Reborn: The Rejected Luna

#18 - Royalty Personified

How could her source of pain be her source of comfort too? Irabel stood frozen in front of the mirror, her eyes no longer on her own reflection but on the one beyond it.

With Nykka gone, and after a very lively maid had served her, everything had hit her all at once. This life, this bedroom, the castle, all the luxury screaming royalty, everything about it had reminded her of her home, her warm past and no matter how strong she wanted to be, she crumbled under the weight of loneliness. Why couldn't the moon goddess wipe her memories too?

Overcome with grief, Irabel had without thinking asked whoever was knocking on Nykka’s door to come in. She hadn’t expected it to be Maxith however, or that he would look at her the way he was looking at her right now. Neither had she expected herself to be so open and vulnerable with him. She hadn’t scrambled to wipe off her tears, but let them run freely, not caring that he was watching.

“Nykka is not here.” She mumbled, while deep down she wanted to be the reason he was there. How pathetic was that? She couldn’t even blame it on the mate bond. She was alone and lonely. Had been since the day she woke up and with her mother and brother away, his was the only familiar connection she had to hold on to.

The figure behind her moved, walking towards her in hesitant steps. And if she had any intentions of moving away, she didn't act on them. Instead she let herself drown in the promise of comfort that was shining in his eyes.

"Irabel..."

She felt him way before his voice caressed her senses. Every bit of heat his gaze gave off as his eyes took in her form. She should have moved away from him, but instead she weakly basked in the sweet calm that washed all over her as he stood right behind her, hesitating to cross the weak barrier between them. It was just the bond, she knew that, but Irabel found herself wishing, wanting, hoping…

Do it. She wished he would stop hesitating and as if he heard her, he did. Gently snaking his hands around her waist and pulling her towards himself. The warmth that enveloped her had her throwing her head back and leaning into him unreservedly. This is what she wanted…what she needed. His scent calmed every lonely cell in her body. It was a moment of weakness that she would allow herself to regret later. And when he gently ran his hands through her hair, her eyes fluttered shut. Immersing herself in the feel of his touch that was surprisingly a thousand times gentler than what she experienced the first time he had touched her. “I can’t.” Flashes of those painful memories had her suddenly jerking away from him, and in the blink of an eye she got introduced to his amazing reflexes. He had no intentions of letting go and a part of her relished that.

“I’m sorry.” The grip around her waist tightened a fraction, keeping her in place. “I’m so sorry.” He mumbled, his warm breath on the crook of her neck threatening the little sanity she had managed to recover at the memory of his torture. “You don’t have to forgive me…”

“Your highness…” Irabel began. She may have allowed herself a moment of weakness, but she wasn’t about to let him throw that word around, no matter how much he thought he was justified in saying it.

“Shh…call me Rom–”

“There you are!” A very unwelcome sound cut him off mid sentence, leaving Maxith just as tense as she was. Damn that bond!

Irabel expected Maxith to let go at the sight of his fiancée, but he kept holding on to her like it was the most normal thing. If she didn’t know better, she would think he had chosen her over his fiancee. But as it turned out, he was still a bastard after all, still entertaining their bond while holding on to another. Only this time around, he had the decency to not hide that part of himself from the one he was actually with. A part of her ached at that. Did he love Vieva so much, he was willing to be himself in front of her?

"Oh poor thing, is something wrong?" Instead of acting on the obvious rage swimming in her eyes, Vieva donned a pitiful smile as she sauntered over, eyes struggling to keep from staring at the link Maxith stubbornly refused to break.

"I’m fine." Irabel pulled away, much to Maxith’s subtle protests. “Thank you, your highness.” She finally got to wiping her tears away and offered a subtle nod. She needed to get out of here. If not to keep the distance between herself and her murderer, then for the growing fit of jealousy that was making its way through her system.

"You don’t have to–”

"Oh thank God. I thought it was something serious.” Vieva interrupted Maxith again. And with Irabel out of the way, she slipped into her fiancé’s arms, flaunting the fact that he belonged to her, a fact that brought a bitter taste to Irabel’s mouth and that fit of jealousy escalating to dangerous levels. “I missed you this morning.”

“What are you doing here?!” Maxith all but growled at his fiancée, ignoring all the heavy flirtation she was sending his way.

“That’s what I would like to know too. I don’t remember giving you permission to enter my room.”

Surprised with their behavior, Irabel watched as the siblings glared at the woman who remained unfazed. She could understand Nykka's reaction, but Maxith's…this was his fiancée.

"Last time I checked, I was the future luna of the Crystal Moon and as such, I'm responsible for every pack member's well being, so you my love can focus on what you do best. And it’s a good thing I did." Vieva laid her hand over Maxith's chest possessively and his lack of protest did it. Irabel couldn't stay a second more and she found herself walking away without thinking. Nykka’s protests over her decision to leave fell on deaf ears as she walked out anyway.

Later turned out to be the moment she stepped out of Nykka’s bedroom, Irabel realized, as regret quickly washed over her. If ever there was a revenge scoreboard, Maxith had scored a one, while a big fat zero was written under her name. She needed to rectify that and to do that she had to clear her head. That meant stepping out of this castle and putting some distance between her and her supposed mate. If only she could find her way out of this gigantic place. She turned into a hallway but realizing it didn't look familiar, she turned back the way she had come.

“I’m sorry.” Irabel looked up when she bumped into someone. Their electric blue eyes sent a delicious shock in her system and their scent tempted her to draw closer than the few inches between them, but thankfully, with her new found resolve, she kept herself from melting or doing any of those stupid things the mate bond had already made her do.

“Why did you leave?”

