My Omega Queen
Chapter 12: His Dark Pas

POV: Emily

Grace approached our table, greeted the Alpha King and asked me:

“Are you done eating? Let’s go for a walk.”

She was close enough for me to notice her mark. I must have stared at it for too long because she faked a back scratch to cover it, her face getting redder and redder by the second. I didn’t want to make her feel awkward any longer so I got up from my chair and hugged her. She hugged me back.

“Let’s go.” I tell her in a whisper. I turn around to grab a slice of bread on-the-go and we exit the canteen. Edward was mind-linking someone because his eyes went black completely, so I chose to go ahead without disturbing him. After all, I’m sure he heard what was going on.

“So… how have you been, Emily? Some weird stuff happened lately!” says Grace, after we put some distance between us and the canteen. Based on the general direction she’s taking, I assume we’re going to the pack lake, which is supposed to be a quiet and relaxing place to let out your wolf.

“Yea… To be honest, I’m very tired, both physically and mentally. After the whole “Kyle thing”, I feel like danger can be found anywhere and … in anyone. Being on a constant lookout is exhausting.”

“Wait, what Kyle thing?” she says, very confused.

Oh, shoot. I forgot I hadn’t told Grace and Alice about me being mated to Kyle. By instinct, my hand covers my mouth and my eyes stray from hers. However, no adequate lie comes to my mind in due time, so I decide to tell her everything. Ultimately, she’s the only one I can fully trust with my life here.

After listening attentively to my story, we finally arrive at the lake and she sits on a huge rock and exclaims: “For real?! Oh, that explains so much!” Grace is processing my story out loud, sharing every thought with the nature: “The disappearance, the clothes, the weird patrols in the community center… everything makes sense now. How could I not see it! I’m such an awful friend!”

I nod at her every word while taking in the beautiful scenery and the silence around us. I suspect it is mostly owed to the dinner time, but it could also be the area that is just so vast and full of gorgeous spots. The sun has almost fully set by now, and the moon light is reflected in the lake.

Grace’s face has displayed a rollercoaster of feelings, ranging from sadness to rage, to pity and regret. Eventually, her wheel of emotions has stopped and she looked me in the eye, with a very determined expression.

“Emily, as a friend, I’m very sorry I couldn’t be there when you needed me the most. I had all the signs available to me and still couldn’t realize what was going on. For that, I apologize.” Her words almost brought tears in my eyes, but she wasn’t swayed by it and went on: “I can make up for it. The least I can do is help you get out of here.”

I hadn’t expected this and my face definitely revealed that.

“Get out? … How? … More importantly, why?”

Grace’s eyebrows came together in a worry: “What do you mean why? You don’t know?”

“Know what?” Accalia was also perking up her ears at this point.

Grace leans in closer to me and says in a low voice: “The Alpha King killed his own father in cold b***d to get where he is now. It is believed that Edward used wolfsbane to weaken the Late King’s wolf and then pierced his heart with a silver knife during a moment of carelessness. What kind of child does that to his parent, Emily? He’s definitely not sane. You have to escape his madness before something happens to you. Please tell me the mate bond hasn’t taken your ability to see things clearly.”

“I knew about the p*tricide, but not the details of it… This sounds really bad. How could I have overlooked such an important fact?” I asked, mostly for myself and Accalia, while holding my head between my hands.

“We have to act quickly, before the mate bond strengthens your feelings for him or worse… he marks you.”

My mind is a mess. I was actually beginning to think he was pretty nice. It must have been the mate bond doing the work for me, I guess. But what should I do? Last time I tried to escape it didn’t work out so well. Even more so, it was a familiar territory. This is the renowned impenetrable werewolves fortress, secured by wolves that do not know my smell.

Accalia, being a witness to my whirlwind of thoughts, exhales slowly once and shakes her body, together with my insecurities.

“Emily.” she says using her serene, relaxing voice that is so familiar to me. “Edward has done nothing to make us believe he is as mad as rumored. He has been kind and patient with us, and those around us.”

