Knife to heart

Ariana's pov

I had just taken my bath after spending hours on the bed. I have been in the bedroom since morning so I thought about taking a walk in the garden.

The hallway was empty which was quite unusual but that didn't stop me in my tracks till I got to the living room. I noticed how busy the maids were and that made me wonder what was happening.

Luckily for me, I saw Cayden nearby so I was going to clear my doubts with him. “ Good evening,” I greeted with a smile.

He paused in his stroll and bowed slowly, “ Good evening Luna, do you need anything?” He asked.

I shook my head before I proceeded with my question, “ What is going on in the palace? Why is everywhere congested, I mean… Why is everyone busy?” I questioned, shifting my gaze around the busy maids.

He cleared his throat and adjusted his hair,” Actually… let's leave that aside for now, these are the rules that Alpha Alan said I should give you,” he brought up and handed a plain sheet to me.

“ I was just coming to you to give you this,” he added, trying to avoid my previous question.

I snatched the sheet off his hand and repeated my question, “ What is about to happen in the palace and why is it hidden from me?” I whined, keeping my voice as calm as possible so that it won't be as if I am throwing tantrums.

“ The thing is… Alpha Alan is taking in a royal concubine in the next few days,” he finally answered and left my front before I could complain.

Anger rushed through my veins not because I loved him but because I felt disrespected. With anger, I Sat on an empty couch to read the sheet that was given to me.

As I was reading through it, my head was feeling heavier because all the rules were ridiculous, “ I mean… Who warns their mate against visiting them in their offices and study,” I lamented and flung the paper away.

I furiously stood up and matched back upstairs, heading to the direction of his office.

I badged into his office, no one was inside.

I slammed the door shut and proceeded to his study

Just like I did before, I didn't knock before I entered, “ what do you think you are doing?” His cold voice welcomed me, sending shivers down my spine.

I didn't give him an answer, rather I went ahead with my accusations,” a royal concubine?, really?”

He smirked and responded, “ it's customary and I don't think I owe you an explanation for doing that,” he answered, shuffling through the row of books on the shelf.

“ I know it's customary but it's not compulsory, moreover we just got married.” I retorted back.

He shrugged and refused to reply to me which added to my anger, “ don't I deserve a response? Or haven't you no shame?”

My sentence triggered him and he angrily snarled at me. His fangs have elongated and his eye color has changed to Amber.

Unknown fear crept to my heart, making me shift backward.

My reaction must have bothered him he returned back to his normal self.

“ Maybe if my Luna can shift, I wouldn't have considered taking in a royal concubine,” he mocked with his tone full of spite.

My leg shook where I stood and I stared at him with my lips slightly ajar, I began to stutter but no words came out of my mouth.

“ You know, I actually had a good impression about you until you decided to trick me,” he started, looking very confident as he spoke. At this point, I was no longer focused on what he was saying, rather all my thoughts were on how he knew this secret.

I mean… I only told one person.

I was still in shock of his first statement when he dropped another one, “ I would have forgiven you for deceiving all the members of the pack but what about your scar that you covered up?”

This time around, I was So shocked that I fell to my knees. My hands subconsciously went to my face, trying to check whether my concealer had washed off.

He continued to ridicule me and spill out all my secrets. I couldn't control my emotions so I screamed out loudly.

“ Stoppp!” I screamed, my voice became shaky and I began to tear up.

“ What if I can't shift? Did I bring up this marriage? You should blame your father for it or you can choose to blame the moon goddess for making me miserable,” I ranted,trying to make sense of how he knew.

His face changed at my outburst of emotion but it changed So fast that I almost thought I was hallucinating.

tears streamed down my face,I got up and was making my way to leave his study,I couldn’t be hear.

“ You know…” Alan started, making me pause in my stride.

“ I wouldn't have minded if you told me from the beginning. Also, I wouldn't have mentioned what I learnt if you didn't trigger me,” He said ,more like he was explaining himself.

So what was I supposed to do? The damage has been done anyway.

I took a long stare at him before I made my way to the door but before I could open the door knob, I felt a movement on it which caused me to stop.

The door opened and the figure I least expected entered, beaming with a smile.

“ I heard you have been very busy after our brunch so I brought you this snack,” the person said, oblivious to my presence in the room.

I didn't want to believe what was happening but here it is, my best friend acting all coy around my mate.

“ Toria,” I called out in shock.

She turned around and was shocked to see me present in the room as well.

Gult flashed across her eye and she was about to talk when Alan grabbed her waist and jerked her towards him.

“ I know you need no former introduction but Ariana, meet my royal concubine to be. Toria,”

“ What?” I can't believe he wants to get mated to my best friend.