Chapter 5: Castle Duvall

Aimee's POV

The car drove into the premises of the castle that stood in pride before me. There was a huge water fountain at the far right side of the compound. It looked neat and well-kept. There were a lot of people standing at various points in the compound and I could only guess that they were…

“Guards, mostly warriors” my thoughts were interrupted by a man I had never met

“Good day, Mi lady” he greeted me the moment I turned to him. “I’m Alec. I’ll be your tour guide until Princess Reine is ready to see you”

I stared at him for a good number of seconds. He was so close to being as tall as Lucien. His brown hair and green eyes fit him quite well. Reluctantly, I forced a smile. It was like I had not trusted someone to bring me here. And now I am here. However, the aura he gave up was that of authority but it was also calm.

He gestured for me to start the walk up the stairs that would lead us into the castle building. Before stepping on the stairs, I glanced at the two gigantic statues of wolves that stood side by side by the stairs. “That is a little symbol of strength for the pack. The one on the right is the Alpha and the other is the Luna” Alec explained, pointing at them

I nodded in understanding even though I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I was being told something I did not believe in. It was hard. For years, I had one belief. Magical things are not real and are only fictions of our imaginations.

In just one day, I walked through a portal and found myself in a world that was so different from the one I knew and recognized. The warriors that stood at ease at every point looked nothing like normal. If I thought the people I had seen outside here looked more complex, tall and agile then these ones were five times more than that.

I could easily liken them to human giants but then they were not human neither were they giants. “This is the open area. Living room like you humans called it” Alex explained, gesturing with his hand

I do not know if he was making a kind of jab to humans but it was hard to pinpoint it with how calm his aura was right now. Instead of delving into that for long, I looked around the living room. In my mind’s eye, I had expected something a little outdated but I was amazed as to how modern everything looked.

The couches were huge and magnificent. A huge chandelier stood in the middle of the ceiling with its light dim. There was a mini bar at the side with so many varieties of drinks and from the look of it, they were all alcohol.

Everything looked neat and perfectly placed. It was not a surprise when I looked down to the tiles below my feet and I could see my face on it. Unfortunately, I could not hide my surprise so Alec caught it and smiled at me.

“The maids do a good job at cleaning. Lucien would not be happy otherwise” he explained to me

Then I wondered where Lucien or Reine were. I had been in this castle for over thirty minutes now and still, there was no sign of them. I darted my eyes around and it seemed that it was obvious to Alec what my issue was.

“They will be down soon, Mi lady” he said

“I am Aimee,” I told him firmly

I do not really like being called Mi lady all the time when he was trying to address me. Alec nodded. “I am aware,” he said with a smile

“Then why do you keep calling me Mi lady?”

“It’s just a form of respect, Mi lady”

“Just call me Aimee please”

“As you wish”

He placed back his hand behind his back as we resumed my tour. I really did not know the point of all of this. I was happy waiting in the living room until Reine came. “That is the garden” Alex informed me while we passed it

“Aimee” I heard Reine call

Instinctively, I turned and spotted her some distance away from me. With a wide smile, she rushed forward and hugged me. “I’ve missed you so much” Reine confessed

“I missed you too,” I told her before she let go of me

Reine smiled at Alec. “I’ll take over from here. Thank you for showing her around” she told him

Alec nodded slightly then moved closer to her and placed a kiss on her cheeks. “Mi lady” he bowed at me before walking away

“Who was that?” I turned to Reine

“He is my mate” Reine explained with a smile

“Mate?” I could not help but ask

She nodded at me then linked her hand together with mine before leading me forward. I wanted to ask for more details but I chose to hold back. She would tell me when she was ready. From what I understand, it was crazy for a human to have a mate.

After the tour, Reine led me to the garden where a maid served us a cup of tea, bowed then walked away. All the while I had not seen Lucien anywhere. I did not bother to ask him because I was in his castle and if he did see the need to come see me then that was his problem and not mine.

“I know you might be wondering what is going on. This is moonstone pack. My brother Lucien is the Alpha of this pack and also the protector of Nexus. Alec and Isaac are both Lucien’s betas. Alec is my mate” She explained some more things that only got crazier and crazier and I found it difficult to believe her

“I know you might be wondering why I am telling you all of this” I nodded at her words “You remember the time you met my brother for the first time and you felt a connection with him, it was the mate bond that you both shared. Lucien is your mate or better still, you are Lucien’s mate. His fated mate. For so long he has lived without a mate” she explained

I opened my mouth to speak but I was finding it hard to get anything out in words. A lot has happened in only a few days. “I need to rest” I managed to say

Reine spoke to a maid to accompany me to my assigned room. It took a while to fall asleep but I did. I needed to sleep and maybe the next day, I would make sense of all that was happening around me.

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Lucien’s POV

I stared at the lady from afar. Where I stood, she could not see me but I could see her very clearly. “She’s beautiful. I can sense some fire in her. Quite inquisitive too” Alec's voice rang in my ear

I turned around to meet his gaze then shook my head. “I do not care. I can’t have a weak human Luna”

“She’ll grow” Alec tried to convince me but I had already made my decision

I was going to reject Aimee and get married to Cassandra instead. Cassandra is my girlfriend and even though she is not my mate, I would prefer her to be my mate rather than a weak human that would only weaken my lineage.

Getting mated to Cassandra is not for love but for the purpose that I serve in this pack. To protect this pack he needed someone strong and skilled in battle, not someone that would make it difficult to protect the pack.

“You should rethink” Isaac pitched in

“I know you want to for Cassandra but if you explain to Aimee, I’m sure-”

“No” I interrupted Alec “That explanation is something I do not have time for. She would be rejected by tomorrow and that’s final” I told them before they left

After a couple of minutes, I left to go have a look at her. She was my mate and even though I wanted to reject I still needed to know her. The first time we met it was only a couple of minutes before I had to leave urgently. Maybe, I could speak to her even though it would be once.

Walking over to her room, I pulled a nonchalant expression even though with every step I took, Shadow was getting agitated. Shadow was my wolf and I knew he was not happy that I was going to reject our mate but what had to be done, had to be done without emotional attachment.

I had to keep him under control before he did the same to me. I saw a bright light coming from her room but I did not think much about it and thought the lights were on.

Without knocking on the door, I turned the knob and stepped in only to stop in my tracks when I stared at her. My mate was levitating over her bed.