Chapter 6

• Cielo POV
• I reluctantly go to the infirmary, still slightly embarrassed that I had to stop my father from losing control of his wolf. Neither of us will admit that his wolf surrendered to mine. That would necessitate a significant change, which I am unwilling to accept. He walks beside me, head bowed, without a care in the world. I can sense his shame, and I know it is because he lost his cool in front of the Lycan King. I did not hear what the topic was about, but I felt his aura and heard the word bitch, so I went to the meeting room. I felt it was best to intervene before an unintentional war began.
• My wolf went insane when I opened the door. I was aware that tensions were high, but not so high that I needed to use my aura. I am glad I arrived when I did because things could have turned out differently.
• When we get to the stairs, my father comes to a halt. "I know what you were trying to do in there, Ciel. I know you are not in enough pain to need my assistance. Please return to your room and do me a favour. Your mother and I have some things to talk about."
• "Dad," I say hesitantly, my gaze locked on Xander.
• "Now, Ciel," my father growls, catching me off guard.
• Xander snatches my arm. "We should go get ready for the ball, Ciel." Numbly, I let Xander pull me away. My father has never treated me like that.
• Xander drags me into my room and makes me sit on my bed. I cast a curious glance at him as I run my hand over the grey and light pink comforter. He immediately closes the door and then closes my blinds.
• "What are you up to?" When he starts sniffing my walk-in closet, I ask him.
• "Ciel, did you know about the earlier attack?"
• "No, I had completely forgotten about it," I say, holding up my arm.
• He gives me a hard stare before continuing his search. "It was deliberate. The creep followed you around the ruins, waiting for the right moment to attack."
• "I already figured that out," I say, forcing him to stop looking.
• Xander examines me to see if I am telling the truth. "How?"
• I give him a puzzled look. "Did not the Lycan King warn you about..." I pause and shake my head. Perhaps he did not remember what I told him. When I arrived, Dad was quite unstable.
• I take my time speaking to Xander. "They do not wait when they see a crazed rogue, lycan, or wolf. They attack. They go for the kill right away. They do not use Wolfsbane, but rather their goddess-bestowed weapons. This wolf had waited until I was out of his sight. He ambushed me right away, already shifted and with Wolfsbane on his claws. The only reason I believe he was already shifted was to make a quick getaway. Even if they are carrying something, a werewolf has no chance of catching up to a lycan."
• He examines me while sitting in one of my white armchairs. "You do know you caught him on film, right?" he asks.
• "No, I didn't," I snort.
• "Yes, Ciel, you did." He stands up and takes my phone from my desk. He looks through the photos of the scene.
• "There," he says, indicating the one I took before being attacked.
• I pick up the phone, still unsure what he is talking about. What I see sends shivers up my spine. A man is staring at me as if I were fresh meat. I have no doubt that he is following me around. He has his gaze fixed on me, ignoring the other dozen or so people who were with me. His eyes are gold, indicating that he was the lycan who attacked me.
• "What the hell is going on?" I yell, dropping the phone as if it had bitten me. "What the hell is his name?"
• "You do not know who he is?"
• "Shall I?" Feeling violated and deeply disturbed, I demand. How long has this man been after me? "How come he is even following me?"
• Xander pauses before responding. "Exzel has a theory, and it is what drove dad insane. He believes the rogues are attempting to claim you as a strong...Luna."
• "What?" I scream. "Wh-why? Why?"
• "You understand why," Xander says softly. "This will hurt my ego, Ciel, but your power makes me look as weak as fuck. It is already more powerful than Dad's. They could easily overpower the Lycan King and Alpha King with you as a mate."
• I open my mouth to argue, close it, and then open it again. "So, to save us all a lot of trouble, I have to mate?"
• Xander flushes. "In a way. I mean, I do not want you to mate someone just for the sake of it, but I am only telling you what I have heard."
• I groan and collapse to the ground. "I despise being a girl."
• "There is something else," Xander admits almost reluctantly.
• "What now?" I groan, rubbing my face and closing my eyes.
• "After you left, Dad received a letter from the Council. They wanted to tell him that if he remained unmated after the Claiming, they would assign him a mate."
• "Are you fucking serious?" As I get to my feet, I screech, my eyes snapping open. "Please tell me you are lying," I pleading with Xander.
• "They feel like someone of your status should be mated to continue a strong line," Xander says, smiling. "It will be fine, Ciel."
• "That stupid rule only applies to lycan royals," I whine, now fully enraged.
• "I believe that rule applied to you after you killed your lycan mate," Xander says sheepishly.
• "Xander," I growl as I hurl a pillow at him.
• "Ciel, come on, it is not that bad." In an attempt to cheer me up, Xander teases.
• "You are such a jerk," I say as I reach for another pillow.
• Xander laughs and backs up, narrowly avoiding the pillow. When I threw my pillow, he goes to open the door in an attempt to flee, but quickly swings it up to use as a shield. The pillow misses the door and smacks Prince Ruben across the face.
• As I get to my feet, I bite my lower lip to keep from laughing. "Is there anything you require, Prince Ruben?" When I see a feather from my pillow land on his head, I nearly burst out laughing.
• "Oh nice try, Ciel," Xander says as he shuts the door. "You are capable of doing better."