It's my Pappa's Birthday today :D:D

As usual, I do update on his birthday and so, Chapter 22 is dedicated to @inaraa :D

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CUSTARD APPLE:

What I knew about custard apple is that it is good for people suffering from anaemia and that it is rich in Vitamin C and is good for eye health, but did you know it's also good for the heart and better brain health? They also heal ulcers and prevent acidity.

Rich in magnesium, they lower the risk of arthritis. The vitamin A in custard apples also keeps skin youthful and delays signs of ageing. The fruit though has a good source of fibre is also dense in calories and must not be eaten excessively. The outer skin of custard apple helps combatting tooth decay and gum pain.

So go ahead, eat the custard apple with your hands and lick the pulp off your fingers :D BTW, how many of you have tried custard apple ice-cream?

____

"Everyone has secrets. It's just a matter of finding out what they are."
― Stieg Larsson,

____

CHAPTER 22 – SECRETS

Minerva winced when she finally received the list of assignments pending. She had missed college for three weeks now and if she missed further, she would have a shortage of attendance. And her parents, strict as they were, wouldn't talk and try to reason with the principal either because a college degree was very important to them.

Since her papa had no good education, he had wanted her to have one and her mom had been so desperate to get a medical degree that she had gone on to study medicine after giving birth to Minerva.

Sighing, she set her books on the table and got to work.

Occasionally, when she got any doubts, she called her friend and just after finishing another such call, her phone rang again. When she failed to recognize the number displayed on the screen, Minerva furrowed her brows but answered the call anyway.

"Am I talking to Minerva Zeke?"

For a second, she thought that it was Ash but then she realized he did not have a fake accent as this particular person did.

"Yes," she said hesitantly as her wolf perked up in curiosity.

"Great. I am Gunner Zeke." The moment the caller introduced himself, her wolf all but snarled. She hated it when others claimed themselves to be a Zeke.

Gunner Zeke. A small-time rogue, who was slowly becoming popular for his hatred against King Stanislaus. He didn't have many followers but he had committed several atrocities against those once loyal to the king.

No one knew why he was against the king. His reasons were as much a mystery as Acheron Zeke but unlike Ash, Gunner was out in the open.

He had contacted her father several times, vowing to fight beside him against King Stanislaus but each time her father had politely refused him.

She wondered why did he take the time to call her?

"I know who you are," she said leaning back in her chair as her wolf paced angrily.

"Of course, you do. I have contacted your father several times before but he has always refused my help" Gunner said calmly. "But I have heard from my sources that your father has started placing you in the forefront, letting you make decisions and I was very much hoping, you would consider accepting the hand that I had lent to your father before you."

"Why did my father not accept your help?" she asked instead. It was the same question she had asked her papa once and his reply had made her realize that all that glitters is not gold.

She was suspicious of Gunner! Why did he take the trouble in contacting her after all this time? Did he know something... about Gideon and her?

"Well, he never gave me any good reason. I just believe he did not approve of my methods" Gunner replied.

"Your methods?"

"I believe in finishing my work. Not leave them pending" Gunner responded and her wolf growled nastily inside her when she got his reference.

Half pending work— Her papa had not killed King Stanislaus. He had just cut off his hands.

If only the wolves knew why her father did that. Why just specifically the king's hands? Why let the king live? It had happened before she was born but she knew the whole story because her parents once sat her down and explained everything when she had started asking questions.

Minerva's wolf whined softly when she remembered her mom's silent tears. How she had tried to compose herself and stay strong!

It made her love and respect her parents more. That had also been the moment when she had decided to join their fight. The fight in which they had never wanted to involve her.

"Well, sadly for you, I am my father's daughter."

She cut the call and then blocked his number for good. She dropped her phone and tried to get back to her assignments but every time her gaze kept shifting to her phone.

Something wasn't right. Her wolf agreed with her on that score because she was anxious all of a sudden.

Why did Gunner call her now out of the blue? Why offer a helping hand? What was going on?

A horrible suspicion crept up her mind and Minerva raced downstairs to her papa's office and searched his laptop for Skyla Vallone's file. When she got Skyla's office number, she immediately contacted her.

"Skyla Vallone?"

"Yes. Who's this?"

"Minerva Zeke" Min replied and there was a surprised pause on the other side before Skyla asked.

"How can I help you?"

"Put me through Ash, now" Minerva directed.

Skyla growled and Minerva growled louder. "You can tell me what you want to say to him. I can pass on the message."

"No" Min responded firmly. "I need to talk to him. Now. It's urgent."

"Whatever it is—"

"Get Ash on the line right now or I swear I will barge into his island again" Minerva spat.

Skyla sighed, "Give me ten minutes," she said and cut the call.

Those ten minutes were the longest in Minerva's life and she paced the length of her bedroom repeatedly.

When she did not get Skyla's call after ten minutes, she redialled. The call went unanswered but before she could call back, her phone started ringing and she knew it was Ash when she saw the blank screen.

"I heard you wanted to talk to me," Ash said from the other end, his voice rougher than normal.

"Gunner just called me. Said he would help me in my fight against the king" Minerva said agitatedly.

