Kingdom of isolation - you can't hide

Thirty Five - Dual POVs

Alexander

A lot of things annoy me, putting everyone around me on edge at all times. I am a man with a strict set of rules. I don't thrive on chaos, on change, especially when it's not done on my terms—which is never.

I have the incessant need for things to be in complete order and when that doesn't happen, people suffer.

Yet, I'm not entirely surprised when Aurora arrives late to the party and steps into the ballroom wearing all black like she's attending the funeral of Tim Burton himself.

The customary gown she was supposed to wear tonight is nowhere to be seen, a sparkling black fabric wrapped around her body instead.

My fingers grip the champagne flute, mouth hovering over it as I watch her from afar. And when she looks at me, with that deceptively bright smile, I nearly lose it.

Time will tell what she'll show up with on our wedding day. My crown is on a rehashing of the corpse bride, I expect nothing less from this bundle of chaos. It's an intuition at this point.

But I'll be damned if she doesn't look breathtaking even when she's defying me. Like a little ballerina, she moves around the hall gracefully, greeting everyone in attendance like she belongs here.

But there's a layer of nervousness in her every move, as if she's merely putting on a performance. I can't keep my eyes off her the entire time.

I should, I could. But, I won't. Not when I know how much it affects her.

Sick satisfaction fills me when I catch her slipping in performance, my presence too profound.

I, on the other hand, shouldn't be affected by her at all. Yet, I am. Infuriatingly so.

I've never had a type, a preference of sorts, until I laid my eyes on her over a year ago. There's just something about her that makes me want to keep her all to myself.

Like a greedy dragon, I want my little ballerina all to myself. Trapped inside her little box for my pleasure and her pain only.

I won't go near her just yet though, I'm quite enjoying watching her be herself. Or a version of herself with phantom wings fluttering behind her back.

She's a mystery, one I want to uncover myself. Red mists my eyes when I catch Hayden staring and eventually interacting with what's mine.

I run my tongue across my teeth, thinking about all the way I could torture the bastard or any other bastard who looks her way tonight.

A slight problem, however, it seems everyone is looking at her. Damien Gallo included. Whoever the fuck invited him? The need to covet her nearly consumes me until Killian whistles obnoxiously from beside me.

"Talk about breaking the rules, your majesty. I like her." He murmurs loud enough for my ears only.

The glass cracks under the sheer force I'm using in order to avoid throttling him.

"Mind your own fucking business, Whitlock." My voice is low, threatening, as I break away from watching Aurora.

A grin takes place on his wicked face, too content on teetering the line with me. He's about to say something but stops, eyes looking over to whoever's directly above us.

I don't even need to know who it is. Killian is excellent at schooling in his emotions, whatever the fuck those may be. And there's only one person that gets any sort of reaction from him, the only one who's also capable of making him drop his gentlemanly facade.