Order of the Alpha #2

23

CHAPTER 23:

I felt the harsh knocking of the cold as the ice king I knew sits down on the last free seat of the royally rounded table, "Your majesty, I hope you enjoyed my performance." He states, smiling as if it was so easy. The manipulation should've been, Alastair had more unfinished business here, but I thought he'd returned to the elemental realm. To his district which no one bothers to see but just knows that it's growing. The frost, the icy snow, the alertness of new enemies when Creed and I fought those after I'd been captured by the professor.

Nicolai glances at him, uninterested, "Quite, however, I wish not to get off topic. Athena, there are no lies here, I did love Celestine, no matter what anyone else believes." He stares her down, she waves him off, cutting into her meat, while I look over my shoulder, searching for Creed, his ember eyes were nowhere to be seen. Where the blazing hell was he?

"Love is a finicky subject. Some would say the men of the wolf-world can't express it the way others can. Say Celestine for example, you had hurt her, Nicolai. There's no denying it, and people have seen it. Your clans are wary—especially as allies. Anita's perspective on it can either rival yours with high explanations of destructive lies that colour you in darkness, or you can explain the side of the coin you." Athena suggests wisely, except that I was too busy staring at her, trying to get her to see my glare, when Nicolai—a man watching me with furrowed eyebrows, studies my expression.

I straighten, "Yes, may I get your story, your majesty? It could aid in future complications and you have my word, what is printed will be in your words, and your interpretation." I state, leaning in his direction.

He purses his lips. "The first moment I saw her, she was...a soldier to that council who ignored the pain of those and the suffering of people who did deserve it and she clung onto them. Her rejection was a series of her first offences and it's what...it's what drove me to hurt the woman I knew was supposed to be mine forever." He explains, the table stays silent and listens without interruption.

"The rejection only made me angrier. She looked at me and saw nothing worth knowing, my kingdom did the same, my whole life, I've had to watch that happen, time and time again all my life. She didn't want me based on looks and reputation. So, I refused. I wanted her to know me before she made her decision and I'll admit, there were choices I made along the way where I did wrong...you know, you have strangely familiar expression, do I know you? Personally?" He suddenly asks from where I was writing notes on a flimsy pad.

I look up and frown, "Your majesty?" I ask him, feigning confusion.

He reaches over, grabs the book and examines the page, "The i's and g's you write—have you always curled them this way?" He asks me.

I look at Athena, she frowns, "Ah, brother, I do the same." She tells him.

Robert and Reina look between us, "Why are you here, Athena?" Robert asks her.

"That's Princess to you." She says to him, nonchalantly while Nicolai—a man I didn't see watching me looks at me dead in the eyes.

"Say Martin." He tells me to do.

I furrow my eyebrows, with the infused accent, I say it aloud and he listens closely. Before slowly handing me the notebook. I simply reach for it and hitch a tense breath when Nicolai grabs my arms and holds it there. He stares deep into my eyes. The blue ones. I stare in utter worry, "Y-your majesty, I am sorry if I overstepped..."

He scrutinises me, "I've become accustomed to seeing Celestine in my dreams, do take my apologies for being forward, but something about you has my lycanthrope trying to decipher it. You said you owned Credence times, however the last I saw of it, Credence Times was a collective of old, white-haired men in ridiculous suits looking for games." He says to me.