"I hope you told him where he can shove up his help!" Ash responded.

"I did. But that's not the point" Min gritted out, clenching her fist, "The point is that why did he call me now. Did you let loose the information that Gideon is my mate?"

"I did not. But someone else did" Ash said and Minerva growled and cursed repeatedly in fury. "Calm down!" Ash said curtly.

"Calm down? Do you know what is going to happen to Gideon's parents if this information reaches the king's ear?" she hissed.

"I expected something of this sort. When I got the information, I knew it wouldn't be long before the king finds out about it to too" Ash said calmly and her wolf sat back, patiently waiting to hear what he had to say next. "Gideon's parents are kept under house arrest by the king."

Minerva's eyes rounded in horror and she fell on her knees as her wolf threatened to come out.

"If... If..." she couldn't even form coherent words when she repeatedly fought back her wolf.

"They are to act normal with the outside world and when you call them, they will continue to do so. It is up to you to not leak any information to the" Ash stated.

"Do you think I care about such stuff? They are held prisoners in their own house. Gideon is not here to save them because YOU kept him as a prisoner in your cell. The one thing he asked for me in return was to take care of his parents and I have failed to do that because of you" Minerva roared, shaking in rage.

Her guards came rushing up to check on her and waving them off, she slammed the door shut.

"Well, good for you, that unlike you, I had predicted something of this and that means, I am fucking prepared to handle it," Ash said curtly.

"How?"

"The king won't hurt them. If he wanted to do so, they would have been dead by now. He has kept them alive, hoping he gets some information while you contact them" Ash growled.

"Information about you?"

"Yes. The king believes Gideon and Lysander work for me" Ash drawled and Minerva ground her teeth in frustration. "You will prove him right."

"Are you out of your mind?" Minerva snapped.

"This is my game, Minerva. I make the rules" Ash intoned and Minerva tightly pursed her lips. "You will tell them that Gunner has contacted you. You will tell them that I have Gideon and that your father has joined hands with me in taking Stanislaus down."

"I will do no such thing" Minerva barked. "They will be charged with treason and executed." No. Minerva would never betray Gideon or his parents like that. Gideon's parents have only ever been nice to her and her family and she couldn't betray them like that.

"They will be charged but they won't be executed," Ash said confidently.

"And why should I believe you?" She recalled Gideon's word, asking her to trust Ash but she was still very sceptical.

"Because your mate asked you to" Ash drawled again and Minerva's palm itched because she wanted to slap him.

"You swear they won't be hurt?"

"I make promises with the intention of not keeping them," Ash said and she scowled. What kind of person was this creature? "Which is why I will not promise you anything. Gideon has decided to stay as my prisoner and in return, I will assure that his family is protected, while you, you will mess up the king."

"What kind of sick game are you playing?" Minerva demanded, absolutely confused by his plan.

"The very same kind Stanislaus had played with me for fourteen years," Ash said and Minerva furrowed her brows.

Fourteen years. What was he talking about?

She had seen Ash and she has read about him. He could not have been more than thirty and if he said the king had done something to him, then it must have started when he was just a pup.

She did not bother asking because there was no way he would share it with her.

"Fine. When should I make the call?" Minerva asked, acknowledging the risk she was taking in trusting Ash.

"The first one. Today. Just about Gunner. Nothing else" Ash instructed.

"And the next one?"

"After Gunner's death."

Stunned, Minerva blinked but the line went dead. She stared at her phone in confusion. Ash is going to kill Gunner?

Of course, she realized, rolling her eyes. Because Gunner too wanted the king dead and Ash wouldn't let anyone else kill King Stanislaus.

Neither her father nor Gunner.

•••

"How about this?"

Holding up a picture that she had drawn of what she supposed were those creatures Liberi, Cyane looked at Mr Black.

He scratched the paper with his claws and she sighed.

"I need to trim your claws. They have grown very big" she muttered as she crumpled the paper into a small ball and threw it away.

"So, what was wrong this time. Not scary enough?" she asked curiously.

Grey skin, red eyes, animal fur, Lynx like head, human legs... and yet, she still couldn't get it right.

She had been attempting to draw a picture since morning but had gotten distracted several times.

The first time, she had gone ahead and inspected all the floors of the apartment and discovered that several shady people lived on the floor below while no one lived on Xan's floor. A mother and son were living on the floor below—the same one as Grayson— and they were the only ones who seemed nice in the whole building.

She had also gone down to the street but had rushed back in when her eyes had met Viktor's dark brown eyes. That guy, who had scared her in the restaurant that first morning, was still in the street when she had inspected half-an-hour ago. To Cyane, it felt like he was keeping an eye on her. However, she could be over-thinking too.

Jayson had then invited her to his apartment the floor below and she had spent most of her afternoon there, having lunch, watching movies and just talking about everything. He had lots of questions about her people and she had filled him with some details that she thought were harmless.

He had been nervous of Mr Black but by the end of the second movie, he had finally managed to pet Mr Black's head.

Knowing that he was a student and had a lot to study, she had then returned to Xan's apartment.

