Chapter 7: The Royal Grounds
1107 Words
Chapter 7
ELENA
Exactly as it was a night ago.
The silence in the car, making me unsure of what to feel or say.
The confusion bristling through my mind, and my inability to piece a single thought together.
The fact that he hasn't said a single thing since the journey started.
I don't even know where we're headed right now but I don't want to ask. Unable to fix my gaze, I rest my wandering eyes on the tinted glass separating the driver's end of the car from the passenger's seat, and his reflection gleams through.
He's as silent as a mouse, peeking through the tinted windows as we cruise passed an unfamiliar road.
“God he's even finer than he was last night” I think to myself. “But if he really is the Lycan King…” I focus on my reflection off the glass. “...then what would he want with someone like me.”
“What's on your mind?” His baritone breaks through the silence and my heart gallops.
I feel his gaze shift to me, but I can't bring myself to return it.
“N… nothing.”
“Are you sure? Looked like you were in a lot of pain back there.”
“Been through worse” I smile nervously.
The soft cushion of the leather seats shift. He turns to looks at me.
“Mind telling me why you ran off?”
The last thing I want to do is remember what happened last night.
There's no way the Alpha of White Sun…
…and I…
No.
“Last night… didn't happen” I answer.
“Didn't it? Mnn.” A beat of silence follow. “Then I guess I must've been hallucinating… when you kissed me.”
Tch.
“Look, my mind wasn't in the right place okay? I didn't know—”
The moment I turn to him, his face is right in front of me.
Those familiar lips that ravaged every piece of me the night before. His eyes soften, yet his gaze pierces right through me.
“You didn't know you kissed me?” he tilts his head.
“We… shouldn't be talking about this.”
“Why not?”
“Because…” I bite my tongue, assessing my words.
“Because you know who I am now?” He pulls them right out.
Silence.
Maybe. Yeah. Maybe that's the reason.
“Someone like me should the last person someone like you has on their radar. You called me by my name. You know who I am. And you still—”
“Yes, I still did and I regret no part of it. So I still don't see the issue.”
I wince, not in pain, but in discomfort. He's not getting it. Maybe he is, but he's choosing to blatantly ignore the truth.
“I can't be with someone like you. Last night, was just a one time thing. It… wasn't anything special. I was vulnerable, and I guess you probably weren't thinking straight either.”
His piercing gaze softens. His eyes almost die.
“Did I… say something wrong?”
“Ava and Jason. Do they know it was me?”
He ignores the question. I probably said something upsetting.
“Probably not. But I'm sure they'll piece things together” I answer, and he leans back, increasing the distance between us.
“What were you thinking returning there anyway?” he sighs.
“I wasn't thinking. I was running. From your men!”
“Well they wouldn't have chased you if you'd stayed in the cabin.”
“And be seen with you?”
“And what's the problem with that?” He answers. Unimpressed.
Still doesn't get it. I shift my gaze, peering through the glass and watching the mahogany trees we cruise past.
“Where are we headed anyway?”
A couple moments pass before he answers. “This road’s usually off limit to members of the clan.”
“Not even the scent feels familiar” I reply, right after we pass an emblem. The Emblem! Wait a second—
“We're not—”
“We are. The royal grounds. You'll be my guest for a couple days.”
“What?” I sit back, facing him, but he's not looking back at me. His eyes peer through the glass. “Your guest? Why?”
“Would you rather return to Jason and Ava? Or be exiled instead? You seem to have forgotten your injuries from last night haven't fully healed. You're barely 60%. Even Ava could beat you in this state.”
“And how do you know—”
“Your scent” he says, finally glancing back at me. “Your scent gives everything away. Your moments of weakness. Your confusion when you saw me show up. The realisation when it all made sense. Even now…” his stare remains blank. “...your emotions are plain as day. But there's no need to worry” he returns his gaze to the glass. “Like I said. You're my guest, nothing less. Pending Jason's trial, you're my responsibility.”
He says it like it's nothing.
But it's everything.
How can he sound so calm about being lumped up with someone like me.
Tch.
“I can handle myself Kade.”
I don't call him by his alias or title, and unsurprisingly, it's enough to get his attention. He eyes me, top to bottom, and doesn't say a word.
Perhaps I took it far.
But before I can even think to apologise, the car gradually screeches to a halt.
I peek out the window, and the castle-like building stands in the distance.
Guards stand outside the work of art — the royal emblem bolted across their uniform as they circle the building.
There's so many of them.
A woman stands in their middle, and she doesn't have the most pleased expression on her face.
“Sir…” the driver speaks up. “...your mother—”
“Elena?” Kade whispers, right before his hand creeps over mine. “You can handle yourself later. When we step out, stay right beside me and don't say a word. Got it?”
As reluctant as I want to be, this doesn't seem like the best time for it. So I answer with a nod.
The moment we step out, the scent hits.
Petrichor, power and poise all at once. I can sense it. Every fleeting emotion from the onlookers and clearly unimpressed. The strongest… is from her!
“Kade” she steps up. “Mind explaining yourself?”
- Writer
