The Cruel Prince of Wolves

10

The doors to her bedchamber slammed wide open. Ramona snapped her head up alarmed. She was laying in bed. It was late in the afternoon the sun was warm in the sky, soft buttery light streamed from the stained glass window creating a mural of colors on the floor. What now? The purposeful angry strides were unmistakably Val's. Lucian followed behind his master like an obedient dog. This had quickly become a routine for both of them, Val walking in anger to their bedchamber interrogating her about something she'd done.

Val did not go straight to the bed to interrogate her. His narrowed eyes were focused behind the velvet curtains, yanking them open. For a second, Ramona thought he's going to throw a punch on the wall. He growled in annoyance when he found the space behind it empty. He moved on to the bathing room searching every crack on the walls, tearing through the vanity, linen closet and cabinets. He made his way back to the chambers and flipped every furniture upside down, ripped the rugs off the floor and inspected every shadowy corner. Finally he turned his attention to Ramona walking up to her, offering his hand, "I need you to get off the bed."

She looked down at his hand as if it was an alien object.

Val curled his fingers in and out. "Common, Mona. I need you to get off the bed."

She glared at him with defiance while he huffed. "Get off, Mona. I need to look in the bed."

"Did you really think Ren would be hiding under the sheets?" She asked incredulously.

From the corner of her eyes she saw Lucian's lips quirk up holding back a laugh.

"Oh, I'm well aware of Renin's talents for disappearing under the sheets but I'm not looking for him."

"Please." Said Val as he held his hand firmly to her. It's laced with a demand for her to take it. Good thing she wasn't a werewolf and doesn't consider Val her alpha. She would have been obliged to do his command just like the rest of the palace. Reluctantly, she did so anyway, crawling out of bed. She stood beside Lucian with her arms crossed to her chest as she watched Val's fingernails molded into sharp claws. He slashed the bed open, shredded fabrics and cotton stuffing flew out to the air like confetti. Once he's done, he flipped the bed to see what's underneath, he did not stop tearing through the fabric until he's satisfied. He went back to searching the room over again. He was on a rampage. By the time he was done, it looked like a tornado had torn through their bedchamber leaving a disorderly chaos behind it.

He was huffing, a pool of sweat dripped on his forehead. Lucian watched quietly focused on the prince as if he could pounce into action in a moment of need.

Ramona scowled. "Are you done acting like a child yet?"

Val looked like a wild animal when he glanced back at her. Eyes yellow and sharp, his face morphed partly into a wolf and then back to his handsome normal face again.

Ramona might have thought of him childish or jealous but he was none of that. Let her think he's a monster. He had made himself a monster for her but she wouldn't know that would she? He wiped his sweaty forehead with his gloved hand and stared at her gray eyes with reprieve. He thought she was absolutely stunning with her clear gray eyes even when she's angry. The color that reminded him of rainy clouds in the summer. He could love no one else as much. He knew it would tear him apart if anything were to happen to her or if he ever lost her. That's why he couldn't sit still and couldn't rest, pacing at all hours of the night just so she could sleep soundly at night. He had thought about banishing her again, the life outside the palace was safer than inside but he had been through that. As much as he wanted her safe, he still gave in to that greediness inside him that told him to keep her close. Three years of her absence by his side was torture enough and he couldn't get through another day without her at his side.

"Has a stranger tried to approach you?" Val asked.

Ramona thought of the hooded stranger earlier but he had not tried to approach her at all.

"No one other than Ren."

Val looked relieved, he gave Lucian a sharp nod, it was a quiet command that Lucian understood immediately. Sometimes Ramona envied how werewolves can speak to each other telepathically. They can keep secrets and conversations from other people and the other people wouldn't know it. She had always felt left out as a child whenever they used their abilities.

Ramona watched Lucian rush out of the room and soon, she heard him barking orders to the guardsmen waiting outside. She turned her attention to Val. "So, what's the matter now?"

"Someone who has no business being in the palace was here. I wanted to make sure he's not hiding anywhere?"

She looked around at the mess in the room. "In our bedchamber?"

"Especially here, Mona. He can't be in here."

The thought of the man in a hood crossed her mind again. How he captured her eyes and sent ripples of goosebumps over her skin. As distressing and uneasy his appearance brought her, she couldn't help the pull of his presence somehow. He was like a lure that she couldn't help but get snared. It was strange, she couldn't know exactly what it was but she'd been thinking about this figure since she saw him earlier.

So, someone had noticed him after all. And he wasn't one of the elite werewolves, she first thought he was. He's someone whose presence is forbidden.