Jayson had brought dinner to her again and had informed her that Xan had another fight tonight. She declined the offer to join him, knowing Xan would be even worse with his opponent today than he was the other night.

Her doubts were proven correct, when Xanthos finally returned to his apartment, late in the evening with hands that still had bloodstains on them. Cyane didn't know how long he had been staying there, watching her, but when she noticed him, she immediately stood up.

___

Xanthos stood in the doorway, surprised to see her sitting on the floor with crumpled paper balls scattered all around her.

After what she had told him this morning about Saint, Xan had believed she would leave. He knew she was safer away from him but he was too selfish to say that to her because he wanted her with him.

She was his.

The first and the only person in the world that was truly his.

All his life he had never felt he belonged anywhere but with her, he did, even when he knew he was no good for her.

He thought she would go back to Lysander or even worse to her family. He didn't know how he would have taken it and he had been avoiding coming to his apartment because he did not want to see it empty for that is what he and this apartment would be without her— Empty.

"You are here" he breathed out, relief evident in his voice and he didn't give a damn if she noticed that.

Cyane simply shrugged and smiled hesitantly. She didn't know about him, but she was relieved to see he was alright. She had missed him throughout the day. He had walked away in fury and she had been worried about him.

When their gazes locked, her heart thumped a little faster than normal.

They moved to each other at the same time and when they met halfway, his lips claimed her hungrily as he cupped the back of her head with one hand and wrapped the other one around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

Standing on her toes, Cyane ran her fingers through his hair as his wicked mouth continued to feast hers.

He had bloodstains on his hand. He had just killed someone and despite knowing all that Cyane couldn't stop herself because he made her feel a lot of things at the same time. It was wild, crazy, needy and it excited her because it was a complete contrast to the dull, monotonous feelings she had been living with for over years in the castle.

He was forbidden, scandalous and outrageous in her world and that made her want him all the more.

They barely parted a second to take a breath before he groaned and dipped his tongue into her mouth and tasted her. She learned quickly and kissed him back eagerly, just the way he was kissing her.

The hand that had been buried in her thick hair, moved lower to her thighs and he lifted her so that she could wrap her legs around him.

"What are we doing?" Cyane asked, her lips brushing his when he moved to place her on the backrest of the sofa.

"I don't know" Xanthos replied and then he was kissing her again as if this moment would never, ever come again.

"This is madness" Cyane breathed out in between the kisses when he took off his black t-shirt. Even then, she wound her arms around his waist and pulled him towards her because being in his arms felt so good.

Shoving her hair out of the way, Xanthos trailed kisses down her throat and then he buried his mouth on the mark in her neck. Cyane threw her head back and pressed her fingers onto his shoulder blade. He leaned forward and she trembled when the rock-hard bulge in pants, rubbed the tender most area of her body, which was already aching in need.

Her whole body was burning with fire that was quickly getting out of control.

Snatching a lungful of air, Xanthos looked up, arctic blue eyes fixed on Cyane's trembling frame. His own body's hunger for her shook him and with herculean effort, he restrained himself from behaving like the animal she already knew him to be.

"You were saying something?" he probed, his gaze moving to her pink, swollen mouth.

Her pupils were wide and she blinked at him in confusion. He resisted the urge to grin in triumph when he saw the dazed look in her face. She was as lost to this need as he was. She might be a fairy and not know what being mates meant— Hell, neither did he— but she could not deny this unexplainable need to be close, to touch each other.

All Xanthos wanted was to rip the scraps of silk she was wearing and have his way with her until they both exploded. He was tired of suppressing his need for her. He had wanted her from the minute he had seen her. Couldn't even look at other women because it was only her he wanted— his fiery little bird, who hadn't even blinked while breaking beer bottles on someone's head.

"I...?" Cyane did not know what she wanted to say, all she wanted was his mouth back on hers, "Kiss" she whispered and grinning, he lowered his head again to oblige with her request. When her core brushed against his bulge, when his fingers dipped on her thighs, when his tongue brushed her, she moaned and quivered in need.

He whispered something wicked and sexy against her throat, but she was too far gone to hear what he said. Her hands drifted lower on his back and brushed against the loop of his jeans.

His mouth moved upwards and when he gently bit her earlobe, she buried her nose against his neck, while at the same time, pressing herself against his throbbing erection.

Cyane winced when his phone rang.

He ignored it the first time but the caller was persistent.

Growling and muttering filthy curses, Xanthos pulled away and answered his phone. Whoever was on the other side was speaking urgently and apologizing frequently.

Deprived of the warmth of his hands, her body felt cold all over and she had to hold on to the edge of the sofa, to support herself because her legs were too weak to perform the task.

What just happened? Cyane wanted to scream because she felt incomplete somehow! Her whole body was still aching in frustration. There was still that ache in between her thighs and her nipples, she could feel the throb there too. She was on a sensual high!

Dropping to her feet, she turned away and composed herself. Was this what happened to mates? Did they only ever let their bodies talk? She had always read that communication is a key to successful relationships and she had supposed it was through words and not through bodies.

This wasn't right.

This is not how relationships happened in her world. She didn't know if she could pursue a relationship with Xanthos but she did know that she wouldn't be another Everly to him.

