Chapter 5
Bryson’s POV
After the party and facing Elena, exhaustion got the best of me. That was partly due to the number of people I needed to entertain but primarily because of Elena's stubbornness.
I could understand where she was coming from, though. She was right. I indeed vowed to her that I wouldn’t marry and love another woman aside from her. But that was before I met my fated mate.
But what really took me by utter surprise was when she managed to block my hand. I could almost not move my hand when she grabbed it, but I think it was only because I was shocked by her action.
“Yeah, keep telling yourself that.” My wolf mocked me.
I tried not to mind him and just sighed. Soon enough, when Elena sees her fated mate, she’ll probably understand me.
“Really? Will you?” Drake, my wolf, suddenly asked me.
On cue, a sudden jolt of unknown pain cursed through my heart. Would I really be fine? But I mean, we were already married, she couldn’t go to him, right?
But that thought aside, being with Glenda was the most blissful moment of my life. Unlike Elena, she’s a warrior. She understands my pain and thoughts. We had fought alongside each other for a long time.
Slumped on my office chair, I browse a series of documents regarding the post-report we must send to the kingdom. I was in the middle of it when a knock echoed.
“Come in,” I nonchalantly said, continuing what I was doing.
“Alpha, a messenger sent this to us just a few seconds ago,” Collin Henry, my Beta, told me as he placed something on my desk.
“Okay, just leave it there.”
I didn’t pay much attention to it because we usually get letters after a battle, which were mostly just congratulatory messages.
But when I saw Collin’s shadows still looming in front of me, I looked up. “Anything else?”
He pushed the letter forward. “I think you should read this.”
Following his hand, my eyes widened in surprise to see a letter with the King’s stamp on it.
“I’ll leave you to it.”
After Collins closed the door after him, I slowly opened the letter, anticipating it to be another congratulatory letter for my upcoming mating ceremony with Glenda.
However, when I read the first line of it after unfolding, my hands immediately halted.
“It is with great pleasure to know that you have returned to the kingdom with glorious victory, but I advise you not to use this achievement as a ticket to being arrogant. Above and foremost, it is your utmost duty as a man, a husband, and an Alpha to mind your family business before anything else.”
One… Two… Three… I stared at the letter for a couple of seconds before my hands subconsciously fisted, causing the paper to get crumpled.
Elena! She talked with the King! What a scheming bi–
Then suddenly, Glenda’s words to me last night echoed in my mind. “I’m scared, Babe. I don’t think Luna Elena will let us go so quickly. She looks kind and all that, but I feel like, in reality, she’s just hiding her true self and scheming behind us.”
When Glenda said that, I even told her that she might just be overthinking it, but now… I was proven wrong. With her doing this, she’s only proving to me more and more how right I was to choose Glenda over her.
I couldn’t believe that I was being sympathetic to her a couple of minutes ago when she obviously didn’t have any brains and already caused trouble!
Slamming my hands on the desk, I stood up in irritation and took long strides outside of my office before coming straight to our bedroom.
When I came inside, I realized that she wasn’t there.
Wasn’t she home yet? Wasn’t she too old to throw tantrums like this? Unbelievable!
When she didn’t come back to our room last night, I thought it was just a phase and she’d get over it sooner. I didn’t realize, though, that she could be this ridiculous.
“Hey! Where’s your Luna?” I asked frustratedly at one of the Omegas who happened to be walking past.
Trembling, she kept her head bowed down. “S-she’s in her office, Alpha.”
My brows furrowed. What is she on about now?
“What time did she come back?”
She fidgeted her fingers for a while, thinking. “At around seven in the morning…”
“Move along!” I shouted, and she went on.
Seven o’clock? I looked at my wristwatch. It’s nine now. Where did she sleep last night, then?
Without knocking, I barged into her room and found Elena reading a couple of documents.
“What do you want, Alpha Bryson?” she snarled.
“What’s your problem? I can’t believe you’ll do this! Didn’t I tell you not to cause any trouble?” I growled back at her instead as I threw the King’s letter at her face.
Her face scrunched up in confusion.
Huh! As if she didn’t know what she had done.
“Trouble? Is it my problem that the King is trying to lecture you?” she asked, crossing her arms over her shoulder.
“He wouldn’t have sent me this letter if you hadn’t talked to him!”
“Alright, I did talk to him, but—”
“So you admitted it! You talked to him!” I cut her off, fuming with anger. “What did you tell him, huh? Did you ask him to revoke his verdict to marry me and Glenda? Is that what you did?”
Every second I was talking to her just ignited the fire burning in my veins even more. I couldn’t believe she could be this inconsiderate and insensitive.
For a year, she had done great as a Luna. I thought by now she would know how to act and that she must not bring shame to our pack. But what did I get? Disappointment!
“I didn’t admit anything! As I was saying, I talked to the king, but I didn’t ask him to separate you and your lovely fated mate, nor did I ask him to stop the marriage,” she said straight to my face.
I looked at her, stunned. Bitterly, I let out a smile and shook my head. “How can you lie so upright?”
Her jaw drops. Great! More acts!
I couldn’t believe she could be this pretentious, very different from Glenda, who always says what she actually means. Now I knew why Glenda was my fated mate; it was because she was a whole lot better than Elena.
It turned out that Elena was just wearing a mask for the time I thought I knew her.
Now, I’m more confident that I’d never regret my choice of loving Glenda as she’s the one who was really meant for me.
“Lie?” She sneered. “I wasn’t lying about anything.”
“Listen here,” I pointed at her, completely fed up now. “Don’t cause any trouble again, or I swear to the Moon Goddess that I’ll never give you a child! Do you understand me?”
