Chapter 8

Malric’s pov

I called him a peasant.

Fuck.

I didn’t like calling Alruin names or even snapping at him, but I had to put on a show for Lyra somehow. Was he fucking crazy? That was the second time he had approached me in public recently!

He had become far too clingy and what really pissed me off was that he didn’t seem to care about the dangers of that anymore.

I sighed, watching the strippers Draven had brought in apathetically. Over the past year my mother has been introducing different girls to me, from high-class families and even from the royal houses of other packs. She had compiled a list of potential Lunas and each one of them I had politely rejected.

“Why? Malric? What is wrong with Melissa?” She had finally snapped at me after I had declined the forty ninth girl. “Time is running out on you. You don’t want your father to take matters into his own hands, do you?”

I had given her the same monotonous reply, “I didn’t feel the spark, mother. She has to be the right one, she has to be my mate.”

I should have taken my mother’s warnings more seriously, but I realized that far too late; after my father had already gotten fed up with my flimsy excuses.

“You think your mother and I kissed under a mistletoe?” he bellowed at me during breakfast one morning, “This was also a political marriage and it worked out just fine. The whole pack will not be drawn back by your incompetence, Malric. I have chosen a bride for you already, and you will meet her tomorrow.”

“But father…how can I marry someone I do not love?” I asked in a strangled tone.

Everyone might be scared of me, but my father terrified me more than the goddess’ wrath itself.

“Love is a fool’s favorite word, boy. The bond is for the pack, not romance.” He replied coldly. “Time to man up.”

And that had been the start of Lyra and I…and the beginning of the end for Alruin and I. I couldn’t put it straight up to him, I expected him to take the hints when I began publicly socializing with Lyra, introducing her to my friends and brandishing our relationship like a prize, but he didn’t.

What worried me the most was Lyra’s intelligence, she was much smarter than I had anticipated, unlike the other girls I had been introduced to. Draven was first to grow fond of her, and slowly, she won over my entire circle. I was afraid that it might only be a matter of time before she discovers Alruin.

I had completely lost it when he showed up at the willow tree!

It was a miracle that she hadn’t noticed anything fishy, and also in the hallway at school. Alruin needed to understand that I wasn't obligated to explain myself to him, even though I missed our meeting. I was the Young Alpha for crying out loud! The next Alpha! But he didn’t seem to care and that made me teach him a lesson by sleeping with Lyra that night.

She was a ferocious lover, but sex with her wasn’t as thrilling as with Alruin for a lot of reasons.

I sighed with a troubled heart. Why did I feel so uneasy at my own birthday party? I should be having fun, probably even dancing with those strippers that left little to the imagination, but here I was, my mind clouded with daunting, remorseful thoughts of Alruin.

Maybe it was time to end things…sever the mate bond and go our separate ways. A pang gnawed at my heart when the thought of not touching that skinny, perfect body of his crossed my mind. I shook my head uneasily.

There had to be a way I could make this work. I could find a way to hide him perfectly and i could still keep up with Lyra or-

The alarm from the watchtower suddenly rang and someone dashed into the club. My heart lurched immediately, driven by my agitated wolf.

“A rogue has been caught! The guards have surrounded it! It’s so exciting!”

I didn’t wait for even a second, a sense of dread and emptiness crept within my spine as I rushed to the border. I push my way through the crowd, my heart thumping with anxiety even before I set eyes on the bloody mess that my father’s sharp eyes scrutinized. He was beaten and bruised beyond recognition, but my wolf whimpered in shock. Even though his scent was masked, my nose picked up his faint scent that no one else could smell.

‘Alruin!’ My wolf cried in a shrill tone that reverberated in my head like a bell.

“Malric, get over here.” My father’s voice rumbled through my thoughts, snapping my attention to his burning eyes. “Make a decree.”

No, No, No!

My father always took advantage of every situation, forcing me to flex my powers as the Young Alpha, but this was the worst possible moment! My wolf growled, displeased and its growls descended into sad whimpers.

My heart had never hammered so ferociously. My blood was boiling like hot lava, melting the veins that supplied blood to my heart until it turned cold. I struggled to breathe for a while, those auguite blue eyes Alruin possessed were so innocent, so pure, how could I do this to him?

My father grunted impatiently and that seemed to be just the pick me up I needed. Little did I know that I had made the worst decision of my life by making that particular decree.

I stumbled through the excited crowd right after, guilt-ridden and unable to look at my bloody mate anymore.

How could he be so stupid?

What the fuck?

No one could leave the Vantheir pact without authorization, it was fucking suicide! The anger that ravaged through my chest was quickly drenched by a flood of self-guilt and despondence. I had pushed him away, he had tried to escape because of me. If only I had marked him, I would have been able to mind-link him and probably even prevent this mess.

“Fuck!”

My wolf only whimpered silently as I walked away. But there was no way I was leaving Alruin for dead.

***

I made sure I wasn’t followed as I snuck into the forest that night. I relied on my sense of smell, desperately trying to sniff out Alruin’s scent…but even after ten minutes of combing through the wood, I couldn’t; it was gone!

My heartbeat surged with panic and my search for him intensified frantically. I was breathing hard and stopped to rest when my eyes suddenly fell on a torn, brown bag with worn-out leather, shrouded party in the bushes. I immediately recognized it as Alruin’s.

I look around for him one more time and my final search leads me back to the bag. That was it…I’ve lost him and it was all my fault. I crumbled to one knee, a void burning a hole through my livid heart.

“No…No, no, no!” I yelled angrily and threw the bag away in a surge of rage, but something dropped out of it right before me.

I squinted at the small, meticulously wrapped gift box, panting heavily. I picked it up and opened the box. My eyes widened and I felt a prick in my heart when I saw the handcrafted bracelet. It was nothing fancy, with simple designs, just the way I loved my jewelry. I took out the small note beneath it.

For the first time in years, I felt a wave of hot tears welling up in my eyes when I read the note.

‘Happy birthday, my Ironheart. I know I am not what you need, but for once, I hope I can make you smile.’

***

Alruin's pov

The strong scent of vanilla resin, mixed with black cedar was cold and dangerous, yet addictive. The foreign scent clogged my lungs, nothing like Malric’s. My eyelids proved too heavy to be parted at first, but slowly, I opened my eyes. My body still ached badly, but at least I could squirm.

I stared at the sweat gleaming chest, a perfect body carved in war and worship. My eyes crawled to the muscular arms that wrap themselves around my body and my heart froze for a second. When I looked up, a beautiful, yet intense pair of steel-gray eyes pierced through me, cold as a winter’s breath.

This wasn’t Malric!