For him, this might be the norm but for her, it wasn't. This was all new and scary and confusing and exciting. She would look into every aspect of it and then step into it with wide eyes so that when she finally returned home to her castle, she wouldn't have any regrets and would look back at all this with a smile in her face.

Through eyes that glistened, Cyane watched when he cut the call without speaking a word and dropped his phone on the counter. She didn't know what to say next and she lowered her head shyly.

When she slowly peeked a glance at him, she found him staring at his phone with a cynical smile. There was something off about that smile. It wasn't warm like his kisses.

"What's happened?" she asked curiously.

"My SUV got burnt in the middle of the road. The wire near the engine was already cut and they suspected rats' bit them" Xanthos sighed.

"The new vehicle?" She probed getting off the couch in shock and he nodded. It was his new car and he had given it to the king's secretary for one day and this is what happens? They do this to his new car... the one he had recently purchased. How cruel to do that to a new car? Why would anyone do that?

Rats had indeed done it, but Cyane presumed it wasn't the rodent kind.

"Well, ask the king for a new one. You had given the car to him and it was his duty to make sure it was given back to you in the same condition it was lent" Cyane argued.

"It's not his fault. He wouldn't have known the rats cut off the wires" Xanthos said calmly and she frowned.

How could he be so calm? It was his new car and she did not believe it came cheap because it was big and looked expensive.

"You are just going to dismiss it?" she demanded and Xanthos nodded turning to look at the view out of the window. She presumed again that this was what he always did and so the king continued to take advantage of him. "You have it insured?" she asked and he nodded.

Well, that was a relief but she had also read that insurance company always tried to pay as less as they could and take as much as possible.

"That's good then" she sighed. "But this is not something you set aside as an accident" she added.

"It's not the king's fault!"

"Maybe not. But he was the one who asked for your SUV and it is his responsibility to give it back to you the way it was taken" Cyane argued fiercely.

"He has a lot to worry about, he doesn't need this on top of that" Xanthos muttered.

"How can you—"

"Enough!" Xanthos growled facing her and Cyane stared at him with wide eyes. "I understand why you are angry with the king but you have to see that the king and his son are different."

"I do know that" Cyane responded.

"Apart from Saint and whatever Lysander told you, do you have a valid reason to hate the king?"

Cyane did. Her aunt was killed by the king's men and that was the reason her dad and grandpa had to leave their home and start somewhere new, with different names. But that hatred was her own and she wasn't going to share it with Xanthos when she could see that he wouldn't tolerate any hate against the king.

Instead, she mutely shook her head in denial.

Xanthos stared at her for a long time, cold blue eyes impassive. Not a single muscle moved in his sculpted face.

"Leave the king to me," he said serenely and Cyane found herself nodding.

She would leave the king indeed. Lysander would take care of him. All she wanted was what was in the Iron Fort. The king would fall soon after that!

"Did you have dinner?" she asked changing the topic and he replied with a yes. "Okay then, goodnight" she muttered and turned to go to the room.

It might have gone useless— her talking some sense into him— but she refused to give up.

She had given up several things, several times before but now, her resolution in life was to never give up. She would make him see the truth of his king. She just needed to figure out how!

___

Xanthos had slept in the other room the past few days and Cyane presumed he would go there again, but to her surprise, he came into 'her' room ten minutes later.

"I... I don't think this is—"

"I am tired of sleeping on the floor" he cut her off and her shoulders slumped.

"Fine. But can you take the mattress to another room? This one's too small and I feel like the ceiling is falling on me" she frowned and he chuckled but obliged with her request.

His muscles moved like an artwork when he picked up the mattress and carried it to the other room. She followed, carrying the pillow and the sheets.

He placed it right in the centre of the room and then proceeded to take off his jeans.

Tucking her swollen lips into her mouth, she nervously licked them and watched Xanthos's naked torso. He was gorgeous and she wanted to kiss his throat and chest and abs, just the way he kissed her.

"If you keep looking at me like that, I will continue what I just stopped" Xanthos drawled lazily and Cyane felt her cheeks burn in mortification.

He had noticed. Of course, he would, when she kept openly ogled at him.

"It's not going to happen" Cyane muttered and he raised a questioning brow. "That's not how things work in my world. We talk. We communicate."

"Boring" Xanthos said and Cyane eyes flew wide in surprise.

"No. It's sensible. That's what I want too" Cyane said defensively.

"No. You don't. If you did, you would have married your fiancé" he pointed out and her lips parted company because he was right... partly.

"I left because I never knew him. If I had talked to him, gotten to know him better, than I would have been able to understand that we were not suited at all and would have called off the whole thing way before the wedding drama" she growled.

"You never spoke to him before?" Xanthos questioned curiously.

"I did... Occasionally. But there were always some people around us" she shrugged kneeling on the mattress.

"There's a thing called mobile..." Xanthos trailed off.

"I did byheart his number, but I never puckered up the courage to call him."

"You weren't attracted to him at all, were you?" Xanthos said and then he grinned. It was the first time she was seeing him smiling for real, without any mockery. It illuminated his whole face and he looked so beautiful that she felt breathless.