She stared at me dumbfounded. She must have thought I would go soft on her, but she’s wrong. What she did was a huge mess. How could she talk to the Lycan King?
She didn’t only ruin her reputation, but mine and the entire pack as well.
Suddenly, she walked past me and opened the door wide. She pointed outside and pursed her lips, firmly demanding, “Get out! I’ve got enough of your nonsense; get the hell out of my room!”
Fury built up on my chest. Insolent people should be taught a lesson!
With that, I moved with agility and pushed her to the wall with force, but that caused her to almost break…
Elena’s POV“Princess Elena!”I was already at the pack’s gate and was about to enter my car when one of the Duchess’ servants rushed toward me, calling while excessively waving her hand to get my attention.Breathing heavily, she smiled at me and composed herself as she stood upright. “Princess Elena, the Duchess said that if you have time, she would like to invite you for another visit. Or if you prefer, she’ll visit your pack instead.”It might be because I show a sign of shock on my face that she added with a wider smile, “The Duchess wishes to be your friend.”To say I wasn’t surprised would be a lie. I couldn’t help but blink a couple of times in utter surprise and even… a feeling of warmth as her invitation touched me.I know that she was being sincere because Roosevelt Pack was one of the top packs, and they had no reason to flatter anyone, especially not me or Deacon. She was, after all, another royalty.And since I was feeling warmth with her again, I couldn’t help but smile
Elena’s POVDuchess Hermoine closed the box with quiet finality and looked up at me with a sincerity glinting in her eyes. “I’ll explain.”Somehow, I felt the need to brace myself for it, and so I did.“Your mother,” she started. “...is really the one who bought this jewellery. She ordered it from Vince, the same jeweller I ordered from. I later found out that it's supposed to be her gift to you for your wedding.”I froze at her words as my eyes landed on the jewellery box again.My brows furrowed. “But I thought… I thought you said that you had it customised?”She let out a small laugh and shook her head before shrugging her shoulders casually. “It turns out your mom and I had the same taste.”Opening the box again, she pointed at the moon part. “There was a mix-up at the shop. When I came to collect my order, Vince handed me this instead. I didn’t realise it’s a mix-up until I noticed it had more gemstones on the moon than mine.”I stare at the enchanting bracelet with a pounding he
Elena’s POVThe Roosevelt Pack was quieter than I had expected it would be.As I walked inside the packhouse with a few warriors with me in the distance, which Jayden insisted I bring with me, I didn’t even encounter anything unusual.There are no gossiping members or staff, and there are no awkward glances. Aside from the official members who were assigned to usher me inside, everyone went about their own business like any other day.All through my walk in the living room, all I heard was the hum of the central cooling system in this extremely hot weather and the faint scent of freshly brewed coffee.“Elena…”Duchess Hermoine Gallop greeted me with a faint smile as we met eyes.She’s standing at the base of the staircase, dressed simply in a navy wrap blouse and crisp white slacks. She looked extremely elegant without even trying. Unlike most of the royal members, she looked like she didn’t care about her status, nor did she have anything to prove.Duchess Hermione Gallop was a dista
Elena’s POV“Princess, are you okay?” Zara asked quietly as she sat down with me on the patio, where I was quietly admiring the backyard garden.I raised my glass of wine and swirled it slowly as I looked far ahead. In the kingdom, especially the royal capital, scandal was the favourite pastime of the bored and powerful.And this week’s favoured subject?That would be me.It’s been a week since my memorable visit to the Grand Princess, but the heat about me was still on the rise, and it wasn’t even about the wine bottle I broke and hurled at the Grand Princess’ fountain.No… It’s a whole lot of new mess, which I knew was created and ignited by Princess Geline herself to get back to me.I could still remember the murmurs I heard when we went out to the market this morning.“She’s only getting close to Prince Deacon to wash her family’s bloodstained legacy.”“She’s ambitious. Cold. Used her tragic past for sympathy points.”“Don’t you find it strange? She was so invisible for years, and
King Desmond’s POVInside the study room, the air smelled faintly of cedar and ink while I, the Lycan King, leaned back in my leather chair, tossing a silver pen onto a half-signed contract. I already felt exhausted after reviewing and signing countless reports since early morning.After a while, I heard the familiar click of Jude’s shoes against the marble floor that broke the silence.“Your Majesty,” Jude greeted with a slight bow as he opened the door and stood before me. “Princess Geline has arrived at the palace.”I could only sigh, not even the slightest surprise. After what happened at her party that spread like wildfire around the palace, her coming in here was only a matter of time.“She’s early. And angry, I presume?”Jude made an expression. “Seething, actually, King Desmond. She’s waiting outside. Impatiently, if I may add,” he uttered, pointing at the door.Chuckling, I asked with confidence, “Let me guess. This is about Elena again?”He hesitated for a while before noddi
Elena’s POVThe next day, just like what I said to the Duchess, I went back to the palace to pay the Grand Princess a visit.Wearing another uncomfortable set of maroon dress and heels, I sat on the back of the car with the windows down, letting the fresh air calm my nerves before we arrived.As soon as the car was parked in front of Princess Geline’s mansion, I looked at it and couldn’t help but feel only coldness despite the beautiful mid-morning sun gleaming on it.Grabbing the wine box from the armrest, I opened the door and walked out of the car.“Zara, stay in here. I’ll go alone,” I ordered with my palms up as soon as I saw Zara about to open the passenger’s door and follow me.I didn’t know how long I would stay in there. Knowing the Grand Princess’ personality as she showed in the party, it might take longer as she’s harder to handle than the Duchess. For sure, Zara won’t be able to come inside with me either. And I wouldn’t want her waiting outside the door for too long.The