Contrary to her confidence when she stood against me earlier, she was a stuttering mess this time around. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know what happened, yet I was quick to judge you. I was only worried about my son. I thought something really terrible had happened to Arron.”
A snort escaped from me, but that was all. I didn’t give her anything else aside from the coldness I was emitting. With the partial satisfaction of getting an apology from this proud woman, I tripped over, feeling much better.
In fact, I could grasp an understanding of where she was coming from. She was simply a tense mother who worried for her son. I suddenly remembered my own mother. Her calm demeanor was not a stranger to me, but whenever she knew something happened to me, the serenity in her would crumble and she would panic.
I was about to say something, but Crystal continued, “Thank you for saving Arron’s life today. I’ve realized that I have caused you a lot of trouble since I’ve been here, despite your great hospitality. But don’t worry. I’ll be leaving the imperial capital with my children in three days’ time. I will take Beryl with me, regardless of whether she has regained her memory or not. You’re the king, and you have a lot on your plate, so you don’t need to take care of her on top of everything else you need to deal with.”
Just like that, Crystal left with Arron still in her arms. She left me. Again.
The volcano of anger I was trying so hard to douse finally erupted. I took long strides, crossing the distance between me and Crystal, and grabbed her arm. She spun around from the sudden motion and met my fiery eyes. My grip around her delicate arm must’ve started to hurt her, considering how she struggled to break free from me, but I couldn’t care less. As she tried to free her arm, she accidentally nudged her mask, freeing her face as it fell to the ground.
Crystal’s POV
I was too stunned to breathe. Rufus didn’t say a word.
When I came to my senses, my first instinct was to turn my face away from him. But Rufus cupped my chin and f0rced me to face him. He stared at me for a long time, his expression gloomy, his eyes unreadable.
I was so anxious that I could hardly breathe. What if he recognized me and remembered something?
Finally, Rufus broke the silence. “Sure enough, you lied to me.”
I swallowed and tried to keep calm while simultaneously trying to break away from his grip.
Rufus sneered and suddenly leaned closer to me. His face was mere inches away from mine, and the sudden closeness sent a shiver down my spine. I was so scared that I squeezed my eyes shut subconsciously.
“Didn’t you say you were disfigured? There’s not a single scar on your face. It’s flawless. Why did you lie to your king? What are you up to? How come you couldn’t face me with your true looks?”
Feeling both guilty and anxious, I didn’t answer any of his questions. I couldn’t tell him that it was all because of a stupid curse that I had to go to such lengths to hide things from him. Since Rufus had seen my face now, there was nothing I could do nor say.
Finally, I broke free from Rufus’ grip and said, “I like to wear a mask and pretend to be disfigured. It’s none of your business. Even though you’re the king, you can’t interfere with other people’s hobbies.”
Rufus was so angry that he snatched the mask from me and crushed it with his bare hand. “Then, as your king, I order you not to wear a mask from now on.”
Looking at the pieces of the broken mask, I felt almost indignant. “You’re being unreasonable. I already told you that it’s just a hobby!”
“You can always change your hobbies,” Rufus retorted mercilessly, his cold gaze chilling me to the bone.
I was so angry that I clenched my fists and nearly pounced on him. Fortunately, Arron’s childish voice brought me back to my senses.
“I told you my mommy’s not ugly! She’s the most beautiful person in the world! Now you believe me?” Arron crossed his chubby arms over his chest and looked at Rufus smugly.
“Yes, your mommy’s the most beautiful person in the world, but she is also a liar,” Rufus answered coldly.
I felt embarrassed. I wanted to ask Arron keep quiet, but the little boy was on a roll. “She’s beautiful. That’s why me and Beryl are beautiful, too!”
“All right, all right. That’s enough, Arron. He’s in a bad mood now, so don’t say anything more.” I was worried that if the little kid kept talking, Rufus would get so angry that he’d f0rce Arron to remove the bandages on his head.
Rufus snorted and said haughtily, “When you’re guilty, you try to escape.”
“Who’s the guilty one here?” I shot back, albeit weakly. Anyway, the man had no memory of me. He could say whatever he wanted to say. I just had to bear it in silence.
I’d return to the border soon. He wouldn’t be able to do anything to me then. Even if he seriously forbade me from wearing a mask, how could he stop me over at the border? Anyway, it was my face, not his.
But I still couldn’t let Rufus see Arron’s face. If he saw that the little boy looked exactly like him, I definitely wouldn’t be able to explain that without bring up our past. So I had to make sure Arron stayed away from Rufus until we left the imperial capital.
I adjusted the bandages around Arron’s head and came up with an excuse to leave. “Arron’s hungry. We’re going to look for something to eat.”
Rufus seemed to see right through me. “I’ll have someone send you back to the banquet hall,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
“No, thanks! I know the way!” Without waiting for a response, I scooped Arron up and bolted.
Rufus’ POV
Crystal ran away as fast as she could, Arron in tow. She wasn’t as calm and cunning as she used to be before, when she was trying to get rid of me. On the contrary, she looked quite scared and helpless without the mask. I highly doubted she’d have reacted like this if wearing a mask was just her “hobby”. She wasn’t a weak woman, and she should’ve been able to fight back, but she didn’t. I watched the she-wolf’s receding figure in the distance. Instead of chasing after her, I asked everyone to leave and sat alone in the lounge, lost in thought.
Crystal’s face still lingered in my mind. It was the first time I’d seen her real face, and I couldn’t seem to shake off the weird feeling gnawing at me inside. I leaned against the backrest of the sofa and closed my eyes tiredly. Although the room was quiet, my mind was buzzing.
Her voice, her face, and the angry look in her eyes when I took off her mask… It all kept replaying in my mind.
Crystal was undoubtedly a scheming woman who breathed. She kept so many secrets. Now, I had only revealed the most superficial layer. I still needed to find out her motives and intentions.
I simply couldn’t understand why she hid her pretty face under a cold mask. And why did she seem so afraid that I would approach Arron?
She had allowed me to get close to Beryl, but why did she want me to stay away from her other child? Was she scared that I’d see the boy’s face?
At this time, a subordinate came in and reported his findings regarding Crystal. I had sent someone to secretly go to the border pack to investigate her a long time ago.
But there was very little to report. The only information we had about Crystal started from the time after she became the Alpha. Before that, people only knew that she was Leonard’s distant relative. There was nothing suspicious about her identity.
“Was Crystal married previously?” I asked coldly.
The subordinate shook his head. “There’s no record about it. I only managed to find out that she was heavily pregnant when she took office. And there’s no information on the father of the two children. It seems that any trace of him has been wiped out.”
Which meant that she had gotten pregnant before getting married to that bad man.
I felt a little upset. I thought that the she-wolf was very stupid to have been betrayed. Fortunately, her children had grown up to be cute and lovely.
“Does she wear a mask at the border pack?” I asked. The subordinate shook his head again. “No.”
So she fabricated the lie specifically for me.
There was something fishy about the whole thing… “Alpha Crystal has a good reputation in the border pack. The locals all look up to her and love her very much,” the subordinate added.
This didn’t come as a surprise to me. I had heard some things about Crystal from other packs before she came to the imperial capital. She was known to be a competent Alpha.
I took a deep breath and had mixed feelings about this. I didn’t know what to do with her.
More Kickass Werewolf Reads
Dive into our collection of free werewolf romance novels—where fierce Alphas, daring heroines, and heart-stopping twists await. Every story burns with forbidden desire, loyalty, and destiny. Don’t wait—here’s a world where love bites hard and nothing is stronger than the call of the mate.
Leave a Reply