"How long were you engaged to him?"

At first, she didn't hear the question but when he repeated, she blinked. Stunned, Cyane shook her head before answering, "Ten years."

That startled him because he stiffened, "They arranged your wedding when you were a child?"

"It's the norm" she replied and he frowned in distaste. Families would fix an alliance but the actual wedding happened only when they become of legal age. Couples usually weren't allowed to interact until they were into their late teens.

"So, if all the weddings in your family are arranged, how did your mother end up meeting a wolf?" he asked curiously, lying on the mattress.

At the mention of her parents, a tender smile curved her mouth and Xanthos was sure she didn't even realize it. "We do not have colleges in the mountains. So, she went to coast side university and they had this café nearby. My dad was a regular there and that's how they met and fell in love. My grandma opposed it because he wasn't like us you see... so they eloped."

"To Scevola?" he questioned and she nodded leaning against the wall. "Where in Scevola?"

"I don't live in Scevola anymore. After my parents passed away, I went to live with my grandmamma. However, Poppy still lives there but I don't know what's the place called" Cyane replied earnestly.

"Your grandparents live separately?"

"Oh no! They are one of each. Grandmamma is my mom's mom and Poppy is my dad's dad."

"When did your parents pass away?"

"When I was eight." She compressed her lips, but she couldn't hold herself back anymore. "They were killed" she whispered the last bit and as her lips quivered, a drop of tear fell to her cheeks. Xanthos stiffened and his face was once again a stoic mask.

"That's why I am not going back home. My grandparents lied to me. Told me they died in a plane crash" Cyane harshly wiped away her tears. "It was my grandpa who helped me escape from the wedding. I was supposed to stay in his place until things calmed down at home but the next day, I found out all the lies they had told to me and so, I ran from there" she sniffed.

"Who killed them?" Xanthos asked with a growl.

"I don't know," Cyane said because she had no concrete proof as of now. Sniffing, she changed the topic again, "Where were you born?"

"Scevola" he answered and she smiled because it was probably the only thing they had in common.

"I know you were adopted. Did you know anything about your real parents?"

There was a long pause, before he said, "No. I don't know who my parents are."

"You must be curious?" she pressed, leaning forward and he shook his head. "You told me about your adopted father, what about your adopted mother?"

Xanthos scoffed with a smile that wasn't even real, "If she was sober, she was nice but she was rarely sober. She had run away from her home to be with him. When he began abusing her, she couldn't go back and so found solace in drugs and alcohol. Sometimes, if they were desperate for their next fix, he would make her work as a prostitute."

A cold shiver ran down the length of her spine and her heart went out for the Xanthos who had to witness all this when he was just a little boy.

"I am sorry you had to go through all that" Cyane whispered. She wanted to touch him, but she knew he wouldn't like it. "No one helped you?"

"Those who tried, failed" he muttered and proceeded to direct his gaze on her, "There's nothing good in my past and so, I don't like talking about it repeatedly. This is the first and the last" he finished and Cyane nodded because she understood. All of his past might have skewered his view of the world until he was rescued by his hero.

She supposed, she should be grateful for the king for rescuing him because if it weren't for him, Xanthos and his friends would have had suffered even more in that prison.

She was about to ask him some more about his mother, but he spoke first.

"How many languages do you speak?" he asked out of blue.

"Five. I grew up bilingual with English and Greek at home" Cyane confided truthfully. "Norwegian is our native language and I learnt Italian because Gian was an Italian."

"Who?"

"Gianluca. My ex-fiancé"

"Ah! The loser" he drawled and she scowled at him, "What's the fifth language?"

"Russian," she said as her scowl faded away and Xanthos raised his eyebrows, visibly surprised.

"Why Russian?"

"My maternal grandfather was Russian Prince, Levka Demidov." Cyane smiled fondly as she remembered her very fair, very handsome, blue-eyed granddad.

"Prince?" Xanthos furrowed his brows.

Oh no! He wasn't aware that she was from a royal family.

"Yes. He was to be the king."

"But he didn't?"

"No. He had to give it up to marry my grandmamma. When grandmamma opposed my parent's wedding, she was being a hypocrite because she married for love. Granddad was already engaged to someone else when they met and grandmamma's alliance was to be fixed with his younger brother. However, when he fell in love with grandmamma, he broke off his engagement and then gave up his throne to his younger brother, so that he could come to Lycoris and marry grandmamma."

"Did they not accept a commoner bride?" Xanthos enquired and Cyane flushed.

Oh! The Demidov Clan had been very happy to fix an alliance with the Sylvan queen, but the problem was that Ianthe couldn't give up her throne to move to Russia and hence, Levka had made the tough choice to be with the woman he loved.

And he did, he had adored his wife until the day he died.

It was an idyllic love story and when she had been young, Cyane had wanted her own love story to be so romantic too, but mercifully, in the past few years, she had grown out of that phase!

"Something like that" Cyane muttered carelessly as she began lying on the mattress beside him.

She had just closed her eyes when he asked, "How did you meet Lysander?"

