Bounded

05

Chapter Five

Why did you bring your boyfriend?

-

Third Person’s Point of View

“Johnny, can you promise me one thing?”

The Royal Beta blinked at her, and Somi struggled to keep her composure before the man. While she knew that Johnny is the one person who truly fitted the role of being her brother’s second in command, she often would see him so hard to deal with. Of course, it was not his job to tend to whatever Somi wanted—but being a tad kind wouldn’t hurt him.

Atleast she hopes that it doesn’t.

“I just have a small request,” Somi found herself changing her own words, as if being burned by the eyes that gazed over him. If they were standing outside, she would already have fidgeted away from him.

To have her standing so close to a man who was designed to kill was already props to her enough. Johnny looked—and dressed to his personality. Somi could see how he had prepared himself for the worse. Several knights were attending the party, so she knew that it would be impossible for her to be in trouble. From what it is worth, she reckons that Johnny could probably be the cause of the said trouble.

Johnny fixed his posture, facing only her. “A request?”

“Yes,” she replied, almost immediately—as if she is beneath his rank. While Somi knew that she could order him whatever she wanted, a part of her always seemed hesitant to do so. Dominance is most often found in Alphas, and rarely do betas shown theirs.

She knew that Johnny wasn’t sizing her up, or even trying to scare anyone. Johnny had always been one of the few people that is hard to talk to—at least, for her. Somi never saw anyone struggle in keeping a conversation with Johnny. She’s the only exception in that matter.

That’s why she knew that her brother was already setting her to fail when he assigned him as her guard.

“At your request, Your Highness,” Johnny answered, his tone dead and clearly making her aware how tedious his sudden assignment was. As a Royal Beta, it was not his job to do anything outside the castle grounds.

“Please don’t be a party pooper,” she muttered.

He frowned, looking at the woman with a piercing stare. Somi tried to claw her beast inside, not wanting to take a step back because of this. “Rest assured that I will not react in such a thing, Princess. I am here to guard you, and unless cetain actions were done against you—I will be away from your sight.”

Somi flinched at those eyes.

There was some soft gash of pain in his words, something that was always weird to her. Somi might be a baby to her family, but never did she seemed to react this strongly to anyone else. She wasn’t aware why she was bothered that Johnny was treating her in such a manner.

Johnny wasn’t disrespecting her, he was informing her of his job. He might look scary, but nothing in his job description mentioned that he needed to look a certain way. Maybe what irked her the most is how he would often address her. Most people who works close with her brother would call her in her name, but Johnny—of all people—chose to use her title. He was keen on using her title to say her name would burn his tongue.

The man had always acted harshly on her, and lately, it was starting to burden her.

She bites out the words as she replies. “Then what are you going to do at the party?”

“I am said to watch your every move, glare at any people who dare offer you a drink and kill someone if necessary,” Johnny replied in a professional tone.

Somi only slammed her forehead, hearing such words escape from his mouth. She did not need to ask who had told him to act in such a way knowing it was her brother. As much as she hated being babied in such a place, it was not bad having Johnny by her side​​—even if he was forced into it.

She was not sure why he had only opened up to her brother, but it did give her some hard time dealing with the closed door that’s always slammed at her face. Since they were young, the man had always been strict and compliant with the rules. He is uptight, clearly opposed to Somi, a bright kid, and nothing but oblivious to those who wanted her dead.

She was never aware why the man had always been very hard on her, always giving her something to frown about. The man never wanted to be close to her. It had only talked to her or gotten close to her when Clayton would tell him to watch her.

Is she that stupid that he was scared of catching her case?

“Please do not attempt to even scare my new friend away.” She reminded him with a frown.

It had been common knowledge that people were terrified to befriend Somi due to the antics of the Royal Beta. While Johnny does not seem scary in nature, his presence is enough to have anyone running. She often suspects that the man would release threatening pheromones whenever he wanted to—with her still under the age of 18, she couldn’t even sensed it.

Somi never really knew what Johnny does to any of them, but she was sure that none of them wanted to do anything to her after one day of meeting the Royal Beta. One single glance from the man, and they all run away from him as if he was a plague.

