The Royal Alpha's Destined Bride

Chapter 9

Thirty minutes had passed since I witnessed Ven having an intimate moment with that woman in the bedroom of the Prince's apartment. I shed so many tears that the upper part of my dress was wet with them. I waited and waited; for what, I didn't know. A part of me hoped that I would be found soon but another part wanted me to remain in the solitude of the royal chapel were the wedding ceremony would take place in the next few days.

I wanted Ven to find me but I didn't exactly make it easy for him to be able to. After what I witnessed, I subconsciously ran out of the palace through one of the entrances in the tea room. I wasn't dressed for the weather but I ran through the snow nonetheless to the other side of the yard where the chapel was built. I didn't know how long I ran for but I started to count the time the moment I closed the large doors to the chapel behind me to keep out the cold winds of winter.

The chapel was no anything special but the floors were made from marble, the pews with the same wood from some of the ancient trees that were used to make the rest of the furniture in the palace and the windows were stained so as to block any outside eyes for anyone who wanted to look into it. It was a place where the royal family would gather from time to time to hold private ceremonies amongst themselves. It was the perfect place for me to be in so that I wouldn't be disturbed by anyone.

I sat down at the pew that was closest to the door. I remembered running away from the prince's apartment but the rest of the journey was hazy because my eyes blurry due to the tears that were flowing down my face. I didn't remember who I ran across or if there was anyone in the hallways at all. If anyone called out my name, I didn't hear them. I was too focused on not falling and the painful tightening in my chest that made it difficult to breathe. The running didn't help at all.

But now that I had found a private place where not even Ven could find me, I could let out all of the emotions I was holding back. Soon, thirty whole minutes passed. I couldn't get that image out of my head no matter how much I tried. He was just standing there, his hand holding her waist and his lips having formed a smile as he looked down at her face. Who was the woman again? Right, she introduced herself as Fleur Mel-Heulen, his ex-girlfriend; the woman he was supposed to marry before he met me.

I didn't know what to think. I was upset and hurt and angry at the same time. Upset that he would do something like that behind my back, hurt because he might still have feelings for his former lover, and angry because after everything that I gave up for him, he was considering taking back his former lover.

There was so much that I sacrificed for our relationship, including my pride before the queen and princess, and my family who had warned me against marrying him. I guess they weren't completely wrong but it didn't change the fact that I still loved him.

As for the present, I didn't know what I would do next. A part of me hoped that what I saw was something I misunderstood, but could it really have been that? Ven was a prince who was devilishly handsome with a kind soul. Any woman would fall for him and frankly speaking, it made no sense that he would fall for me to begin me. I compared myself to Fleur and there was so much contrast between us that I wouldn't have been surprised if he regretted his decision of leaving her to marry me.

She was beautiful, majestic, and a werewolf, a better fit to be the next queen than I was. I was replaceable and not confident enough to be the next queen.

I was so caught up in my own thoughts that I hardly paid attention to the throbbing of my right arm. It was cold as well and the coldness had gotten to my skin. I pulled up my sleeve and placed my left hand over the bandage on my skin to feel that it was warm while the rest of my skin was cold. At least the bandage provided some comfort for my injury and I didn't have to worry too much about it.

"Odette...?" An all too familiar voice echoed throughout the chapel from the door behind me, startling me into quickly pulling down my sleeve and standing up to face the person who had entered the room. At first I thought it was Ven, the door being opened just enough to let someone's body enter but it wasn't. It was someone else instead. Someone I was happy to see.

"Ira..." I called out in a low voice, bringing a small smile to my face and carefully tucking my right arm behind my back so he wouldn't notice anything, but I was already too late because he had been standing by the closed door for about a minute before he made his presence known. I didn't notice him open the door or close it, nor did I feel the light wind brush up against my skin when he entered.

"Is this where you've been all along? Everyone in the palace is searching for you," he began, an expression of concern written all over his attractive facial features. Ira Wolfhart was a prince from one of the Ruslan's neighboring kingdoms called NotenIsle. He was next in line for the throne just as Ven was because he was also engaged to be married.

Today, he arrived as a guest and a close friend to Ven to attend the wedding. He was dressed in a white suit with a silver lapel and a black scarf flowed down his front alongside with his onyx black hair. He was a handsome prince as they all should have been and in the little time I knew him I came to see him as a close friend.

"Y-Yes, I just needed some time to think think myself," I said, turning away from him so that he wouldn't see my face for too long. Of course, I brought my arms to my front as well and looked ahead at the altar in front of the room.

"I wanted to see the chapel before the day of the wedding..." I started, unaware that he was approaching me from behind. As with many of the other werewolves, their footsteps were silent, a trait from their wolf form that applied also in their human form. As hunters, their footsteps had to be silent so as to not alert any enemies or prey. A shiver ran up my spine when he stopped directly behind me and reached his arms around my small body in a hug.

"Is that really the truth...? You were crying, haven't you?" He asked, resting his chin on my shoulder. I didn't know what to say next because he had seen through my lies. Of course, he did. There dried tears on my face that I didn't have the chance to clean away before he arrived. Not only did he notice that I was crying, he also watched as I touched the bandage over my wound. He reached his hand down and took ahold of my wrist, bringing it up to pull down my sleeve.

I had in mind to pull my hand away but there was no point. He had already seen the bandage.

"Was it Iris?" He asked and I was quick to shake my head.

"It doesn't matter. It happened anyway-"

"It does matter, Odette!" He called out to me as he moved away, a tint of anger laced in his voice. He rested his hands on my shoulders and made me turn around to face him.

"... why are tormenting yourself like this? Are you really that desperate to gain the queen's favor?" He asked and I hung my head to avoid his gaze. A while ago, Ira noticed that I had bruises all over my arms and legs. He refused to leave the matter alone so I told him that Iris and Mari were harming me with the purpose of making me stronger so that I would be able to rule the werewolve kingdom alongside Ven. When he asked why I allowed them to that to me, I said that I was trying to gain their favor instead of the truth which was that I didn't want to ruin their relationship with Ven.

If he found out, he would by no doubt do something drastic to his mother and sister, and I would stand at the center of it all as the whistle-blower who ruined his relationship. What was a man without both his parents and sister? He would be broken and I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to mend the gap that would remain from that broken relationship.

"You don't understand, Ira. I'm only a human. I can't become queen as I am. I won't be able to support Ven this way," I said with a sullen voice. He frowned and bit the inside of his lower lip.

"There are many ways for you to become a competent queen... this shouldn't be one of them," he replied, glancing back at the door. It wouldn't being before someone would come to the chapel to find me.

"Does he still not know about this?" Ira asked next and I was quick to nod my head. I asked him before not to tell Ven about the bruises and the way the queen and princess were treating me. I didn't specify why but I could tell that Ira was on the verge of changing his mind about the promise he made.

"Odette, you don't have to go through this," he spoke as he walked closer to me, taking his scarf off to wrap it around my neck. It was cold outside and I was wearing a dress that couldn't do much against the cold. The only reason I was still standing was because I was indoors and the chapel was insulated. Ira could survive in the cold. His werewolf blood permitted his human form to be tolerant of cold temperatures, as with every other werewolf in the kingdom.

It snowed and rained more times than it was sunny in Ruslan, and those sunny days throughout the year did not exceed ten. Living in a cold environment was another sacrifice I had to make for Ven.