Prince's Assassin Mate

Chapter 43

"Lady Eldrid! Look what I found!" Her gaze was drawn away from the magazine in her hand to a brightly grinning Victoria. With an album in her hand, she dashed towards Eldrid. It had been a week, and her resentment of Victoria was beginning to fade. Victoria had asked Eldrid if they could be friends or at least try to be, Eldrid had agreed upon that and Victoria saw her as a friend. On the other hand, Eldrid unconsciously saw her as an example of how a Luna should behave, look, and socialize. Eldrid was doing her best to interact with the pack members, as Megan suggested when Eldrid asked for advice on how to be a better Luna. She struggled to converse with the pack members and had a hard time trying to get to the pups. When Eldrid was close, they would look at her with anxious eyes peeking from behind their mothers. But, little by little, they began to approach her, talking and playing with her, and she couldn't be more delighted.
She set the magazine down and smiled at Victoria. Smiling was something she was learning to do more frequently. Wolves and Lycans found her more approachable, or so she believed.
"Victoria, when did you return?" She motioned for her to sit down.
"I just returned this morning. Look what I found!" She said this cheerfully as she placed the album in front of Eldrid. Eldrid leaned forward to examine the contents, while Victoria opened the album.
"This is album has Aiden's pictures. And mine as well!"
Her gaze scanned the album's black-and-white photographs with glee. The majority of the photographs were blurry and had been slightly tainted by the passage of time. She was fascinated to see the young Aiden; he was lean, his hair had grown longer than it was now, and he was mostly dressed formally in suits. His face had an innocent glow to it, and she could see happiness in his blurry eyes. She could tell he was happy as a child, that he had a happy upbringing. One image, in particular, caught her eye: a young man standing in a castle garden, dressed in a black vintage suit and a white shirt, his hair neatly styled and a black top hat perched on his head. A slim juvenile female stood to his right dressed in a ball gown who she identified as Victoria and another young boy to his left.
The boy was dressed similarly to Aiden, and Aiden had his hand draped over the boy's shoulder, who was grinning. She wondered who the boy was. She went through the album and discovered the boy in most of the pictures with Aiden. The boy was missing at the end of the pictures in the album, as was the joy in Aiden's eyes. She noticed how his eyes grew colder and colder with the passage of time. Victoria was speaking to her and showing her things in the pictures, but her mind was preoccupied with pondering who the boy is, or was.
"Victoria!" Eldrid's gaze was drawn to the entrance by Aiden's booming voice. Victoria rose to her feet and asked,
"What is it, Aiden?"
"I'd like to see you in my office." He stated.
"Of course!" Victoria squealed, and Aiden stormed to his private office, not even glancing at Eldrid. Victoria soon followed him, leaving Eldrid perplexed as to why he was suddenly acting as if she didn't exist!

Days passed, and Aiden continued to ignore Eldrid. He hadn't returned to their chamber for slumber since that day, spending most of his time in the packhouse or outside the pack territory. Eldrid would approach him, but he would simply ignore her and move on. He didn't ask her how she was doing or if she had eaten. He wouldn't even invite her to the pack meals. She was becoming increasingly frustrated, enraged, and helpless by the day. Her nightmares had invaded her nights again without his warmth curdling her. She had no clue what she had done wrong for him to disregard her existence in such a way. Some days, she didn't even catch a glimpse of him. Victoria would come by and converse with her about anything and everything but her mind would be preoccupied. She would then leave to track down Malcolm and after hunting for a few days she would return to the pack to rest.

The sun was shining brightly outside, and it was clear that the day would be perfect. The birds flew cheerfully past a somber female leaning against the balcony wall. Her face was lifeless, and her eyes no longer shone like they used to. And her nights were as sleepless as they had been a year before. She was lost in thought, staring at the woods, when a certain scent perked up her beasts and her attention was drawn to the male jogging on the open field. Her mate! She never imagined she'd be so desperate for a glimpse of someone. But there he was, just not seeing him for a few days had her willing to be on her knees pleading for him. Her gaze followed him silently, and a small smile crept up to her lips. But it quickly faded as he was stopped by a female and greeted her with a bright smile. Victoria and Aiden sat on the plum grass, chatting and laughing amongst themselves, and her palms curled up. He hadn't even glanced at her in a few days, but he was more than willing to chat with another female. And there she was, willing to beg for him. Her beasts growled in displeasure as Aiden and Victoria laughed at some joke Aiden had told. Her hand slumped on his knees as she said something, and they both burst into laughter.
Eldrid went inside the castle before her beasts decided it was Victoria's last day on earth.

Eldrid stepped into the castle before her beasts decided it was Victoria's last day on Earth.

Victoria returned to the pack after a long day of tracking. Everyone was delighted to see her, and as she walked down the stone path to the packhouse, wolves and lycans warmly welcomed her. A Dawn pack she-wolf was leaving the packhouse with her new friend, a female lycan from the Royal pack. They both greeted Victoria as she passed by them on her way into the packhouse. Victoria greeted them with a smile and walked inside.
"She is stunning!" The she-wolf exclaimed "I know! She is also incredibly nice! It's no surprise that The Prince chose her before the Luna arrived." In hushed tones, the lycan said
"Had Prince Aiden chosen her? As in to be his Queen?" The she-wolf inquired, surprised.
"Yes, she was the ideal suitor, and we were preparing for the Luna Ball when the Beta informed us that the Luna had been found. No one believed it at first until Alpha brought a human girl with him to pack dinner one night and introduced her as the Luna. The pack didn't want to accept her because most of us had accepted Lady Victoria as our Luna, so the elders decided to bring up tradition and challenge her by some young lycans!"
"Did they get into a fight? How did she make it?"
"You should have witnessed the battle. She ripped those lycans to shreds, and no one has said anything since." She paused for a moment as a few warriors passed by, and when they were gone, she resumed speaking in hushed tones.
"We believed she'd be the Luna, but Alpha hadn't marked her yet, and then Lady Victoria arrived a few weeks ago, and Ariel is still unmarked. I've also heard Alpha doesn't sleep with her. So, everyone believes Alpha will choose Lady Victoria. They look..." When the she-wolf nudged the Lycan, she paused. She turned her gaze to where the she-wolf's eyes were caught, and what she saw made the color from her face drain. Just by the stoned path, stood Eldrid. Her skin was pale, a dark shadow swirled in her eyes, her hair was wild with the soft breeze, and a dark aura besieged her.
"Where is she?" As she asked, her voice was calm and stone cold. The female couldn't utter anything as she pointed to the castle. Eldrid vanished in an instant, flowing with the breeze into the packhouse like a silhouette. The doors flew open, slamming against the stone wall, and all eyes turned to her. They jumped to their feet, terror in their eyes when they saw her. Her gaze swept over the Lycans and she noticed the culprit standing near the lounge chairs. Victoria was dangling in mid-air in the blink of an eye, her life squishing out of her soul.
Eldrid's clawed hand was wrapped around her neck, severing her air supply.
"The ideal Luna!" Her voice was cold and unwavering as she grasped Victoria's throat. Eldrid's hand was crushing her throat, and she couldn't even utter a word.
"So much for wanting to be a friend. You stated that it was just pure friendship!" Eldrid scoffed as Victoria struggled to breathe. The crowd fell hushed as they witnessed their Queen strangle another female. No one dared to move as they watched their Queen's inner demon fight to arise into the light.
"Just pure friendship and you wished to fuck my mate!"
"How dare you even desire of having what's mine!" She growled, increasing the pressure on Victoria's throat.
"Eldrid!" The lycans and wolves gasped and lowered their heads as a deep growl rattled the entire hall.

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