Dante looked tense. I could only see his back as he spoke to Andrew and Justin, but his mood was clear as he stood with his arms cross and an unmoving stance.
"There he is, ugly as ever," Shane commented, just as a group of men walked around the side of the huge house and towards the arena set up.
About ten enormous men arrived, all dressed in black ensembles. No man stood out enough to be distinguished from the group.
But the enormous men were just a huge wall of black clothes. The three men in front of them were the important ones, and it was clear they agreed, walking over to Dante with arrogance on their faces and in their stances.
My eyes couldn't stray from the tallest one, with another man just shorter than him to his right. Goddess. He was huge. But he wasn't wide, or like, built, like Dante. He may have had Dante's height, and maybe even an inch more, but he had none of the muscles. Just tall with minimal muscles needed to look like an Alpha. It gave kind of an unnerving skeleton appearance to him.
But honestly, his body wasn't nearly as haunting as his face. Long nose, stern mouth, and what looked like permanently angry eyebrows and forehead lines. And those eyes. He had horrifying, chilling eyes. Bright yellow, and while yellow was usually a really nice, happy color, Magnus's eyes were anything but. Slits for pupils, and inhuman irises, glowing with his wolf inside. Horrible.
I shivered, wanting to look away from him. A man that wanted my entire family dead and drove them to another continent.
His age was clear on him, too. Paling skin and wrinkling features, with salt and pepper hair.
How was he so strong? Why hadn't another Alpha taken him out yet? He was old. At least, for an Alpha he was old. Usually they were younger, built like an athlete, and in peak health. Magnus was none of those things.
"He's charming, isn't he? Makes me really consider my sexuality." Shane asked, looking over at me with a smirk.
I sent her a glare, not appreciating her humor.
She laughed. "Oh, alright. Super serious time."
Shane would be the death of me. She'd beat out Batilda and Magnus. "Why are you making jokes right now?"
"Because Magnus is just here to get his old man attention and leave. Besides, Dante locked me up here with you instead of down there with the action, so this is all a big joke."
Shaking my head, I looked back out of the window.
Magnus had a broad, curling grin on his face as he and his pack members approached Dante and his wolves, the groups nearing with what seemed to be a crackling atmosphere surrounding them.
Dante's arms remained tightly crossed over his chest, muscles bulging with tenseness.
Magnus dipped into a mock bow, complete with a rolling motion of his hand and a very clear 'Your Highness' coming from his lips.
"Can you hear them? From here?" I asked Shane, my words slightly rushed and my eyes never straying from the interaction occurring below.
"Yeah. You can't?"
"Uh, still having a little fuzzy hearing from the plane." Perhaps the quickest and most sensible lie thus far in my life. "Could you tell me what they say?"
Shane shrugged. "I guess."
Dante remained still, but I saw his jaw move.
"Dante said, 'Magnus.'" She did her best to imitate his deep, husky voice, with a tinge of fake Dante anger in her tone. To her credit, it wasn't too far off.
A man stepped out from the mass of tall, black-clad men. Man wasn't even the proper term to describe him. At least a foot shorter than Dante, with a blemish above his eyebrow that was clearly due to a popped zit, and gangly, as if he were growing faster than he could handle. Wide eyes, although the hard set of his mouth showed that he was trying to drown the fear.
Magnus's smile grew wider somehow, and his hand extended to introduce the boy.
"Holy shit. Holy fucking shit."
I was sure I understood what was going on, but I really, really didn't want to. This kid was no older than fifteen. There was no way.
I need Shane to confirm it. "What? What's happening?"
"That's his Beta. The challenger. Magnus brought a fucking teenager for Andrew to kill. Shit."
There was no way—for anyone other than Magnus.
"He won't kill him, right?" My arms crossed to hug myself. Andrew seemed good, and no way Dante would allow his Beta to kill a kid. That would be really, really bad.
Clearly, these sentiments were shared down on the field, as Dante, Andrew, and Justin all clearly started speaking to Magnus rapidly. Dante especially looked enraged, pointing a long finger at Magnus and then at the boy.
Andrew was shaking his head, but like a good Beta, he let Dante do the arguing.
Magnus looked very pleased with the response, those yellow eyes lighting up with humor.
"Okay, so Dante obviously is opposing this. He basically said no child is going to fight to the death on his pack ground, and Justin is being his crony and going along with it. Dante is mad, like I can't even try and mock that voice for you—well, have you two fought, like big fight yet? Maybe you already know this tone."
Her stupid comment flew right over me as Magnus smugly responded, so fast that I didn't care to try and read his lips. "What did Magnus say?"
"He said he didn't realize his Beta would scare the competition so much." Magnus spoke more, and Shane was clearly trying to listen first, summarize later. "Okay, so Magnus said Dante, as Prince, should know better than anyone else that the challenge must be respected regardless of age or anything, and he's basically challenging Dante to break werewolf tradition. Uh, like, longtime werewolf tradition."
Dante shook his head, looking pissed as all hell, but gestured a hand to the other side of the raised fighting arena, which took up an enormous expanse of the yard.
Magnus nodded, turned his head to the boy, gave him a quick 'Go,' and then the rest of his posse left to where Dante had motioned towards. This left Magnus on one side with Dante, Justin, and Andrew opposite him, with a few more of Dante's pack members scattered on the yard behind him.
Dante then turned his head to his two closest men, nodded at them, and just as quickly as the other group, Andrew and Justin made their way to the other side of the fighting arena, speaking intensely as they went.
Now, only the two Alphas were left, and the air around them seemed to crackle with even more energy than it had when everyone else was around them.
"Goddess. This is way more exciting than it usually is." Shane commented, shaking her head.
This wasn't exciting, this was awful. That kid was going to get beat hard, maybe even killed—but there's no way Andrew would kill a kid, right?—and things between Dante and Magnus didn't look nice.
My thoughts were kept from roaming any further as Magnus spoke again, that glint of humor in his eye replaced with a poorly-covered rage.
He seemed to be holding back a snarl as he spoke, and my bones chilled the longer he spoke.
And then, when it didn't seem to be able to get any worse, his eyes darted up to the window and narrowed up at the huge, twenty meter tall glass panes that separated the air between us.
