Chapter 53: Chapter 53

Prince Dakar moved away the stray strands of hair that were dancing to the wind over Avril's face and tucked them behind her ear.

“Prince Dakar,” she muttered and tried to take a step back from him but found out she was stuck. Or rather, her legs simply refused to move.

“Do you like the sweater?” he asked and raised a brow at her.

“I...yes. I do,” she managed to reply and looked away from him to her right hand side. There were a few people just standing there and waiting for their bus to come. And they were stealing glances at them. It wasn't everyday one got the privilege of sighting the Prince in town. But because of the kind of man he was, the rumours flying around that he was a ‘no shit’ man, they could not do anything else but steal glances from a distance.

“Keep it then. It's getting smaller for me anyway,” he stated and Avril chuckled dryly. Verona cleared her throat and the attention of Prince Dakar was drawn to her. She bowed her head then raised it up.

“Verona, how about what I asked you to do?” he asked sternly. His face had changed from that dreamy one he was using for Avril.

“Not that easy, my Prince,” Verona answered and almost rolled her eyes at him. Did he think she would get the information in a minute? She could not just walk up to Avril and make her think of a certain Alejandro when she was not even supposed to know about him. Avril had to think of the person first, and she had to be beside her to grasp the opportunity to ask her.

Dakar smirked and looked at Avril.

“I'll be paying for whatever thing you want to buy in the pack from now henceforth, Fiorella. So if you need anything, just get it and don't bother about payment,” he revealed. Avril looked at him and cracked.

“I don't...I don't understand. Why?” she inquired and he ran his fingers through his top hair.

“Because you were so angry yesterday about those men. I feel they opened up old wounds because of the death of that man... Alejandro,” Dakar replied and paused for his statement to sink in. Avril gulped and looked away, not knowing Verona was peering at her.

“I don't know who Alejandro is to you, Fiorella. But I'm just trying to make you feel better and not too sad that he was murdered,” he continued. What he was doing was just giving Verona the opportunity to know who Alejandro was to Avril.

“Murdered? Somebody was murdered yesterday?” Verona asked with bulging eyes.

“Ah, no. It wasn't...it wasn't yesterday,” Avril answered and sighed as she looked at Dakar again.

“Thank you, Prince. I appreciate your kind gesture,” she acknowledged and bowed her head slightly. Dakar glanced at Verona who nodded then he sighed.

“See you ladies, later. Verona, you're coming to my place tonight,” he stated and walked away back to his car. Avril exhaled heavily as they watched him drive away.

“Goodness! I couldn't breathe,” she rasped and slumped her shoulders.

Verona laughed.

“He does have a way of taking people's breath away. Whether by charming them or truly taking their breath away,” she chirped and Avril shook her head.

“Tell me about it,” she said and they began to walk to the nearest bus station.

“But Verona,” Avril called in a low whisper, careful that the other werewolves nearby did not hear her.

“Don't you think...don't you think it's weird that Prince Dakar is acting a little bit too awkward towards me?” she asked and Verona blinked her eyes repeatedly.

“Well, yes. I do find it particularly weird. He seems to be...to be really different when it comes to your matters. He doesn't act like the prince at all,” Verona attested.

“I don't know what to think of of it. I can't say he's getting his memory back because honestly, he's still very stiff and cold around me. But, even I can feel that he's acting different. Involuntarily different.”

“What if...what if you two have a bond or something? What if it's that bond that is drawing him closer to you even though he does not remember you at all?”

Avril stood still and thought deeply. It could be true.

“Stop,” Verona's voice warned and she looked at her. She was frowning and looking around.

“Oh my God. I didn't realize,” Avril quickly said and looked around too. Luckily, everyone seemed to be back to their businesses and no one noticed her. If Verona had not stopped her, she was going to think about those times on the island when Dakar explained his curse to her and how she was the one who was to break it. That was a very vital information and they were in public.

“Let us go to your house. We can talk there,” Verona whispered and Avril nodded.

They bought a few things from the street and got into the bus leading to the nearest bus stop to the palace. They kept talking about the things they bought and also about that Weak End Tournament. Verona and Avril were going to sign up as partners. So they were talking about their dress code and other stuff. They got to the palace soon after and headed towards Avril's quarters. However, on the way, they met a man wearing a suit and standing by a red car. He was making a phone call but as he sighted them, he stopped talking and just seemed to stare at them. Verona bowed her head and Avril did so too, but they hurriedly walked away, taking a path between flowerbeds and heading towards the back. When they had reached the house, Avril raised a brow and looked at Verona.

“Who was that?” she asked.

“Hmm. Ñiraka's father,” Verona answered.

“Really? Why was he staring at us that way? I'm pretty sure he doesn't go about staring at everyone coming his way.”

