"Tell me about your heart,
how it stole breath from my lungs, and still warmed my veins."
______________________
I stumbled into the bedroom, my jaw dropping as I caught sight of my mate leaning against the wall on the other side, his pale blue eyes narrowed, and a drink in hand.
I watched as he set the cup down, before returning his attention to me. Damien stood behind me his eyes wide in shock, before Livius addressed him, "You can leave now, Damien," he ordered.
My guard paused, "Your Highness, she-"
"I said, you can leave," Livius cut him off, voice firm, and Damien bowed, giving me a lingering look, before walking out, the door shutting behind him.
Livius stepped forward, eyes churning with a barely contained anger.
Yea, I was screwed.
**********
Five hours earlier:
"Elle, I'm bored," I groaned, watching as she brushed her hair in front of the vanity mirror.
I have been in this damned castle for a whole week now, and there was absolutely nothing to do. Livius was usually off doing royal duties, whatever the fuck they were, and I was stuck strolling around looking completely lost. I even found myself calling my mother from time to time, to her amusement.
Elle hung around with me almost everyday, looking just as bored and uninterested as I was now.
"This is about as interesting as castle life gets," she replied, picking at her nails.
"Livius is leaving today," I murmured thoughtfully, eyes pinned to the ceiling.
"He is?" Elle furrowed her brows, "I thought it was only Noah who was going."
I shook my head, sitting up, "No, he changed his mind this morning. He'll be gone all day."
She hummed in response, both of us falling silent, now lost in thought.
"That means Jayden's going to be taking care of his work for today," Elle began slowly, turning back to me, and I gave her a confused look, not catching on.
"King Livius is gone, Jayden is busy, and the Delta is training the wolves. Neither of them are paying attention to what we do today," she elaborated.
We could do whatever we wanted.
I felt a slight wave of excitement at the thought, before it was crushed by my next thought, "And Damien?" I asked.
She waved her hand, "He won't even notice we're gone. He's a warrior not a tracker."
"Okay, but like, where would we go?"
Her eyes sparkled, "today's our lucky day."
She stepped out of the room for a second, heading into her closet. I heard slight shuffling before she emerged again, this time with two thin pieces of paper in hand, and she held them out to me.
My jaw dropped,"The show is sold out, how did you get these?" I inquired, and she grinned like a cheshire cat.
"Jayden and I were supposed to go today, but he can't leave the castle with the King gone. I told him I'd give them away, but that would be a waste," she shrugged.
My lips curved up into a mischievous smile, "I guess we're going to a concert then."
Elle clapped her hands in excitement, already heading back towards the closet.
At least half an hour later we were ready to head out, but I watched as the platinum haired she-wolf I had befriended stared reluctantly at herself in the mirror, eyes unsure.
"Are you sure it's okay for a mated she wolf to go out like this?" she hesitantly asked, frowning at her appearance.
"It's absolutely fine, don't worry about it," I sighed, shaking my head and heading towards the balcony.
I shivered as the fall breeze met my bare skin. I had donned a black bralette along with a matching pair of shorts, thigh high boots, and a checkered jacket.
I'd probably freeze to death.
Grabbing Elle's hand, she nodded at me, and I inhaled deeply as we jumped from the railing, calling on my magic to break our fall.
To be honest, I was surprised she trusted me enough to jump down three stories.
Hitting the ground with a dull thud, the leaves crunching under foot, as my magic slowly settled back down, Elle quickly lead me to the other side of the castle. The one with all the cars.
Hesitantly we peeked out from behind the wall, before fully stepping out, and Elle threw me the keys which she had stolen from Jayden before we left. I gave her a pointed look, and she shrugged.
"I don't know how to drive," she whispered, and I internally groaned before heading towards the driver's seat.
I really hated driving.
"Well you're going to have to tell me the way. I've only been in this country for like two weeks," I told her as we settled inside, and slipped on our seat belts.
She nodded, leaning forward, "first of all, we're going to have to take the bumpy forest path, instead of the main road. Else we'll get caught."
Great, a bumpy path too. Ah, the things I do to see BTS live.
Starting off through the forest, we began our little adventure that would probably result in us both being locked up for the next three decades.