Oh, goddess. I didn't like that at all. Those bright, animalistic yellow eyes finally looking in my direction, for me to see in full view.
Instinctually, I wanted to disappear. Magnus even being within sight was very, very bad, it seemed. "Can he see us?" It was a window, right? He could see us. Had Magnus just looked at me?
I had to hold in my desire to grab the blue curtains to my right and pull them in front of me, shielding me from that yellow gaze again.
Shane shook her head. "No. It's a mirror to them, but a clear window to us. Dante had this room designed with intruders in mind, and the last thing you'd want intruders to know is whatever the Alpha is doing in here."
Ohthankthegoddess. Magnus couldn't see me.
"You seem pretty calm about what he's saying, Miss Twitchy."
"What?" He was saying things, too? Obviously, with the way his mouth was moving, but whatever he was saying was enough for Shane to comment on.
"Like, you're not freaked out by it?"
"What did he say?" I had to know.
"Oh, well, Dante's blowing up at him right now. I'll tell you in a minute."
And Dante was blowing up. His back muscles were tense as could be under his shirt, and his biceps and triceps bulged under his crossed arms. He was clearly giving Magnus a piece of his mind, while still regaining his composure that he kept so well.
It took Dante a good minute to speak his mind, I guess, because Shane didn't speak for a moment, and we just watched the exchange down below. Every second he continued I felt my anxiety rise.
"Okay, so. Magnus asked how the trip to, uh, The Werewolf World's First Commoner Family was, which was a dig at Dante's family and the Abernathys, and he said he kept up with the magazines, seeing all of Dante's little interactions with you and the Abernathys. He must smell a female all over Dante and assumed it was you. He doesn't know if you're here, obviously, but bringing you up so disrespectfully is going to piss off Dante. Magnus knows Dante doesn't just tote around any girl, so he's clearly digging here to see if Dante will reveal anything."
My eyes were now stretched to their full extent, and I snapped my head to her. "I was in the papers?"
She nodded. "Oh yeah you were. We kept up with it here. When you, Max Abernathy, and Dante all went to the same hotel—I saw this one tweet about that that was accusing you three of a threesome? It was pretty funny. I think I retweeted it. But then there was also the photos of you and Dante on your little Italy day, but you were blurry in those too since they didn't look professionally done. So they don't have your face or name yet, just your build and uh, hair color."
A heavy sigh escaped me. Thank you, Goddess, for that. And thank you Dante for telling me about that. I hoped they both got the sarcasm in my words.
"Anyway, Magnus said some more nasty things about how low he considers the Abernathys, which whatever, they're all super talented and hot, I'm sure they don't care if some crotchety old Alpha hates them, they can cry into their money—"
"Can you just answer the question?" Shane responded in sentences fluffed with hundreds of unnecessary nuances and clauses that the information I wanted got lost. It was so confusing.
"Yes, you were in the papers. Is that good enough, Princess?" She shot me a dirty look, eyebrows furrowed.
"What did Dante say to that?"
"Dante was immediately pissed, obviously, and kinda growled at him. Told Magnus to never speak another word about you or the Abernathys, which is confusing that he included them in this too unless you guys had like a life-altering Christmas with them. He threatened him pretty good so Magnus shut up, but he said he hopes to have the opportunity to meet you or Max since he considers Dante a dear friend and any friend of Dante's is a friend of his. He must've figured from Dante's defensiveness that you are a bit significant, so he's pushing that button. But this is all part of that old man attention-seeking stuff I told you about, you know. The friend of Dante's comment is actually common."
My nerves were all fired up, and I was a mess of anxiety. "Why did he group me up with Max?" I get the whole any friend of Dante's but what sort of coincidence is him pairing Max and I up as Dante's friends? There was absolutely no way he knew who I was, but I didn't like it anyway.
"Because you guys were seen together? I don't know, I'm not Magnus. Are you normally this jumpy?" She gestured to my tight frame, arms crossed over my chest as
"Yes." She had no idea. "Do you want to be down there?" I meant is as like a hey, why don't you leave and go be the head warrior you are so I can freak out alone in here behind the safety of my one way window? It did not come off that way, it seemed.
"I want to go. Dante gave me clear instructions that you are to stay in here with me where it's safe. I can break Dante's rules time and time again, but if anything, you're staying up here. I'll mess with his own rules, but not his mate rules."
Ugh. I just wanted her gone, but now it was obvious that wasn't happening. "Is it clear, then? Magnus won't look up here anymore?"
She nodded. "Well, he and Dante are still talking, real intensely about the challenge, but the conversation has moved on, and Dante seemed serious about his threats. Magnus won't bring you up again, at least not tonight."
That was a relief. As long as she knew what she was talking about.
I wouldn't mind being on the other side of the globe right now. As far as I could get. Being stuck in this far too big and important office while Magnus was down there with Dante wasn't soothing me in the slightest. I was terrified Magnus was somehow a genius know it all that only needed to glance at me to know every bit of my awful past, but I was also horribly worried about this fight. That was a teenager Andrew was going to have to fight.
It didn't help that I knew nothing of this whole thing besides that there would be a fight and that the boy would probably die. But would Andrew really kill a teenager? I didn't know. And I didn't know if Dante would allow it, either.
"Hey, Shane?" I really was reaching out a limb here, being so trusting and relaxed in this strange woman's presence.
"Yes?" Her eyes never left the scene below.
"Can you explain a little more about this whole challenge thing?"
"Because you're a rogue and don't know what this is?"
Somehow, she managed to get under my skin quicker than most everyone else. Not even Max could get to me like this, and he certainly created a number of problems with my mate in the past few days.
Nevertheless, I needed her help more than I needed my pride. "Yes." It came out with a twinge of annoyance, but this seemed unnoticed by her.
"Okay, so werewolf law states that they have until moonrise to warm-up, and then anyone that wants to watch—besides us, of course—can come watch. When they start the challenge, they have to declare if it's a fight to submission, death, or it's up to the Goddess, meaning they can end it however they want. But if they say death or submission, they have to stick to it. No going back. If it's up to the Goddess, obviously it's their choice. Because this is a kid, Dante and Andrew will push for submission and end this quickly, but I can hear through the mindlink that they worry about what failure means for the kid."
"What would failure mean?" My curiosity was far too strong right now.
