The prisoner narrowed his eyes as she walked in and then his lips curved into a smirk. He leaned his head back against the graviton and rested his arms on his knees.
"I knew you would come back." He said. "I thought you were a scared rabbit but you turned out to be a wild cat. I like it."
"Really?" She asked for remaining calm. She walked further in until she was standing right across from him.
He watched her behind his dark lashes. "Yes. The hunt will be more fun as will the kill."
"You can keep fantasizing about killing me because it will only remain a fantasy."
"I have never had a fantasy I never fulfilled." He drew.
"There is a first time for everything." She retorted.
He leaned forward, studying her carefully.
"No need to study my hips. I have no intention of becoming a breedmate."
That only amused him. "Don't worry. Even if your hips were wide enough you wouldn't be fit to become a mother. You lack warmth. Isn't that why they call you the cold-hearted princess?"
She ignored him. She was back to her usual unprovoked self where no s could harm her. Besides, he was right. She didn't find herself fit to be a mother either and she wasn't sure she wanted to raise children in this world.
"Seems like you know me and you know my sister is missing? You don't even know her, do you?"
He tilted his head to one side but remained silent.
"Too bad you can't use that against me now."
"Are you sure?" He raised a brow.
No, she wouldn't let herself get fooled.
He chuckled, showing a straight line of white teeth. They looked even whiter against his bronzed skin.
"You are desperate to find her. I say quit looking. With your hatred and your sister probably having a werewolf child by now, you wouldn't be able to live together even if you found her."
"Don't talk like you know me."
"I don't think I am wrong. Would she trust you with her child?"
"I fight the enemy. Do you think you are the only one winning in this breeding game? Do you think the children will only side with their father?"
"Hmm…" He became thoughtful. "I am not sure but people usually side with the stronger side and we know who those are."
"Yes. The ones in chains right now or hiding somewhere."
His eyes darkened and his jaw clenched. She was getting to him.
"Don't see our absence as a weakness. We have not given up. Our silence only means that we are preparing to rise higher."
Aria smirked. "I know. I have studied your kind and I learned you never give up. That is why I am preparing to aim higher as well and your fall will be harder."
He chuckled darkly. "You are a relentless one. I haven't been so excited to kill anyone before."
"I thought that was what you did. You and your clan, killing for excitement."
"Well, partially but mostly because you rebelled."
"To not be your slave anymore? To have freedom?"
"Do you have freedom now, when you are not slaves anymore?"
Ravian decided not to argue about this. Her father had already gone through this. Even after his inventions, his goal was to make peace. But the werewolfs believed they were superior and it was their right to rule over them. None of them wanted to negotiate peace. None.
They would either rule over them or die destroying them. He surely thought the same but she asked anyway.
"You think you should rule over us, king Marcus?"
"You have rulers. Do you oppose them?" He asked.
"When our rulers are cruel, even if they are human, yes we oppose them."
Why was she talking to him about this? She decided to change the subject and talk about what she came here for.
"The ones you said breed with human females, I assume you have a guess or you heard something."
"Are you going to torture it out of me?"
"It is boring if I tell you. You could try. Maybe you have some crueler methods."
"I haven't invented anything significant yet, but I will remember your offer when I need to try out the new invention."
For some strange reason, he just watched her for a moment. His gaze unsettled her.
"You haven't tortured anyone yet, have you?"
No, she didn't yet. She wasn't into the torturing thing. She just wanted them dead and gone.
"My goal is different." She said,
He didn't ask what her goal was. He just watched her again.
"Have you not seen a human before?" She was annoyed that he kept staring that way. She wasn't even sure what that look was. It was nothing she had seen before. There was a little curiosity perhaps, mixed with disgust and resentment that always remained visible in his eyes. Even when he was amused.
He remained quiet but kept looking at her. She decided to take this opportunity to find out what she was curious about.
"You let yourself get caught on purpose?"
He looked into her eyes and she tried to read him but he showed no sign of anything.
"You must have a lot of time on your hands to think of such things, but sure, I like the theory."
She watched him carefully. She wasn't sure if he was telling the truth or not.
"I hope you are telling the truth. Escaping is choosing death. There are many traps around." She told him.
"You sound a bit worried."
"I am not scared of you."
He smirked. "I meant to worry about me."
"Well, I don't want you dead. Yet." She said and decided to leave.
He was in too good condition for her to get any information. Perhaps when he became a bit desperate and wished to have his freedom back, she would come back to talk to him.
"Have a goodnight, Your Majesty." She said coldly on her way out.
"Good night, Your Highness."
Aria left the cage with a frown.