Cyane stiffened. She knew had to be careful in answering this without giving away much information. "He found me, unconscious in the middle of the woods."

"Unconscious?"

"Yes. When I use a lot of energy, I get tired and—" she shrugged hoping he would get the drift.

When he waited for her to continue, Cyane rolled her eyes and sat up again. "I take it from my surroundings. If the energy around is positive it works the way I want it to but if it's negative, then it destroys things around me."

"The room..." He trailed off and she nodded. She had been upset with the Everly incident and hence, she had been unable to control herself. But when she had pushed back his jeep earlier today, she had been fully in control.

"Show it to me," he said all of a sudden and she furrowed her brows.

"Show what?"

"Your wings" he responded and Cyane inhaled sharply. His arctic blue eyes were affixed on her and tucking her lips into her mouth, she turned so that her back was to him.

The last person she had shown her wings were to Yolanda and it hadn't made her heartbeat this fast. She was nervous, Cyane realized in dismay when she brushed her hair away with hands that shook.

Gulping, she crossed her arms and then holding the hem of her top, she pulled it up and then over her head but held it close to her chest so that it covered her breasts.

Behind her, she heard Xanthos groaning and exhaling through her mouth, Cyane closed her eyes and let her wings unfold itself from her shoulder blades, slitting her skin and then healing immediately.

Xanthos watched in fascination because it was wider and larger than he had expected. Her wings were bird-like but they were a translucent violet, like her eyes.

Slowly, he raised his hand and lightly ran his fingers on the edge. He was surprised when he felt the heat from that single touch and he stared at his fingertips for a second before once again running his hands on a translucent feather vane.

It was pristine. It was ethereal. Like her. It was a part of her and he immensely liked it because he liked everything that was her.

The tips of his fingers gently ran over the rachis of the radiant purple feather and the glow brightened in that area, almost an electric purple shade.

His eyes flickered to the pale skin in between her shoulder blades and as his eyes darkened, his wolf snarled.

Mine.

He wanted to run his tongue down the length of her spine and Xanthos had to dig his fangs into his mouth to resist the urge.

She was untouched. From what she had shared and her reaction to Everly, he had figured that out. Which was why he knew he had to resist this urge of his too. He couldn't let his wolf control him.

Cyane will come to him on her own free will and when she does, he knew he would never let her go. Until then, he would practise being patient! But Xanthos had realized that this time, it was more difficult than normal.

She brought out a protective, animalistic side in him and day after day, he was finding it difficult to retain his stoic mask. He had to control it though because it was the only choice he had.

Cyane inhaled sharply when she felt the first touch and slowly turned to look at him through her shoulders. Their eyes met and she felt her body tremble.

"They are beautiful... just like you."

It was the first-ever compliment he had given her and her eyes widened when she heard it. Her pale skin turned the colour of a ripe tomato and ducking her head, she looked away to hide her smile.

When he lowered his hand, she retracted her wings into her back and then quickly pulled back her top over her head. Her cheeks were still burning when she turned to face him.

"They are warm," Xanthos said, rubbing the pads of his fingers with his thumb, where he could still feel the heat.

"Um... yeah! The body heat" Cyane responded with a hesitant smile.

"Thank you for showing me," Xanthos said, looking her in the eye to show his sincerity and as a reply, she flashed him a genuine smile that lit up the whole room.

She mattered to him. She mattered more than anything else in the world and he would burn down the whole world to have her because she was his. Only his!

A meowing sound broke the moment and Cyane's eyes brightened when she saw Mr Black entering the room. Mr Black stopped when he noticed Xanthos beside her, who in turn growled in distaste at the creature.

"He always sleeps in my room," Cyane said fondly as she extended her arms towards the cat. Mr Black had gone out for a while but he was back now and she was happy to have him close to her.

Xanthos got off the floor in one swift movement. He pushed the door close so that Mr Black slid backwards on the floor and once the cat was truly out of the room, he shut the bedroom door and unnecessarily locked it before switching off the lights.

Cyane stared at him with dropped jaws.

"I hate cats" Xanthos gritted out.

"He can turn into a dog then" she offered.

"I hate fur."

"You have fur" she cried. Choosing to ignore her outrage, Xanthos lied on the mattress.

Jutting her lower lip out, Cyane stared at the closed door. Xanthos did not like Mr Black. Well, what did she expect?

Huffing, she fell back on the mattress with a scowl in her face. Everything in the dark was visible in the room because of the street lights that entered the room through the windows that had no curtains or blinds covering them.

She turned her head to look at Xanthos, who had his eyes closed but she knew he wasn't asleep.

"I am very angry with you" she muttered, just so he could know that Mr Black was important to her and she wouldn't let him treat her friend like that.

"I can change that" he sighed without opening his eyes.

"How?" she demanded bossily.

"By revealing your secret" he replied.

"And that is?"

"You have never worn a bra."

Cyane gasped and her eyes rounded in shock, as she felt her cheeks flame in mortification. She quickly turned sideways and presented him with her back. When she heard his low chuckle, she cringed and covered her face with her hand.

Well, he did say he was going to change her mood.