As if unaware that he was why she didn’t have friends, Johnny replied. “I cannot control how my face looks when I am working. If she gets scared at my face, then that’s her problem.”

“They aren’t scared at your face,” Somi muttered. “Why are you working here, anyway? Hardly any problem came from this part of town. There will be knights present in this place, so I doubt that anyone could touch me here.”

“How do you know that, Princess? Have you ever been in one? Are you aware that not all knights can defend someone else when they are intoxicated?”

Somi frowned at the tone of his words, taking some jab at his words. It was true that she had never been in one, as her brother feared that she was too susceptible to wake up being abused by others who wanted to take her title for granted. There was hardly any part of her life that involved her with the outside world.

Until meeting Fate, she would often see herself as a subject of superiority to others. She didn’t want people to become so formal when she would attend any gathering, that is why she would choose to decline any invitations given to her. Somi was only introduced in formal situations—which of course, does not help her social skills.

She only crossed her arms, fighting the urge to pout. “No, I have not. You do not have to rub it in.”

“Then, I guess that you do not know for sure.” He replied.

Johnny did not know how to mince his words, so he could not help but hurt the woman without being aware of it. Everyone in the pack was used to it, so he never bothered to fix his attitude. After all, it was a prime necessity in his field of work. He is highly focused on his job. If he ever lost sight of Somi and ended up gathering some unwanted attention to the sister of the King—he did not know how the King would react to that.

“Fate! I finally have someone to talk to!”

Johnny frowned. “You were talking to me.”

“I finally have someone nice that I can talk to!” Somi corrected her words, running towards her for a hug. Fate did not even flinch, already sensing the woman from a mile away. “I am so excited! This is the first time that I have ever been in a party!”

Fate seemed confused with the jitters flowing through the woman. She was sure that Somi would be fun to deal with in such events, though. “But haven’t you been at this school since you’re young?”

“Yeah, but I would often decline the invitation.” She replied.

“Why?” Fate questioned.

“Because she has no friends, and she is quiet easy to fool.” Answered Johnny as he walked towards them, accessing the woman for some reaction. There was a sense of submission from his wolf, one that he didn’t quite understand well. Slowly throwing that aside, he focused on the situation. Fate did not react in the normal way that her usual so-called friends do, so he was good with that.

For what it is worth, it does look like that Somi found someone suited for her personality.

Fate c****d a brow to Somi, questioning, “And are you her boyfriend?”

“No!” Somi replied, shaking her head. Fate took note of the small blush that escaped her cheeks, fumbling over the reply. “He’s the be—”

Johnny easily holds her back, making her aware that she was about to tell a human that the man that she is with is a Royal Beta, someone related to the Alpha King. She was too flushed that she was ready to say to a human that they were royalty.

Fate, despite knowing who the man was, only looked at her. “He’s the?”

“I am her best bodyguard for the night,” Johnny quickly fixed the wording, and while Fate knew where it was originally going, she simply accepted it. “It was ordered by her brother,” he added, bowing at her to show that he does put her slightly in charge of her safety. “I will be in the distance away from you. I must apologize if you get uncomfortable that someone is starring through the whole event. However, I needed to be sure that she’s safe.”

It wasn’t even a question.

Fate was sure that she would have the same treatment back in the pack. Somi Hawthrone is the only daughter of the former King and Queen. Of course, the family would be protective of her. Fate knew that even her own brothers would create some chaos whenever she wanted to party.

Johnny is being docile enough to keep her distance, which meant that he knew that Somi would not do anything that needed immediate assistance—or, you know… he can just link any dude who dares walk their way. It was fairly obvious that he can handle anything thrown to him.

He is a royal, after all.

Walking inside the room felt underwhelming. Fate was expecting that it could have some touch of class since the place seemed expensive—but she was wrong on that one. It was a typical party, and by the scent, she could know that there was a blend of human and paranormal inside the room.

“We should grab a booth,” Fate screamed to Somi’s ear, making sure to let her hear things through the loud music blaring in the room.