"Did you talk to His Majesty today?" Aria asked riding alongside Lord Steele, with three guards following behind them."I hope he didn’t lecture you about taking care of me.""Just a little. He wants to make sure you're in good hands," Lord Steele replied."It seems like he's worried since he brought in the new prisoner.""I heard he's of royal blood, so keeping him alive could be risky."Aria nodded in agreement."Did you learn anything more about him?" he asked."I'm not allowed to go down there," she said.She glanced at him, and he gave her a mischievous look. "Don't worry, I won't tell your uncle.""I haven't found much yet. It was Adrian who discovered he's from the Azar clan and that he’s their king.""Unless he wanted to prove something to his father, a prince wouldn't let himself get captured. If he’d been missing for days, his father would surely come looking for him. But if he's the king, he could have ordered his people not to search for him.""He could still be a prince.
Aria stalked back to her room with her hands clenched. If she had a pistol in her hand she would indeed have shot him in the head. Lucky werewolf, but soon he would become unlucky. Because her favorite weapon wasn't a pistol. It was her mind.She arrived at her room where Elda waited as usual. Her face lit up upon her arrival."My lady." She took her hands and led her to sit on the bed. "How was it?" She asked excitedly.Aria remembered Lord Steele and the kiss he placed on her wrist. A kiss could possibly not have that effect. At least not on her. It frightened her that he could make her react in such a way."I want details." She shook her hands pleadingly."Alright. Let me get comfortable first."Maybe she needed to talk to Elda to know more about men. Experience wise.Elda helped her change and then they sat comfortably in her bed. Aria told her what happened to see Elda's reaction. Was it normal for men to be that bold with a woman? Was he perhaps taking advantage of her innocence
Marcus had managed to calm down the burning rage in him and go back to being mission-focused. He rarely lost a battle of wit and he never gave his enemies what they wanted. He was usually the provoker and he was good at it but this woman, this damned creature, where did she come from?If only she was a werewolf…But she wasn't. She was a human. A human for god's sake. How could he smell her so strongly? It couldn't be possible. He could not be compatible with someone like her.He hated that she fascinated him, hated that she challenged him, something he would normally like and want in a partner. She would have made a great queen.He spat the bitter taste in his mouth caused by his own thoughts. He never thought he would encounter such an obstacle. He never thought that his…., even saying the word pained him, but he never thought she would be his enemy. The one standing in the way of his mission. How did this happen?One of the soldiers came in, probably to take some more blood. The pr
"Tell me about yourself," Aria said after curtly answering some of Lord Steele's questions. She just wanted to divert the attention from herself but to know more about the man she was getting married to."What do you want to know?" He asked as they took a walk in the garden."I know what you do as a governor. Is there something else you do?""I travel a lot for business and trading so I am rarely home. My plan is to take it easier now, settle down and have a family. I am not getting younger." He smirked.She looked at him. He was in his mid-thirties, in his prime age. But he looked just like the way he did when he used to visit them in his twenties. He seemed to be the kind to age well."I don't think I am fit to be a mother." She told him."I am sure you have an idea.""I know you are smart, disciplined, and hardworking and that is the way I want to raise my children.""Children also need love and warmth.""And you think you are not capable of that?" He asked."Then I would not marry
On her way back to the castle, Aria tried to read professor Ward's notes. He had written every detail of his research which wasn't surprising as that was how research was done. Every detail had to be documented so that another person could reproduce the result. If the research wasn't documented in detail then it lacked reliability. Professor Ward made sure that his research had both reliability and validity. His method could be followed step by step.It was interesting to see his different theories and how the research proved him wrong until he came to the one theory that couldn't be proven wrong or right but had many arguments to support it. The fact that werewolves shifted with magic.His research showed that he had interviewed the werewolves themselves, some of which were interested in breeding with humans and others which he suspected knew of the interbreeding already.As she went through the interviews she sensed from some of the interviewed werewolves that interbreeding wasn't a
Aria left the cave feeling both satisfied and enraged. How could he speak ill of a dead person with such a straight face? She was so close to shooting him to death when he spoke about her father. Since he was the king he was probably the one refusing the peace treaties.Asking for peace was stupid? She scoffed. Alright then. He would see if asking for war was smarter.She snuck back to her room and Elda was as usually worried about her working so late. "My Lady, you will become ill soon if you work this long." She said as she came to help her change into her nightgown."You are waking up earlier than me and sleeping later. Who will get ill?""Well, I don't do much during the day since you are gone. I help others but even then I have plenty of time left to rest."She always had a reply so Aria remained quiet. Once Elda was done, "go to sleep now. I will read for a while before going to sleep." Aria told her."Don't read for too long, my lady," Elda said and wished her goodnight.Elda h