•••

King Stanislaus was reading the latest progress report of his younger son Sage Winthrop, sent to him from the asylum when the door to his office was knocked. He quickly closed the file, kept it inside the drawer and locked it for good measure before asking his secretary to come in.

Oliver walked in, a nervous look in his face.

"I have got some news Sire and it is not good" Oliver began grimly.

One corner of the king's mouth curved upwards when he said, "You never brought me any good news Oliver, so you need not worry now."

Sighing, Oliver said, "Gunner had extended his help to Minerva Zeke."

"Ah! Seems like all my enemies are joining hands together. That is indeed bad news" Stanislaus leaned back in his seat, with compressed lips.

"But she has rejected his help."

That surprised Stanislaus and he sat upright with a frown, "Did she now?"

"Yes," Oliver muttered. "But I do have another good news" Oliver continued hastily, "Minerva has finally made contact with Gideon's parents and we have the first proof that Gideon was betraying the throne for her."

"Did she mention Ash in the conversation?"

"No."

"Then that isn't enough" Stanislaus snapped at his secretary. "Anyone can claim that the message has been edited. I need that girl to give me some information about Ash. Until then, we cannot formally arrest Joshua and his wife. If people come to know they are mates, then they will have the people's support, do you understand me?"

"Ye-yes" Oliver stuttered.

"Your father was my secretary before you and he was damn good at his job. He had made sure no one believe Lysander when he had claimed Yolanda was his mate and now, I expect you to do the same. Gideon is betraying the throne by working with Ash. That's all that must reach the public ears. Not the little fact that he is doing it for his mate, Minerva Zeke. Do you understand?" Stanislaus demanded and Oliver nodded.

"If that girl has rejected Gunner's help, it's only because she is confident of some other help. For now, we will do nothing other than wait for her to call Gideon's parents again. Tell our men, to stay put where they are and collect as much evidence as possible. When I execute Joshua and his wife, I want the people to cheer for me" King Stanislaus proclaimed his eyes growing dark as he leaned forward in his seat.

"Understood Sire" Oliver bowed his head in respect.

There was another knock on the door and a minute later, the head nurse who was assigned to take care of Crown Prince Saint Winthrop stepped into the office, her face pink in distress.

"What is it? Is my son okay?" Stanislaus immediately stood up.

"Yes, Sire... but the Crown Prince is refusing to have his food. He needs to have his food to get more energy so that his wolf can self-heal" Nurse Palmer said fidgeting with her fingers.

"Why is he refusing to have his food? Didn't the chef prepare whatever he asked for?" Stanislaus frowned, his anger at the palace chef.

"Yes. The chef did prepare all his favourites as instructed by the queen, but the Prince is refusing to have any of it. When the queen went to talk to him, he threw away the food."

"Was the food that bad?" Stanislaus growled.

"No Sire. It wasn't the food. The Prince says he won't eat any food until he gets the girl" Palmer whispered lowering her head.

Rolling his prosthetic fingers to form a fist, Stanislaus compressed his lips to suppress his fury.

That girl.

That one girl has messed up with his son's head and he was furious at the girl, whoever she was, wherever she was.

Without uttering another word, he stormed out of his office with Oliver and Nurse Palmer trailing behind him.

"Get out of my room. I want to be left alone."

He could hear Saint yelling from a distance. The queen tried to calm him down but growling nastily, Saint threw something and then he heard a shattering noise.

"He is very distressed" Nurse Palmer muttered hastily.

There was a small crowd in front of Saint's bedroom but when they saw King Stanislaus approaching, everyone scattered away making way for the king to walk into his son's bedroom.

"Father" Crown Prince Saint, who was about to throw a chair against the window glass, lowered his hand and then looked at his father with hopeful eyes.

Impeccably clad in a pristine suit without any creases, King Stanislaus stared at his shirtless son with a frown in his face. To him, Saint was a picture of perfect misery, with unbrushed hair, unshaven stubble and sad green eyes.

"Oliver. I want a few moments alone with my son" Stanislaus stated, turning his head to look at Oliver.

Oliver stared back and then bowed his head respectfully. He knew the king didn't want anyone outside the palace knowing that Saint has woken up and he would respect his king's wishes.

Directing everyone to get out of the bedroom and then promptly stepping out, Oliver closed the bedroom door giving privacy to the king, queen and the prince.

Once Stanislaus was sure everyone was out of earshot, he turned to face his son, "The nurse told me you have refused to eat your food."

"I did. I don't want it" Saint said firmly.

"Why not? You need to eat my son; you need to be completely healed because this weekend, you are going to be crowned as the new King of our kingdom" the king stated with a kind smile.

It was a perfect time because delaying it further would mean letting his enemies get the upper hand. His enemies did not yet know that Saint has woken up and he needed to make sure, it stays that way until this weekend.

They might be rejoicing in joy, thinking they have one less hurdle but Stanislaus would make it difficult for them by crowning Saint and declaring him the new king. Once Saint was crowned, he would then have Xanthos eliminate all his enemies, one after the other.

Queen Marcella's eyes lit up and she grinned widely as her wolf howled happily.

