Chapter 10
2001 Words
(Zeus POV)
I rubbed my forehead, letting out a groan.
"Your majesty, are you ok?" my viceroy asked making me sigh and look at him.
"It's nothing." I kept my face void and looked outside the carriage window, ignoring the uneasy feeling inside me.
Ever since I entered this pack I have been feeling uneasy. It felt as if something unexpected would happen today.
My hand involuntarily went to the hanging lucky charm that I always carry around. It was small, messy looking and worn out looking, the complete opposite to my attire. But it was one of my most prized possessions.
My lucky charm was made by my woman.
This was the last gift I got from her before she ran away. She was very shy and embarrassed when she wanted to give me this. She had made it herself and even if she wanted to hand it to me she was insecure at how awful it looked. But something made from her hand with love and effort was the best gift I could ever get.
It looked bulky as the red pouch filled with scented dried flowers and I think the other is rice? She had told me that if I hung it around my belt it would protect me from any sort of harm. It was cute how she believed in such things.
It's been 6 years since she went missing. I don't know what happened, but when I returned, she was gone. She didn't come at midnight to see me. I thought the worse had happened and I went to her house. That was when I saw the chaotic problem in the house. I disguised myself as one of the pack guards and tried to talk around.
In the end, I heard how the illegitimate daughter had run away. Her father was furious as he kept shouting that he had cheated him. I was beyond furious when I came to know that her family was going to forcefully marry her to some old man.
After that day, I searched for her far and wide. I tried my best to track her in every way, using the best of wizards, but there was no luck. The trackers told me her scent and aura were well hidden by some magic wizard and there was no way to track her.
The kingdom had also become a mess when my father's health started to deteriorate. The council started to pressure me about my marriage to my so-called chosen fiancé, but I refused on the grounds of stability to my kingdom. The only excuse I can use until I find her.
Why didn't she come back? Why did she leave me? I didn't know what had happened. The night I went to see her, I was going to tell her the truth. I was going to ask her permission to announce our mate bond publicly. I wanted to show her off to the public.
My marriage alliance can only be dismissed on solid ground and the fact that I found my mate was the perfect excuse.
But everything went down the drain when she went missing.
I looked at the huge crowd on both sides of the carriage, shouting and praising as we drove past them. It's been 6 years and I still wish one among them was my mate.
I hope she is safe and maybe waiting for me to find her. I hope I will find her soon.
The carriage stopped in front of the alpha's house, a loud horn blowing notifying my arrival. They bowed in respect as the page announced my presence.
"Thank you for this opportunity." he said as I nodded with a smile.
"I am just doing what seemed right."
The exchange between us was professional, as he introduced me to his family. He had a beautiful family with a 7-year-old boy, which made me feel a kick in my heart for some reason. Why?
As we were going to enter the house, a man walked towards us. For some reason, he caught my attention.
"You..." I said as I grabbed him by his collar.
"Your majesty!" the alpha shouted, shocked, running towards me. My guards were on guard as they took out their swords, aiming towards the man I grabbed. "Your majesty, he is my little brother."
I didn't know why, but I wanted to smack him in the face. He had a scent lingering around him and it made me feel possessive.
"This scent..." I growled, but let him go, turning around and pinching my eyes.
I am surely dreaming.
"Your majesty?" Daren took a step towards me in worry, but I raised my hand, stopping him.
"I am fine."
Even though things after that were tense, we made it through. But I couldn’t take my attention off the alpha's younger brother. The scent was faint, but it was surely her, right? Maybe she is here?
Later at night, my other viceroy walked in. I paused in my spot as I felt the same lingering scent on him.
"Harry?" I called as he bowed his head and looked at me.
"Yes, your majesty."
"Did you go anywhere?"
"Yes, I went to a bread shop. I had visited this pack a few times during my training period and I had heard that a bakery had opened which sells the best bread. My wife asked if I could buy some."
He extended a cover that was filled with the delicious smell of bread.
I didn't know if my brain had finally decided to go completely insane, but I couldn’t help but think that it must be her.
"Your majesty, did you know there is a rumor going on here?"
"A rumor?" This time it was Daren who asked him.
"Yes. Apparently, the people here believe that I am not your viceroy."
"Well, we can't blame the villagers for that. They must have found it hard to believe that you were selected."