**********
"Come on, Elle, we're already late enough," I exclaimed, settling the keys in my pocket, and watching impatiently as she fixed her hair before turning back to me.
"Okay, okay, let's go," she sighed, finally turning back to me, and we began heading towards the venue.
We were extremely late, coming was a last minute decision after all.
By the time we got there the stadium was full, and they were already performing, but that didn't stop Elle from squealing in excitement.
"Is this your first concert?" I yelled over the music, voice filled with curiosity.
She shook her head, "No, but it's the first in awhile."
I grinned, pulling her over to the railing so she could see the bright lights, "Well, we might as well enjoy it, we're fucked once we get back to the castle."
**********
Livius' pov:
"What the fuck do you mean they're gone?" I asked Jayden, and I heard him sigh over the phone.
"I don't know, Your Majesty, they're just gone," he responded, "We can't even trace their scents."
I leave for one day.
One fuckin day.
"You had one job, Jayden," I growled, "one goddamn job."
"I have wolves searching for them in all the nearby cities, and I'm about to go out myself. We'll find them," he replied instead.
"What the fuck is Damien doing?" I bit out instead.
"He was standing guard outside their bedroom as ordered," he told me, and I face palmed.
Fuckin idiot.
Here I am, a three hour drive away from home, and my queen is gone.
Was she kidnapped or did she run away?
I couldn't tell from here.
I snarled in frustration, "Listen up Jayden, and tell all the useless fuckers I call warriors to hear this too. I leave the castle for a total of four hours and you couldn't even look after two she-wolves. Are you guys warriors or fuckin zombies? Do I have to be there to give every single command? You're trained to be the best trackers, and fighters any werewolf has ever seen, and you just let two girls slip through your fingers? Just like that? You have until sunset to find them, or I swear to the moon goddess I'll have all your heads on spikes before nightfall."
Delta Noah coughed beside me as I hung up the phone, his eyes widening, and my eyes drifted towards him.
"Your highness, if I could just propose that you not threaten to have all your wolves killed for losing your mate. You're probably the only person who can actually keep her in one place. You saw what she did to Damien and the others, no one in that castle could've stopped her from going where she pleased," he stated hesitantly, and I got up, pacing the length of the living room we sat in.
"She's not invincible," I bit out, running a hand through my hair, "She wasn't unbeatable when I knocked her out with one syringe, when that vampire had its hands around her throat, when Zander touched her while I was gone. She's so much more tinier than anyone realizes. For all we know, a bunch of vampires may have thrown her on a plane and shipped her off to their Queen by now."
Delta Noah fell silent, eyes filling with slight understanding.
"Fuck it," I cursed, turning back to the male, "you will finish negotiations here on your own. I'm running back to the castle, my wolf form will get me there in half the time it takes a car. Offer the Alpha my apologies," I ordered, already walking out of the room and heading towards the exit.
What has that little fae gotten herself into now?
**********
"Oh goddess, that was fun," I laughed as we stepped out of Starbucks, drinks in hand.
We were going to head home, but then changed our minds upon realizing that we probably wouldn't live to see the next day, so we decided to just go and get food.
Conveniently enough there was a nice mall nearby. Today really was our day.
My attention snapped when I heard Elle squeak beside me, pausing in her steps as her eyes fell on the two men that stood across from us.
I instinctively relaxed when I realized it was just Jayden and Damien.
Elle was screwed. Me? Not yet.
I watched as Jayden stepped forward, ignoring me and grabbing her wrist, dark brown eyes filled with anger as he partially dragged her towards the car, and she gave me a look that said, "Lord have mercy."
I let out a small laugh, and Damien gave me a pointed look, "Laugh all you want. You're next though."
"Livius isn't even here yet," I scoffed, crossing my arms.
He quirked a brow, "Not yet."
We remained silent for a few moments, and I simply stared at him, blinking up at his form, before turning and attempting to run in the other direction.
Yes, I was running away. No, I'm not a coward, I'm just not ready to be taken back to the untouchable, and boring building my mate calls home.
There's also the fact that I didn't want to see him yet.
I barely managed to get two feet away.
Damien grabbed me, arms encircling around my waist as he hurriedly threw me over his shoulder, so if anyone saw they'd think we were just two friends playing around.
