Page 4

Mira

I woke up to a kitchen buzzing with activities and the aroma of exotic dishes wafting through the air.

“Hey, I took care of your duties for the day. They weren’t much. The prince is laying you off your duties for the duration of Lilith’s stay,” Mary said when I walked into the dining hall, pulling me into a quick hug.

He was laying me off for the duration of her stay? I couldn’t figure out if he was doing it to protect me or for her comfort.

“Thank you,” I muttered, melting into Mary’s arms.

“Brace up. They’re here,” she whispered, and I lifted my head to find Griffin walking into the dining hall with a tall, slender woman in his arms. His eyes immediately found mine, as if he sensed me before he walked in. The exchange was very brief but enough to draw out a whimper from my wolf.

The lady turned in my direction, and I could see why Griffin fell in love with her.

She had the most striking green eyes I’ve ever seen, with dark curly hair framing her heart-shaped face.

She looked like she walked off the cover of a fashion magazine.

Everything about her reeked of elegance and sophistication.

Even her nose looked aristocratic. She was the model image of everything I could only dream of becoming.

Mrs. Anderson walked into the dining hall, and Lilith untangled herself from Griffin’s arms and pulled the woman into a tight hug, her face beaming like the sun.

My gaze returned to Griffin and found him smiling lovingly at her.

I couldn’t blame him. She was beautiful and kind and didn’t treat wolves lower than her like vermin.

She was the poster woman of everything he stood for.

Despite the pain I was in, I couldn’t bring myself to hate her or deny that they were perfect for each other.

I turned to flee the scene when a soft, feminine voice stopped me in my tracks.

“You must be Mira,” Lilith said, pulling me into an unexpected hug while I stood frozen like a statue. Griffin must’ve told her about me. Did she know we were mates? Would she hate me for sharing a bond with the man she loves?

“Griffin has told me so much about you, and I’m glad we have someone like you on our side,” she beamed at me. I flashed a tight-lipped smile in return. Of course, he had only told her about my display of courage. Why would he bother with information as relevant as we being fated?

“I’m honored to be one of you. Thank you again for taking me in.”

She squeezed my shoulders lightly and flashed me one last smile before returning her attention to Mrs. Anderson. They walked into the kitchen hand in hand.

The interaction shook me, and I occupied myself with helping Mary set the table to distract me from how wildly my heart was beating in my chest .

Lilith insisted we all had breakfast in the dining hall like one big family, and despite being surrounded by the best meals masterfully prepared by the best chefs, I had no appetite. Everything tasted like cardboard.

What hurt most was how she was always running her hands through Griffin’s hair, touching his arms, and lacing their hands together as she carried the conversation in the room.

The only thing that kept me sane was Mary’s hand squeezing mine in reassurance and the encouraging words she said through our mind link.

When breakfast was done, Lilith suggested some form of bounding activity, but I excused myself, saying I had caught a stomach bug the night before. I could feel Griffin’s eyes burning through my retreating figure, but I held my head high.

Noon rolled by, and I was tired of being cooped up in my room.

I decided to go out and get some fresh air to help with my mood.

I was on my way to the garden when the scent of sandalwood and pine assaulted my olfactory nerves, and I found my legs following the scent to the double doors of the library.

I raised my hand to knock when a voice I’d never heard floated out of the room. I suspended my hand in mid-air.

“…I understand your intentions, my prince, but until you birth an heir and become king, you must be careful with your plans for the reformation. The people you’re up against are very influential, and the rules you want to abolish are what give them the power they have. They won’t back down easily.”

The conversation sounded confidential, and I knew I shouldn’t eavesdrop. But curiosity got the best of me, and I stayed.

“I understand what you’re saying, Elder, but my father is too weak to act in his capacity as the king, and every day I spend folding my arms being careful around these men, an innocent soul is being destroyed for being orphaned or belonging to a lower class.

These people are taking their fellow wolves as slaves, taking away their rights to basic needs, and subjecting them to the worst kind of treatment. ”

It was Griffin speaking now, and his voice was filled with so much pain I had to physically fight back the urge to go into the room and comfort him.

The conversation was obviously about the reformation he has been fighting for. Mary filled me in on some of the details and how Griffin had been working tirelessly to eradicate the caste system.

I also found out how the maids used to live in a stuffy room in the basement until he renovated a section of the palace and provided comfortable housing for all of them.

There was an open policy that allowed anyone who wished to leave to go as long as they tendered a resignation in time to let the palace find a replacement.

It was very admirable how much he had achieved. I know his wins didn’t come without a bit of resistance, but from the conversation going on in the library, I could tell things were getting worse.

That didn’t come as a surprise to me. You can’t expect people who have built their lives on the blood and sweat of others to let go without a fight.

Who would clean up their messes after their slaves were made free, and most importantly, how else could they prove the level of their strength if there was no one to oppress?

I got lost in my thoughts about the conversation, and I didn’t hear the footsteps approaching the door until it was too late. I quickly grabbed the ceiling duster that was leaning on the wall and pretended I was about to knock as the door swung open.

I was greeted by an imposing giant of a man who had a beard nearly covering half of his face.

“Good afternoon, sir.” I greeted, trying to keep my voice neutral.

He looked me up and down before responding.

“How long have you been here?”

“I just got h—”

“It’s alright. She can come in,” Griffin said from inside, and the big man stepped aside, sending me a suspicious look before walking down the hall.