“I don't know, Fiorella. But I honestly do not like the vibes I got off him when he stared at us.”

Avril pinned her lips together.

“What does he hold in the pack?”

“The Beta's brother and soon to be in-law to the King,” Verona replied with a dry smirk.

\*\*

“Boss, please. She was stronger than us,” a bloodied man cried as he knelt on the cold floor of an empty warehouse. His hands were tied to the back and his white shirt was now scarlet and white.

“There were thirty of you. I sent thirty of you because I knew what a person trained by Alejandro could do. But out of the thirty, only fifteen came back alive. And out of the fifteen, only one is able to talk. So I have to get my answers from you,” a man who was of medium height drawled in a deep Italian accent. His black hair was sleeked back on his head and his thick beard seemed to be so obedient as it laid down over his jaw without a single strand poking out. He was wearing a red suit, with a white dress shirt inside.

“How did a girl beat you up so much this way?” he drawled again as he lowered his head to look at his victim. He was not the one who beat him up, but of course his men who were standing back inside the warehouse.

“There was a man, boss,” the man stated and spat out blood.

“He was the one we said she was having dinner with” he added.

“Well, yes. You did say she was having a date with someone. But I suppose this someone is not capable of defeating thirty skilled men,” Luca Aguero argued.

“He wasn't...he wasn't a man,” the man stuttered. He was breathing so heavily that his chest felt like there was a tank on it anytime he took a breath in.

“Now you're saying there wasn't a man,” Luca laughed and a huge blow landed on the man's jaw from the side. He cried and fell face down. The man who punched him made him kneel back by jerking him up aggressively.

“Boss, please. I swear I can't explain what he is. He was like a man. Only stronger and he was super fast. His fingers were so long that they could pierce through bodies. That's how I got that wound behind my back and the other men too. Please, believe me.”

“So we have gotten a wolverine following Avril around now, I suppose?”

The man didn't answer but cried silently. Luca turned to another man who was wearing a blue suit behind him. He was tall, slender and wore nerd glasses. He carried a laptop suitcase on his right hand and a phone on the left.

“Find out who this man is... or better still, what he is,” Luca Aguero gave the order.

“Yes, sir,” the tall man replied and walked away.

Chapter 85

Verona had helped Avril unpack the clothes into her wardrobe while Aida and Gia went to clean up the courtyard. A lot of the flowers and trees needed trimming, and the lawn needed mowing. Now that they were gone, Avril and Verona resumed their discussion from the city center.

“Verona, do you really think there is a bond between me and Dakar that is drawing him closer to me?” she asked with moist eyes. Verona nodded and sat beside her on the bed. Her right leg dangling over the edge while her left leg was lying bent in front of her on the bed. Avril on the other hand had both her legs on the bed and she was hugging her knees.

“Honestly, I think that's it. Why else would he treat you different from the very beginning? There should be something.”

“You know, back at the island...he treated me with so much care. I even turned into a spoilt princess because Dakar just did everything for me. From cooking, to cleaning. He wouldn't let me stress myself even though I was behaving like a lazy annoying child,” Avril explained and Verona chuckled.

“When we were out yesterday, I felt...I felt a little bit if that island Dakar in him. I felt a little hope but of course, he dashed that hope the next minute with stern and scary words,” Avril stated and Verona laughed.

“Don't worry, it's fine. I'm so sure there's a Dakar in him that is your Dakar. I just wish he could be a little bit free in his mind so I could even have a sneak peek and know what he truly thinks about you. But he's tougher than the toughest nut in the world.”

It was Avril's turn to laugh at that. They stayed silent for a few minutes before Verona spoke up again.

“Prince Dakar was talking about Alejandro earlier. Who is he and why was he murdered? Also, why did you get attacked yesterday? Your emotions and thoughts are all jumbled up and i can't just get you. Why are you thinking about more than three things all at once?”

“Hey, calm down. How many questions are you going to ask me at a time? And look who's complaining about me thinking about numerous things at a time,” Avril teased Verona who rolled her eyes.

“Okay, answer the first question. Who is Alejandro and why was he murdered?”

“Why do you even want to know?”

“Because I keep seeing this huge, muscular and dangerously looking man in your mind sometimes. And for all I know, he could be trouble. Is he this Alejandro? I hope you're not in trouble girl.”

“No. Well, maybe I am in a little bit of trouble but not with Alejandro. Not with Alejandro though. And yes, Alejandro is the man from my memory. He was...he was my former master,” Avril explained with much difficulty. Her throat suddenly turned sticky and dry.

“Master? He was...oh my God you were sold to him!” Verona yelled in a whisper and covered her mouth.

“He was a Drug Lord and belonged to a Mafia family. Well, I trained under him and was on a mission with him accompanied by the girls when we got attacked and he was murdered. The murderers are the ones after me. They chased after me but I and the girls succeeded in making them lose our trail. That was when the Remusian men found us.”

