“You! It’s you!”
Massa rolls his eyes, pushing his bangs back. “What is this crazy lady yelling about?”
Massa is a hottie, but he seriously needs to cut those bangs. They hide those mischievous eyes of his.
“I’m not crazy. Plot 16, 1469 Davies Street, 21st Bar.”
“What?”
“Plot 16, 1469 Davies Street, 21st Bar. It was you, wasn’t it?”
“Frankly, I have no idea what you are talking about.”
I dig into the pockets of my shorts, smiling when I find the 24-karat gold-plated necklace I have kept with me since our first encounter.
I dangle it in front of Massa’s face, and I chuckle when I see his frozen expression. Sia and Ruarc are silent, watching the drama before their eyes unfold.
“Still don’t know what I’m talking about?”
He touches his neck. “My necklace! How did it get there? Guys, don’t you remember? The expensive necklace mother gave me on my tenth birthday. How long have you had that?”
“You didn’t give me your number, so I had to take something from you.”
“Oh, I remember. The underdressed girl at the party who kept asking for my number. You were desperate, weren’t you?”
“Wait, let me get this straight. You two know each other?”, Sia asks.
“Of course, Nasia. Gosh are you this dumb?”
“It wasn’t even for me. It was for a friend,” I say huffing.
“Hey nice shorts by the way,” Massa says, slapping my arse. This earned a reaction from both men. Sia tensed, and Ruarc’s veins were bulging out in his neck. I am afraid it will pop.
“See that Sia? Everyone is complimenting my shorts.”
Sia rolls his eyes. “Why don’t you live here anymore Massa? Why are you at the palace?”
“None of your business.”
“You came all the way here so that you can create my whip. All this incessant chatter is giving me a headache.” Ruarc said.
“Whatever. Crinka please give me my necklace.”
“What for?”
“I’d just like to have it on my neck thank you very much.”
I handed it back to him. He clasps it back on his neck.
“Nas, can you come over here for a minute?”
Sia obliges, scowling. Massa uses his hands to measure Sia. Out of nowhere, a thin tube appears in his hand.
“Woah. Did that tube just come out of nowhere?”
I am snubbed.
“What’s with the tube?”, Sia asks.
“Oh, this is for Ruarc’s blood.”
“What does whip-making have to do with Ruarc’s blood?”, I ask, but once again, I am being snubbed.
“The tube is longer than last time”, Ruarc says frowning.
“Well, you asked for a longer whip,” Massa says.
“But why my blood?”
“The whip I am about to make would be specially designed to hurt you. Now give me a syringe, or do I have to bring that one out of the air too?”
“No. There is one in the car.”
I am shocked when Massa injects Ruarc’s finger. Blood pours out like water, and Ruarc put his bleeding finger in the tube.
It takes a while, but the tube is filled with Ruarc’s blood. Massa hands him cotton wool.
“Hey are you alright”, I ask him with concern, but he just glares at me, snarling, “Stay away from me, okay?”
I frown. Why this sudden hatred towards me? Massa shakes the tube of blood in a whipping manner and suddenly, there’s a black coiled whip in his hand.
“I’ll be taking this back with me to the castle.”
“No”, Ruarc says, disposing of the cotton wool. “Leave it in the warehouse. We can’t risk father finding out.”
Massa does as he orders and vanishes into thin air.
“So, what happens now?”, I ask the two men, crossing my arms.
“You’ll go with Sia, while I go back to the palace,” Ruarc said firmly.
“No. I am not going with Sia. I am mad at him for taking me to the hospital against my will,” I say, glaring at Sia.
Sia rolls his eyes. “At least you’re better now.”
“What’s your point?”, Ruarc asks, scratching at his beard. The thing needs a trim.
“I was hoping we could talk,” I said wringing my hands together.
He narrowed his eyes at me. “Now, why would I want to talk to you?”
Ouch.
“I wanted to know you better,” I say shyly, my face reddening.
His lips curled up, then he frowned. “I advise you to stay away from me.”
Then he turned to Sia. “Don’t say a word to father. We will have to clear up this little misunderstanding before he is informed.”
Could I be the little misunderstanding?
Sia only nodded.
“I’ll see you guys later,” he said then suddenly disappeared. I guess that is an Icelander thing.
“I only wanted to know him better. He didn’t have to be so rude about it,” I say quietly.
“Get in the car,” Sia barks.
And without complaining, I oblige.
…..
I dry my hair with a towel when I walk into the living room. A frown graces my lips, as I stare at the two unbecoming Icelanders in the cabin. I am surprised Ruarc is here. Maybe he did change his mind after all.
“I didn’t,” he said and I stared at him in surprise.
“What are you doing here?”, I ask discarding the towel.
