What If...
1138 Words
Maeve
He doesn’t look up from the page but he knows I am here. Although the king is the type of reader who immerses himself in the story. To him, the rest of the world drops dead and he is focused only on the book he is interested in at the moment. At least that was before. Now… nothing is the same anymore…
I walk over and take the seat opposite him.
“You were like this even when we were kids,”
I begin. Nathaniel doesn’t respond immediately. He continues reading but he has heard me. Once he finishes the page he is reading he closes the book and finally looks at me.
“We are nothing like what we were as kids.” He says.
Nathaniel looks tired. I see the dark circles under his eyes and even though he is one of those people who look attractive even when they are tired, I bet he hasn’t slept in a while, not only last night. He knows why I am here and I am not going to ask him directly. So I try something different.
“What happened?” I whisper.
He pauses, considering his words. Nathaniel is hesitating whether to tell me.
The king was my best friend when we were growing up. His brother was always the crazy one, the centre of attention. Gareth was the guy everyone wanted to spend time with. He was funny and cheerful. So full of energy and he knew how to make everyone laugh. Gareth was very close friends with Lave but my brother adored him. He was his idol, someone Kai wanted to be like. To serve him with whatever it took.
Kai looked at Gareth as if he was the creator of the world, there was no religion more sacred than Gareth.
While Nathaniel was the opposite. More of a loner. Dark and intense. He is still like that, if not more.
We were all very close despite our differences but me and Nate have always been closer. As much as Nathaniel could be close with anyone, of course, because he rarely let anyone near him, even if that included the wolves he grew up with.
As a second son, Nathaniel was never supposed to be the alpha so he often disappeared alone in the woods without telling anyone. When he was back after we’d searched for him for ages he would say ” I’m free to do whatever I want, right?”
He was free in a way no one else was, especially not Gareth. Nathaniel was very difficult to understand but at the same time, he was ready to sacrifice himself for any of us when the need came. He will always be different to the people who know him and those who don’t know anything about him.
But then Gareth was gone and everything changed…
Nathaniel leans in his chair and looks through the window, frowning. There’s no trace of Opal now but he likes to disappear too.
“They sent her as my bed slave,” he says after the silence that stretched.
“You still think she is helping Sirius.” I say, sadly, “That’s not true, you know that. “
“There’s no other explanation, “ he says, “None of this is an accident. “
I look at him, my expression speaking enough.
“Why is everyone on her side?!” Nathaniel snaps and gets up. The book lands on the floor with a thud but he leaves it there.
“We are not on her side, we just…”
“What?” he snarls and I press myself to the armchair. The last thing I want right now is to piss him off more so I remain silent.
Then I hear noise from outside and shortly after Kai shows up.
“What have you done?” My brother barges in. Nathaniel crosses his arms. So much for me trying to settle this quietly and without fights.
“You killed her!” Kai gasps, “Why would you do it? No, don’t tell me. But why would you leave her body like this?!”
Nathaniel doesn’t answer. He leans against the wall and says, casually.
“She was just a servant, right? “
“Right, “Kai licks his lips and puts his hands on his hips. He glances at me, looking for support but I remain silent.
“Perfect, “Kai groans. “You may be the king now but I won’t bow to you blindly and take whatever you come up with. “
My skin prickles and all the hairs on my body rise. It’s enough for Nathaniel to simply think my brother has to be punished and Kai is done with.
But Nathaniel remains where he is.
“We grew up together, Nate, “ Kai says and I can tell he is sad, “Stop distancing yourself from us. From everyone. You didn’t kill her only because she was one of Sirius' ears. If it was so you would have done it a long time ago. “
Nathaniel’s hand clenched in a fist. I glance between them nervously. So Kai is right. There is something else.
“It was because of Alex, right?” Kai suggests and Nathaniel’s eyes turn bright red in an instant.
Nathaniel pushes away from the wall and Kai runs his hands through his hair.
“You are not serious?”
“What is going on?!” I ask and get up from my seat too.
“Our beloved king has killed the servant because she argued with Alexandra earlier. “
My wolf moves inside me but maybe it's the bad feeling I have growing stronger.
“It wasn't just an argument. “ Nathaniel growls.
“So?” Kai snaps, “Since when do you care about slaves or who had an argument with who?! This happens all the f*****g time, Nate!”
Oh, no…I think and my wolf stirs too, this time i know it's her. What if Nathaniel is not indifferent to this girl Alexandra? What if she is …
Oh, no, no…This is getting messier the more we talk about it.
“It’s none of your business, “ Nate says and turns to me, “And yours too if you came to ask me the same thing. It’s been dealt with. This servant was causing enough trouble anyway. That’s what happens to those who work for Sirius. Right?“
Nathaniel turns to my brother,
“Besides you always said she had to be punished for the way she threatened the other slaves. It’s done. It’s over. So it has nothing to do with us anymore. “
“Well, it does and it is our business, “ Kai says, “Because everyone now thinks Alexandra did it. “
- Writer
