Chapter 16: Chapter 16

Michael Angelo

The party didn't end well.

For me, exactly…

I didn't know what got into me but by the time I could comprehend what I was doing, all of the guests inside the ballroom were already cowering from me.

Like I was somewhat the DEVIL who came for their souls…

The same goes with my family, and how I despised myself after. Especially, seeing my sweet baby sister, Blessy, cry out of horror; it was her first time seeing me like that.

As for my men — even if all were terrified of me at that moment, they still kept on dragging me out of the palace. All were pleading for me to cool off the rage I was feeling by running around the territory.

Even in my fury stage, I heeded their request and left the mansion.

I knew, the minute I shifted and Bear's paws thundered inside the forest floor, that I turned BLOODLUST again.

I know it was stupid of me to let myself do it, to let my animal instinct take over and ruin the ball.

But what could I have done better discovering that there was a shrine of ‘her’, displayed on the throne where she supposed to sit on?

Yes, a memorial shrine… for my late mate.

My lovely Mother thought it was a great idea to do that, believing that it would give me the best of luck in finding the ‘second chance mate’.

Sure, a memorial shrine serves that way — note the cold sarcasm.

Nonetheless, what made me see red was the notion that the shrine was also a way to give respect to Nala since I will be letting her go once I found a new mate.

Bullshit!

That purpose, aside from being ridiculous, almost sounded like an insult.

And that, instinctively, triggered me…

All I could think of then was the desire to KILL.

It didn't help when Bear heard the reasons from Mom and instead of approving her work, he went apeshit; almost slaughtered two of our guards that were standing beside the thrones.

Thankfully, the said incident ended.

Two hours ago, to be specific…

After running for an hour and the other hour, hunting — don't ask, Bear and I finally came to our senses.

Furthermore, calmed down.

Currently, I'm just leaning against the round pillars of the mansion's verandah, feet nonchalantly planted on the edge of the marble banister while my arms are crossed in front of my bare chest.

I already showered and was wearing only my sweatpants. I thought that doing so could help me feel refreshed, stable.

You know, get my head a bit clearer…

However, to my dismay, I felt the other way around.

I felt horrible.

Numb…

My mood was low and I was simply… lifeless.

The hollow that is inside of me, the one I was accustomed to sensing, still felt heavy and even with the earlier outburst, the empty feeling didn't go away like it used to be.

Instead, it grew; taking all the space of what's left of my chest.

I placed my hand on where I felt the void, which was on the area where my heart is. The heart's beating there, but too faint for me to even appreciate.

I sighed.

This was serious and maybe Lucky was right…

Maybe I was mentally ill and with that kind of episode that occurred hours ago, I couldn't help but believe that I was starting to lose it.

My composure,

My control,

My HUMANITY…

It feels like I'm hanging on a thin thread, walking on thin ice. And just one more snap from me, one more step, then I'll become a ‘rogue’.

A cold, mindless demon that kept people inside their homes…

No!

Let's not go there… Not yet.

I know what I am capable of, I know that I can handle this… I'm still sane.

Besides, I still have a reason to live.

I have packs to protect,

A Kingdom to govern,

People to strengthen,

And lives to nourish…

All that and add my family to the mix, then I could say it is all worth it. That this miserable life still has its joys, and that I'm still blessed to see and enjoy it.

Yep, I still have work to do here…

I let out a quiet sigh of exhaustion while I kept my gaze in the distance.

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a movement.

Among the shadows of my bedroom walls, I could make out a figure which was slowly creeping beside me.

My senses, realizing I was active, became alert and my fight reflex turned on once again.

Certainly, one wrong move from this person, and I could break his neck without thinking twice about it…

However, as aware as I was, I patiently waited for the figure to come closer. When it emerges a few feet away from the darkness — giving me only a hint of its broad silhouette, I came to realize that I know who it was.

Not to mention, when a gust of wind entered through my door and out of the verandah, the familiar scent of musk and wood invaded my nose, confirming my assumption of whom the individual was.

Though after what happened earlier at the ball, and feeling upset because of the mess I made, my mood quickly dampened making me scowl.

I then choose to dismiss him and went back to my silent peering over the horizon.

It didn't take long before I felt the presence getting closer to me. When my eyes shifted back to look at him, he — at that exact time — steps out of the shadows and into the light, which the moon was providing at the moment; it's a full moon tonight.

And there, striding confidently towards me, was my brother.

Miguelito Amadeus Cane, the second born and at nineteen years old, looks like a fully matured man.

It was normal for Alpha males like us to developed fast, both mind and body. And at his age, it's already considered maturity time.

Still, I could not believe how fast time flies and that my once baby face brother looked so manly right now.

His body took the change a bit further though, looking too broad for his age. Too muscular that you'll believe he was working out religiously just to get that body.

Aside from that, did I also mention how handsome the lad was?

He looks a bit like me; with black hair, a square jaw, and a pointed nose. The only difference was the eyes since he was on the darker shade of brown — like our Dad's — compared to my lighter hazel ones.

Let's just hope that with those looks, he's not a heartbreaker like me or a player like our other brother, Benedict — the third born…

Shortly after, without any greeting, Miggy leaned himself against the marble pillars — the one facing mine. He then reached up to me, shoving me a bottled drink.

“Thought you might need one.” He murmured and took a sip of his beverage which he was holding on the other hand.

I didn't reply and just accepted the drink from him.

“You know I don't drink beer.” I finally stated when I saw the brand — Corona, earning a glare from him.