“You know eavesdropping is a bad habit, Mira?” Griffin asked as soon as I stepped into the library. I felt my face heat up. I’ll never get used to the sound of my name coming from his mouth.

“I wasn’t eavesdropping, my prince,” I replied, getting an eye full of him in his work attire. His shirt was rolled to the elbow, showing off his perfectly sculpted forearms, and the undone buttons at his neck gave a sneak peek to a light trail of hair.

I don’t know how he managed to do it, but somehow, his presence took up so much space there was barely enough air for me to breathe without his scent filling up my lungs. I lifted my gaze to find him watching me with curled fists, and the heat on my face deepened.

“You can call me Griffin.”

“Sorry?”

The corner of his lips dipped.

“Are you going to make a habit of zoning out whenever we speak?”

There was a double meaning behind his words. “No, my prince.”

He cocked a brow at me, and I cleared my throat, rephrasing my response. “No, Griffin.”

His name tasted like peaches and dirty promises dripping from my mouth, and I caught him grinding his teeth.

He cleared his throat, and I couldn’t help the smile tugging at the corner of my lips.

“What?” He queried .

“Nothing. It’s just you said I have a habit of making you repeat your words, but I’ve just noticed it’s you with the habit of clearing your voice all the time.”

A small smile touched his lips.

“I guess we both have habits, then.”

“Take a seat.” He gestured to the sofa across from him, and I lowered myself to the soft cushion, the memory of what happened the last time he asked me to sit, replaying somewhere at the back of my mind.

“What did you think about my conversation with the elder?”

His question caught me off guard. I opened my mouth to deny it, but he didn’t let me get it out.

“Don’t lie to me, Mira. I could feel you standing behind the door the whole time.

” He leaned back into his chair, crossing his arms and commanding the movement of my eyes with how his muscles strained beneath the shirt.

“Besides, I’d like to hear your input on all of this.

As someone who has been on the other side of the caste, I was thinking you could offer some pointers on how to deal with the situation and things you wish could change. ”

The statement came as a shock to me, and I found my throat growing impossibly tight with emotions. He wanted my opinion on how to change things in our world? Every time I thought he couldn’t wow me with his extraordinary personality, he came up with something new, setting the pedestal higher.

I tried to speak, but the lump seemed to be permanently lodged there, and I cleared my throat to dislodge it, earning me a soft chuckle from him. I smiled back. I guess we have an inside joke now.

“It’s a tricky situation,” I started when I finally found my voice.

His brows furrowed.

“How so? ”

“These people, the higher wolves and the nobles, grew into this system. It’s all they know, and it’s where they draw their power from. If you erase it, they’ll be left with nothing other than their ability to prove to be worth their title, and they won’t like that.”

“So, what would you do if you were given the position to turn things around?”

Again, it was another question I didn’t see coming.

I’ve often toyed with the idea of running away or of having a mate of a better rank to escape my reality.

But not once have I considered changing things.

Not even I could dream that wide. I didn’t think it was possible.

But I gave it a thought, and I came up with an idea I think would help.

“Since the elderly nobles already grew into this structure, and it might be difficult to start reorienting them, you can start with the young ones. You can dissolve the caste system in the schools. Get rid of students taking other students as slaves, incorporate compulsory charity and vocational services amongst them to even the grounds, and provide them with healthy alternatives to channel their influence. You could consider getting rid of the elite class for noble-born children and remodeling it as a class for the brightest kids. That way, everyone would have a chance, and it would foster healthy cooperation amongst them and equal opportunity.”

Griffin looked to be deep in thought after my speech before he grabbed a journal next to him and started to scribble away.

When he was done, he capped his pen and returned his gaze to me with a warm smile. “I knew I made the right choice bringing you here. Thank you.”

His words seeped right into my heart, soothing the cracks from our previous interaction.

I smiled in return, directly meeting his gaze for the first time since I stepped into the library.

They appeared to be a few shades darker and sucked me in like a deer caught in headlamps.

Everything else disappeared into a blur of muted colors.

The air around us suddenly felt charged, and I could feel my heart thudding in my ears.

There was a pull that felt like an invisible magnet tugging me closer to him, urging me to close the distance between us.

But before I got the chance to make a decision, the library door flew open, and only when Griffin’s back slammed into his chair did I realize he had been leaning forward.

“Hey, baby.” Lilith’s voice filtered into the room, the click of her heels announcing her presence.

“Hello, love.” Griffin greeted, plastering a tight smile on his face. We looked like kids caught stealing from the cookie jar.

She walked over to him, placing a wet kiss on his lips, and I felt my heart sink at the sight.

“Hi Mira, I didn’t see you there.” She let out a girly giggle when she turned. “I can’t seem to notice anything else when he’s close.”

I caught myself just before a murmur of agreement slid past my lips.

“I was already done cleaning the shelves. I should get going. Enjoy the rest of your day.” I said, picking up the duster I had long forgotten on the floor and fleeing the room.

I didn’t do anything wrong, at least not yet, but my heart was thudding like I was almost caught committing a heinous crime.

I didn’t catch a wink of sleep that night.

The bond between Griffin and I was still very much intact, and I was forced to endure the mind-numbing ache of their bodies joined together in passion.

Every time he gave himself to her, an unimaginable level of pain cut through me like rough shards of glass.

I’ve been through my fair share of unfortunate events, but not once have I found myself desperately crying to the goddess to put an end to my pain. It was a level of pain I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.