"You have made me a very happy woman today, Sire" Marcella proclaimed and the king nodded at her. "Oh! I am so happy for you, love" Marcella gushed as she rushed to cup Saint's face and kiss his forehead.

Saint, who had been stunned to hear that, stared at his father in disbelief. When he felt his mother's slim hands around his waist, he immediately pulled away with a growl.

Ignoring the confused look in his mother's face, he glared at his father.

"No," Saint said firmly and the queen furrowed her brows.

"What do you mean, no?" Stanislaus questioned slowly, carefully.

"A king is nothing without his queen and I refuse to sit on that throne without my queen beside me" Saint responded with a growl.

Queen Marcella gasped in shock, while the king gritted his teeth as his cat green eyes, turned dark.

"You told me you will find the girl for me and it has been two days, yet your worthless men have come up with nothing" Saint accused his father, while his wolf snarled inside him. "I won't be swayed with money or new cars, this time. I don't care what happens to the kingdom or your precious people. I want her. I want that girl and you have to find her father. Until then I refuse to be crowned as the—"

Saint's rant was stopped mid-sentence when a prosthetic hand flew up to give him a resounding slap across one cheek. The sound of which echoed around the room.

Horrified, Queen Marcella covered her mouth with her hands and stared at her husband, as tears welled up in her eyes. Equally appalled, Saint raised an unsteady hand to his cheek and looked at the king who was shaking in fury, green eyes now, completely dark as the night sky.

There was complete silence in the room and it was only broken by King Stanislaus when he pointed a finger at his son and hissed, "I have let you get away with many things but not with this. When I say you will be crowned as the king this weekend, then it means you will be crowned. There is no room for argument on that score and none of your tantrums will be entertained."

Lowering his hand, the king took a step back and stood ramrod straight to loom over his son, "Two families led the rebellion against the Zeke royal family that finally overthrew them from the Imperium Throne. Winthrop and Ronning. But no one talks about Ronning because they are all dead. Your great-grandfather made sure of that. But he had spared the Zeke's out of pity because he thought exile was punishment enough for them. My father, your grandfather, disagreed with it and he wanted to make sure that the Zeke bloodline was completely wiped out. He killed Xander Zeke's pregnant mate and in return, Xander killed my parents in front of me. I was too young to stop it but I vowed revenge on the last Zeke left alive. What my father did not know was that Xander had a younger brother, Bastian Zeke. Because we were unaware of that one little fact, we were too late in stopping Bastian from opening his account. I wasn't aware of Bastian's son until the bastard came into my territory to attack me."

"Lysander Zeke" Saint whispered and Stanislaus nodded.

"He seduced my daughter and turned her against me. The Zeke's are the true enemies of the Winthrop family because they are the only ones who have a claim on the Imperium Throne. For decades we have been in war. I lost my parents to the Zeke. I lost my firstborn to the Zeke's but I will not lose more. As an heir of the Winthrop family, you must honour the sacrifices of your ancestor. You have to become the king and rule these people" Stanislaus proclaimed.

Lowering his head, Saint knelt on the ground. "I understand, father. I apologize for disappointing you."

Wiping her tears, the queen smiled, pleased that Saint understood the importance of his position.

Stanislaus stepped forward and placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "Stand up, my son," he said and Saint stood up, his back ramrod straight.

"You have an opportunity to set things straight. Through Lysander, the Zeke line is still in existence and it can continue but you have an opportunity to completely wipe out the Zeke bloodline."

"And I will. I will kill Lysander and his daughter. I will get my sister back home" Saint vowed, clenching his hands to form a fist.

Marcella growled and one corner of Stanislaus's mouth tilted upwards as he looked at his young wife. He had been aware that Marcella had always been jealous of his daughter, Yolanda.

"Your sister is too far gone to come back home and even if she does, I refuse to accept her back" Stanislaus stated firmly and Marcella's eyes gleamed in satisfaction after hearing the news.

"Do you want me to kill Yolanda too then?" Saint asked.

"You will not kill Lysander and his family" Stanislaus shook his head, "Xanthos will kill them."

"Father, I am better than the Hound. Give me this chance to prove to you—"

"Saint, my boy" King Stanislaus rushed forward to pull his son into a hug. Wrapping an arm around Saint's shoulder, he hugged him close before whispering next to his ears. "I know how eager you are but it won't be you. Your duty at the moment is to become the new king. Only then, my revenge on the Zeke's will be completed."

"That's right!" The queen agreed with a cunning smile while Saint stared at his parents in confusion. "When Yolanda left this palace for good, she challenged me but when you are crowned as the new king, I will make her eat her own words."

"What challenge did Yolanda make? What are you guys hiding?" Saint asked from his parents.

The king and the queen shared a secret grin before looking at Saint, "Once you are crowned, I will let you in on this family's biggest secret. Not just that, I promise I will also get you the girl you want as your queen."

****

What do you think is the royal family's biggest secret? Xan's nonchalant behaviour? Do let me know :D

Next update somewhere in between 14th or 15th or 16th... It will be on Deepavali for sure :D

Do not forget to vote and comment :D

Also, please take care of yourself. Wear a mask and regularly wash hands!

Love :-*