Chapter 16
1069 Words
Zadekiah’s POV
I saw her, standing there.
Waiting for him just like the way she always did in the past.
I tilted my head, watching from the balcony, both hands tightened over the rail.
She looked even smaller from up here.
“Your Highness, are you really going to marry Lady Blossom?” Isaac, my Beta mumbled from behind me.
Zion groaned at the mention of that name—we both didn’t like her.
And I found it rather strange that she appeared so quickly in this timeline.
There was something off about that woman, in the past and even now.
“Isaac, you know how my father is—I’ve already been a disappointment.” A low smirk curled over my lips, pressing harder against the rail.
“A few more would make no difference.”
“But Your Highness, if you are competing for the Alpha King seat, we need to…”
“Curry favours from my father?” I arched a brow, cutting him off. “Or the royal family?”
I sighed, pulling away from the rail and turning to face him. “Do you think they would choose a demon over the golden prince?”
Zion howled inside my head. I quieted him down.
Isaac frowned, crossing his arms over his chest.
“This isn’t fair—Your Highness, you work so much harder than Prince Janova. What about your accomplishments?”
“Accomplishments?” I shook my head, turning to stare at Little Red. I smiled.
“Do you remember what happened when I was sixteen? When I first led a battle against the rogues?”
Isaac sucked in a deep breath, his gaze growing dimmer.
“I was told to lead warriors to defend the border. Barely trained soldiers whom I had to train myself. No reinforcements for months. And just before we could fall, Prince Janova was sent to… claim the glory.”
“Did anyone remember the sacrifices we made? No. Life isn’t fair. It never has been. Neither will it be.”
Even a fool would understand—I was just a stepping stone for the golden prince. Collateral damage for a great Alpha. A sad smile spread across my face.
What a pathetic fate.
Isaac grunted, marching forward, and narrowed his eyes toward Little Red.
I cleared my throat, averting my gaze, but he had already caught me.
“Are we going to give up?” Isaac barked, drawing attention toward us.
“Keep your voice down, Isaac.”
“What about Lady Sovia? Will you really let her marry that man? You and her…”
I closed my eyes, shutting everything else out and turning away from Isaac.
“Enough!”
I walked away from Isaac, taking the staircase down.
Isaac was right.
Since Janova came into this world, our fate was already sealed.
He would be king and I?
The demon prince with lycan blood.
“Someone like you doesn’t deserve to be my son.” My father would always tell me.
According to the servants, my mother was unfaithful, thus bearing a wolf like me.
The only reason my father kept me in the palace was because I inherited my mother’s eyes.
Was I his son? He refused to confirm.
He knew I was, but he just hated me because I took his wife away from him.
Some days, I wondered if she hadn’t given birth to a monster like me, would she still be alive?
No portrait of my mother was kept in the palace, and I was forbidden to even go to her grave—I was a curse.
I paused a few paces from where she stood. Sovia Henric.
No intention of seeing her, yet here I was.
Even in this life, fate was still pulling me toward her again.
The first person to stare at me and not see a monster was Her.
How could I possibly forget Sovia?
But sadly, she forgot me.
“So… are you going to toss and forget it too?”
I asked, staring at the rose she was about to discard.
She looked up at me, eyes gleaming with unshed tears.
She’s sad. Zion groaned through the mindlink.
It’s not our business. I snapped back.
Sovia’s lips stretched into a smile and it cut into our heart.
Her smile was so precious that I wanted to keep it.
But I couldn’t.
“Prince…”
She tried to speak, but I turned away before my heart exploded in my chest.
One step and she grabbed my wrist.
I froze.
My throat hitched as she pressed to my side.
Why was she so close?
“Let. Go.” I groaned.
She shook her head, her mouth pursed.
I held my breath, closing my fist.
“Your brother is with your fiancée. Why not keep me company?” The smile on her face stretched into a tease. “Your Highness, what do you think?”
I sharpened my gaze.
Janova had always known my weaknesses and he used them against me at every turn he could find.
“Half-brother,” I corrected, and the smile on her face fell.
Only for a moment before she beamed again, clenching onto my arm.
“Keep me company. There’s something I want to speak to you about.”
My arm was pressed a little too close to her breast, and it was making my body tingle with an unusual sensation.
Hell…
“Sovia Henric, do you want to die?” I groaned, each sentence falling like a long stretch.
I prayed she didn’t notice just how strongly she affected me.
I tried to yank my hand away from her grip. She only pressed closer, batting her eyelashes softly.
This woman.
“Death is inevitable…” Her grip slid from my arm and she trailed her fingers against mine.
“If I get to die with such hands—I’ll truly be grateful.”
“Still so eloquent with your words,” I snarled.
It was also like that time when she wrote me that letter in the past. One that ended my life.
Anger flooded my chest. It dipped. Before I could control myself, my hand shot up to her neck and grabbed it.
She opened her mouth, gasping for air.
Slowly I leaned into her ear.
“I told you—not to play games with me, Sovia Henric.”
- Writer
