Mine to Claim

Chapter 28

Fuck!

I take off into the woods, climbing through the trees and then running through the branches, trying to get away from Nikita and her tempting lips.

She was scared and her pain was like a mounting volcano, ready to burst and damage her remaining sanity. She sat there in front of me but her mind was somewhere else. In the past.

Something bad has happened to her.

Something traumatic enough to last for a lifetime. And I should know about it. It's my responsibility to bring her out of it.

But I cannot.

Not yet!

I have to avenge Charlotte first.

Engrossed in my thoughts; I speed through the thick branches, not caring about which direction I end up in. For a long moment, I do not realize that I have reached my castle in the far woods, away from Crimson Shadow and the wolf territory. A meeting with Dima is anyway overdue, so I decide to meet him. It might help calm my frazzled nerves.

Jumping down from the highest branch of the pine tree, I land on my knees, right in front of the castle's entrance. The guard's eyes widen in surprise before he conceals it.

Bowing his head in respect, he stands straight. "Good evening, your highness."

"Good evening, Malcolm. I hope Prince Dimitry is home?"

"Yes, sire. The royal couple along with the Princess's mother is inside," he replies while I try to hide my own surprise. What is that woman doing here?

As far as I remember from my last encounter with her, Viviana appeared to be very leery and weird. The aura around here was neutral but with a tinge of something. I didn't have the opportunity to investigate Anya's family as I was busy wallowing in guilt and self-pity.

Looks like I cannot ignore this meeting any longer. Taking a huge breath and yearning to have Nikita by my side, I take a step towards my home.

I knock on the door once and wait. The door is opened by our butler, Roelf. He bows in courtesy and then moves aside to let me in. It has been years and he is familiar with my surprise visits. He is the only one whom I trust in my home while Dima gets a hold of himself and tries to pull out of the depression.

Just as I take a step inside, I am greeted by the lemony scent of Anya's mother. I scrunch my nose in distaste as the scent threatens to burn my sense of smell. It's disturbing to have this scent in my home.

One more step inside, and I am greeted by the woman herself.

"Oh, look who's here. The king himself!" gushes Viviana as runs to me and then embraces me in her cold arms. I freeze as unease spreads through my body.

The last time I had seen this woman, she had dark hair and now she dyed it, having some pink colour in them. Her reddish-gold eyes sparkle with a mischievous glint as she wraps her long-nailed fingers around my waist and squeezes me.

Her head rests on my chest for a second too long and I stifle the urge to move away and shrug off her wandering hands but tolerate her embrace when I see Anya walking into the room with a frown on her face.

She's a second late to hide her irritation. And I catch it. I am not sure about the reason behind her irritation though. Her slip of emotions makes me recall Dima's words and I wonder if Anya really did not like my presence in this place.

"Hello, Viviana. How are you?"

I ask the mother as I move to hug my sister-by-mating and notice the lack of warmth in her embrace. There's a change in her attitude. There always has been whenever Viviana is around her.