Thanks to the crazy lights, Fate would have small chances of letting her eye out. While she knew that it was a dangerous thing to do—it was needed. Fate wanted to make sure that they would be in a safe space. Then again, even with her eyes, it was hard to pick a location where lust isn’t floating through people. Johnny must have noticed it, for they were assisted by someone who seemed frazzled. Fate fought the urge to spot where the beta was hiding, clearly wanting to keep her skills at bay. Even if the beta was here, she needed to keep Somi safe. She would hate to punch some wolf and let everyone see the kind of damage that she could do to a wolf when she should be a human.

After all, Somi was her friend.

“Why do you seem so stiff when you’re close to your bodyguard? Is he someone who is scaring you?” Fate could not help but pry, seeing the spike of aura with the man close to them. It always fascinates her to play with people like this, as she knew how easily werewolves are triggered by their emotions and drive. “Or are you attracted to him or something?” a slight grin escaped her lips as she leaned in close, grinning at her friend.

Somi scoffed, looking to the side. It was an indication that she was not stating the truth. Before she could do anything else, she continued lying through her teeth. “He’s a bad guy who only says cruel things to me.”

Fate indulged her words, yet continued to tease her. “Then, is that a yes or no?”

“No. I do not like him.” She replied.

“I didn’t know we were lying today.”

The tension between Somi and the Beta was visible, so she was confused by the clear denial of her emotions. Even when she had spotted him, the interaction reminded her so much of any bounded pairs in the pack. Anyone with eyes could see how much she fancies the man. Being affected by his words is already enough to let anyone know how much she cares for him.

Gathering the facts that she had learned on the way here, she was aware that Johnny Carter is 20 years old. That would mean that he should know his mate, and if Somi was acting like this, the only possible reason could be the age. Wanting to test her theory, she asked. “Somi, how old are you?”

“Oh!” Somi chuckled, as if only remembering that she had failed to tell her friend about this. “I’m seventeen. I have a good tutor so I skipped a grade.”

So, that’s why.

Somi’s still not aware that they are mates.

Fate could see the entanglement between them, as it was clear as day. Betas are generally inside the palace; no external jobs should be handed to them except during the rare times that an Alpha is badly hurt to attend them himself. Even then, he would only attend any formal meetings. It is not in his job description to watch over a woman while she’s in a party.

The palace has a number of assassins and trained knights for a job. Even the Royal delta could stop whatever he was doing to assist her—but Johnny was stepping out of his line of work to look after her. Somi should already have known that something was wrong when he personally went out his way just to guard her.

Somi must is real dense, then.

But another thing to wonder here is that if they were mates, why is Johnny acting so mean and brutal to her when this woman was his mate?

Hmm.

Looking into the man who was watching them, she could only hide her grin as she sips into her drink. Unfortunately for him, she has some plans to have him warm up to his mate—and there is nothing he could do about it.

“Somi, would you fancy to dance with them?” Fate asked, testing her waters.

She had sensed a bright yellow aura coming from where the beta was—sensing that he was tensed with the question. It was amusing to know that he could hear their conversation despite the loud music blaring in the speakers. Even then, she had always been aware that dogs were good with their ears.

The ever so gullible Somi, beamed at her. “Yes! That would be so much fun!”

Fate covered her mouth, not wanting to let out the chuckles that wanted to escape from her. The aura covering the beta was intense, and everything about it speaks just how much anxiety he has over what Fate had proposed. It was amusing to see a usually composed man’s inner mind.

This is why she had always loved her fox eyes.

“Yes, we should—” Fate had only stood up when a familiar man walked their way. She lowered her head, doing her best not to shake her shoulders as she did.

Johnny Carter looked extremely composed, but his aura speaks otherwise.

“I thought you were only meant to look at us in a distance?” Somi questioned, innocent and pure about the whole thing.

“I cannot allow you to dance there. It seemed small for a dance floor, and the space seemed heavily accommodated.”

Fate does give some appreciation for his words. He didn’t mutter anything degrading to her or proposed anything bad. Johnny went on a route that speaks that the space wouldn’t be suitable for her rank and position. Frankly, Fate does not really fancy having someone rub their bodies on hers.

She was only pressing some buttons.

“But—”

“He’s right,” Fate stopped the conversation, patting her friend on the shoulders. Sensing a huge relief coming from the Beta, she could not stop herself but added more pressure on his shoulders. “That is not the only thing that we can do here.”

Johnny sighed, already aware this would be a long night.