Accalia’s voice echoes in my mind and dissipates all my anxieties. Her words make me think for a bit. “You’re not taking into consideration his burst of jealousy on the way here?”

“The madness and the jealousy of a freshly mated, young Alpha King are two very different things.”

“Y-you’re right… Trying to run away is an overreaction, he didn’t prove to be any danger for us at the moment. Let’s be… more attentive at him for now.”

Accalia nods and lies down again.

With a straight face, I look in Grace’s eyes and reassure her: “Grace, I can’t run away with a clean conscience. It would really hurt Accalia to give up on our second mate just because of a rumor or whatever this is.”

Grace bites her lower l*p and her face betrays a speck of pity but she brushes it off with her hand, quickly getting up and looking away. With her back turned towards me, she mumbles softly: “Ok, I’ll support your decision. I’ll be here whenever you need me this time.” I thought she was on the verge of crying so I hugged her tightly. It feels nice having somebody by your side.

By the time we finished the conversation, it had gotten really dark. We both headed towards our homes.

When I got to the mansion, I opened the door slowly, not to disturb any potential sleeping people. However, Edward’s voice shouting could be heard from the office so I doubted anyone was asleep. I knew where my room was supposed to be since Amanda showed it to me earlier today, but navigating through the dark and trying not to attract unwanted attention was still going to be a difficult task. I started tip-toeing when the office door burst open, leaving a trace of light on the floor and revealing a disturbed Edward. He was lightly panting. The moment his eyes found mine, he leapt into a hug so tight that I had to push him away to breathe.

“Where WERE you?!” he says, in a breath, so close to my ears that it hurts.

“Remember, I went on a walk with Grace.”

“For 3 whole hours?! I thought you… uhm, wanted to go backpacking again. Everyone is on the lookout for you!”

“Uhm… I didn’t know I had a curfew?”

“You don’t. It’s just… it’s really hard on me not knowing where you are. It’s making both me and Arthur extremely anxious. We don’t want to limit your freedom, but we want to know you’re safe at all times, too. This balance is hard for us to find. If only we had… ” He lets me go from the hug and stares at me for a bit, his eyes landing on the spot where my neck meets my shoulder, turning a darker color.

“Oh-oh” I think and I cover my neck, taking a step back. I use my thumb to point towards my back: “I am really sorry for making both of you worry. I am going to… uhm, head to sleep now.” I take another step back when my leg hits the bottom of the stairs, making me lose balance. In the process of protecting my fall using my hands, my neck is left exposed. I hear the familiar noise of bones breaking, but much, much faster than I experienced and the next thing I see is a completely black, immense wolf. His eyes are dark and betray wisdom. Arthur looks extremely intently at me, as if trying to reach my soul… and howls. I can feel Accalia trying to answer his call, making it really difficult to not shift. I was about to give in when a shadow came out the open office door and slammed into Arthur’s side.

A hand suddenly touched my shoulder, making me growl unintentionally. It was Amanda. She ushered me to follow her:

“Come, Emily. We cannot let him mark you before the ceremony.” I look back and I see Arthur growling menacingly towards what I assumed to be Michael’s dark grey wolf.

“Don’t worry, Arthur won’t hurt his Beta… too badly.” Amanda tries to reassure me. I get up and follow her, despite the glass breaking sounds and yelps from behind us.

Eventually we reached my room and the noises died down. Amanda left me with instructions to keep the door closed for awhile and she went to check things out downstairs.

It felt like an eternity passed. I sat in my queen-sized bed facing the door, staring at it, waiting for an update. I heard steps. Getting closer. They stopped in front of my room.

“Emily.” Edward’s voice calmly says. “I’m sorry for losing control.” he paused. “I wish you a good night.” and he continued his way towards his room, which was next to mine, but still pretty far considering the dimensions of these rooms.

I could barely fall asleep. Mostly because a part of me actually wanted him to mark us. And that scares me.