"Well, Magnus definitely put the kid up to this. Chose the kid to be the Beta because his age would cause problems. He switches Betas all the time. A lot of them die, others he jails, some I'm sure he kills. Anyway, if Magnus forced the kid to challenge Andrew and the kid loses, Magnus might just kill him for his failure, and there's no guarantee that that won't be long, torturous, and painful. Andrew would at least make it quick. So they have to consider that."
What? He wouldn't kill the kid. But if they knew he would die a worse death at Magnus's hand, he might.
"Are you sure?"
She raised a singular, well shaped brow at me. "Besides the fact that Dante's over there looking stressed, I'm also in the Alpha-Beta-Delta-Head Warrior mind link. Delta Justin is not happy."
Delta Justin did in fact look very unhappy, pacing next to Dante and Andrew, who were in an intense discussion. Their lips were moving rapidly, but I couldn't make out a word of it.
"What are they saying?"
She turned to me, a knowing smirk on her face. "Can't read their lips?"
My brows furrowed. How did she know that?
She then winked and went back to looking out the window. "They're speaking in Mandarin. King Damon and Andrew's Dad, Christian, who's Royal Beta Jax's brother, if you learned anything at the palace, decided that it would be good for the boys to learn a very foreign language for secrecy and foreign affairs. Mandarin was the choice."
Damn Dante, and his thousand language knowledge. And damn Shane, for that if you learned anything at the palace comment. I was busy hiding from my mate, getting shot, and then hiding from my mate some more.
Dante turned to Justin, said something quickly, and resumed his heated discussion with Andrew. Justin stopped pacing, standing next to the two, and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Dante thinks they have to go for death."
"What?" Dante wouldn't push for death. He was too good for that.
"Yeah. Andrew doesn't know and Justin thinks they should leave the killing to Magnus."
Andrew would do what Dante asked, but it should be Andrew that makes the decision. He would be the one that would have to kill this boy.
This was all insane. I was freaking out over a glance from a skeleton-looking Alpha, but this was crazy. Things had been calm yesterday, and now Dante was peeved with a challenge impending where a teenage boy might die because that will be a nicer death than what may be awaiting him afterwards. Was this pack life?
I was annoyed at all of this and myself. If I were anyone else, this wouldn't be so huge. But I was me and everything freaked me out, and also this Alpha hated my family.
"Dante says if Magnus doesn't kill the kid tonight, he'll kill him eventually, and he doesn't want the boy to suffer for his failure."
The boy wouldn't win, and if they let the fight be to submission, Magnus would likely punish him through torture later. Andrew could kill him and save him from this possible but seemingly likely future, but that would definitely weigh on him. Dante would feel guilty too, since he's the one calling the shots.
There was no good option here, and it'd come down to which option was less worse.
Watching the three men down below, it seemed they had stopped their bickering and come to a conclusion.
"What did they decide on?" I asked, impatience forcing my words out in a rush.
"They're going to hope the boy urges for to the death, but if he doesn't, they'll demand it."
So the boy would die.
I shook my head, suddenly overcome with sadness. This wasn't good. This was awful. This boy, only a few years younger than me, was going to die because he had been chosen by his evil Alpha to be Beta, and Magnus had forced him to challenge Andrew.
I knew only what Shane had just told me of challenges, but I already despised them. Pack life was already more savage than I had expected.
"Do you think that's the right decision?" Shane seemed bloodthirsty, so I wouldn't be too surprised to find her backing this choice.
"Yes. From what our spies know about Magnus's pack, Magnus would kill him for a loss."
"Spies?"
She turned to me, an eyebrow raised. "What, you think we just let our neighbors do whatever they want behind their fence?"
I was so surprised that a pack would have spies in a neighboring pack that I didn't have a response to Shane's stupid comment. But spies? How did that even work with the scent trails of a werewolf?
I had so much for Dante to explain when this was all over.
Shane and I fell back into a silence as I mulled over all this information and what was to come. The logic of it all made sense, but to actually go through with it? Andrew would listen to his Alpha, but it couldn't be an easy task to obey.
Down below, pack members started gathering on the field, giving the two Alphas their space. As more time passed, the area around the fighting platform started filling up. The sun fell lower and lower, until we were minutes from moonrise.
Shane turned her calculating state to me again, continuing to assess me. The fight was so close that I felt that my own adrenaline had risen in anticipation for the challenge, and I managed to focus on down below for a few minutes. Eventually though, her stare had bore into me so much that I couldn't help but address it.
"Why are you staring?" I glanced at her as I spoke, arms still anxiously wrapped around my torso.
She raised a shaped brow. "So you're, like, born and raised French?"
Goddess, could she not just focus on the fight happening right now? "Yes." Basically. I didn't care to get into it. English was still my first language and I didn't have any French blood in me, technically. But to her, I'd be French.
"Did you live near the Palace?"
So many questions. The moon would rise any minute now. "Uh, no." It was hard to deal with her small talk when more and more wolves were surrounding the arena down on the field, and Dante's clear focus only intrigued me further.
"But you met there?"
Asking mates how they met was a common thing, and yet the question brought a spike to my anxiety. We met in such a complicated way, and I met him as my mate before he really understood who I was. It was awful, what had happened, and so sad. Batilda had ruined that part of being mated for me. Had Dante not been someone I had to give up and just a normal wolf, what story would we have to tell when asked that question? Either we dredged up the horrible reality of what was impending death for me and an evil impostor mate for him, or we made up a lie to make things happier.
Maybe, had I not been such a coward, I could've exposed things to Dante earlier and he wouldn't have had to find out I was his mate as I jumped in front of bullets. We could've had a triumphant meeting story, and instead we had one full of my failure and his forced confusion. And I know he had his own guilt about my injury, but he didn't know what he was dealing with. How was he to understand the plot that had been brewing against his family for at least a decade by the most powerful, malicious witch alive?
"Hello?" Shane broke my thoughts, leaning in closer to me. "You good?"
"Yes. Yes." I released a breath. "We met at the palace." If the fight could just start, she'd leave me be.
"Then why were you at the palace?"
The moon's glow was just peaking out over the trees. It had to be time. No more awful questions! "I, uh, forgot. I think it's time."
