Chapter Sixty-Eight – Dramatic.
Rihanna’s POV
“Alpha, he’s here.” Dara told me as I dragged the horse back to it’s stable. The horse was really strong to drain so much strength from me.
“Yeah sure.” I replied, staring at the horse. It was a surprising gift from Red Moon to me saying they accepted my pack.
I don’t give a damn, they couldn’t do anything about it and it was suspicious how they were nice to me suddenly.
The horse they sent must have been too much trouble for them so they sent it to me so I’d suffer.
I was suffering having bruises here and there.
I double checked to be sure the horse wasn’t some kind of spy, maybe Red Moon figured a sorcery that could turn a warrior to a horse.
After all they had a history with witches.
“Alpha!” Dara called again, snapping me from my ridiculous thoughts.
I sighed, leaving the stables. “Alpha Jaden must have rushed to give an apology. Honestly I needed it.” I rubbed my temples.
Dara smiled. “Act dramatic so he’d feel guilty.”
Really? Damsel in distress wasn’t my usual trope, and I wasn’t about to start with my mate. Though it’d be entertaining.
“Alpha Jaden!” I called sternly, folding my arms. I felt a slight pain as my arms brushed against a big bruise I had while dealing with the horse.
I noticed Jaden leave his seat. “Is that from… my… you got that when you visited me?” his eyes were on the bruise.
Watching at him, he looked quite cute with the remorseful face he had on.
I thought of clearing it up that I wasn’t badly hurt but Dara’s words came to mind. “Act dramatic so he’d feel guilty.”
“I experienced worse with your warriors.” I scoffed, pushing him away, heading towards the seat. “Did they want to kill me?”
I heard him sigh and murmur some words. I hoped the warrior that did this was still alive.
“All I wanted to do was visit Black Rose for the first time without using the back route, but what did I meet? Harpoons and a crazy man!” I yelled.
Jaden turned to me, hands on hips. “That’s my Beta’s brother actually. Not sure what he feeds on but he’s surely a lunatic.” he grumbled.
I had a hidden smirk on my face. That was the first time I heard him openly abusing someone. He must have disliked the guy before this.
“Well, both he and Ralph have tendencies to piss someone off!” I clicked my tongue, pouring a glass of tea for myself.
Jaden perused my body for more injuries then exhaled. “You took medications, right?”
“Do I look like I needed them? I let them heal.” I bragged. He went back and nodded. We were silent for a while.
“So, why haven’t you been visiting?” I broke the silence.
“Can’t you visit me if I don’t…” he trailed off when he realized.
“Exactly. I can’t because harpoons may welcome me.” I shrugged.
He shook his head and rephrased his words. “I couldn’t visit because of something Chris said.”
“About my mate being Alpha King?” I asked, knowingly. He must have caught on already if that was why he stayed away.
He snapped his head to me, stunned and okay nodded. “You knew? Well, why didn’t you say?”
“I knew after you stopped visiting though but, I didn’t tell cos I didn’t want you chickening out.” I deadpanned.
Sometimes I spoke without thinking but I rarely regretted it. Who’d dare chicken out of being my mate? I faced him.
He had a done look and asked. “Really?”
“Really.” I replied.
He smiled broadly. “You must really want to have a mate then.”
“Who doesn’t want an Alpha they can leech on.”
Jaden cocked his head at me and I shrugged, sipping on my tea.
He sighed. “You are weird.”
“I prefer crazy.” then we were quiet again.
The conversations we usually had were always structured awkwardly but the silence didn’t feel awkward.
My wolf reminded me of the Lycan and the claws on trees. I shifted awkwardly on my seat.
“I visited Chris recently after I noticed claw marks on my trees. Belonging to a Lycan.” I dropped my glass on the table to be serious.
“I noticed some on mine and the roses at Rose Valley were affected.” Jaden replied. “My uncles also sensed a Lycan presence.”
“You have uncles who can?” I wondered out loud. “The ones who didn’t think you could be Alpha right?”
He nodded. “They told me only because they had to help look out for the pack. They think a Lycan hunter should better handle it.”
“Insulting.” I gasped.
“I know right.” He hissed bitterly.
I went back to the topic at hand. “Well, when I visited Chris, he said something quite traumatizing….”
There was silence for effects. Jaden then asked. “He accepted wanting to kill me, didn’t he?”
Chris didn’t know it was him yet, if that was what he feared. “Not you, whoever my mate will be. But yes, he didn’t deny it.”
“Wow. So is that what traumatized someone like you?” Jaden smirked.
I frowned. “Not that, but he also added that he hadn’t sent his Lycan after me because I’m not his target.”
Jaden nodded and it made me feel he didn’t understand me. “You aren’t his target, the Lycan may have just marked your trees.”
For no reason? Marking trees meant daring to cross my boundaries and destroying my land. And that wasn’t even Chris’s Lycan.
“Chris never sent his Lycan out, Jaden. The Lycan that marked my trees isn’t his.” I stated.
He was calm so I added. “Also, why would he mark your trees when Chris doesn’t know that you’re my mate. This is something else.”
He didn’t have the reaction I desired, basically just looked shocked with a mix of confusion. “They are two Lycans.”
But why did it sound like he didn’t mind?
“Yeah, we don’t know if they’re on our side. One of them is already marking our trees, that’s not a good sign, is it?” I looked down.
It was worrisome.
He shook his head, placing his hand on top of mine. “Surely isn’t. This one might be looking for trouble…. Or the other Lycan.”
Something clicked in my head at that moment. That was surely another way to think of it, the other Lycan might be looking for the Lycan King.
“And the Lycan should be heading to Black Hills if he was looking for his King, so soon Chris will call attention to it.” Jaden assured.
I hoped he was right, Red Moon kidnapped a Lycan King somehow and thought no one would come after him?
Be it an enemy or friend, a Lycan King couldn’t go missing like that. Unless he wanted to.
My mind link got tugged on as I tried to pour a glass of tea for Jaden. I sighed, opening it. “What? Did that horse leave the stable again?”
“Even worse. The princess of Blue Bloom is in front of me.” Beatrice’s voice was every shade of disgusted.
Princess of Blue Bloom? The kettle left my hands as I rose to my feet. Jaden stared at me like I had ran mad.