a.n i'm sorry for not updating! how is everyone doing with quarantine? I'm doing alright I guess. also, does have graphic designers wanna make me some new book covers? i think i need a change :))
Arsen followed the twin brother down the hallway who was happily ranting about how one of the female warriors kept giving him the crazy-eyes. The 'interrogation' was nothing more than River happily ranting and gossiping about the mediocre things that have been happening within the castle walls whilst showing him the many rooms that were down the one hallway.
"This section of the castle is the west side or 'business side', meeting rooms, gym and of course, my mother and father's study," River told Arsen who trailed behind him like a lost child. Arsen took in his surroundings, the entire place had given a modern-medieval personality with exposed stone walls and wood. "Also, what's it like living as a rogue? You know my sister and I never really ventured out into the forest unless it's for training and we've only ever encountered you and the history books," River asked, giving Arsen a raised eyebrow.
The rogue only glanced at him and shrugged nonchalantly. "Wasn't terrible, not the greatest food, rough sleep, but the company was nice sometimes," he replied back as they continued to walk into a more open part of the castle. "Huh, expecting more of an answer, but that's fine," River hummed. "So, what's the deal with you and my sister?"
Arsen almost looked taken aback by the sudden question as his mate's twin looked at him with curiously excited eyes. He was reminded of a child pleading for something. "What do you mean?" he asked cautiously. "I mean, you are my sister's mate, so what's that like?" River responded back. They continued to walk into what seemed to be the front of the castle where the stairs split into the sides, a chandelier dangled from the ceiling, the place continuously reeked of wealth.
"I don't know, you tell me," Arsen mumbled as his mind wandered around the place, noticing how fitting this entire place was for the high-class family and especially his mate, who was nowhere in sight. "That is not a good enough answer," River huffed next to him, resting his hands loosely on his hips. "Also, this is the foyer, where the east and west wing split. The top half is our living quarters, but the east is for the family, the west is for guests. The bottom east is the dining, kitchen, east garden and the bottom west is where we just came from," he continued. Arsen only nodded in reply.
"Now, back to the topic. We both know my sister is stubborn and hot-headed and what-not, do you find that part of her attractive?" River quizzed as they walked towards the kitchen and dining part of the house. Stunned by the brother's forwardness, Arsen felt any reply leave his brain.
'Certainly, this was not Armelle's brother?' he thought to himself, he felt his wolf nod in reply.
"I don't see how that information would be of any use to you," Arsen blurted and took a good look at his surroundings. The large dining room was a spectacle in itself. A large table, fit for at least twenty wolves sat in the middle of the room, chandeliers hanging above and large ebony coloured chairs seated itself around the thick ebony table. Large, arched like windows that were placed in the far back of the room was draped with thick curtains pushed to the side that allowed the light to stream through.
"Well I can't help but ask my sister is not one to spill her secrets and it's getting awfully boring around here, not enough excitement," River huffed. "This is the formal dining room, by the way, we have a much more intimate area further into the castle. This is for parties and whatnot, nothing special and hardly used," the younger wolf waved off.
-
"A now we've come to the end of the tour, our bedrooms. Not exactly sure if I'm supposed to show you our private quarters, but eh. This is my bedroom," River pointed to a double door on the right side of the hall. Arsen merely nodded, his interests slowly fading as time passed. He wondered how the younger male had so much excitement inside of him as they walked further down elaborate hallways.
This particular hallway was filled with more natural light that streamed through the window, he only managed to catch a glimpse of the garden below as River paused in front of another door. Just by taking in a small whiff of his surroundings and instantly knew who claimed the room.
"Huh, I didn't know you could recognise who this room belongs to. She's been out for hours and your eyes turned golden in an instant," River said as a look of surprise etched across his face.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Arsen deadpanned and folded his arms together.
"Sure you don't," River drawled, a look of mischief in his eyes as he motioned Arsen to follow him. Now unsure of what was going on, Arsen followed closely behind him.
"Now that I've shown you everything you need to know, I'll show you your room, it's on the other side of this place, but now you know where to find my sister if you ever need to," he heard River say followed by a laugh.
"I really hope I don't need to," Arsen muttered under his breath before going back the way they came from.
"By the way, I know Armelle doesn't know that you're here, but we should be meeting up with her soon. She usually comes back home around this time, so maybe she'll find us," River chuckled as he slightly skipped down the hall. Arsen could've sworn that River was definitely younger than Armelle, not by minutes, but by years.
"Even better, she'll surely be surprised," the rogue mumbled.
"What was that? She's going to be surprised? Of course, she will! Maybe a very bad- I mean good surprise, but it'll be a surprise nonetheless," River faltered as they passed the giant staircase and onto the other side of the house where the guests stayed. In a similar fashion, the west side has large windows that allowed the light to pass through. The pair stopped in front of a white painted door with delicate carvings of wolves that littered the front.
"This will be your room, remember how we got here, although it is fairly easy to figure out. Again, you're only allowed to roam with a warrior, if not you're stuck in here. If you leave without someone, you will be placed back into your cell and won't be let out. Which I really hope you don't do that because I'm starting to like you," River advised and brought his hand out to open the door handle.
What was behind the door made Arsen's heart stop. Although the room wasn't jaw-dropping to the regular eye, in Arsen's, it looked like everything he could've ever dreamed of. In a similar style to the rest of the house, the exposed wood, the crisp white walls and rustic interior reminded him of something out of a fairytale, but with a modern twist. It wasn't particularly large, but with was bigger than anything Arsen had owned in a long time. It smelt of cedar and pine trees and it was oddly comforting to his nostrils.
"Pretty cool huh? The entire hall is mainly private and empty, but you have a good view of the outside training area where some of our special warrior's train. They can't see you as the windows are tinted, but don't go looking outside all creepy," River smiled. Arsen merely nodded as he fought back all the emotions that tried to pass through him.
