as I began to think of the source of the pain.
This was familiar and strange. I hadn’t felt something like this in 10 years. I’ve dealt with many episodes, but this was different.
The only time I felt it was when Marina was in pain. It was reasonable since she was my mate.
My eyes darted about the room in confusion as many thoughts hit me.
Lilith was in pain.
But how could I possibly share her pain?
Lilith wasn’t my mate. And I wasn’t given a second-chance mate from the goddess. At least not yet.
I clasped my lips together, shutting my eyes tightly before swallowing the painful groan.
What could be the cause?
Maybe Marina was in pain. But she was dead.
It didn’t make sense.
“Alpha?”
Raphael’s voice rang in my head, irritating me.
“Not now,” I replied, hiding the pain behind my voice.
“Are you okay?” He asked, I could sense worry in his voice.
“I’m fine. Just say what you want to say.” I sighed, dismissing him.
“You sound like you are in pain. Are you punishing yourself again?”
“Hit the nail on the head, Raphael. I don’t have all day.”
“The elders are displeased because you refused to show up to them.” He started.
“Fuck the elders! Why do they care about me now? I thought they said I was young, impatient, and incapable. Only my parents, you, and Marina believed in me.” My voice accented in anger as flashes of the past popped into my head.
“There are pressing issues. People are getting kidnapped daily and all they want is me getting Luna in order to have an heir?”
“What do I tell them?” His voice dropped in confusion.
“Any news about the kidnappers? Have you been able to get the boss? The leader of those involved in human trafficking?” I asked, diverting the question.
“We’ve been able to capture a lot of them but they are still out there. The leaders have a hidden identity and they can be anyone. We tried to force words from the kidnappers, but none of them revealed a single detail about them. They kept muttering about remaining loyal to their masters. It’s very tough.” he sighed tiredly.
“Haunt the leaders, including those they are selling to make them scapegoats so that no one would venture into the dirty business of trafficking again. If the kidnappers see that they are without a leader, they will back down. What is a sheep without a shepherd?”
“Yes, Alpha!” He replied, smacking his lips.
“Since the kidnappers are still out there, give my instructions to the people and tell them to be safe,” I concluded, blocking the mind-link before bringing the elder’s topic up.
I remained in my room, forcing my concentration on a book, but Lilith’s face kept appearing in my head, making me feel guilty.
It was already late and after taking a shower, I forced myself to sleep, erasing Lilith’s sad face with Marina’s.
I hated that the only way I could see her was only in my memory or pictures.
I had barely dozed off when the sound of the entrance door and keys filled my ears.
Anna never missed looking at the door every night.
I turned to my side, closing my eyes but they yanked open when Anna started yelling Lilith’s name frantically, disrupting my sleep.
I tossed a pillow over my head, clasping it on my ears to block her screams but it didn’t help.
Unease settled in the pit of my stomach when Anna’s screams turned into loud cries.
“Alpha, Lilith is missing!”
I scoffed, letting out a chuckle.
Lilith wasn’t missing. She was probably hiding.
She must be playing one of her games since she was mad at me for hurting her.
I would deal with her in the morning.
Right now, I needed quality sleep and how to erase her image from my head.
“Alpha! Lilith is missing!” Anna screamed frantically. I could tell that she was at the bottom of the stairs.
She was obedient, unlike Lilith.
I jumped from the bed, rushing downstairs.
I was already almost at the bottom of the stairs before I remembered my inhaler.
Shrugging my shoulders, I took a few steps before sighting Anna in the dark.
“What do you mean by Lilith is missing? Stop joking. I need to sleep.” I said coldly, hissing afterward.
“I have never joked about anything. Why would I start with someone’s disappearance?”
“Have you checked her room? The bathroom? The drawing room? She might be in the library, considering that she likes books.” I tried to calm Anna as panic flashed in her eyes.
Lilith threatened to escape, but I knew she wouldn’t even dare it. Not after I threatened to deal with her.
No one flaunted my orders.
“She is not there. I checked the kitchen. She is nowhere to be found, Alpha.”
I licked my bone-dry lips as fury multiplied in me.
Why was she so disobedient? Despite warning her, she still fled?
She must be stupid to think she would navigate her way to her house. The estate was in the middle of nowhere.
This place was built so my family could live a peaceful life without attacks from my enemies.
She must have escaped before Anna could lock the door.
Not when the human traffickers were roaming about.
“I know she hasn’t gone far, let’s find her, Alpha. Please,” Anna sobbed, she was blanketed in fear.
Her body trembled and tears had started to drop from her small eyes.
“No!”
“Okay. Let me find her. I am quite familiar with the road. I’ll be back before you know it,” she pleaded, waiting desperately for my permission.
“You can punish her when she comes back, Alpha. But let me find her.”
I let out a menacing growl, baring my canines at her.
“If you step out of that gate, Don’t return here,” I ordered, using my Alpha tone.
Who elopes into the woods at past 10 pm? Especially a place as quiet and lonely as this?
I evacuated her presence in anger, taking off to my room as she started to irritate me.
Why was she pitying someone that didn’t give a fuck about her safety?
Even if she wanted to escape so badly, couldn’t she have done that during the day?
“I don’t care what happens to her. Lilith made her choice. She will face whatever consequence that befalls her!” I yelled using my Alpha tone.