005

•●•🌑NERO🌑•●•

She left.

The door clicked shut after her with a sinking finality

I’ve always preferred silence. But this one felt… devastating.

My hands clenched at my sides, my gaze focused on the door—at the ghost of her presence that had just walked out that door.

Her scent lingered in the air. She smelled like vanilla orchids after rain. Soft, warm, and impossibly sweet, with something clean and delicate beneath it that made me want to breathe her in. White tea, with a faint sweetness of pear.

She was already gone but her lingering scent was already starting to make my wolf crave her beyond reasoning, urging me to go after her, to claim her, and mark her as ours.

But I don't dare to move. It would be unwise.

Behind me, Noel lets out a deep sigh. “Does she really hate us that much?” His voice was low and tight with pain, dragging me out of my thoughts.

The silence stretched. Then I finally turned to meet his gaze, already pinned on me. His eyes were blown wide with anxiety and something else I haven't seen in years.

Fear.

“We need to think of something, and fast,” he said, coming up to me. “What do we do Nero? She said she wants nothing to do with us.”

My chest tightened. I clenched my jaw to keep the feeling from overwhelming me. I never get overwhelmed. And I never let my feelings get the better of me.

Yet, I couldn't deny how truly horrible we’ve been to her for the past ten years. Diana had made that clear when she laid down all her aggravation.

For the first time in those ten years, I'd truly seen and felt all her pain.

I realised just how much she had to endure because of us.

Though, deep down, I thought the bond would change things, and I guess it did… just not in the way Noel and I had expected.

But maybe we deserved it.

Perhaps this was the moon goddess’s way of punishing us for being cruel to the one person who had always been by our side.

Imagine being mated to the girl who's loathed us for the past ten years of her life.

The moon goddess was far too cruel.

We never actually hated her. We just didn't know how to be good to her without drawing attention to her. In this world, the weak get eaten alive by those with power. I thought being distant was protecting her. Diana was a low-born omega.

Noel and I have been fascinated with her since the moment we first met her.

Her large, expressive Sapphire-blue eyes, fair, porcelain skin, and delicate features made her look like a fairy out of a picture book.

On the surface, there was nothing really special about her. But to us, she was precious… and more beautiful than anything.

It's embarrassing to say that it might have been love at first sight.

We only wanted to keep her close, protect her. It was the singular thing Noel and I strongly agreed on. That's why I let him pull all his jokes on her. They were supposed to be harmless but I never let him go too far. He's always been wild and reckless.

But we’d already ended up hurting her so much without even realizing it.

Now she was our mate, and she didn't want us.

Watching Diana walk out that door with tears streaked face was the hardest thing I’d had to do all night. It took everything in me not to drag her back and lock her up.

But I knew better. As her Alpha Prince and as her mate. Though, I couldn't quite say the same for my brother.

He sprang to his feet, “We need to go get her,” he walked past me stalking towards the door, “She’ll understand when we talk to her. I could try to charm her… tell her we never meant to hurt her. I know she’ll understand. She's our Diana.”

I let out a heavy breath and pressed my lips together. Noel was smart, but only when it came to being cunning and mischievous.

“You really don't get it, do you?”

His feet halted like they'd suddenly stuck to the floor. Then he slowly turned to me.

As I thought, he really didn't. The frown on his face said that much. A look of pure confusion flickered in his eyes.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

I clasped my hands behind my back, schooling my expression.

“Where do you think you're going?”

He rolled his eyes, exasperated like I'd asked the most ludicrous thing.

His shoulders lifted. “Where else? I'm going to find Diana.”

“Don’t,” I said sternly.

His frown tightened, and something in his eyes darkened. “What?”

I held his glare and spoke slowly. “If you walk out that door right now, you're going to ruin any chance of us winning her over.”

Noel's expression faltered, flickering between fear, realization, and something else… uncertainty.

“Then, what do you suggest we do?”

“For now, we take it slow. She's hurt and still… processing. We’ll scare her into hating us more if we force ourselves or the bond on her.”

He nodded slowly, then his expression shifted with a look of pure interest and curiosity.

“What do you have in mind, Nero?”

Just then, a short knock rattled the door, and we turned to it.

“Enter,” I commanded, my voice low, but clear enough to be heard through the thick, dark mahogany doors.

The doors flew open and a guard rushed in. He wore the tailored, double-breasted midnight blue uniform of the Royal Guard, the silver wolf-head buttons glinting under the gaslight. He carried no heavy plate—only a ceremonial saber at his hip, which he swiftly anchored with his white-gloved left hand.

His face bore the look of someone who had just barely escaped death. The sharp, bitter scent of his adrenaline flooded my study, instantly putting my own wolf on edge. His chest heaved, his breathing ragged and frantic.

He dropped hard to one knee. He slammed his right hand across his chest and bared his throat, bowing his head so deeply his chin pressed against his collarbone. It was the ultimate, submissive surrender to our bloodline.

“Pardon my intrusion, Your Highnesses.” he rasped out.

My eyes narrowed as I tracked the frantic rabbit-thump of his pulse in his neck. “Speak, Geron. What is the matter?”

He hesitated, swallowing hard against his own terror. “His Majesty, the Alpha King... has summoned both of you.”