He was the murderer and the one with a fiancée and yet he had the audacity to sound hurt? Irabel stared at Maxith incredulously, wondering what her reply to his question should be.

“What I mean is, you are a guest here and you shouldn’t have left the comfort of the room on our account.” His tone softened, forcing Irabel to choose a less harsh answer. Despite who he was, Maxith was there for her when she needed someone and she wasn't about to be ungrateful.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ve experienced worse.” The brutal way her life had ended flashed before her eyes, making Irabel reach for the part on her neck where Maxith's blade had made a clean cut that had taken everything away from her. She almost laughed at the idea that he thought she’d care about being displaced out of a room that was not even hers to begin with. “I needed to get some air anyway, so you can go back to your fiancée before she misses you again.”

A sour look crossed his face before he masked it. "Even then–"

"I said it's fine." Irabel sidestepped him, deciding the conversation had gone on long enough.

"I wasn't finished." Maxith growled, forcing her to turn back to him.

"Anything else I can do for you, your majesty?" She shot him a pointed look as she felt some spurts of confidence emerging.

He hesitated, surprising her. "It's more of something I can do for you. Something I should have done. Just…will you come with me, please?"

Was he begging? The idea of it was laughable and yet the sincerity was clear on his face which left her too curious to decline. What exactly was this ‘something’ he felt compelled to do for her? Apologize? He had already done that. Poorly, if she could say so herself. "Will Ken come too?" Because she didn't trust herself around the bond they shared, she needed a distraction and knowing no one else reliable, Ken turned out to be the only one she could trust.

"Why him?" Something that resembled possessiveness flashed across his face and suddenly it hit her. They were mates and yet he hadn’t claimed her. Why hadn’t she thought about that before? She’d been so focused on her struggles that she had completely ignored his side of things. Why hadn’t he? Sure he had dragged her to his pack, but that was just about it. Was it because she was just some pathetic omega from some pathetic pack that he had no intentions of being with in the first place? Is that why it was easy for him to torture her? Why he still remained engaged? Would he reject her again? The thought left her feeling sick.

“Irabel?”

“Huh?” She looked up at him, eyes searching his for answers, but there were none. What was he playing at? Did he want to earn her trust first just like before?

That revenge scoreboard suddenly looked like it had a lot of entries of which hers were perfect zeros each time. She needed to even the scores and she already decided she would start by poking holes in this perfect façade he was displaying in front of her and everyone else. If he was determined to hide who she was, what would happen if he let it slip?

"He's the only one I can trust to protect me." Pain and not anger painted Maxith's face, making Irabel suppress a scoff. He was good. The reaction was so natural, she almost believed it.

"Fair enough." He fell silent for a moment and she realized he was mind linking his beta. "Shall we? Ken will be waiting for us outside." His flat tone spoke volumes about how much he disliked this arrangement and she didn’t care. Compared to what he'd done to her, this was nothing, and it didn’t matter how genuine he looked or sounded at the moment, she wouldn’t trust him.

"I still don't know my way around, so after you." She gestured for him to lead only because she did not want to walk beside him. Agreeing to go anywhere with him was already not what she had planned and a bit of space between them would be a consolation.

With a scowl on his face that made him resemble a spoiled child who didn’t get what he wanted, Maxith turned and marched ahead.

"Good morning alpha."

“Alpha.”

“Good morning, your Majesty.”

Men in suits and maids alike greeted and acknowledged him one after the other and as Irabel trailed him, it gave her a totally different view of this Maxith. Not the bastard she was determined to get even with. The grace with which he carried himself was one, for starters, and then there was the respect, the utter admiration from his men, his pack members. He was royalty personified and the princess in her couldn't help but be mesmerized by what she was seeing.

Men nodded and bowed towards him. Other's saluted, delightful smiles gracing their faces. There was no fear, no disdain, none whatsoever on any of those faces, leaving Irabel feeling out of sync. He was loved, genuinely.

"Something had to be wrong." She thought. Or maybe these people hadn’t come to know the real Maxith. How could they love a murderer this much?

"Your majesty, I'm so glad I caught you before you got caught up with whatever it is an alpha king like you does during the day." A short, stout, bearded man appeared in front of Maxith from nowhere.

"What is it Dante?" The irritation in Maxith's voice made Irabel decide that she liked this Dante. Anyone who could rub Maxith the wrong way this easily would be helpful to her cause and so she stepped out of his shadow and was glad when her little movement grabbed the necessary attention.

"And who might this beauty be?" Dante's eyes lit up and so did those of the two men who stood behind him. His bodyguards. She assumed.

"Irabel, kind sir." He was a perfect gentleman that naturally drew out the princess in her. She let out a soft dignified chuckle as she let the man place a kiss on the back of her hand. And with a perfect curtsy that would have had her nanny beaming at her perfect manners, Irabel stepped to the side letting the two men continue their conversation. The conversation didn't continue however, and she frowned when she found both men staring at her in…awe?. "Anything wrong?"

"Everything is absolutely perfect." Dante spoke while Maxith's lips remained pursed. "Such flawless etiquette hasn't existed for a while now, and you my dear, are like a breath of fresh air. Please call me Dante." He reached for her hand again but another strong one intercepted hers before Dante could get a hold of it.

"You, wait with Ken in the car." Maxith commanded and before she could protest, he turned to Dante. "You, we'll talk in my office."

"I'll see you, my la–"

"Now Dante!"

A breath of fresh air. She stood out. As the two figures disappeared from her view, a smirk formed on Irabel's lips at her new discovery. She now knew just how she'd even those scores and how she would get her revenge. Maybe this mate bond thing wasn't a curse after all.