348 Cruel Request
Sean was quiet for a bit, thinking it over before answering, âIâm still figuring that out as well. We can get to those details later on. Letâs just take it one step at a time, okay?â
âNo... I cannot accept you...â
âAh sorry, I forgot to tell you. You donât get a choice in the matter, Iâm afraid. There is no single way I can picture you walking away from me now. I, as well as my wolf, wonât let that happen... and even if you manage to do so, Iâll 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 donât know where they are since they also know nothing about no-manâs-land. And even I, who has toured no-manâs-land the most, have never found one. So when I find a rogue woman wandering in the middle of nowhere, I canât just turn a blind eye.
You probably donât even know where you are. Follow this river down and youâll undoubtedly perish. Not much youâre going to find down there. Rumour has it that itâs where the famous Origin is supposed to be.â 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. âSocial interactions are really hard,â 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.
âYouâre 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 donât look so good, if you hadnât noticed,â Amandaâs expression fell at the manâs words. She hugged herself and moved even further away from the prince.
âPerv...ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Seanâs jaw dropped, âNo, Iâm not. I was being honest here. Although, you canât keep me from wondering what you would look like in perfect health,â It was Amandaâs turn to be mystified. Seeing an opening, Sean continued, âI 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...â
.....
The more he spoke, the more tears welled up in the womanâs eyes. Suddenly, her grasp on reality and fiction was starting to blur. The words coming from Seanâs mouth sounded like utter fiction. âWho on earth lives such a life? There is always someone out there whose job is to make your life hell, isnât it?â
There was a lot she didnât know, a lot she hadnât experienced and a lot she couldnât verify, but her wolf asked her to trust him. Her consciousness couldnât 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 wasnât 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 wouldnât 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.
Seanâs wolf pushed him to embrace the woman, but his logical side wouldnât 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 heâd 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 sheâd 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, âBow down to your goddess, mortals. It is I, the divine and beautiful gracing you with my presence.â Of course, she would never say this.
âYou certainly love your entrances,â 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, âYouâre an interesting one, Sean Sirius.â
âYou 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?â the man responded, getting straight to the point.
âOh no, I know Iâve 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?â
The man regarded the woman before him. She was small in frame, but her eyes shone with the most determination heâd ever been blessed to see. He already knew she had a will of fire that burned within her from the short interaction theyâd just had.
Even in her weakened state, she looked far from backing down from anything that crossed her path, âSheâs special alright. Sheâs got a warrior spirit that burns brighter than any Iâve seen,â the man smiled.
âYou couldnât have described her any better,â 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 wouldnât 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 wasnât the same with Sean. Amanda had already gleaned enough into his personality to know he wasnât 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 didnât know what sheâd been through, but somehow, their presence was enough to make her forget all of that. Thatâs why the next thing the goddess said struck a heavy chord of curiosity and one more emotion... terror... inescapable fear, âAnd Iâm afraid that same warrior spirit has summoned me to the two of you to ask your help.â The goddess made a slight bow to them.
âWhy do I get the feeling Iâm not going to like what she has to say?â Sean had asked himself. Just like his mate, he had a very bad feeling brewing in the pit of his stomach.