Chapter 17: Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Sansa's Pov

Have you ever stood in the rain without an umbrella while everyone else had one?

Have you ever wished for a family that would live with you indefinitely?

Have you ever felt isolated in a crowd? I felt this many times throughout my life, not just once. I lived alone for the majority of my life. I didn't have a companion or a family.

There were times when I needed my mother more than anything else, but she wasn't there. I grew up without a mother, with a single father and grandfather. The most difficult aspect was being the only female in the house. Nobody was around to guide me about girl stuff, so I didn't have anyone to talk about it with.

My grandfather despised me and even cursed me for being born; I never understood why. The more he despised me, the more my father loved and supported me; he was my backbone, the stronger one.

When I was fourteen, my father died mysteriously, I was depressed, and my grandfather stopped talking to me. He always wanted to consider me dead to him, but he never did until my father died. He gained the right to openly curse me after my father. My world came crashing down when he abandoned me and threw me out of the house.

I had no one to call my own. I was sleeping on the streets, with no shelter, protecting myself from the monsters and evils that were humans; no night was safe when I didn't get enough sleep, and I was getting weak because I couldn't get enough food—only the leftovers I found in the trashcan.

Being alone was not new to me, but when all of them were staring at the Alpha's Bride and the ritual was about to finish with my blood, they were unaware of my true identity: I was one of them, but human blood ran through my veins, which appeared to be a disappointment to them.

Maya was removing the hand glove from my hand to draw blood, and she was about to cut my hand when she became stunned.

Maya felt both concerned and disappointed. "What caused the wound on your hand?"

I turned to face Xavier, who had put the scar on my hand and was standing next to me with a grin on his face. before I say anything that Xavier has interpreted.

"Vampires, they attacked her," calmly Xavier said to Maya.

I couldn't take my gaze away from Xavier when he looked satisfied because he lied so smoothly and without hesitation. They undoubtedly believed him, and I was astounded by how Xavier was deceiving everyone. He only told the truth once, and that was that "They all are blind."

Maya placed the knife on the table, leaving everyone disappointed.

"We won't be able to finish the ritual today, but it will resume next month on the full moon, Because the bride has a scar on her hand, there should be no scar on the bride's body to complete the ritual," explained Maya.

"I understand, Maya, and I appreciate your visit," said Xavier.

Maya promised. "We'll be back."

"I will be waiting," politely Xavier stated.

Maya was humble and kept her disappointment hidden. "Lady Sansa, today was not the right day for the ritual; the moon goddess has a plan for everything; we will resume the prayer when the moon goddess directs."

The elders and teenage girls had left, and the guests had a good time. I was perplexed by what had just occurred.

Did Xavier cut my hand to capture the vampires, forcing me to think about it, or was it done on purpose to save me from the ritual? Would they have accepted me if they had seen my human blood?

If Xavier saved me from exposure, why? My mind was constantly mulling over possible scenarios, but I received no response. But one thing was certain: the scar Xavier gave me saved me from the soul bond for which the ritual was taking place.

The music was louder at the time, which shifted my focus from my entangled thoughts to the party, where all couples were dancing to slow romantic music. They all insisted on seeing me and Xavier together.

Xavier extended his hand to me as if he wanted to touch me every chance he got.

"Shall we?"

I admitted. "I'm not familiar with the moves."

"You don't have to; just follow the rhythm and let me handle the rest," with a smile Xavier said.

Everyone was adoring us as a couple, and their gazes were fixed on us. I knew I couldn't go against Xavier because the scenario he had created in front of them would be shattered. I would be the one to face its consciousness.

I followed what Xavier wanted to show them, he placed my left hand on his right armpit and raised my right hand higher while cupping his other hand around my shoulder blade. We settled into a rhythm that guided our movements.

He pushed me out in front of him gently. He spun me in his direction, his left arm drawing a clockwise circle.

Everyone and everything around us is watching. I was doing everything I could to hide my disappointment.

His lips moved close to my ear, whispering. "Smile, everyone is looking at us."

He hugged me too tightly. I had no choice but to bear his arm around my back. Everyone cheered for us.

The majority of the guests flew away in their private jets after the party.

When I entered my room after changing into my nightgown, Xavier was already sitting on the bed. I was afraid to be alone with him as I staged the knife into him, and he might not miss the chance to disappoint me.

