Chapter 6 Matilda's POV

He was curious about me?

Those chases, those sweet words, all that wanting. Was it all because he was curious about me?

Was that why he treated me that way yesternight? Was that why he gave my cup to Lady Lucinda?

Perhaps he had been distancing himself from me because he wanted Lady Lucinda instead.

I wished he had rejected me from the beginning. I wished he had spoken those words and severed the string with the enchanted blade.

Though the breaking of bonds burns with unbearable pain, I believe my wolf could have withstood it for a night and recovered by the next morning. I wasn't a second-rank wolf for nothing.

"Lady Matilda Fairfax?"

I sensed someone approaching as I struggled to walk toward my training ground.

"Lady Lucinda Blackwood. What a pleasant surprise," I said with a fake smile.

Why would I smile at her?

"Very much so," she smiled.

"What brings you to the East District?" I asked, the pain of Cedric's remarks lingering at the back of my mind.

"I came to visit Lord Cedric. He needed my attention," she replied.

"I see," I nodded as though it were normal.

"I heard that you are his mate. How true is that?"

"Very true."

"How unfortunate."

"My crime?"

"You are too old for a king," she stated plainly.

"Lord Cedric claimed that fact had no effect on him."

"You do not believe that he alone makes such decisions, do you?"

She got me there.

"He is going to marry me," she said.

I said nothing.

"How bold of you to think he'd choose an old hag," she added in the most annoying way possible.

"My lady isn't older?" I asked.

Looking amused, she stared at me before letting out a mocking chuckle.

"How could I blame you? I sometimes mistakenly think that everyone I associate with dwells within my category. Don't get me wrong, I'm not associating myself with you, but you seem to be doing so, which must be why you think I am..." She laughed with arrogant amusement. "...at your level. Do not do that, Lady Matilda. Stop stooping this low."

She shook her head as though she pitied me.

I simply stood there, pondering why she was trying so hard to prove herself when she was only a fourth-rank wolf.

I sighed silently and turned away from her.

"Ah!"

She suddenly screamed, throwing herself to the ground and summoning her claws to scratch her own arm.

I looked at her in confusion.

"Are you mad?" I asked.

"Matilda!"

A roar sounded from behind me.

It was—

I turned around.

Cedric and his friends were standing not too far away.

Tearing his fierce gaze away from me, he rushed to Lucinda as though she were in grave danger.

Goodness.

I sighed.

The drama was all to get Cedric's attention?

I remained confused.

"Tell me you are alright, my lady," Cedric said gently, holding her as though she were a fragile child.

I never mentioned it before.

The rankings of wolves were very important.

Higher-ranked wolves carried more abilities than lower-ranked wolves.

However, the males of the royal bloodline were blessed abundantly by the Moon Goddess and possessed the highest-ranked wolves.

This meant that Alphas wielded more power than they even realized.

To help them adapt, we trained them to control and absorb their wolves' capabilities.

Lady Lucinda, being a red-eye wolf, could not heal her own wounds.

She could see in the dark, smell from great distances, and possessed average speed. A dog could easily catch up to her.

Only an Alpha's blood could heal another.

I could heal myself to a certain extent, but being second-rank carried as many disadvantages as advantages.

I could do nearly everything a first-rank wolf could do, but where a first-rank wolf had no limits, mine came with severe restrictions. Exceeding those limits could even cost me my life.

I watched as Cedric cut himself to heal a she-wolf who had deliberately injured herself.

After the ritual was done, I simply chose to walk away slowly with my cane.

But Cedric appeared beside me.

He could teleport to places he could see.

If I were standing in his room and he was elsewhere with Lucinda, he couldn't teleport directly to me.

It wasn't true teleportation.

It was more like overwhelming speed.

If he stood at the foot of a mountain and could see the summit, he could instantly appear there.

Teleportation only to places within sight.

As a second-rank wolf, I couldn't teleport. My speed wasn't that extraordinary.

If I wanted to climb that mountain, I would still have to race my way to the top.

My speed existed on the scale. An Alpha's speed exceeded the scale.

They weren't merely wolves.They were Alphas.The bloodline of the Moon Goddess herself.

How exciting.

"I didn't hurt her," I said before he could speak.

"Yet there was a scratch on her arm. Would she do that to herself?"

I turned fully toward him and angled my head to one side.

"We are mates. You can tell that I didn't," I said confidently.

"How can I trust such a bond?"

"Such a bond?" I asked, confused.

"Mating me to an old hag. Such a bond is atrocious," he hissed, sneering.

"I do not remember you saying that before, Lord Cedric. You always told me that you never cared about the age difference."

"I must have been bewitched and intoxicated by the bond."

I scoffed with a laugh. Not because of what he said. But because I had fallen for all of it.

"I shouldn't trust a bond like this."

I said nothing.

I simply looked into his eyes, exhausted, silently begging him not to treat me this way.

"Lord Cedric."

A feminine voice interrupted our staring contest.

I resumed walking when I saw him rush back to Lady Lucinda.

I didn't care to know what would happen between them, but I was certain they would discuss me.

And somehow, that hurt even more.