Hate or Love

Not Yet, Little Wolf

Victor tapped his fingers on the wooden table repeatedly, a thin line away from getting up and dragging the Princess from her chambers himself.

She had said she would gladly come and have dinner with them. With him, specifically. Which Victor knew it was nothing but her failed attempt to be sarcastic, but the point was, she promised she would come.

So where was she?

Victor hated when people were late with everything in him.

Julian had an apologetic look in his face, but it was not like Victor blamed him for anything. On the contrary, the wolf Prince had come out to be way more understanding than his older sister.

If she was someone else, Victor would find her highly annoying, maybe even childish. But she wasn't someone else, she was his mate. And if he had to be honest, he didn't one bit. Actually, Estelle was intriguing to him; she made him curious to know more, curious to know the ways he could make her his.

Victor didn't miss the way she looked at him at first, as if the whole world disappeared for her but him. He didn't miss the way she didn't want him to touch her, almost as though she was afraid at how her body would react if only he took her hand in his.

How would her body react if he touched more than her hand?

All thought flew out of his head when he saw her entering the dining hall, this time in a dark green gown that hugged her small curvy body perfectly. Of course she hadn't worn one of so many gowns he had left on her room, Victor hadn't expected otherwise. However, that didn't mean she wouldn't eventually. She just didn't know yet.

His eyes stopped on her face, as he shamelessly took her in like she was the most expensive bottle of red wine.

Victor was curious, did she realize how beautiful she was? Her loose dirty blonde curls were tied in a low bun, and it made her look simple, but lovely. Young, and gorgeous. She was way more beautiful than he remembered her to be. But then again, the last time he had seen her, she was all in black and mourning for her father.

Now she was different; stunning, and she was going to be his.

"You're late." Victor gripped the edge of the table at the way her eyes widened in disbelief. Did he always have to be this bluntly direct?

"Victor!" His sister drew his attention, her voice scolding.

None of them answered to that, but the tension in the room raised as if with magic. It seemed it always happened when they were somewhere around each other, no matter where, no matter who was there. They would look at each other and the room would feel like it was burning.

All started eating in silence. It felt like as soon as Estelle entered, all suddenly had nothing more to tell to each other. She couldn't say it didn't hurt, but she couldn't say she blamed them either.

"I've seen no preparation for the ceremony tomorrow," she pointed out, to no one specifically. "And none of The Council members have arrived yet."

The room grew even more silent, if it was even possible. They all exchanged some strange looks Estelle couldn't really understand, all but her mate, who looked completely unbothered.

"This because there is no coronation ceremony tomorrow," Victor simply said, taking a sip of his delicious red wine he loved that much.

Estelle stared at him for a few seconds, trying to make sense of his words. "What do you mean there is no coronation ceremony? The invitation―"

"A lie. Just a lie."

Estelle couldn't understand it if was the words, or his resting, emotionless face that made her almost lose her sanity. "Can someone explain to me what's going on?"

"Stelle, we're sorry, we really didn't want to upset you―"

"The coronation is in two weeks from now," Victor cut Evelyn off, who was obviously trying to make this somehow better. "On our birthday day. I simply sent the invitation earlier." He said it like it was no big deal, like he wasn't saying that she had to spend two weeks here, on his palace.

"How could you―"

"Evelyn is giving birth to her babies soon," he kept going, his gaze piercing her skin. "There is a risk... there is always a risk when it comes to giving birth to twin elves. She wanted all her loved ones to be here, which apparently includes you too, for some reason." For a second, there was something like worry that slipped across Victor's face, but he hid it perfectly. "And before you start complaining, it was my idea to send the invitation."

Estelle looked at each one of them in turn, realizing they all knew, including Julian. Suddenly, she felt upset, almost betrayed. Like she didn't belong to this table tonight, and maybe she didn't. They had sounded so happy before she would enter, the voice could be heard from outside of the dining room.

"Are you for real?" She asked, mostly Arthmael and Evelyn, letting them know how disappointed she felt. "There is a risk for Evelyn and the babies and this is the way to invite me here? By lying to me? What do you all think I am, a child? You thought I'd really refuse to come here for something as important as your babies?"

"It's not like you honored us with your presence at their wedding ceremony." Victor shrugged, continuing to drink as though everything was going smoothly.

For just a moment, she felt like she wanted to strangle him with her fingers only, just to gain a proper reaction by him. How could someone be that infuriating?

"I was still mourning at that time, do you think I would attend a wedding?" Her voice kept rising, her hands gripping the edge of the table until the knuckles turned white.

Victor smirked at her. Really had the audacity to smirk at her, while she was fuming from inside. "Well, who knows, maybe you were still morning now. I couldn't take that risk."

"Don't you dare act like you know me, you know nothing about me!" She snapped, her gaze meeting him, none agreeing to break eye contact first, as if it was a competition neither one wanted to lose. "Those babies are as much my blood as they are yours. Evelyn is my best friend, Arthmael is my brother. Despite what has happened, I care about them, deeply!"

For her complete surprise, he let out a chuckle, one that caught her breath on her throat, and made a pit deep inside her stomach. He was just so bloody attractive, Estelle hated herself for how she reacted to him.

"So the only one you don't care about in this table is me?" He asked, clearly amused.

Estelle didn't even know how to answer to that. He was clearly trying to impress her, but then again, why was he enjoying this? What was he, a sociopath?

"Exactly," she hissed, getting up from her chair and attempting to leave, as her appetite was long gone now.

"Please sit down, Princess." His voice was welcoming, yet there was some kind of order in it. One that for only a split second, she find herself wanting to obey to. "No one leaves my table without excusing themselves first."

Estelle bit on her bottom lip so much, she almost tasted blood. Oh, the way he could drive her crazy with only a few words was out of this world. "Who do you think you are, giving me orders? I'm not one of your subjects, I'm Princess."

Hiding his smile was becoming more and more difficult. Just as playing with her was becoming more and more easy. "And this is my court. I'm King here," Victor said, matter-of-factly, not leaving it up for discussion.

Estelle gasped, ready to throw hands. "You're not King yet, and you're certainly not my King." Grabbing on her skirt to lift it from the floor just a bit, she turned on her heels and started walking away.

Yet, she heard his chuckle from behind her back. "Not yet, little wolf. Not yet."