"What exactly are you doing here?" I inquired as to why my voice was trembling.

"I'll sleep here tonight," said Xavier, contentedly smiling.

I didn't dare to sit on the other side of the bed, was nervous around him but pretended to be calm.

"Do you believe that pretending to be my husband will make you the real one? Stop acting like my husband."

"Marry me then," when his gaze was fixed on mine, Xavier spoke calmly.

I laughed. "Wow! That was smooth."

I was astounded—how could he say something like that to someone he barely knew?

Xavier was teasing me because he knew it would set me off. "I believe you don't want me to pretend to be your husband, which is why I'm asking to be one in reality if you say yes."

"Really? Are things that simple for you? But stop messing with me; I will not let you hurt or tease me whenever you want."

"I'm not sure why my conversation teases you when I'm being pleasant and friendly."

"Don't force me to begin! You already know I'm here to save the man I adore—" he cut my sentence, which I thought irritated him.

"Is this the new way to express gratitude? I was expecting a warm hug," stated Xavier.

"A hug?"

"That's not impossible to do," said Xavier, trying to set me off, as he often did.

"Why am I thanking you? For this?" I was showing him the scar on my hand.

"I see you're a grudge holder," said Xavier.

"Was it really to capture the vampires, or was it to avoid the ritual?" I inquired when I could show him my scar again.

"Are you disappointed that we were unable to form an unbreakable bond?" Xavier was pretending to be smart.

I said while holding my anger. "Stop beating around the bush. Give me the straight answers."

Xavier was staring at my face while saying nothing for a second. When I was eager to hear my answers, he purposefully delayed his words.

"What do you think?" In a seductive tone, he inquired.

I had run out of patience. "It doesn't matter; I'm just curious why you did that."

"Would you believe what I say?"

I tried to reassure myself. "If you tell the truth, yes,"

Xavier was perplexing me. "How do you know if I'm telling the truth? Or do you want me to say what you want to hear?"

"Can't you just give me straightforward answers?"

"If you believe me, then yes," he replied.

"If you didn't tell me, I wouldn't have the option of believing or not believing, " being calm around him was always difficult for me.

"You have a point, yes," was Xavier testing my patience, or was he taking revenge on me for stabbing him?

We both looked at each other for a split second; I was expecting answers from him but had no idea what he was thinking. The awkward silence was lasting too long, and I was the one to break it.

," I objected once more. "So tell me about the scar."

"I could hunt vampires without your blood, but I gave you a reason to avoid the ritual. you wouldn't have understood unless you experienced it," he was being truthful.

"Why?" I was perplexed.

"Because you don't want that, it's too early for you to accept everything," softly Xavier said.

I felt he was telling the truth. was watching the honesty in his eyes.

In the blink of an eye, he was standing closer to me as I was gasping for air in shock. His fragrance was strong, like whisky. I could feel his warm breath on my ear because he was so close. I shoved him away, but he didn't even move.

"Now it's up to you whether you believe me or not," he said in a husky voice.

When my heart began to race, I took one step away from him, but he drew me back in by grabbing my waist. I kept silent and waited for him to let me go. He was getting closer to my lips, so I held my breath and prepared to hurt him if he did something against my will.

"Would you believe me if I said I wanted to protect you?" In a seductive tone, he said

He came to a halt near my lips, and the kiss was supposed to happen in a split second, but it never happened. He took my hand in his and used his abilities to erase the scar on my hand, which astounded me.

"You should have said that if you wanted to kick me out of the room, I wasn't in the mood for a quiz game anyway," calm Xavier said.

Xavier walked onto the balcony and faced me.

"Dream about me, good night," he jumped down as if he was diving into the ocean.

I rushed to keep an eye on him as he ran toward the jungle mansion's left side.

Xavier appeared to be the most honest man on the planet, but my interactions with him made me reconsider his manipulative and smoother-speaking persona.

I wanted to believe him, but he wasn't a trustworthy man; he'd done many things against my will in the past, so how could he skip the ritual and our unbreakable bond just because I wasn't ready to accept things?

I had a feeling he wasn't the honest man he appeared to be; he was deceiving his adoring followers. So I was nothing more than a stranger to him. There was something else going on.