Betrayed Heiress: My Second Chance Mate is A Lycan King

Aira’s POV

He smiles at me.

It was so kind and so warm; it was everything I least expected. After that day, I expected this man to be a brute. I expected him to give off an aggressive aura, but he doesn’t. The strangest part about all of this was this sense of familiarity I got from his face.

I have seen this face somewhere before.

But where?

Certainly, I would be able to remember encountering a man as beautiful as him. And I didn’t mean feminine beauty; I don’t know. His beauty was gently masculine.

His chocolate brown eyes were soft, but his jawline was sharper than any blade I have ever seen. His nose and cheekbones were perfectly defined. And his hair-I have never seen anything like it before. It appeared to be something in between honey brown and gold.

His gaze fell downward, and he appeared almost sheepish. I must have mistaken him; there is no way this is the same man who saved me the other day. But deep down, I knew he was. There was something about him-something different; perhaps it was his aura; it was calm yet chilling.

“It seems my face wasn’t as you expected,” he says, a sly smirk lifting his lips.

Those words snapped me out of whatever trance I had fallen into. Blinking rapidly at him, my mouth opens and falls shut severally, trying to think of how to respond to that.

“No, not at all. I mean, I was just taken off guard. I mean, you are really handsome. Like I mean, ”

His light chuckles cut me off, and my cheeks grew heated. What was wrong with me? Why am I fumbling in front of this man?

“I know what you mean. And thank you very much for the compliment. I am flattered. You are a beautiful woman yourself,” he says, and I smile appreciatively at him.

“I just wanted to thank you so much for the other day. If it weren’t for you, then I have no idea what would have become of me and those children,” I tell him right before I feel a tug in my chest. It was Alex; he was close by.

The man perked up, looking over my shoulder to see where the sound of approaching footsteps came from. His eyes return to me, and he asks, “You don’t have to thank me; I was doing myself a favor as well,” he says, and my eyebrows pull together in confusion. Before I can ask him what it is, he quickly asks, “How is your shoulder?”

“Oh!” I tap my shoulder to show him my improvement. “It is a lot better, thank you. What is your name?”

He parts his lips to speak, but the tug in my heart grows even more. Alex’s presence becomes more prominent, and his voice pierces through the air like a blade. “Aira!”

Spinning on my heel, my eyes locked with his just as he turned the corner. His eyes are filled with so much rage. “I thought I told you not to move!”

A nervous smile lifts my lips as he storms up to me. “Wait, Alex, I did it for a good reason. This man is the one that saved me on the day of the attack.”

Alex stops midway and looks at me as though I were crazy. “What man?”

A frown pulls the corners of my lips, and I say, “This man-”

Spinning on my heel, I came to realize that the mysterious man was nowhere to be seen. How strange…

I turn back to Alex and throw my hands in the air defensively. “I swear he was standing right here a few minutes ago.”

Alex rolls his eyes. “You are probably seeing one of those ghost friends of yours; there was no one standing here with you. I keep telling you to not let this thing get a hold of you; learn to control it or it will lead you into danger.”

My head shakes in refusal. “I know what I am saying-he wasn’t a ghost! He saved me and those children on the day of the attack! I swear that I am not making this stuff up.”

A sigh leaves Alex’s lips, and I know he is just about to tell me how crazy I am when something behind me catches his attention. He pales.

Without uttering another word, he walks past me and picks something up from the floor. He stared at it with so much intensity that it was frightening. I looked over his shoulder to see that it was a golden crest with a dragon at its center.

Where the hell did that come from?

“What is that?” I ask him, but Alex doesn’t respond to my question. Instead, he clears his throat and stuffs it in his pocket.

When he turns to me, his eyes have softened; as a matter of fact, they appear almost saddened. “Let’s go home.” His hand wraps around my wrist and pulls me out of the alley. His steps were a bit too fast; it was almost as though he was doing everything in his power to get us out of there as soon as possible.

“Alex, are you okay?” I ask him as the rest of the guards join us to return to the palace. His grip on my wrist tightens a bit.

“I am fine.”

We both knew that was a lie.

What happened? His mood suddenly changed after seeing that damn crest. What did it mean?

Perhaps I will ask him once we get to the palace.