And for once, I was right. The buzz down below stilled, the huge crowd that had gathered seemed to quiet. Both sides of the fighting arena ended their conversations, and Magnus pushed his Beta forward.
Dante turned to Andrew, nodded to him, and then turned to the crowd. He waited a moment for the crowd to completely silence before he spoke up.
"What's he saying?" I asked, barely waiting two seconds to try and read his lips. The craziness of this all left me with no patience to try and assume things right now.
"The usual. 'Earlier today, the Beta of the Derache Pack challenged our own Beta Andrew to a fight for his position.' Yada yada yada. He has to be formal and follow all these traditions about announcing it." Shane had lowered her voice to a ridiculous octave to try and imitate Dante. It was a poor imitation at best.
Dante said some more things before turning his attention to Magnus and his kid Beta.
The kid said a few words, but there was a trembling to him that revealed his fear.
"Dante just asked what outcome the kid wanted, and he said to the death."
So that would be it, then. Andrew would have to kill him. No possibility of sending him back to Magnus's pack now.
Dante nodded at the kid's choice before turning back to his pack and speaking again.
He got a few words in before the kid spoke up again.
What was going on? Dante turned a cool look over to the challenger, clearly unhappy he was cut off by a member of Magnus's side.
"Holy shit, Florence, are you catching this?" Shane asked, her face alight with intrigue.
"No."
"Oh my goddess, he's trying to change who he challenged. He's trying to say he wants to challenge Dante now."
What? He couldn't do that, could he? It was clear to me these challenges followed very strict tradition and that once challenged, the kid could not undo anything. He had to fight Andrew.
"I don't even know if this is legal!" Shane turned around, flashed to one of the bookcases, and flashed back to Dante's desk, a thick volume in hand. "Changing who you challenged? No way that's allowed." She scanned the pages, flipping and scanning, flipping and scanning. I turned my head back to down below, where Dante had turned around to face the kid. His arms were crossed, and he did not look happy, but the kid was still talking. Dante listened.
"Is it possible?" I asked Shane, glancing behind me to find her still sifting through the many pages.
"I don't know. Dante would." She stepped away from the book and back to the window. "The kid is saying he challenged Andrew as the interim Alpha, not as the beta. Now that Dante's here, he wants to fight Dante."
Interim Alpha? While Andrew did fulfill that role in Dante's absence, was that technically his position?
Andrew having to kill this kid was awful, but Dante having to get in the ring and fight the kid? I wasn't ready for that. My stomach churned at the thought. Dante has killed that woman that was working with Batilda in France in front of me, but I was half conscious. Now I'd have to watch Dante kill a kid fully conscious, and I'd have to sit here as he possibly got hurt. It was Dante, and he was overly strong and powerful, but I hated this. Please let it not be legal.
The kid finally stopped speaking, and all eyes were on Dante. Magnus had the smallest hint of a smirk growing on his face as he watched his rival Alpha. Even Andrew and Justin waited with bated breath for Dante's response.
In reality, it didn't take more than a few seconds for Dante to respond, but the anticipation made it feel like minutes. He wordlessly stepped up onto the platform, stared down Magnus and the beta for a moment, and then called the boy out.
"'Step up, then.'" Shane did that fake Dante voice again. "He's so done with this. Goddess, when he called earlier he was already so pissed to have to come here urgently, but now he has to kill this kid. You better use that mate magic to cool him down or he will be a bitch tomorrow morning." Shane groaned. "I can already see it. Intensive training for everyone, endless laps for those of us that really don't need any more training."
She turned to me. "You gotta fix this tonight. I have a very pregnant mate to deal with, I do not have time for a pissy Dante."
I barely glanced at her long enough to give her a roll of my eyes. My attention was far too caught up in what was happening down below, on the moonlit field.
The boy stepped up onto the platform, all five and a half feet of him. Dante would tower over him if they were close enough.
Magnus watched on with a sly smile. There was absolutely no way the boy would win this, so Magnus's smile was out of pure sadism. He must be enjoying the fact that he's forced Dante to kill a teenager, too.
I expected there to be a little more excitement. It was a challenge to the death, after all. But the power was just too unbalanced, and the fight was over in a breath.
Dante stood there, waiting for this kid to make the first move. The boy flashed at him, and the next instant, he lay on the floor, neck twisted beyond repair. Dante had moved so quickly I didn't even see it.
It was still awful, though, and I found myself turning away from the window, unable to look at the body.
"That was the least exciting challenge I've ever witnessed. Dante didn't even try and make it theatrical."
I took a few steps away from the window, shaking my head. Death shouldn't be theatrical, it's tragic. Not something to celebrate. Especially since this was a teenager.
I couldn't find it in myself to watch anymore. The boy was dead. There was sure to be some sort of bidding remarks between the alphas, and then Magnus and his men would leave, and Dante's men would clean any mess up. There was no blood shed, at least none that I had seen in the passing glimpse I gave the death. There couldn't be much cleanup now.
Slowly, I strayed around the room, arms wrapped around my torso as I looked at anything and everything I could possibly distract myself with. There was the crazy holographic map table that intrigued me with its technology, but I had already seen the map. I wouldn't even know how to use it, either.
There was the endless supply of books in here, a supply I would've done anything to have during my time in Batilda's basement. I had lost count of how many times I reread each of her books to keep myself from going insane. As long as I was reading, I was elsewhere mentally. That was all I needed. It was also all I had.
I wandered over to one of the enormous bookcases and ran my fingers along the spines. It was clear that this was the Alpha's library and not a regular library as the books seemed to all be about werewolf warfare, traditions, other supernatural creatures, or laws of different territories, countries, and creatures. And staring up at how high these bookcases spanned, as well as how many of them there were, there had to be books on every single thing Dante could ever want to know.
I continued my wandering, somehow stuck thinking to all the books I relied on for the past eleven years. Moby Dick. The Tempest. The Scarlet Letter. Old, beaten up copies of books far too advanced for me to read at eight, yet with every reread I understood a little bit more. Papillon was probably the only reason I still understood French.