Verona shook her head and sighed.

“You've been through a lot girl. I somehow pity you.”

Avril chuckled dryly.

“It's fine. It's just fate. But I know I'd end up well. I remember my mom telling me that God has good plans for me. I still believe that,” Avril stated with a laugh. Verona smiled dryly.

“He said you were going to his place tonight,” Avril remembered and Verona laughed.

“It's not what you're thinking. Don't worry. He gave me an assignment to undertake. I'm pretty sure it's the report I'm going to give and not whatever you're thinking.”

“Well, I don't mind. He's free to do whatever he wants you know. And you are his concubine,” Avril shrugged but her cheeks gave her away by turning pink. Verona pinched them teasingly earning a wince from Avril.

“You are my friend. And believe it or not, he's your man. I don't sleep with my friend's man,” she said.

“But what if he punishes you for refusing him if he actually called you for that?” Avril asked with a worried tone.

“You'll be there to save my @ss. I have a feeling he would not do otherwise if you ask him to spare me.”

Avril chuckled softly while Verona tapped her index finger on her lips and entered a deep thought.

Why was Prince Dakar really concerned about this Alejandro? It wasn't like he was worried for her. It was more like a selfish kind of feeling and he wanted to know who Alejandro was for his own deed. Could it be that...Dakar was truly getting his memory back? And wanted to know what Avril had been up to? She then remembered that Prince Dakar had specially asked her to train Avril to be strong against external forces and become a closed book. Because he didn't trust her and felt she was a human spy. He later said it was because he felt she knew him and wanted to realize it first before other people did. The puzzle wasn't clear and she needed a fixing of the pieces.

\*\*

Prince Dakar sighed as he tied his hair behind in a loose bun. He wore a black leather jacket over his black jean trousers and walked out of his castle. He wore his sunglasses because it was a sunny yet cold day.

“My Prince, your attention is needed at the throne room,” a young man walked up to him and said. He was a palace guard, wearing their uniform and having his sword sheathed in his clothing. Dakar peered at him and sighed.

“This isn't only my father, I suppose,” he inquired.

“Yes, sir. The Beta and his brother, Lady Ñiraka's father are also there,” the guard answered.

“Tell them you did not meet me. I was already driving out,” Dakar ordered and opened the door to his car.

“But sir, it looked quite urgent,” the guard protested but Prince Dakar entered the car and drove away that instance. The guard had no choice but to go back and report that he didn't catch up with the prince.

Dakar was in no mood to hear whatever Ñiraka's father was going to spurt out. He had a business to take care of in the human city of Milan and that was what he wanted to face. He drove off in high speed towards the lonely road that led out of the pack. He reached the house of Vane, an associate of his.

“Welcome, boss. It's been awhile you stepped foot here,” Vane welcomed him in. They went to the living room and Dakar sat on one of the black sofa's in the room.

“Did you get it?” he asked Vane who was pouring wine out into glasses for them.

“I did, sir. I know a lot about him but well, not the details. So I had to get a few people paid to compile all the details of Luca Aguero they could lay hands on,” Vane answered and handed a glass to Dakar who received it and took a sip immediately. Vane dropped the bottle and took a sip of his own wine. He picked a brown file envelope from the table and handed it to Dakar.

“This is it. Everything we could get for now. You didn't give me enough time, I would have gotten more.”

Dakar dropped the glass on the table and took out a the papers in the envelope. He glanced through them and nodded.

“I would have to go through this first,” he said and arranged them back in the envelope.

“Boss, what are you trying to do? Luca Aguero owns the streets. He's getting worse everyday and even managed to eliminate The Vincaso Family, a strong Mafia in this country. I don't think I would advise you to try and deal with him.”

Dakar looked at Vane and smirked.

“What do you think I'm even trying to do?” he asked but Vane didn't answer.

“I believe this man Luca could be dangerous. I have no business with him and really don't care if he's the devil of the streets. But then, he's trying to take what belongs to me. And you of all people, Vane, know how I hate it when someone toys with my properties,” he stated and got on his feet.

“Begin to gather the men. I might be needing them soon,” he ordered and Vane nodded.

“Yes, sir.”

Dakar walked out with the envelope and Vane watched him get into his car and leave. He had been working with Dakar for two years now, but did not know where he was from or where he even lived. He was his henchman, and helped him take care of threats or just clean up things he didn't want around his businesses. He owned a lot of businesses and mostly was a supplier of diamonds to jewelry companies. But no one knew what he truly was. Vane always knew this man was dangerous and different, but he didn't know to what extent he was capable of creating havoc. And he honestly, didn't wish to know. But now that he seemed to be angry with Luca Aguero, Vane could sense war coming.