Chapter 49: Chapter 49

TRISTAN:

Twilight came, but thankfully, I was back in the villa before darkness has already fully consumed the light in the sky.

I had an action-packed afternoon. It was good to see the whole council tumble into chaos. It must be like that every time a peace talk was being held, but it was nice to see the prince’s reaction to it. It seemed that, just like me, it was his first time to see such a ruckus.

However, unlike that boy Kaist, I was part of those who created the ruckus, so I half-expected that circus to have happened…

Despite all the glee of seeing Count Jeteris humiliate himself, my heart was still feeling weak, and there was only one solution for it.

It felt like a long day… I had to see Dahlia.

This morning, I stayed away from her because I knew that the blasted ex-lover of hers will come to visit, and then in the afternoon, I had to part with her for the council meeting. Goddess, those were all awfully long hours without her…

I miss her smile and the feel of her skin against mine…

Arthur sniggered, “I told you that potion wouldn’t work.”

He was right. That potion did not work at all… If anything, it just made me miss my wife even more.

My wife… That’s right. Dahlia Hurst is my wife… Why did I agree to this plan in the first place?

If I didn’t woo her and appear in front of her sight, she wouldn’t be in this mess… Arthur, Albus, and I would not be in this tug of war with our logic and emotions.

She could have lived a quiet life with that Kaist. He seemed to adore her enough. He wouldn’t possibly hurt her, just like a did, right?...

“Who says he won’t? It seemed like those wolves of him would pounce on her too, given the chance. I’m sure they’ll behave wildly and try to make love with her in all forms as well,” the black wolf inside me sneered again.

“What did you say – wolves?”

Arthur nodded his head. “Yes wolves. He’s got more than one wolf.”

My eyebrows shot up in the air. “What do you mean he has more than one wolf?”

“He has more than one. I can smell them…”

Was Arthur’s senses dulled by taking in too much potions over the past few months? How the hell can he make such inaccurate predictions about that prince?

Although I thought that boy did seem special, it was impossible for him to have more than one wolf inside his body even if he does not have an ounce of magic.

If so, then does that mean he can wield magic? Did the king wed a sorceress?

Those ideas are hard to think of… With this kingdom’s abhorrence to any magical beings, that fact alone is next to impossible…

I shook my head. I was near the villa now. As soon as the carriage halted, I descended from it and marched towards the room Dahlly and I shared.

Every step I took towards her was sending my heart into a wild frenzy… Was it possible that Samalah had the concoctions wrong? Maybe she fed me a potion that’ll make me like Dahlia even more than I wanted, right?

At long last, I saw my beloved Dahlly sitting by the sofa as soon as I opened the door of our room. I quickly gave her a kiss on the head.

As soon as my lips descended on her beautiful brown hair, I was flooded with the unique scent of my mate. It was heaven, but at the same time, it was hell…

I began to wonder: can we make it together after all of these things come to pass?

I sighed internally as both my wolves whimpered. Dahlia is the daughter of my enemy. I needed her to be the bait so that Duke Hurst could die of a broken heart. I was meaning to use her like a pawn and deceive her so that she would follow my every whim, but right now, I wondered who between us was positively turning into a pawn?...

I wanted to be with Dahlia when all of this is over. I want to keep her in my arms every night and lay asleep beside her forever…

“Rough day,” she said softly. Her words never hinted anything but warmth, and yet, why is her heart quivering so loudly next to mine?

“Hmm, yes.” I hugged Dahlia closer. Was she cold? Was she feeling lonely or homesick?

Or perhaps, was she nervous?...

“I… There’s something I want to talk to you about,” she breathed in against my embrace.

My head was screaming that this is the start of something awful, but I ignored it. “What is it?”

“Did you… Did you really ask papa for a large sum of dowry?”

So that was it… I knew something was off when Duke Hurst did not show up at the council meeting this afternoon. Who knew he would be cunning enough to send the dowry at the time when I am not here?!

“I didn’t want you to find out this way, but I did,” I said.

There was no use telling her a lie. I’m sure that one of these days, if not already, she’ll realize that my heart has been beating alongside that pretty rib cage of hers… I wouldn’t be able to keep up lying to her.

So let’s start by tweaking the truth a bit…

“Why?... I’m not sure if you knew the custom from around here, but it’s not polite to ask for a dowry from papa because of his position, more so because we have eloped together…”

“I’m aware of that… I did it to spite your father.”

Dahlia’s face looked surprised, but she recovered fairly quickly as if she already thought I’d say that.

“Why? Why do you want to spite my father?”

“This will come off as something bad, but I have heard of how your father would usually treat you, and I am not happy at all.”

“Who told you about that?”

“Since we’ve met each other at Hildt, I have sort of followed you around… I have also learned a bit of it from Eva.”

“Eva - you mean my wolf?”

“Yes… Since the last time we’ve met, she and my wolf have always been in contact in the Animal Spirit World, so we knew what was happening to you even when we were far apart.”

“I see,” she said thoughtfully.

Dahlia stayed silent for some time, but I can feel sorrow taking over her heart.

I moved towards Dahlly and sat beside her on the sofa.

“Are you disappointed that I did that? I know you never had it in your heart to be unkind to your father, but I could not ignore the fact that he had done so many things to make you unhappy.”

“Do you dislike my father?”

“I had never liked him, Dahlly. Maybe I never would…”

Again, there was total silence. I knew Dahlia was thinking of something else, but what is it?

Goddess, I needed Dahlia… No matter how I put it in my head, I need Dahlia! I never thought it’ll be possible to need someone like this, but I do…

I simply can’t afford to lose her…

“As you know, the natural powers that werewolves have – I haven’t been able to develop them… So if you are telling me that Eva helped you, I will have a hard time verifying that,” Dahlia began to say.

Sweat trickled down my back. Why was Dahlia saying this? Does it mean she was suspicious of me?

“I… I have a hunch, but I am afraid… I’m afraid to ask you about it… But maybe I have to ask, even just once.. Even if I won’t like the answer…”

My heart was racing. For no particular reason, I was afraid to hear what she had to say next.

“The men who had wronged your family – is there any chance that my father had something to do with that? Could it be the reason why you hated him?”