Those never ending years were horrific, and they've absolutely ruined me, but looking at all these books, I was somehow reminiscent. Those first few years, or what I would guess to be years now knowing the timeframe, were the worst. I just wanted to go home, and I was waiting for anyone to come find me. I was younger than anyone else there, and while that meant the others all took care of me, it also meant I knew the least out of anyone of the evils of the world. But after awhile, after my second escape attempt ensured that I would never again try and leave, after I had accepted my fate, I grew numb. Nothing mattered. Especially after Wendy's death. I had no one, and that made things so much easier. I read my books, helped the other girls, and never disobeyed Batilda. I had gone hungry for so long that I no longer noticed it. The awful television became background noise that I didn't hear anymore. I had and felt nothing, and it was peaceful.
Now, being free, everything I had lost came right back to me. I felt every year I had lost from my family, and everything that should've been with Dante. Everyone reminded me of how thin I was like I didn't feel myself starving for so long. I had been alone for so long that socializing was a foreign concept.
Things would be so much easier if I was still there, or if being mated to Dante hadn't saved me from whatever cruel death Batilda was dreaming up for me. Things would be peaceful, and I wouldn't be so lost and in pain. I'd either be dead or I'd be numb. How had all these feelings come back so quickly?
I didn't welcome them.
Sleep. That was another thing I did to pass the time. I wasn't so much tired as I was exhausted.
Turning away from the books, I made my way to the comfy couch from earlier, sat closer to the doors than the windows. I didn't need to look down there anymore.
Sitting down on the further cushion, I brought my knees to my chest and laid my head on the arm of the sofa. Dante had said there'd be about an hour after the challenge where he'd still be busy as they waited for Magnus to leave pack boundaries and they cleaned up the fighting platform.
Shane finally left the window and walked around the desk, leaning on it as her eyes ran over me from my head to my toes and then back again.
"I can't pin you down, Luna. You've got secrets."
I shut my eyes, shifting my head a little to get more comfortable. "Or maybe you just met me." Ignore the Luna comment. It had been too long a day to care.
"No, that's not it. There's something about you. Don't know what it is, but if you're here with Dante, I'll have lots of time to figure it out."
Something about me? And why did she have to pin me down? She was far too nosy for my liking, and I didn't care if I made that clear. "Great. Looking forward to it." There was no way she didn't hear my sarcasm.
"There's those claws again. I like it. Make sure Dante gets some of that fire, too."
"Why are you so unpleasant to Dante?" I couldn't help but ask. It had been clear from the moment we got here that she had a problem with Dante, and he seemed to shrug it off as Shane behavior, but it seemed unprovoked.
"It's all good fun. He does the same, you just haven't seen it yet. He told my mate he'd pay her a hundred grand to name our kid after him to spite me. A hundred thousand dollars. We genuinely considered it."
I let out a small laugh at that. It didn't seem like Dante, but maybe he was different here. More relaxed, less formal. I hope so. If I could just see him as less princely, then this whole mate thing might be easier. But only for the next few months, because this mate thing wasn't permanent. I wasn't to be with him forever.
The thought brought me sadness. I didn't understand it, because I had kept that in mind this whole time and pushed for it to him, but I felt a heavy weight settle in my chest that didn't feel so heavy before. Dante was bright and exciting, and I must be growing attached to that sort of positivity. Not him, because that wasn't allowed, but the way he made things better.
We must be friends for me to feel this way. So long was the acquaintanceship I tried to keep us at. I told him things only friends would know.
Friends. That's what I'd keep it at. That's what this whole thing would be called. Because anything more and I worried I'd never leave.
Glancing up at Shane, I saw her uninterestedly staring around the room. She didn't need to be here, and if her mate was heavily pregnant, I'm sure she'd rather be with her. "Shane?"
Her hazel eyes flicked to me, nearly glowing they were so light in color. "Yes, Luna?"
Not your Luna. "You should go home. I can sit in this room for the next hour just fine. You don't have to be here."
She raised a brow. "I have Alpha orders to be here with you until Magnus is off the territory."
"And I, your uh, Alpha's mate," Weird, but whatever would work, "am saying you can go home. To your mate. I'm a big girl, I can sit still."
Dante really didn't need to keep her up here. It benefitted no one.
Shane let a hint of a smile on her face. "Is my Luna ordering it?"
There was that word again. "Yes. Tell Dante I asked you to leave if he has a problem."
She hopped off the desk, giving me a full smile, and walked over to the door. "Well then, have a good night, Luna."
"You too."
She left, the thick doors shutting quietly behind her.
* * *
The sound of the doors reopening forced me out of my light slumber, and I blinked, slowly rising to a sitting position.
Dante came in, followed by Justin. "A Luna's orders?" He asked, walking around to his desk.
I offered a guilty smile, stretching my arms over my head. "I didn't say that." Although I basically did. Alpha's mate, Luna, whatever. I wasn't a Luna, and I was barely a mate to Dante, but it got Shane to leave.
His eyes sparkled with humor, detracting the serious shake of his head. He pulled out a desk drawer and handed some folder to Justin. "Record that tomorrow. You can go home."
"Alright. Goodnight to you both, then." Justin turned, flashing me a smile, before he left Dante's office.
"Do you want a drink before we leave?" Dante asked, walking over to me.
"No, thank you." I just wanted to sleep. I didn't care where, either.
Dante gave me a look and then went to something behind me, opening it up. Inside was a small fridge, countless bottles of alcohol, and crystal glasses of all shapes and sizes.
He came back with two bottles of water, handing me one. "In case you're lying."
I rolled my eyes and took it, getting off the couch to stand. Now we'd go to his house, where I could sleep on a bed.
"Shane wasn't too bad?" He asked, raising a brow.
I narrowed my eyes. "You should've warned me way more than you did."
He laughed at that, walking back over to the other side of the room. "It's difficult to describe how much of an ass Shane is. It's much easier to just see it for yourself."
"Or it's easier for you," I grumbled back.
He turned his head to shoot a guilty grin. "That too." He grabbed a coat off the rack, holding it up. "You might want this."
I shook my head. "We'll be outside for like, thirty seconds."
He set it back on the rack. "You ready to go, then?"
I nodded, grabbing my phone off the table next to the couch.
We made our way towards the door, not even having to reach out for it before the guards on the other side opened it.
It seemed Dante's title was more prominent here than in his own palace. Besides the palace being top to bottom lavish gold, marble, and the whole being it's own island thing, Dante was able to move about pretty much alone. No one opened doors for him there, at least not what I saw of it.
