Chapter 11 Alexander
1764 Words
“What? No.” My head snapped towards Ian and then back to Stella, “I won’t.”
“He will.” She nodded her head towards Ian.
“No, I won’t. We’re your kings and you won’t make us look like fools.” Ian lost his patience, grabbing a hold of her arm before she could move away. She yelped at his grip,
“Sebastian!” I growled at him. Before I could yank him away from our mate, the sound of glass shattered and a high pitch screech echoed through the ballroom.
“Ahhh!” Sebastian yelled as an owl attacked him. Clawing at his face and hands.
“Enough, Petite Chouette!” Stella had a smug look on her face as she called out something in French. It took me a minute to realize that she was talking to the owl.
It squawked and flew away from Ian to land on her shoulder.
“An owl!” Ian shouted in disbelief, covering his face with his hand. Stella was smirking slyly at him. Ian huffed and stormed away, shoving aside anyone who got in his way.
“An owl?” I repeated his question in a more composed tone.
“She doesn’t like you, either of you.” Stella said,
“Ella?” A man I recognized as our patrol captain, Eliot, walked up behind my mate. I realized that he had the same facial features and eyes as Stella.
“I’m fine, Eliot.” She said, still glaring at me.
“If Petite Chouette showed up, you’re not fine.” He argued, his gaze latched on to me.
“The kings are my mates.” She answered in a plain voice. Eliot’s eyes went huge,
“They’re what?” He gasped.
“She’s your sister?” I asked and Eliot nodded.
Well this was a cascading s**t storm of events.
“Excuse me, I need to let Petite Chouette outside.” Stella’s expression regarded me coolly before she walked away. I moved to follow her but Eliot stopped me,
“Give her a minute to cool down. Trust me, she’ll just keep yelling.” Eliot frowned.
“She wants us to reject her.” I said, watching her leave longingly.
“Where’s King Sebastian?” Eliot asked.
“He left.” I answered simply.
“Yeah, Ella does have that effect on people.” Eliot snickered.
“She speaks French?” I asked randomly, looking back at him.
“We all do. Our mother is from France.” Eliot looked at me with a funny expression, “She yells in French a lot.” He added.
“What’s with the owl?”
“Petite Chouette, Little Owl. Ella rescued her when it was a yearling and nursed it back to health. When she released it, it refused to leave. She's always nearby. Ella has a unique connection with animals.” Eliot explained.
“She’s vicious.” I noticed and Eliot snorted,
“The owl or my sister?” He teased and I shrugged.
“Yes.” I answered simply.
“She’ll come around, she just takes some work. Being a king won’t help you out here, either, honestly. She holds a lot of resentment towards what the both of you stand for and how she was treated in school.” Eliot said, frowning.
“I know, I knew she would.” I sighed.
“You knew?” Eliot c****d an eyebrow.
“Ian and I have been having dreams about her for months. I didn’t know her name or who she was, but I remembered her from school.” I said,
“She’s as hot headed as her hair suggests. She gets mad quickly, has zero patience, and the shortest fuse you’ll ever see. She’ll explode fast but when she comes down, and she will come down eventually, she becomes quite reasonable. Just wait around for that part and communicate when she’s ready.” Eliot suggested and I accepted his advice willingly.
“Thank you, Eliot.” I offered him my hand,
“Of course, your grace.” Eliot smiled, shaking my hand.
“It’s just Alex.” I said, returning his grin, “I better go check on Ian before those two run into each other unsupervised.” I sighed and Eliot paled slightly at the idea.
I moved quickly through the crowd of newly mated couples, careful to avoid accidently rubbing up against someone's mate and starting a war with another pack. I stumbled out of the ballroom and into the quiet hallway of the castle. My mate’s scent was strong and headed towards the front door. I resisted the urge to follow it, instead, I mindlinked Ian,
“Where are you?”
“In the parlor room.” He grunted in response.
Thank the Goddess the parlor room was off the main entrance to the house, otherwise I don’t think I could’ve moved away from Stella’s scent. I shoved open the door to the parlor room and glared at Ian, who was lounging on the couch with a glass of bourbon.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I snapped immediately. Ian sighed loudly and stood up,
“Wrong with me?” He grumbled.