Harry glared at the man in front of him as the latter laughed. They always nagged and fought each other, but it was never serious. The three of us know it's only fun and games.
"Anyway," he ignored his friend and turned to me. "They think that you have a cousin named Luka."
My heart dipped at the mention of Luka. I stared at Harry with wide eyes.
"W-what?" Daren asked before turning to look at me.
Only Daren and I knew the story of my encounter with my mate and only she knew the lie I made up. The lie is that the king has a cousin named Luka. Harry was going through 2 years of training during my encounter with my mate, so he didn't know much about it.
"Yea. I know! It's weird, right? I don't know how that rumor was formed."
"Tell me what else you heard!" I growled, shocking him.
He stared at me confused and cautiously but still continued, "Um, it was something like your 'cousin Luka', is your chosen Vizier."
I felt lost in thought as things became even clearer. It's becoming even more obvious.
"I need to go now," I said, standing up. But in one swift moment, Daren was in front of me.
"Your majesty. Not now. It's very late at night and the bakery is probably closed."
I growled, sitting down frustrated.
"What is happening?" Harry looked confused as he saw my miserable situation.
"I will tell you late." Daren replied while I was busy pulling out my hair.
"Once the ceremony is over, we will go look for her ourselves, your majesty. So please calm down."
That night I couldn’t sleep. I tried to go out and find him, but I didn't know where to start. Harry hadn’t mentioned much about the bakery and Daren had decided to sleep on my bedroom sofa knowing I would escape.
The next day, I woke up with dark circles under my eyes. The maids who brought dinner looked at me in worry but didn't comment. They quickly fixed a warm bath for me before starting to arrange my dress.
Daren and Harry walked in dressed for the ceremony while I was going to take a bath. The warm water made my body feel calm, but my mind was frustrated. I wanted the ceremony to be over just so I could go find her.
I wanted to see her. It's been years. How does she look now? Has her child like face changed into something more mature? Is her short hair long now? I wanted to see her beautiful blue eyes stare back at me with the same love.
After I had dressed up, I made my way to the ceremony. On the other side of the dimension portal, I watched Alpha give his speech. I wasn't allowed to get onto the stage until announced and, for my safety, my viceroys decided to make me wait at the portal that was in the alpha's house.
"Without further delay, I call forth our great King! The ruler of the Northern land of Eldara! King Zeus Aillard Drystan."
It was my queue to enter and I walked through the portal onto the stage as the crowd cheered and started to praise me. But my steps faltered as a strong scent hit me. It was the sweet smell of cinnamon, something that made my heart skip a thousand skip.
"Greeting to you all." I was successful in talking calmly although I was far from that. My eyes roamed through each person in the crowd.
It was a careful process as there were thousands of them.
Where is she? I just need one glance. Even as I said my speech, my eyes didn't stop from searching for her.
A few minutes later, something didn't seem right. The scent around me started to weaken.
Where is she going? Why is she running away from me?
"It's now time to inaugurate the great academy of swords."
I used my magic to cut the huge ribbon as the crowd's cheer became even more stronger.
I wanted to leave as soon as possible. I wanted to go find her. I want to embrace her in my hands.
My hands ached to touch her.
As soon as the ceremony was over, I rushed backstage instead of the portal. My viceroys looked shocked at my sudden change in plan and followed me. I didn't waste time as I took out the magic marble, snapping my fingers.
In a quick second, my hair colour changed to black and my eyes darkened until they reached dark brown.
"What are you doing!?" Daren shouted as Harry looked at me with wide eyes, "You can't go now! The ceremony is not over."
"She was there! I felt her! If I don't find her now, I might never be able to again."
Both of them looked at me with frustration, but it was obvious I would not back down.
"I will come with you, since I know things around here." Harry said, as I nodded my head.
"Then I will manage things here. But you have an hour. Your majesty, I hope you are well aware of your duty as the king."
I hated the time limit, but he was right. I could only nod my head before running out with Harry.
"Let's go to the bakery first, since that is the place you doubt the most."
But to our bad luck, no one was there. The house was empty, but the scent of my mate hit me hard.
"She lives here." I confirmed. We waited there for more than an hour, but she didn't come. I growled frustrated as Harry suggested we go back.
"We can come back after we settle everything official."
In the end, I was forced to return to the palace, unable to see my mate. But deep down, I was beyond happy. I have finally found her and it won't be long before she is in my arms.
- Writer
