Daniel's POV

"Goodbye, Daniel."

I stared at Ari without a word and before I could respond to her or say anything, the courtroom's entry door handle rattled beneath my hold. The door soon slid open as I let go of the handle and the man I loathed the most in this world appeared into my sight of vision.

"Here you are, your highness! I was worried what took you so long so I came to check myself," the wrecked Alpha feigned worry certainly because the courtiers could hear him although they can't see him from his back facing them and they can't clearly see the annoying smirk etched on Anthony's face like I could see.

I gave him a cold glare before turning to look at Ari and then back at him. I just don't want to let her go with this wrecked man but I can't fucking do anything! I swear, I've never felt so dissapointed of myself ever before.

"By beautiful mate! There you are! I missed you so much!" Anthony feigned enthusiasm as he stepped forward to hug Ari.

I clenched my fists at my sides and I felt that I would explode any moment due to the amount of rage that was bubbling inside me.

Why?! Just why him out of all people?! Why isn't it me who you love Ari? Am I that worthless of anyone's love?

First Kiana left me for Duncan and now Ari is leaving me for this annoying piece of- never mind. But atleast with Duncan, I was sure that he loved Kiana a lot and sometimes I actually thought Kiana wasn't worth of his love since she didn't seem to have the same level of love Duncan had for her. But with Anthony, I'm damn hell sure that he just doesn't care about Ari more or less he's content with sleeping around with different women. He's a jerk who's playing with Ari's feelings and that fact itself is pissing me off.

I pulled Ari out of Anthony's embrace by grabbing her wrist and tugging her towards me out of the wrecked alpha's hold. The courtiers who were secretly watching us seemed stunned but who cares what they think. I just want to advice the living nuisance to stay the heck away from Ari but as I was about to speak, I heard Ariel's voice warning me.

"Danny, don't. You don't want to put Ariana in danger." Ariel said me through our royal hearing link so that no one else could hear her.

No matter how bad I wanted to smash the jerk's face, I couldn't risk Ari's safety. So with much needed tolerance, I spoke in a calm yet stern tone,

"Anthony, since Ariana is here, why don't we finish with the agreement first? You see I'm a busy person, I don't have all the time in the world and I have other matters to take care of. So if you don't mind, you can shower your mate with-" --my gazes shifted to Ariana who stood beside me staring at my face with her pretty big turquoise eyes. Gosh, I can't say him to shower her with love when that is exactly what I want to do. I want to hug her, kiss her and love her. I can't say him to do the same though....I looked back at Anthony before I would do something I would regret later, "-whatever you want later on."

"As you say, you're highness. Let's get in, Ariana," Anthony's smirk grew wider as I glared at him when he extended his hand forward and released Ariana's hand from mine to hold her hand himself.

I so badly wanted to hit something. Something like the wrecked Alpha's face. Nevertheless, I didn't say or do anything due to the stupid courtiers desperate eyes trained on me and Ari. I moved aside to let Anthony and Ari in before I made my way inside the courtroom.

I took my seat on the throne beside Ariel's while Anthony stood ahead of us with Ariana beside him. The more I saw them together, the more it infuriated me so I simply focused my attention solely on Ari.

Ari's eyes met mine but she immediately averted them to stare at the tiled floor as if it's the most interesting thing on the planet. I smiled inwardly. She's so funny and cute sometimes. But I won't be able to look at her funny tactics anymore. That bought a fresh pang of pain in my heart bringing my attention back on the main topic.

Basically, Ariel is talking to the courtiers explaining them why Ari doesn't look as if she's as sick as I mentioned earlier.

"That's because Daniel is very caring. And even if a person has just got a little cold, he'll think they should be well taken care of until they're absolutely fine. So, he must have thought that Ariana should stay here until she's fit again. Right, Danny?" Ariel turned her head in my direction looking at me with a questioning look but I didn't miss the pity in her eyes which was but obvious for me.

I hate it when someone pity's me and still it's what I get in the end. People pitied me when my parents were murdered brutally. People pitied me when my actual soul mate turned out to be a black witch who had taken many innocent lives for the sake of black magic and had to be killed in the end for the safety of the people I cared--Well, it's a story for another day. People pitied me when I had to suffer the life of an unlawfully turned hybrid just because I tried to save Elina's life. People pitied me when Kiana, my second mate, rejected and betrayed me to elope with Duncan. And now again, I'm getting pity when Ari is leaving me. Pity pity pity!

For the sake of Lord, I don't need your pity! Out of all the people, Ari was the only one who didn't pity me when I told her about what Kiana did or how heartbroken I was when she left. Ari didn't pity me when she saw me suffering on the full moon. Instead, she always found a way to comfort me and not make me feel like some pity case. Ari's the only one who truly understood me....

"Danny?" Ariel's voice bought me out of my reverie making me realise that she'd asked me a question.

I cleared my throat before speaking, "Yes, I thought Ariana should rest well before leaving. Now that she's okay,-" I took a brief look at Ari's face before confirming, "-she can leave."