“Yes, with you. You grabbed a hold of our mate, you upset her!” I was shouting before I even realized what was happening. I hadn’t intended on yelling at my brother today, but I was overcome with the desire to protect and defend our mate.
“She called me a bastard, did you miss that part? Or maybe you were too deafened by her beauty to realize the attitude in which she spoke to us?” Ian glared at me.
“She has every right to be pissed at us and you have no right to lay a hand on her!” I said, grabbing Ian by the arm and shoving him against the wall. Ian sighed and rolled his eyes, obviously unthreatened by my outburst.
“You’re being dramatic, Alex,” He blew me off which only pissed me off more, “I didn’t hurt her. And, she’s my mate, I have the right to do whatever I want with her.”
“You arrogant bastard. Don’t you realize that attitude is the exact reason why she hates us?” I snarled at him, my eyes dangerously black.
“She disrespected us, her kings!” Ian’s voice began to climb as his anger took over.
“She’s our mate first, she doesn’t have to bow down. Her being dominant is the very reason she was chosen as our mate, it’s destiny.” I tried to reason with him. He shoved me away and shook his head, sulking towards the roaring fireplace.
“I’m not in the mood to deal with a bitchy she-wolf right now.” He muttered while staring into the fire.
“If she rejects us I will never forgive you and I will never get over it. I will fight you for the throne.” I growled threateningly. Ian looked up at me with wide eyes,
“You’d turn your back on me for her?” He sounded hurt.
“Without hesitation.” I stated,
“I just….need some time.” Ian finally sighed, the resolve leaving his body.
“You need to stay away from her until your behavior improves. I won’t have you acting like a d**k and upsetting her.” I said,
“Yes, yes.” Ian waved his hand dismissively, distracted by the flames again. Just as I was about to leave, Ian spoke softly, “She was at the castle five days ago, it was her coming of age ball.”
“How do you know that?” I asked.
“I saw her, well I saw her hair, that day, before we left. I sensed her, too, but I didn’t know why. Not until I saw her.” Ian was rambling on, seeming to be caught off guard by his own omissions.
"She’s only just turned 18, Ian." I pointed out.
“I always knew you’d be better at this than me.” Ian sighed, glancing over at me with a sad expression.
“Only because you’ve given up before it’s even started.” I walked towards him, my voice and domineering settling slightly.
“That red hair really is something else though, isn’t it?” Ian smirked, an emotion closer to how I felt flashing in his eyes.
“Oh, man, it’s enticing.” I agreed.
“And what’s with her name? I mean, is it even fair to have a name that’s so strong and yet so faminne at the same time?” Ian added, leaning away from the fireplace to speak up, his eyes brightening. I chuckled,
“Stella.” I breathed her name and he grinned even wider, “It means star, you know?” I said,
“Stellaire.” Ian said and I c****d an eyebrow at him.
“What is that?” I asked,
“Stella, star, in French.”
“Since when did you know French?” I asked, remembering how he translated her insult earlier.
“It’s weird, but I just started learning like three months ago. I don’t know, I just had an urge to pick it up.” Ian shrugged and I laughed openly at him,
“And you say that your connection isn’t as strong with her as mine.” I mocked him and he rolled his eyes.
“The worst part is, I think her mother is the one who's been teaching me.” Ian grumbled.
“Her mother?”
“Yes, Annette is a housekeeper in the palace. Annette Dubois. When I spoke to Mother about learning French, she suggested her as a tutor. I’ve been paying her for lessons two days a week.” Ian said, frowning.
“Oh dear, that might be awkward.” I snorted and Ian glared at me.
Just then, we heard the front door open and a rush of damp, cool air brought with it the sweet scent of Stella.
“Go, talk to her. I think it’s best if I stay out of it for now.” Ian said, his eyes locked on the door to the parlor room.
“Are you sure?” I asked, but I was already moving towards the door, eager to be with her again.
“Yes, find me later tonight.” Ian nodded once before I was out the door and hunting down Stella.
- Writer