We walked in silence down the hallway and into the elevator, where Dante sent us down to the first floor. With a ding, the doors reopened, allowing us out to the main hallway that led to the foyer.
It was quiet in the pack house. There must be hundreds of people that live in here, yet none were in sight as we walked down towards the front door. It must be due to the fact that they all left after the challenge, whereas Dante stayed for an hour until Magnus was off pack land.
Thinking of all of that reminded me of the challenge, which only brought me sadness. That poor kid didn't stand a chance. Not from the second he was pushed to challenge anyone from this pack.
Dante had to handle Magnus in all of this, too. He was the one that had to accept the challenge, win the fight. Not that it took much out of him physically, but there was no way the gentle man he was didn't have a problem with killing a fifteen year old.
As the front doors were opened for us, I found myself turning to Dante, grabbing his bicep with both hands and stopping us.
His eyes met mine, an eyebrow raising on his face.
I beat him to speaking, biting my lip for only a second before I spoke. "Are you okay? After that? I know it wasn't difficult, but you couldn't have wanted to kill him." I knew that for certain. There was no bloodthirsty part of him. Not a power-hungry bone in his body. He simply had to fulfill the roles handed down to him by being the strongest wolf alive.
His eyebrow dropped, and his lips lifted in the softest of smiles. "Watch out, Florence, or you might find yourself caring for me."
I rolled my eyes, sighing. "I'm trying to be serious." And he was so right. My hands dropped from his bicep. Less touching.
Dante's eyes followed my hands off his arm and down, where they wrung at my waist. Those green-blue orbs flitted back up to meet mine. "No, I didn't want to kill him. But neither did Andrew, and if one of us was going to have to deal with Magnus's bullshit, I'd much rather it be me. It's just unfortunate that that meant the life of a wolf today."
What a Princely answer. Did he ever mess up? Just once? One stain on his shirt, one trip flat onto his face, something! Goddess, I needed him to not be so perfect all the time.
I nodded at his response, recognizing Dante's responsibility to his role. He was challenged, and no matter who had challenged him, he'd go through with it. "That makes sense."
With another seconds glance at me, Dante's eyes flicked up and down my body, before settling back on my face. "Let's go, yeah?"
I nodded again and we resumed our short walk outside, where a large black SUV was waiting.
"Alpha, would you prefer to drive?" A blond man asked, standing by the car.
"Yes, thank you." Dante didn't break off from me to walk around the car, which made me realize he was going to keep up the chauvinism and try and open my door.
I sped up into a quick jog, running to the door. Grabbing the handle, I turned back to Dante with narrowed eyes. "No. I'm not falling for that trick."
His eyes sparkled with mischief, and he shook his head, moving to walk around the car. "Maybe tomorrow will be big flashy presents. It's not all set in stone."
He grabbed the keys from the blond man, thanked him, and entered his own side of the car.
I jumped in my side, shaking my head as I did so. "Not funny. Seriously."
He bucked his seatbelt, dropping the key fob in the cup holder. "I'm sure my mom could have some crown jewels sent over before the end of tomorrow. Or we could get you a car."
"I'm going to lock myself in a bathroom for the entire day." If there was anything more than a card, I would be angry. And a car? I couldn't even drive.
Dante shot me a look as he started the car, a soft thrum coming from the enormous vehicle. "You could always suggest things for tomorrow so you at least get to do something you want to do and not things I think you won't hate."
My ideal birthday would be spent alone, without a single thought of anything. That was my ideal day, period, but that wouldn't be something Dante would appreciate hearing.
* * *
Just under an hour later, after driving through endless dark forests and eventually driving up a large hill, Dante slowed, pulling up to a long driveway.
"Are we here?" Sleep! But what interested me far more was actually seeing the house Dante lived in. It had to be amazing.
"Yes." Turning into the circle drive, Dante brought the car to a stop right next to the front door.
The house was a two storey glass structure, with a roof slanting up and away from the front half of the house. The entire thing was still surrounded by thick forest, and it seemed no tree had been removed unless it needed to be. There was a slim but deep cement porch in front of the large, ornate front door, on which a fluffy, black dog sat waiting.
"You have a dog?" I asked, a slight excitement to my voice. Dante had never mentioned a dog.
Dante shot me a slight nervous smile, scratching his head as he shut off the car and unbuckled his seat belt. "Kind of? If you don't like dogs—"
"It's just cats. I like dogs." I'm sure the opposite would be true had it been a big black dog like this one leading me out into the snowy forest that was my backyard so long ago, but because it was that black cat, I had difficulty with them. Felix had freaked me out.
Slipping out of the car, the chill from being so elevated on this hill got to me, and I wrapped my arms around myself as I walked around to Dante.
"How is it only kind of your dog?" I asked as we approached the front door. The front of the house was lined with beautiful, vibrant colored plants that were visible even under the low glow of the moon.
The dog, who had been sitting so patiently at the front door, panting happily, decided he was done waiting and made his way towards us excitedly, wagging his fluffy tail.
He went to Dante first, barking twice before jumping up, paws ready to land on Dante's abdomen.
"No jumping. Hey, buddy." Dante bent down to scratch behind the dogs ears, something the dog seemed to love, twisting his head to get a better scratch. "I didn't go out and get him. He was a stray on the packgrounds that wouldn't stop showing up here, so eventually I started letting him in and feeding him. He usually still roams the packs during the day and comes back here at night."
"What's his name?"
Dante stood back up, pulling his hand back from the dog. "Shaw."
Upon realizing Dante had moved past him and to the door, Shaw turned to me, barking once.
"Hi!" I greeted Shaw, bending down to let him sniff my hand. This dog was adorable. Big and fluffy, every hair on him black, with warm brown eyes. He wore a blue collar, with a little bone tag that read his name.
Shaw sniffed my hand for the briefest of seconds before he repeated his greeting of Dante to me by jumping up, placing his paws on my stomach.
I smiled at the dog, using both hands to scratch his neck. "You are so friendly." And his fur was so soft.
Shaw turned his head to lick my wrist, causing me to pull it back, scrunching up my nose. "Don't do that," I whispered to him, before glancing up at Dante, who stood holding open the door. I sent him an apologetic smile, stepping back to allow Shaw to drop off me. "Let's go inside," I told Shaw, and he walked against my leg the entire way in.