“There's no wine, nor Scotch, brother.” He took another drink from his bottle, “Jack Daniels all gone too, and don't ask what happened to the champagnes… messy story for you. You'll get bored.” he added with a shook of his head as if discarding the memory from his mind.

I only shrug my shoulders at him and drank my liquor.

Immediately, the cold brew hit me like cold water on a hot summer day, relaxing every tense muscle I didn't know I still have at the moment.

Finally relaxed, I let out another sigh.

Miggy smirked.

“You're welcome.” He announced.

I rolled my eyes.

He didn't remark any further and there was silence then.

I was about to ask him what he was doing here when he beats me to it, saying, “Mum asked for you.”

Hearing that, my once relaxed expression promptly darkened.

“You should know by now, brother that I'm in no mood to talk to our Mother.” I took another sip and my jaw clenched at the memory of the shrine, “Tell her I'm busy,” I added coldly.

Miggy only snorted.

“Busy with what? Scanning the forest floor in the DARK, while standing in the railing like a gloomy phantom? Sure, I'll do that.” He mocked.

I raised a challenging eyebrow at him.

“Says who, who just stepped out from the shadows of my room.” I simply retort.

He stopped midway on drinking his liquor and narrowed his eyes at me.

“I guess that makes the two of us,” he told.

I rolled my eyes again at him.

“Seriously speaking though, Mom wanted to speak with you. And sensing you're gonna be like this,” pointing me and the banister — referring to me on wanting to be alone, “she made me deliver the message to you. She says, and I know you know by now, how sorry she was with building that shrine” — I growled — “but it was meant for good reasons, Mikee. She didn't mean to disrespect you or hurt your feelings.”

“It's not me, Miggy she disrespected. It's Nala!” I snapped.

My brother sigh out of exasperation and was about to say something when I shot him a death glare, interrupting him.

“Get out.” I coldly ordered.

He looked up at me, surprised and after just a blink, it turned into a more curious gaze.

“But you didn't know what I was gonna say,” He argued.

“I know you too well, Miguelito Amadues.” I paused and took a drink, “You're like Mom… Always have excuses, explanations. You both will do anything to rationalize, to make me believe that everything will be okay when it's not.”

He didn't say a word, so I continued.

“You know this is hard for me, Miggy. I didn't just lose a big part of my life, but also half of my soul.” I ran a hand over my hair, annoyed by the raw emotion building inside my chest, “She was my future, brother. She was my everything and I just let that slipped through my fingertips. For what reasons? I don't know anymore.”

Another moment of silence came between us until I heard him sigh again — and this time, it was out of pure sadness.

“It isn't just your wolf then.” He finally declared, eyes staring from a distance.

I glanced down at him, dumbfounded.

He noticed and positioned himself in the banister, body leaning forward while his arms resting on the marble structure.

“The guys told me about Bear's hallucinations. I thought it was just him, being affected and all since I saw how you treated Nala before for being fat and human…”

I winced upon hearing that but didn't say anything — too hurt to defend myself.

Miggy saw and shot me an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to sound arrogant…” he cautiously eyed me, and seeing I'm in control, he proceeded, “Believing you were okay, I just thought that you were just being indecisive, too confused to determine your second chance mate at the balls.” He paused and sips the last drop of his beer.

He then placed the empty bottle beside him and from there, he shot me a serious look.

“Now, after listening to you, I realize that you're too broken to fix, brother, and the fancy balls were just a waste of time.” He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, “Look, you need time to heal. A very long time, so I suggest that you give yourself a break.” he ends his sentence and turned to leave.

I furrowed my eyebrows at him.

“Break?” I asked, perplexed.

He paused and turned back to gaze at me.

“Yeah, a break… like a vacation,” he explained.

Oh.

That would be nice…

However, thinking about the duties I need to fulfill this month, I shook my head in a NO.

Miggy rolled his eyes.

“Don't worry about the obligations, the boys and I finished it ahead of time. You'll be free for a month.”

“What? But…how?” I inquired, stunned.

He shrugs his shoulders.

“I guess, I just know you too well, Michael Angelo.” he mimics my tone from before, earning a laugh from me.

I step down from the banister and gave him a bro hug.

“Thanks, brother.”

“Don't mention it. You deserve it, you know.”

I nodded on his shoulder and freed myself from the hug.

I was about to dash out from the room to ask the Elders for my holiday when Miggy called my name again.

I turn around and was just in time for him to hand me out an envelope. I took it from him, confused.

He motioned for me to open it, which I did and was further uncertain when I saw a bunch of vouchers clipped in one place.

“What's this?” I asked him.

“Vouchers.” he replied in a ‘duh’ tone.

I rolled my eyes once again.

“I know that, but for what?” I clarified.

“For your vacation… I, uh, bought too much.” He said, scratching the back of his neck.

I raised an eyebrow at him.

“What?” He frowned, “The promo was only half-priced, I couldn't help myself.” he added, sounding defensive.

I could only shake my head out of amusement as my brother turned red from embarrassment. I then took my leave to get to the meeting room, where I had asked the Elders to assemble.

Miggy followed, still explaining his reason for how and why he got the coupons.

I ignored him, trying to stifle my laughter.

Then, while we were walking, I took quick notice of the name of the hotel where we will be dwelling.

I'm not really familiar with the place, since I never really visited the western side of our region — the beachside it is.

All I know is that a 5-star hotel resides there. It was said to be the greatest, coming from my pack members who stay there once or twice a year for their mate hunting.

Not to mention, the only hotel existing too…

“Mallow Hotel…” I couldn't help but whisper.