Sia speaks, instead of Ruarc. “It’s your cousin.”
I froze as a series of thoughts crossed my mind. Lyles? What happened to him? Is he here? I look around the room, frowning when I don’t see him.
“What about him?”, I ask, and I hope I don’t sound too giddy.
“He wants to be alpha,” Sia responded and I wonder why Ruarc is keeping mute. He’s watching me with hooded eyes, and I fight the urge to meet his eyes.
“Wait what? I mean, I know that he was going to be alpha someday, but I didn’t expect it to be soon. So has he challenged his father for it?”
“No, but Sleepy Joe is aware of his intentions.”
Ruarc chuckled. Heavens, the sound!
“Sleepy Joe? Really, who calls him that?”
“Me,” I reply, feeling proud.
“Of course,” he muttered and I frowned. What’s his problem?
Why are you telling me this?”
“So, you can talk him out of it.”
“Now why would I do that? The pack will crumble under Sleepy Joe, and it’s high time Lyles stepped up to the title.”
Sia narrowed his eyes. “You’re not even wondering why he suddenly wants to be alpha.”
“What other reason could there be, except wanting to free his pack?”
“He’s doing it for Anita.”
“Of course. That evil witch has managed to put him under a spell.”
Sia’s eyes narrowed into slits. “You will watch what you say about her lest I rip your tongue out.”
Ruarc’s eyes darkened at his words. I wonder why.
“If you love her that much, why didn’t you mark and mate with her?”
“Done that,” he said coolly.
This means that I am just a woman to him. Eloive was right after all. Being omega sucks.
“Why would he want to be alpha for Anita?”
“He is trying to impress her. He has this belief that she would like him more if he has a higher title.”
What a shame. Sia doesn’t even have a higher title, and he has her wrapped around his finger.
“I won’t do it. If Lyles wants to be alpha, then leave him. I’m not going to try and stop him.”
“You have to. Joe knows that Lyles would easily win a challenge if there was one, so he’s going to cheat just like he did with you,” Sia explains.
My mouth drops open. “No, he wouldn’t. It’s his own son.”
“A man would do anything to have power. If you love your cousin, stop him. If not, let’s leave him to his fate. I’m going to get some sleep,” he says standing up.
“Why do you care?”, I ask.
My question has him halting in his tracks. He turned to me. “No matter how much she denies it, he is her mate. And if he dies, Anita would be affected and it will affect me too. Plus, I don’t want to see tears in your eyes.”
Fair enough. He looks at Ruarc, before leaving me alone with him. His eyes bore into my arm, and tired of resisting, I looked into his eyes.
“He cares about you,” he says out of the blue, and I know he’s referring to Sia.
“He does,” I admit nodding. Sia might be a little rash, but I know deep down he cares. Now I sound silly.
I don’t like this topic, so I picked another one.
“What do you think of Anita?”
“What’s there to think? Humans don’t interest me.”
“So, you don’t like her?”
“She’s something. Her and her sister.”
“Ruarc, can I ask you something?”
He nodded.
“Why so many wives? Couldn’t you have found someone to love?”
“Even as a crown prince, I need an heir. Eloive can’t fit into that role because he’s crazy, and I don’t think I am capable of loving.”
I dwelled on his words before throwing my question at him. “Why so much bad blood between you and Eloive? He’s your only son, and you’re his father yet you don’t act like it.”
“Trust me it’s better this way. And you think I don’t love my son? He’s still alive because I let him.”
“If you love him like you claim you do, you shouldn’t cause him so much pain. You’re supposed to shower him with love and care.”
His eyes narrowed. “You’re crossing your boundaries.”
“Forgive me your royal highness,” I say mockingly. “I didn’t mean to do that.”
His long and slender fingers beckoned to me. “Come.”
I didn’t realize I had moved until I stood before him, waiting for the next instruction.
He tapped the empty spot beside him. “Sit.”
I shivered when my arms brushed his. I didn’t give it too much thought as I leaned back in the chair.
He turned to me, cupping my chin, as his thumb grazed Sia’s mark.
“I don’t like having his mark on you. Remove it.”
I shook my head. I liked his mark on me. It made me feel like his mate and not a whore.
“I won’t. I like having his mark on me.”
His eyes darkened at my words. “Your likes and dislikes don’t matter at the moment querida. Remove it. That’s an order.”
I jumped up, putting enough distance between us.
“And why should I care about your orders?”, I barked, glaring at him.
He stood up. “You’re right, you shouldn’t. But you should care about what happens if you don’t obey them. I am giving you from now until the end of your mission to remove his mark and…”
I cut him off. He didn’t seem to appreciate that very much. “And if I refuse?”
His eyes flashed. “Trust me, you don’t wanna know.”