Chapter 3: Don’t touch me!

“I… What did you hear?” he raises one eyebrow at me.

“That if I told you to bend over you would and other stuff. Answer my question.”

“I… You weren’t supposed to hear that because I was just joking, isn’t it Tiana?” I let out the most convincing laugh I could master.

“Yeah, totally! I gotta go now, I have to do some grocery shopping. Bye” she runs out leaving me with him.

I swallow all my pride and allow myself to be engulfed by fear and embarrassment.

“Arlene, if what you said wasn’t a joke then please let go of your feelings. Stay away from loving me. Understood?”

I blink back the tears and take a deep breath before looking at him directly in the eye.

“Arlene, I’m sor…” he tries to reach out to me but I move back.

“Don’t touch me. Lucien, I will do everything it takes not to fall for you because I don’t even trust myself to be in love again. I am strong enough to fight with a thousand men but I’m weak when it comes to love so yes, I understand. Let’s go find out the end result of my hard work.”

Hunter’s POV

I am trying to mindlink Zane but it’s a bit weak. I’m not stopping until I get through to him.

‘Yes?’ Zane unblocks me. Great.

‘Zane, it’s me Hunter.’

‘Haven’t I said I won’t work for you?’ Zane growls

‘no, no it’s the real me! I’ve been locked up in the dungeon and someone has been impersonating me. Look, I really need your help to escape, I can’t stay here or else they might just decide to kill me. Please, I need to escape so I can fix everything.’

Zane stays quiet for a while.

‘Okay, I’ll break you out tonight and by the way, you have a lot of fixing to do.’ he cuts off the link. Wow. At least I know he’s coming.

I hear someone coming into the dungeons so I quickly pretend to be asleep.

“Wake up, my darling” I instantly recognize her voice, Celeste! What is she doing here?

She gently touches my right cheek before planting a kiss on it. I pull away, feeling utterly disgusted. “I missed seeing your cute face. How does it feel knowing you’ve lost your kingdom?”

“Just leave”

Zane’s POV

I look at Kourtney one last time before grabbing my bag and leaving. She’s asleep so hopefully she won’t wake up until I’m back with Hunter. I don’t want to worry her. I tie my bag around my waist but not tightly since I have to shift. I shift into my wolf Shayne. He uses his agility to go through the woods and manages to reach the pack house. I shift back and open my bag for my black clothes. I wear them so I blend into the night. Most of my face is covered, just my eyes are revealed. I use the secret passage to get into the palace. This better be worth it!

Arlene’s POV

I don’t know why but I feel restless. I can’t sleep like this. I need some fresh air, maybe that’s all I need. I get up from bed and open the door leading to the balcony. My room is not that high above the ground so I manage to jump and land safely. Do not try that at home!

I start wandering around. We’re living in human territory so we don’t usually get attacked by werewolves or anything. I walk through the path I now know so well until I reach my favourite spot… the lake! Instantly I strip off all my clothes before stepping into the lake. The water is cold so it takes time for my body to adjust to it but not too long. I close my eyes and try to relax…

Lucien’s POV

I’m always watching over our territory. I’m surprised to see Arlene in the lake though, I thought she was sleeping or something.

She seems troubled, I wonder why? Maybe i should investigate a bit? No, that would be an invasion of her privacy. I look away from her entirely and continue going around the area without her noticing me.

Arlene’s POV

Today is a big day, I’m officially going back to the palace!

I’m dressed in a green vintage dress which ends right above my knees with matching heels. It has a small V opening at the front. It’s actually great for summer because the material is light and not too heavy so it’s easy to breathe in it. I also curled my hair a bit before deciding that that was my look.

“Looking sharp!” Asher says as he steps in.

“Thanks, little brother.” he groans, he absolutely hates it when I call him that. “Today I’ll be amongst my enemies, it’s time to give them a shock. Is Lucien ready?”

“Yes, he’s just waiting for you. If you need help, don’t be afraid to ask” I nod although I know I won’t do that, I don’t want to risk their lives.

The plan is, I’ll pretend to be Lucien’s girlfriend and we’ll go to the palace. That’s when I’ll work on destroying all of them! They won’t be able to tell Lucien to leave because he’s a king which I’m using to my full advantage.

Asher and I walk out of my room and meet up with the rest of the crew.

“Good luck, may the ancient winds be with you.” Tiana hugs me. She’s really big on hugging people. I notice how Asher won’t take his eyes off of her, I don’t blame him, Tiana is a gem.

“Thank you, I’ll miss you so much.” Tiana sighs before taking off her bracelet and giving it to me.

“Whenever you need me, just look at this.” she puts it on my wrist.

“Thanks.” I look at Lucien who’s talking to Scarlett.

“Follow your heart in this case, don’t follow what you think is right but just follow your heart. Okay?” Tiana mutters to me, I know what she’s talking about and although I don’t want to burst her bubble, I shake my head.

“Use your advice for once.” I look at Asher then at Tiana.

“We are just friends. Now go!” she looks flustered, she’s literally blushing.

I go to Lucien and Scarlett. Scarlett is more of my frenemy than anything.

“I know but…” she looks at me and smiles before looking at Lucien “Ba chóir duit stop a chur i gcomparáid léi le Catherine. Bhí Catherine santach agus níl sí. Feicim cé chomh speisialta is atá do bhannaí. An lá a thiteann tú i ngrá léi, ní bheidh aon rud ann seachas í. Beidh gach rud ann ach ní fheicfidh tú ach í. Beidh tú in ann í a aimsiú i bhfad uait. Mothóidh tú thú féin ag báthadh ina súile ach gan fonn ort imeacht uathu. Ar dtús, beidh cuma aisteach air, mar go bhfuil tú ag cailleadh d’intinn ach níos déanaí tuigfidh tú é. Ansin déarfaidh tú na focail sin ‘Is breá liom tú’ agus cuirfear gach rud in eagar.” I don’t know what she just said but okay…

“You’re insane. Let’s go, Arlene..” he looks at me for the first time today and freezes.

“Nothing else will exist” Scarlett laughs before kissing my cheek and leaving.

The way he’s looking at me is intense, as if nothing else matters. He shakes his head and looks away from me.

“Let’s go before we are late.” he extends his hand towards me. I look at him before taking his hand. He teleports us to the car.

Author’s Note:

Ba chóir duit stop a chur i gcomparáid léi le Catherine. Bhí Catherine santach agus níl sí. Feicim cé chomh speisialta is atá do bhannaí. An lá a thiteann tú i ngrá léi, ní bheidh aon rud ann seachas í. Beidh gach rud ann ach ní fheicfidh tú ach í. Beidh tú in ann í a aimsiú i bhfad uait. Mothóidh tú thú féin ag báthadh ina súile ach gan fonn ort imeacht uathu. Ar dtús, beidh cuma aisteach air, mar go bhfuil tú ag cailleadh d’intinn ach níos déanaí tuigfidh tú é. Ansin déarfaidh tú na focail sin ‘Is breá liom tú’ agus cuirfear gach rud in eagar means “You should stop comparing her with Catherine. Catherine was selfish and she’s not. I can see how special your bond is. The day you fall in love with her, nothing will exist apart from her. Everything will be there but you’ll only see her. You’ll be able to pinpoint her from a distance. You’ll feel yourself drowning in her eyes yet never wanting to go from them. At first, it’ll seem weird, like you’re losing your mind but later you will realise it. Then you will say those words ‘I love you’ and everything will be sorted.”