Chapter 163

ASHANTI’S POV.

I’m rummaging through my closet for what to wear and go over to Alpha Reagan’s chambers. It’s almost five pin and the driver will be here any time soon to pick me up. I finally settle for a pair of pink shorts and a black fitting blouse and since the weather is a bit chilly this evening, I throw a white hoodieover it and take out my sneakers from the shoe section. I’m not going to wear them now, I’ll do so when the servant comes to announce the driver’s arrival.

I look at myself in the mirror, satisfied with my outfit. It’s casual, but cute.

The moment I get into the bedroom, there’s a knock on the room door.

My heart skips a beat everytime I hear that knock even though they’re going to give me the same news. That’s because hearing that the driver has arrived to pick me up excites me and there’s not a day I won’t be excited to go spend the night with Alpha Reagan.

“Come in.” I signal as I sit on the bed and start putting on my shoes.

The driver arrived earlier than I thought he would.

“Ashanti.” The servant’s familiar voice calls.

“Tell the driver I’ll be there in a minute.” I say, not even sparing her a glance.

“Ashanti, there’s no driver.” She calmly tells me. I stop trying to put on my shoe and look at her.

Brows creased.

“Huh?”

“Alpha Reagan called. He said to tell you not to come over tonight.” Her words slap my face like a hundred hands would. My heart runs into my stomach, my ears start itching and my palms get all sweaty.

He doesn’t want to spend the night with me today.

That’s completely normal right? Why then do I feel so hurt?

“Oh… okay.” I say trying to keep a cheerful look despite my urge to burst into tears.

“Yeah. So there’s no need to get dressed.” Then she leaves. I tug off my shoes, pull myself up onto my bed and allow myself to hit the pillow behind me.

“Why doesn’t he want to spend the night with me?” I ask rhetorically, sounding like a pathetic, desperate idiot. I close my eyes and try to steady my raging heart beats, but my nerves are not cooperating.

I haul myself up from the bed so fast that my head hits the headboard and I’m actually grateful. I take a moment to appreciate the pain. The thought of him telling me to stay because he wants to spend the night with another girl is causing me an unbearable amount of agony.

I stand up. Start pacing the length of my room. I open my mouth to shout, to fight, to swing my fists, but my vocal cords are cut and my arms are heavy.

Why doesn’t he want to spend the night with me?

Why?

I tremble on my spot when the door swings open. At the speed of light, I spin around to see who it is, hoping it’s the servant who has come to tell me she was just playing with me, but all my hopes are thrown off a cliff when my eyes land on Tessa. I almost roll my eyes in dismay.

“Why are you crying?” She asks, alarmed, walking over to me. My hands touch my face and that’s when I realise I’ve been shedding tears without knowing. “Ashanti.” She calls in a concerned tone.

I try to talk but there’s a knot in my throat preventing me from doing so.

“Ashanti.” She calls my name again and I can’t hold it in anymore. I crash into her arms and burst into tears. I am frayed and falling apart. I cry hard and she doesn’t say anything. She simply comforts me and leads me to the bed to sit on it.

“What happened?” She asks calmly and I look up at her.

“He doesn’t want me any more.

“Who doesn’t want you anymore?”

“Alpha Reagan.”

“What? Why? How come?” I sniffle tears. “Did he tell you that?”

“No. But he implied it by saying I shouldn’t come over to his chambers tonight.” I cry. Tessa backs away from me and gives me a queer.

“So. Let me get this straight. He asked you not to come to his chambers tonight and you decided to interpret it as he doesn’t want you anymore?” I calmly nod my head and she bursts into laughter.

“Ashanti, do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound right now?” She says within fits of laughter.

“Tessa, this isn’t a joke. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I can feel it. There’s something Wrong!”

“Or maybe he’s just really busy and needs a lot of time to sort certain things out without any distractions. He’s the Lycan King after all. He has a lot on his plate.”

“You’re supposed to comfort me, not make me feel like an overbearing… overbearing girlfriend.”

She chuckles and pulls me into her arms once more.

“I’m sure the Lycan King is busy. He’ll call you over tomorrow.” She tries to assure me and I want to believe her, but there’s this uneasy feeling tugging at my heartstrings.

Everything is not alright.

There’s a problem.

REAGAN’S POV.

“Until when do you intend to keep this going?” My wolf, King, demands and I draw in a deep breath.

“Keep what going?”

“Refusing to admit the fact that you love Ashanti and you want to make your relationship with her formal and public.”

“I’m not refusing to admit anything, King. You know how much I love Ashanti. How much I want to be with her.”

“Then what’s stopping you from claiming her?”

“Fear!” I cry within. “If I make what I have with Ashanti official, there will be no turning back. I’m afraid she’ll be taken away from us. Remember what happened to Isabella, our late mate. If I expose Ashanti to the world as our mate, I’m scared that the people who came for Isabella will come for her as well.” I lament and he goes mute.

He knows I have a point.

Isabella died an untimely death. The cause of her death was never known, but I know what killed her wasn’t ordinary. I also know that the same spirit is lurking around in this castle, waiting for me to proclaim Ashanti as mine to the public so it can snatch her away from me.

I swear I will go mad if I were to lose my second mate.

I barely survived the heartbreak when Isabella died, if Ashanti…

Goodness, I should stop thinking about it.

“You have every right to be paranoid, but the truth is, you have to let the people know about.

Ashanti at some point. Hiding her away like this will only cause more problems.”

“I’ll let her know what she needs to know when she’s ready. I’ll show her to the public when I feel like the time is right. When I know I’m capable of protecting her from harm’s way. For now, I need to keep her under my wings. I need to protect her as much as I can, even if I’m hurting her and hurting myself in the process. That’s what’s best for all four of us right now. You, me, Ashanti and her precious wolf. Sometimes, King, virtuous is ignorance.”

“F “You are right. Take your time.” I shut my eyes and lay on the bed, even though I know I won’t be getting sleep tonight.