Misunderstanding
1322 Words
"I-I apologize for barging in without permission, Lady. I'll leave now." Rory quickly bowed, avoiding eye contact with me and Ric, who were in a rather awkward position.
The poor girl rushed to exit my room, stumbling a bit and almost dropping the tray she was carrying, but managing to save my favorite warm almond milk from spilling.
"W-Wait, Rory! It's not what you think! R-Roryyyyyy!" I shouted desperately, hoping to clear up the misunderstanding. However, Rory had already left, covering her ears to avoid getting involved.
After Rory left, only the two of us remained—me and that darn Ric—where he did nothing and seemed relaxed while still being on top of me.
Even so, Ric never touched me. He used his arm strength to keep himself from falling.
That made me even more annoyed.
I pushed him hard, making him roll to the side and lie on my soft bed. I sat down, tapping on my own dress with a frustrated expression.
I puffed up my cheeks before turning to Ric, who was staring at the ceiling and staying silent. He really made me angry.
Impatient, I opened my mouth. I couldn't hold back any longer. "I don't get why you're doing this. Do you realize we could get in trouble for inappropriate behavior in this Eclipse mansion? And what if your identity gets exposed? I can't guarantee your safety anymore!"
Ric looked at me with a confused face, then he took a seat and moved closer to me.
"Oh, are you worried about me?"
I raised an eyebrow. "W-what?"
This guy, seriously! He's so self-centered and shameless!
He's way worse than Adrian!
"Pfft–you're so easy to tease, Isabella. No wonder he, the Alpha, likes to tease you, he enjoys seeing your expression like this." Ric continued talking while twirling his index finger in front of my face, making me more annoyed, and I quickly brushed away his finger.
"Don't change the subject. You dragged me into this mess, so you have to tell me your plan. If not, I'll say you tricked me and purposely came to infiltrate the pack."
This is the only path I had, threatening the man beside me. Even though I knew his knife was much faster than my words, I still wanted to bet on that choice. At least, I could know if I could trust this person or not.
Ric stared at me for quite a while—wait, why is this guy so fond of staring at others without saying anything, huh? Does he think I'm a painting in a museum?
"Ric, answer me," I said, tapping my foot impatiently.
He glanced at me, then turned his gaze back to the window, shrugging. "My plan's simple. I'll stick with you until I'm done with my mission."
"What mission?" I pressed, frustration creeping into my voice.
"You don't need to know," he replied cryptically.
"You! Are you seriously going to keep secrets from me after getting me involved in your mess?" I grumbled, feeling a mix of irritation and concern.
"You'll understand eventually," he said, his tone unwavering.
"You, you really—" I started, but couldn't find the words to finish.
Before I could finish speaking, Ric pulled my chin towards him and smiled a little–more like a smirk. "And to achieve my goal later, I needed you. In return, I will spare your life. Remember, you owe me two lives–princess."
"What?" When he said that, I saw flashes of anger in his eyes, making me gulp nervously. "I-I mean, what do I have to do for you?"
Ric smiled sweetly–which was terrified me more. "Make me your personal butler."
"Butler? But I don't have an official position to appoint a butler."
"Ah... really? Well then, just make me your personal servant, like the werewolf girl just now."
"What?"
Turning this man into my personal servant? Even my late grandfather and great grandfather in the afterlife would choke on that idea. It was like letting the murderer of my pack members roam freely by my side.
No, it should not be like this.
I should no't get too involved with this dreadful man. My gut feeling tells me nothing good will come if I keep dealing with him. I'll play along and pretend to obey, but when the chance arises, I'll escape from his grip—maybe even erase him from my life forever.
"Why? Are you thinking you'll pretend to obey me for a while before finding a chance to stab me in the back, hm?" Ric said in a soft and slow tone, but it cut deep. I widened my eyes in surprise, shocked that he could read my thoughts so clearly.
"Haha... impossible, I-I wouldn't do such a thing," I answered, slightly stuttering, trying to shift my gaze elsewhere.
Ric sighed tiredly with me. "Haaaah, Isabella. You really struggle to hide your own emotions. Only a total fool can't read what's written on your face."
Wait, did I really let my emotions show that much?
But how come I've been able to conceal my feelings from Adrian so effectively all this time?
Has he genuinely never noticed or does he just not care about me at all?
Is he purposely ignoring me, or is Adrian just a clueless loser?
In the midst of my brief thoughts, I did not noticee at all that Ric had been closely observing every inch of my face before stepping back and standing up. He then walked out of the room.
"Hey, where are you going? You might get caught if you leave!"
"I wanted to find some fresh air."
"But–"
"Catch this."
Without waiting for me to finish my sentence, he suddenly threw something towards me, and I instinctively caught the object. After successfully catching it, I opened my hand and widened my eyes as I recognized what was there.
"T-This..."
"Wolf Pearl Essence."
In that small bottle, there were several small dark blue pearls with a strong scent resembling a werewolf. These pearls could be obtained by extracting a werewolf's heart, allowing the user to have a werewolf-like aura, enabling them to disguise and blend in without being noticed. The effective duration of these pearls is one week.
One werewolf heart made one pearl.
Looking at all the pearls in the bottle, I realized the man in front of me was a really experienced assassin who would not hesitate to kill me if I did not help his mission.
It did not matter for him even if I was a respected princess and future Luna or just a low-ranking omega, he gave me a serious real threat.
"If you lose that bottle, yours will be the next in the bottle."
"O-Okay," I whispered softly, almost inaudibly, bowing down and gripping the bottle tightly.
"See you tomorrow morning, Princess—no, Lady Isabella. Rest well. I don't want my valuable subordinate to get sick from lack of sleep."
Ric smirked a little seeing me cower in fear, then went through the bedroom door and disappeared to somewhere.
After Ric left, I finally relaxed my tense shoulders and let out my frustration. I ran my fingers through my silver hair, messed it up, and kicked the air in annoyance.
To make matters worse, I almost slammed the bottle in my hand on the floor but stopped myself, recalling Ric's words about turning my heart into a pearl if these pearls disappeared.
"Aaaaaaargh!"
Frustrated and unable to vent properly, I screamed in depression. I had planned to avoid Ric, break up with Adrian, go home while waiting for my mom to arrange a good match with an Alpha from another packin peace. However, I never expected problems to come into my life at the same time and trap me in the middle.
Truly, why did my life suddenly turn out like this?
- Writer