"You've gotten us all in enough trouble for one day. It's only fair you get punished for it," he told me, walking towards the car they had brought.
"I'm not some disobedient little pup. He's not going to punish me," I huffed, still attempting to get out of his grip.
"You'd be surprised," Damien smirked, and with that he practically threw me into the backseat before sliding in beside me.
Jayden slid into the passenger seat and gestured for the wolf who had tagged along to drive.
He seemed extremely angry, and even Elle remained silent her face flushed as she looked out the window. Honest to the goddess this was one of the most awkward car rides of my life.
I watched as we pulled up to the castle, and Damien stepped out and gestured for me to follow.
Elle waved goodbye, mouthing a "pray for me," as Jayden dragged her away, most likely preparing himself to tell her off for leaving the castle for like two point five seconds.
Okay, it was longer than that, but still...
Damien nodded towards the entrance, "You're lucky King Livius isn't back yet. But let me just ask you now, would you like me to speak at your funeral? I know we haven't known each other long, but y-"
I punched his shoulder, and he broke out laughing as we stepped into the foyer, and began heading up the stairs.
"No, but really though I don't think you understand exactly how angry he was," he continued.
I rolled my eyes, "who told him anyway?"
"He's the King, we answer to him. Someone had to report it," Damien replied.
This King might end up being the first wolf ever convicted of killing his mate.
"Perhaps you should've left a note," Selene offered in the back of my mind, and I scowled.
"Luca won't talk to me," she continued, voice low, "You'd better start thinking of a plausible excuse, he said he'd be back from this trip by midnight. Good luck."
My heart sunk again, and I swallowed as we approached my bedroom.
Relax Alexandria, he hasn't even arrived yet.
Pushing the door open, I stumbled into the bedroom, my jaw dropping as I caught sight of my mate leaning against the wall on the other side of the room, his pale blue eyes narrowed into slits, and a drink in hand.
I watched as he set the cup down before returning his attention to me. Damien stood behind me his eyes wide in shock, before Livius addressed him, "You can leave now, Damien," he ordered.
My guard paused, "Your Highness, she-"
"I said, you can leave," Livius cut him off, voice firm, and Damien bowed, giving me a lingering look, before walking out, the door shutting behind him.
Livius stepped forward, eyes churning with a barely contained anger.
"W-what are you doing here?" I found myself asking, my eyes refusing to meet his.
"I ran back here from where I was meeting that Alpha," he ground out in response, voice gruff, and the anger emanating from him filling the room.
Suddenly I was against the wall, his grip on me unwavering as he forced me to look up at him.
"Do you understand how much stress and uproar you caused by running away like that?" he snapped, and I attempted to look away, but he didn't allow it.
"I didn't think it would be that serious," I replied, voice quiet.
"You're my goddamn mate. The future Queen of werewolf kind. What did you think would happen?" he growled at me, and I flinched, not liking the way he was speaking to me.
I was so used to his soft tone of voice, and his gentle caresses. His elegant words, and warm compliments. I never thought he'd ever yell at me. I didn't like this. I didn't like his displeasure being directed towards me.
"I'm sorry okay? I didn't realize it would upset you this much. I won't do it again, I promise. Just don't yell at me, please," I frowned up at him, eyes boring into his own.
His eyes softened slightly, and he sighed, "Honest to the goddess Alexandria, I don't enjoy telling you off like this, but you just leaving the castle like that, your scent completely untraceable, and Elle disappearing too? It caught everyone off guard. We couldn't tell what happened, and me being away made it even more hectic. Everyone assumed the worst."
I pursed my lips, leaning against him, my head resting on his chest, just over his heart, and I could hear how fast it was beating.
I had scared him.
Grabbing his hand, I stepped closer to him, and absentmindedly rubbed soothing circles on the back of it.
"Livius, I'm right here," I told him, smiling softly up at him, my hand reaching up to cup his cheek, and he shook his head, pulling away.
"I'm going to sleep Alexandria, it's been a long day. You should change," he stated instead, taking in my attire, and I nodded slowly, giving him one last look, before stepping into the bathroom, the door shutting behind me.