"I can give you a tour tomorrow, unless you want that now." Dante told me, closing the door when Shaw and I got a few steps inside.
The foyer was nice and clean, a tall plant next to the door with a shoe and coat rack on the other side. To my left seemed to be the entrance to the kitchen, which I'm sure was shiny and grand, and there was a short hallway in front of me that led to a room with enormous windows. To the right was a marble staircase that led up to a small loft straight above. I'd imagine that's where the bedroom was.
I would love to explore this already beautiful house, but I was tired, and it was dark. The amount of windows meant that this house would be even more beautiful in the sunlight tomorrow.
"I can wait for a tour." I yawned as I spoke, which I tried to cover up with my hand.
"The bedroom is up the stairs and to the left. Your duffel bag should be up there. I need to go feed him, but I'll be up there in a moment."
I was thankful to have showered earlier, because it meant I got to sleep sooner.
Slipping off my shoes at the door, I left them in one of the spots on the organizer, and made my way up the smooth, stone steps. They were an interesting black stone, with specks and streaks of white and silver.
The wall was decorated with all sorts of earthy-toned paintings, mounted in ornate silver frames.
At the top of the stairs, a small, rectangular loft sat, with a door on each side of the space. I went towards the further one on the left, twisting open the door to find a dark room.
The second I flipped the lights on, my jaw dropped. Goddess. The room was incredible. The wall furthest from me as well as the wall to the right were completely made of glass, looking out into and over the trees, as the hill started to slope downwards halfway under the house. Even the ceiling was mostly glass, with only about a foot of normal ceiling framing the enormous skylight. The ceiling sloped downwards from the wall the bed sat against, which meant that looking up from that bed at the skylight must be a magnificent view.
In the center of the room facing the huge wall of windows, on a fluffy black rug, sat the softest looking canopy bed, made of a dark wood. The bedding was all navy with white accents. At the end of the bed sat what looked to be a white fur blanket, which I'm sure was dreamily soft.
The room was huge, allowing for ample room between the end of the bed and the far glass wall. In the wall was the coolest fireplace I had ever seen, situated half inside half outside on a balcony that overlooked the expansive forests.
I could not get over this. This was the absolute most lavish room I had ever seen. Even more extravagant than his room at the palace.
In front of the fireplace lay more rugs, with two black armchairs sat in front of the fireplace.
Goddess, that balcony. As beautiful as this room was, I found myself hurriedly tiptoeing out of it and towards that view, slipping out through the sliding glass door.
Wow.
The sky was so dark it was almost black, with that taunting moon sat in the center of the sky, crescent shaped and bright white. Everywhere the eye could see was the thick, dark green trees that filled every spare inch of land here.
But it wasn't the beautiful forest or the incredibly bright moon that captured me so intensely, it was the stars. I had never seen them so clearly before, and I couldn't remember the last time I actively looked at them.
They were everywhere. The few constellations I knew were easily found, scattered among all the bright white dots.
I had spent so long without a window. No sun, no moon, no sky, no stars. Nothing. This was incredible. A dream.
I leaned against the glass railing onto my forearms, sighing. What the hell was I doing pushing this away? Had I not already suffered enough? Dante could give me everything I could ever wish for, and I was saying no to that?
I really was dumb.
But that stupid crown. I couldn't fit the roles needed, and that was far more important than what I wanted.
"Hey," Dante greeted, stepping out onto the balcony with me.
I widened my eyes at him, waving a hand to all of this in front of me. "Are you serious? This is where you live?"
He offered a cheeky grin to that, coming to lean against the balcony next to me. "I thought you'd like this place."
"You live here and have this view all to yourself." I shook my head. "That's insane."
"If I remember correctly, it's you that wishes to keep it that way, not me." He shot me a serious look, but didn't go any further than that.
A sad sigh escaped me. Dante was such a good man. He only deserved the best, and I wasn't that. I was damaged goods, messed up. He didn't want me, or at the very least he shouldn't, and it was awful that I couldn't be what he deserved.
Goddess, Dante deserved to be loved by his mate, not pushed away. He was a man of so much kindness and compassion.
Something in me latched onto that thought, knowing he didn't deserve what I put him through constantly. How I pushed him away, kept us apart. I didn't want that right now. Not here, in this glass dream house, surrounded by beautiful forests, and oh so far away from that stupid crown.
So I turned, reaching out for his face with both my hands and pulling him to me.
He didn't fight me, allowing me to bring our lips together and kiss him. Sparks erupted at every spot our skin met, my fingers on his face, my lips on his, his hand sliding around my back, pulling me flush against him.
I hummed when my chest met his, moving one of my hands down to slide around his neck and pull him down, allowing me to lower from my tiptoes. This man was just too tall sometimes.
As his lips moved against mine, hot and soft, I felt his canines lengthen against my lips, and he nipped, eliciting a gasp out of me. He took this as a chance to deepen the kiss, his tongue slipping into my mouth and making me lose all sensibility as he drew shapes on my tongue.
This man was far too skilled at this. It was simply unfair.
The hand I had still on his face moved to join the other around his neck, pulling him the slightest bit further in. How many times already had we kissed today, and how come that still wasn't enough?
Those warm hands slid down my back, over my butt, and just below it, before they lifted me, pulling my lower half against him.
My head pulled back in surprise and I let out a squeak, barely managing to wrap my legs around him for balance. A groan came from him, and he was back on me, those lips on mine with hot fervor.
Mmh. Every spot we touched was lighting up with little fireworks, driving me mad for more.
Dante spun, leading us inside with me still wrapped around him. All too soon, I felt him bend over, and my back made contact with the soft bed. Goddess, this bed was like a cloud. I sunk into it as Dante's lips continued their passionate movements against mine. My legs dropped from around his waist, but he was still in between them, our chests pressed together.
Why did I fight this so often? Why did I fight him so often? This was so nice. I could do it all day.
All sensibility gone, I lost myself in his touch. His soft lips, that big hand of his that lowered down to my thigh and lifted my leg so it was bent next to his hip, which allowed our bodies to press against each other further, that thick bulge in his jeans pressing right into the apex of my thighs. I threw my head back, a loud moan flowing from me uncontrollably. What was this man doing to me?