"What about the divo-" Anthony began only to be cut off by me harshly.

"I'm not divorcing her," I announced sternly receiving a few perplexed expressions from the courtiers.

"What the prince means is that although Alpha Anthony had accepted the truce, we still need a means to keep this agreement intact so that he doesn't back down from his words. If Anthony ever tries to break the truce, we have all the rights to get Ariana back here since she's lawfully married to Daniel. Am I clear?" Ariel confirmed in her queen authority tone leaving no room for argument.

Anthony seemed a bit taken aback and so did the courtiers. It's very rare for Ariel to use her commanding tone but I'm glad she used it anyways. No way in the hell am I divorcing Ari.

A minute of silence followed before a unison of "Yes, your highness." was heard.

I sighed in dispair wondering how fast this all ended. And now, it's already time for Ari to leave...

"We would like to take our leave now, your highness," Anthony said mentioning about him and Ari.

I didn't have it in me to tell her to leave. How could I? When all I want is for her to stay here. With me.

Ariel got the cue from my silence as she herself allowed them to go, in a rather hesitant tone, "You can leave. The court is dismissed."

As the courtiers started leaving one by one with Anthony shortly behind them, I got up from the throne and strode towards the exit while the people made way for me to go. On my way out, I stopped walking once I was in front of Anthony and Ari. I took a brief look of Ari's beautiful face, memorising her every single feature while the pain in my chest intensified. I quickly averted my eyes to Anthony when she looked back at me.

I stepped closer to Anthony and whispered in his ears, blocking my voice from the people around,

"Take good care of her. I swear, if you hurt her even once then you won't see another sunshine." My voice contained a warning which I wouldn't hesitate once to prove as I stepped back from him.

"Thank you for your advice, your highness," Anthony replied with a sardonic smile of his own before he hooked his arms with Ari and strode out without sparing another glance.

Most of the courtiers had left already and the few who were left were trusted ones who wouldn't dare interfere in my business. So, I passed an order to a few of the guards,

"Keep an eye on Anthony's every move. Also, place guards around the packhouse to ensure Ariana's safety."

With that being said, I strode towards my room in my werewolf speed. I shut the door behind me once I was in and quickly rushed towards the window. I peered down my window watching Ari getting inside the carriage after Anthony got in. I stared at her petite form until she climbed inside the carriage. Once in, She looked outside the window of the carriage and suddenly looked up, staring right at me. I was frozen on the spot. I didn't know what to do. Should I look away and pretend like I wasn't watching her? But then why should I when all I want is to look at her until she's here....

So, with the needed motivation, I stared at her while she stared back. We just kept staring each other until the carriage started moving and her face could not be seen any longer.

I stepped away from the window and leant my back against the wall beside the windowsill as I closed my eyes.

I'll miss you, Ari.

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Ariana's POV

The tears that I held back so long slid down my eyes one by one as the sight of the castle disappeared from my peripheral vision.

I don't want to leave Daniel. I don't want to go away from him. Yet, everyone is hell bent on making us apart. Why? Just why? Can't I for once be allowed to have some happiness? Why do I have to always loose the people I love? Why can't everyone let me live peacefully with the one I loved?

As I thought about my miserable life, more tears ran down my eyes like a waterfall of tears.

"Gosh! Would you stop with the crocodile tears? It's annoying the shit out of me! What's the fuss about? Do you really like that man so much?" Anthony said from beside me in an irritated tone.

I totally forgot he's in the carriage as well. And the fact itself made me cry even more.

"You won't understand," I croaked out hoarsely before turning my head away from the window to look at him. I'm angry. I'm sad. And this man is annoyed of my tears when he and Kiana are very much the reason why I'm so miserable.

"You know why? Because you're a heartless man and you just know to hurt people. You won't know how I feel right now," more tears sprang out of my eyes as I burst out at him in anger.

Anthony just looked at me in amusement and chuckled as if I had cracked the funniest joke on the planet before resting his head back on the seat as he shut his eyes. He's ignoring me, I get it. But when I looked away from him back to see the view outside the window, I heard a faint voice murmur,

"Believe me, I know better than you how it feels to loose the one you love."

My head snapped back in his direction. His eyes were still shut but for the first time since I met Anthony, I sensed a kind of sadness and despair in his voice. When Anthony's eyes fluttered open, I caught sight of immense loneliness and misery within their depths which shocked me for a moment and all of a sudden, I felt bad for him. Why? I don't know myself....

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Tell me what you think about Anthony? Or why he's seeking revenge from Daniel?

Okay, I know I said I would reveal a glimpse of Anthony's real reason behind the revenge but I didn't exactly reveal much 'cause I couldn't cover a glimpse of his past in this chapter without making it super lengthy chapter which is not very convenient to read. So, I decided I'll put up the past flashback in the next chapter.

The next chapter will be updated on Sunday:)