But the funny thing is, as soon as we got to the palace, Alex disappeared. He was nowhere to be seen. He rushed off somewhere with Arnold, and I never saw him again. And to make matters worse, he had even tightened security.

I thought this walk would lighten him up, and he would loosen up a bit. How terribly wrong I was.

The rest of the day goes by incredibly slowly. I decide to go in search of Carla, hoping she will keep me company.

Walking down the hallways, something catches my eye. It is Richard.

What is he still doing here? I thought he would have left by now.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

He still hasn’t noticed me, so I hide myself behind a statue so he doesn’t. His eyes are narrowed to slits as he looks in every direction before taking out the dagger from his black leather jacket. My eyes widen when he looks around one last time before stepping into the room.

What in the world was he up to?

Now that I think of it, wasn’t it too much of a coincidence that he showed up the day after the attack? He said he was just traveling by. But it didn’t make any sense, seeing as he only left a week ago.

The voice of that unknown spirit flashes through my mind.

“You must decide what you want to fight for. The good filled with hate, or the bad filled with love.”

Could she have been talking about Richard? She had to be. All the arrows were pointing towards him at this point. I knew I made a mistake by letting him leave. I should have had my suspicions after he suddenly switched up on the rest of his siblings, and so easily too.

He might as well be worse than the rest of them. But I won’t let that happen.

I have to stop him before it is too late.

Marching up to the room, I throw the door open without another thought. I had already mentally prepared myself to witness the most despicable scene known to mankind, but what was displayed before me was far beyond what I had expected.

Roses.

Large bouquet of roses.

They filled the entire room.

The bed and floor were covered in rose petals. Its scent was mixed with the sweet aroma of pastries and meatball sauce. That is when my eyes fell on Richard, standing in front of a small round table. There were two seats set out, each of them having a plate of pasta in front of them with a candle lit in the center. There is also a cake in the middle. Richard was tying the handle of the knife with a bright red ribbon.

Oh.

So that was what it was for.

Richard’s eyes lock with mine, and the brightest smile I have ever seen on his lips lifts his lips. “Aira, I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“Clearly,” I mutter, taking another look around.

A light, almost nervous chuckle leaves his lips as his hand climbs up to his nape. “Yeah, I made this for Carla and me.” My eyebrows shoot to the top of my head with surprise. That explains his weird behavior the other day after seeing Carla.

He likes her.

Guilt instantly fills my heart. I can’t believe I had doubted him.

He continues, “I wanted us to go to a restaurant for dinner, but since she isn’t allowed to leave the palace, I thought I should do something for her here and now.”

I place my hand on my chest, right above my heart. “That is so sweet of you. But you all should have asked me if you wanted to go out. I would have placed some guards on you guys. For the first time since I have known Richard, he actually appears bashful.

“I didn’t think you would let me go anywhere with her. I didn’t feel you would trust me enough,” he says, and I am about to tell him that is not true, but I don’t. Because he is right. Just a few seconds ago, I already imagined him plotting something evil when all he wanted was a romantic date with my friend.

Richard has saved me once before; perhaps he does deserve my trust.

“The next time you wish to go out with her, let me know. I trust you,” I tell him earnestly, and an appreciative smile lifts his lips. But then I take a step towards him, and his smile drops. “But make no mistake; if you hurt Carla, I will make you experience pain ten times worse.”

Richard’s eyes widen, but by only a fraction. There was a flash of fear in them, but as quickly as it came, it was gone.

“I understand.”

A knock comes from the door, and I take it as my cue to leave. “Have fun now,” I tell him before making my way to the door. When I open it, my eyes are graced with Carla. She is dressed in a deep blue short dress; it stops right above her knees and gives her skin an elegant glow. She had her make-up done lightly, and her hair was tied up in a loose bun. And when did she get this tall? Are those heels I see on her feet?

It was as though I was staring at another woman.

It was clear that she didn’t expect to bump into me, judging by how large her eyes became. “Aira, I can explain.”

I lift my hand to stop her from speaking any further. “Enjoy your date; you will give me details later. And I mean every detail.” I say the last part with emphasis, and her cheeks heat up.

I step aside for her to step in. Richard’s eyes glimmer as amazement fills them when he sees Carla.

I was really wrong about him. But if he wasn’t the one the spirit was warning me about, then who?