348 Cruel Request
Sean was quiet for a bit, thinking it over before answering, “I’m still figuring that out as well. We can get to those details later on. Let’s just take it one step at a time, okay?”
“No... I cannot accept you...”
“Ah sorry, I forgot to tell you. You don’t get a choice in the matter, I’m afraid. There is no single way I can picture you walking away from me now. I, as well as my wolf, won’t let that happen... and even if you manage to do so, I’ll only follow you until you give up and accept my offer.
The hunters and royals know about the breeding camps the Rogue King keeps around, but they don’t know where they are since they also know nothing about no-man’s-land. And even I, who has toured no-man’s-land the most, have never found one. So when I find a rogue woman wandering in the middle of nowhere, I can’t just turn a blind eye.
You probably don’t even know where you are. Follow this river down and you’ll undoubtedly perish. Not much you’re going to find down there. Rumour has it that it’s where the famous Origin is supposed to be.” At this point, Sean was waving his arms about, wriggling his fingers in a motion to indicate spookiness. His tone, however, was as blunt as ever and defeated the purpose of his demonstration.
Nevertheless, the woman understood what he was saying with an intricate level of clarity. Sean sighed, having spoken so much and still made no progress in making his point. ‘Social interactions are really hard,’ he mentally complained before trying again. Amanda remained patient as he gathered his thoughts. Despite the front she was putting up, she wanted to stay in his presence as long as she could.
“You’re my mate... I would want you to know happiness and smile genuinely. I would like you to eat your fill and at least put on that weight. You don’t look so good, if you hadn’t noticed,” Amanda’s expression fell at the man’s words. She hugged herself and moved even further away from the prince.
“Perv...”
Sean’s jaw dropped, “No, I’m not. I was being honest here. Although, you can’t keep me from wondering what you would look like in perfect health,” It was Amanda’s turn to be mystified. Seeing an opening, Sean continued, “I would like you to know what it was to spend a day lazy in a home that you can call your own. To sleep without worrying about what will happen tomorrow or what happened today. To truly live...”
.....
The more he spoke, the more tears welled up in the woman’s eyes. Suddenly, her grasp on reality and fiction was starting to blur. The words coming from Sean’s mouth sounded like utter fiction. ‘Who on earth lives such a life? There is always someone out there whose job is to make your life hell, isn’t it?’
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There was a lot she didn’t know, a lot she hadn’t experienced and a lot she couldn’t verify, but her wolf asked her to trust him. Her consciousness couldn’t keep up with the way her emotions were all over the place.
She wanted to run into his arms and yet she also knew to keep her distance from men as they were the ones that caused their suffering in the breeding camp. It was a dilemma that tore at her from the inside. The oblivious royal could not see this internal battle but was sure it wasn’t going to be easy to drag the woman along with him on whatever adventures he had in his mind.
Alas, it was his ambition to discover what her life had been like and to find what his wolf wouldn’t let go of. The creature seemed hellbent on bringing the worst headache upon him if he ignored the drive that was pushing him to take care of the woman before him.
Before Amanda could speak, the temperature dropped several degrees and the calm breeze slowed and almost went still. The woman rubbed her arms to gather some heat.
Sean’s wolf pushed him to embrace the woman, but his logical side wouldn’t let him proceed with such drastic action. However, his other senses told him the sudden change in their environment was not just the random decision of mother nature.
The warmth of the sun was gone from view. The man looked into the sky and was shocked to find the sun gone. In its place was the moon, glowing brighter than he’d ever seen it. A silhouette of a woman emanated from the moonlight that reached them.
Amanda followed his line of sight to the sky and was nearly petrified by the being he saw in the air. Floating down to them was the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen. The connection with her was so great that she felt she could stay looking at her for eternity and never get tired of it. She was everything the wolves dreamed of. The moon goddess looked down on them with a warm motherly smile on her face... there was also a hint of pride in her expression and entrance. Something that said, ‘Bow down to your goddess, mortals. It is I, the divine and beautiful gracing you with my presence.’ Of course, she would never say this.
“You certainly love your entrances,” Sean interrupted the slow descent of the moon goddess.
Celeste was startled by his composure. He barely showed a fraction of being entranced by her, “You’re an interesting one, Sean Sirius.”
“You appear once every fifty years to a royal of your own choosing. Are you sure you chose the right royal this time? I think you would be better off choosing one of those in power at this moment?” the man responded, getting straight to the point.
“Oh no, I know I’ve chosen right. I have been watching you for a while now and I had foreseen your meeting with your mate. How do you like her?”
The man regarded the woman before him. She was small in frame, but her eyes shone with the most determination he’d ever been blessed to see. He already knew she had a will of fire that burned within her from the short interaction they’d just had.
Even in her weakened state, she looked far from backing down from anything that crossed her path, “She’s special alright. She’s got a warrior spirit that burns brighter than any I’ve seen,” the man smiled.
“You couldn’t have described her any better,” the goddess replied with a warm smile. Amanda found herself tearing up once more. Where had she been hiding all these tears and why were they coming down right now?
No matter how much she tried to wipe them, they wouldn’t leave her alone. For once in her life, Amanda felt the tension leave her muscles completely. The tension in them that was held by the constant fear for her life was leaving her for the first time. At the moment, she was in the presence of her mate and the moon goddess... the two beings she knew would never hurt her.
While mates could sometimes hurt each other, it wasn’t the same with Sean. Amanda had already gleaned enough into his personality to know he wasn’t one to jump to violence so quickly. She had eaten his food without permission after all and now she was wearing his shirt and jacket.
They didn’t know what she’d been through, but somehow, their presence was enough to make her forget all of that. That’s why the next thing the goddess said struck a heavy chord of curiosity and one more emotion... terror... inescapable fear, “And I’m afraid that same warrior spirit has summoned me to the two of you to ask your help.” The goddess made a slight bow to them.
‘Why do I get the feeling I’m not going to like what she has to say?’ Sean had asked himself. Just like his mate, he had a very bad feeling brewing in the pit of his stomach.