"There's a door to your left that opens to a bathroom, the drawers are filled with clothes, but if they don't fit you, just let me know and I'll replace them. There's a bunch of books on the shelf that my mother picked out for you, but there's also a television so you won't get bored if you decide to stay inside," River continued as they ventured further into the room.
Arsen couldn't help feeling grateful as he stood idly in the middle of the bedroom. River took notice in the awkward pose that the rogue took, the poor dirt-covered male had no clue what to do with himself. It made him realise this was probably the first time in forever that he was given a bed or at least a safe place to stay.
"You know, you can stay here for as long as you'd like as long as you follow the rules. This is all yours, the warrior whose coming to guard you will be just outside the door so you basically have all the privacy in the world," he added as he sat on the chair adjacent to the male who stood stoically.
Arsen nodded and continued to inspect his surroundings. It was strange to say that something had belonged to him, especially a room, although it technically didn't belong to him. It had been so long. A bedroom was a foreign concept.
"Ah, here's the warrior who is going to be guarding you for the first half of the day," River beamed as a small knock resonated throughout the room. A relatively older male appeared from behind the door, he had a buzz cut and a few faint scars decorating his dark skin as he bared his neck in front of River.
"Warrior Carter, right on time as always," River greeted and Warrior Carter only nodded in reply.
"How's your mate doing? It's been a while since I've last seen him," the future-beta grinned. The warrior smiled and shrugged. "Addicted to training, but when are we not," Carter replied with a small, childish shrug.
"Absolutely right, and on that note, I have to be heading out to train the younger males. So Arsen this is your guard for the rest of your stay unless said otherwise, he won't be doing much other than escorting you where you want and staying outside of your room. There will be another warrior who will take over during the night," River informed the two as he began to stand up and head towards the door.
"Hopefully Carter will be placed elsewhere once we've decided to fully allow you to roam free. I know we're technically supposed to be trying to trust you, but one can never be too sure. Just stay on your best behaviour and Carter won't be around for too long, besides he's probably got other matters to attend to," the beta beamed before signalling his goodbye. Arsen noticed Carter bare his neck towards him once more before the male disappeared behind the door.
"With all due respect, the future-beta is certainly a wild one," Carter chuckled before turning to face the rogue who merely watched him in the corner of his eye.
"Can't believe Armelle is his sister," Arsen mumbled under his breath, he heard the warrior let out another laugh.
"You're right, but they balance each other out. I was their guard or baby sitter when they were younger, the two always had very contrasting personalities," he noted with a sigh. "Right then, I will leave you to do whatever you feel like. But as River stated, be on your best behaviour or I won't hesitate to take you down and put you back into place. The Alpha and his family are living in this home and I won't let anything happen to them, not on my watch," the warrior threatened the rogue and took one step closer to him.
Carter was only an inch taller than Arsen, but it certainly made a difference as he stood in front of him. Defensively Arsen looked at the male straight in the eye and nodded. Satisfied, Carter took a step back and gave a once-over at the rogue before making his way towards the door.
"Glad to see you understand, now I think you should go freshen up, I highly doubt you should be smelling like that if you end up meeting the rest of the family," he drawled before, like River, disappeared behind the bedroom door with a click.
Arsen finally let out a sigh and loosened his posture before he rubbed his eyes tiredly. He pondered how on earth he managed to get into this situation before he brought his armpit to his nose and took a whiff. He almost grimaced at the smell and his wolf agreed with him.
To say that Arsen was not excited to take a shower would be a complete lie. It had been a very long time since his last shower and the waterfall didn't count. He briefly looked at all the drawers that the room had to offer but wasn't entirely sure what to wear. He contemplated the variety of soft, clean shirts that filled an entire drawer to the brim and had to look at all the pants twice to make sure they were real.
He really couldn't believe where he was.
Grabbing a random shirt, pants and underwear he walked over to the bathroom. It was small, but something that Arsen wished he had a long time ago as he entered. There was a regular shower that was made out of the same wood as the bedroom, a matching sink and a toilet which was situated in the corner of the bathroom.
-
The sound of someone irritatingly knocking on the door made Arsen stumble out of his thoughts as he towel-dried his hair after a long shower. He almost wanted to curse out for the disturbance but realised it wasn't his place to be mad. Hurriedly putting on a black shirt and joggers, he walked over to the bathroom door.
The smell of chocolate and vanilla made him stop in his tracks.
"Move out of my way River or I swear to the goddess above I will hurl you out of the way," he heard a muffled voice growl lowly. Arsen didn't need his wolf to tell him who it was.
"Now, now Armelle, play nice, besides its not him you have to be mad at, it's mother who invited him, don't act rash," he heard her twin laugh hesitantly.
"Move out of my way," the she-wolf warned again, this time with a much stronger voice that was laced with Alpha tone.
"He's in the bathroom! You don't walk in on someone in the bathroom!" River argued.
"I said the move," was the last thing Arsen heard before the door slammed opened that it made a hole in the wall. Arsen could've sworn he gulped as the sight of a furious Armelle graced his presence. He noticed River gave a small, scared wave in his direction as his eyes landed on Armelle who stood two feet in front of him.
"What are you doing in my house?" she demanded, eyes glowing golden. The rogue almost didn't know how to reply as his wet hair still dripped down his forehead. The only thing he could do was challenge her as he stood up straighter to his full height, towering over his smaller mate who exerted out authority. He couldn't help but intake her chocolate-like scent and notice the faint freckles that were decorated across her nose. His insides stirred.
His signature smirk slowly made it's way to the corner of his lips. "Didn't you hear, Armelle? Your mother invited me."