Dante laughed, his lips pressing feather-light kisses all over my jawline.
Sliding a hand from his neck to his face, I tilted his head back so I could kiss him again.
I became lost in his touch. I don't know how much time we spent like that, him completely covering me, our mouths only separating for us to breathe, his hands sliding up my side, moving to my jaw, anchoring me further to him. It could've been a minute, or it could've been an hour. I was completely focused on him, his extreme skill at this, and the sparks that sizzled between every connection of our skin.
All too soon, it seemed, a whining came from the door, as well as a scratch. I barely noticed it the first time, and Dante either ignored it or didn't notice it either, but eventually, after a bit more whining and scratching, Dante pulled away, both his hands cupping my neck.
"Apparently, the dog needs to be let out right this minute." His beautiful eyes were swirling with dark blue, that soft green hue that was usually present, gone.
My lips lifted in a small smile, my thoughts reeling back to life. "Okay."
He begrudgingly pulled away, standing up to his full height as I still lay on the bed, my hands next to my head where they had dropped from their much more welcome position on his face.
Dante took one last look at me before pulling himself away and to the door, shaking his head as he reached it. Once open, Shaw jumped up at Dante, excitement clear on his face.
"No, you are not on my good side right now. Go." Dante walked with him towards the stairs, where Shaw happily beat him down.
I laughed, and then my eyes caught the view above me. Oh my Goddess. The glass was flawless, providing as clear a view of the sky above as I saw outside. Sleeping on this exquisitely soft bed was literally sleeping under the stars.
Everything about this was amazing. Dante, his dog, this magnificent room. Why would he ever leave all of this and the rustic charm of the never-ending forest for the stress of the palace?
The only answer was because he had to, and that absolutely deflated me. This was the Crown Prince. He wasn't just some incredibly handsome Alpha, he had bigger roles to fill. I couldn't forget that, not like I just did. Rejection was the only solution here, the only way to ensure he'd be able to be king. That needed to stay at the forefront of my mind always.
So, much more depressed than I was two minutes ago, I got up from the bed and found my duffel bag on a dresser by the door. I shifted through it, finding something to sleep in, and went through what I hoped to be the bathroom next to the dresser.
Flipping on the lights, I was met with a bathroom equally as extravagant as the rest of the house had been, everything a dark, almost-black gray stone. To the left against another endless wall of windows was an insane shower, a huge silver shower head sitting in the center of it that must deliver the most luxurious shower. In the wall straight across from me was a long countertop, all gray cabinets and gray granite on top. A huge mirror took up most of the wall above it, framed in an ornate silver design that screamed elegance.
How had I gone from the horrible situation that was Batilda's basement prison to this in such a short period of time?
I shook my head, refusing to give the insanely big tub to my right much thought. No more of this, I just needed to change, brush my teeth, and go to bed. Hopefully, I could sleep through all of tomorrow.
A few minutes later, I was finally done, and I exited the bathroom to find a still Dante-less bedroom. I put my old clothes back in the duffel, figuring I'd have to do laundry soon. Did I even know how to do that? I could not remember a time I had done laundry.
The sound of jingling metal came from the loft, and in ran Shaw, excitedly trekking over to me to rub against my leg.
"Hi," I greeted him again, crouching down to get closer.
Shaw immediately put his face in mine and licked my cheek, eliciting a giggle out of me. "No, stop that." I put my hands up, keeping him back a little.
Dante walked in then, his lips upturning the slightest bit at the sight of Shaw bugging me, before he made his way into the door on the left side of the bed.
"Does he sleep on the bed?" I asked him, scratching behind Shaw's ears.
"No. Not on any furniture. I don't let him sleep in here, either."
I frowned then, looking at the dog. "That's not fair. I'll bet you want to sleep with people." My voice was low, meant only for Shaw, but Dante heard me anyway.
"Dog fur is a nuisance."
I shook my head at Shaw. "Don't listen to him. He's just like you."
Dante came out a moment later, in just a pair of sweatpants. "No dog on the bed." He snapped his fingers, motioning towards the door. "Bedtime, buddy."
Shaw left me on command, but walked slowly, and laid down right outside the doorway.
"Aw, look at him. He wants to sleep in here."
"Sleeping in here leads to sleeping on the bed." Dante closed the door and shut off the lights, leaving Shaw out.
I shook my head, making my way around the bed to the side furthest from the door. "He's all excited to have his owner back and he's banished out of the bedroom."
"I think he'll get over it when I feed him."
I pulled back the sheets, slipping in. Dante followed my actions, his arm reaching out to pull me in.
"No, no. You want to banish a man's best friend, I will sleep over here."
His eyes widened. "You aren't serious."
"He wants to be by your side and you turn him away. That's cold." Laying onto my stomach, I pulled a pillow so it would be under my head.
"Are you really going to get me to open that door?"
I turned my head to him, smiling. "I think he'd like that."
Dante laid on his side, his strong bicep flexing as he motioned with his hand. "And how do you know that?"
"You were away for some time. He clearly missed you."
"He's going to try and sleep on the bed."
Would that really be so bad? "Just go let him in. He can sleep right next to the bed or something."
Dante dropped his head, rolling his eyes. "Fine. But you don't get to complain about a single thing tomorrow. Not one thing."
I huffed, but didn't fight him on that, and he got up to open the door. The second Dante had it opened wide enough, Shaw eagerly came back in, and without any hesitation, jumped onto the bed, curling against my side.
Dante shot me a murderous glare, crossing his arms over my chest, as his dog wiggled his way up the bed to reach my face, licking my cheek again.
I couldn't help but burst into a fit of giggles at Dante's annoyance and him being absolutely right. "You can't kick him off now. He has to stay." I stroked the dogs head, still laughing.
"Dog fur. All over the sheets." He shook his head, but returned to the bed, pulling back the covers and laying back down.
I bit my lip to hide anymore giggles that threatened to come out, and instead did my best to shimmy Shaw down the bed until there was enough room for me to lay my head on Dante's chest, my recent pillow of choice.
His arm wrapped around me, and his fingers started stroking my hair against my back.
Sleep came quickly, and I slept better on that dream bed than I had in my life.