Rufus broke eye contact with me and asked me to leave. “Now that you have said your piece, you should go. Irrelevant people can’t just walk in here without permission.”
The words ‘irrelevant people’ successfully deflated my spirits. My heart quivered and I felt extremely embarrassed.
I licked my dry lips and f0rced a smile. “I’m glad that you feel fine. I will leave now.”
After saying that, I turned around and walked out with measured steps, my hands and feet so rigid, I felt like they didn’t listen to my command. Tears pooled in my eyes. I tried to blink them away, refusing to let them fall to the ground.
As I was leaving, I heard Laura’s voice behind me.
“Rufus, what are you going to do next?”
I unintentionally slowed my steps, wanting to hear Rufus’ answer.
He was silent for a few moments before softly replying, “Since Adela is my mate, we should get married as soon as possible.”
When I heard his reply, my dam of tears burst.
I didn’t dare to stay there any longer and fled from the palace.
Rufus’ POV
Through the crack in the door, I spotted Crystal rushing away.
For some reason, my chest felt constricted. I reflexively touched the bandage that covered my wound, thinking that perhaps the pain was a result of my injury.
Mom asked me in a surprised voice, “Get married? Are you sure you want to be so hasty about it?”
Just as I was about to answer affirmatively, the dull pain returned to my chest, and it was even worse than the last time. I felt as if a needle had suddenly been plunged into my wound.
So my hand automatically flew to my heart.
I called back the doctor who was getting ready to leave. “Don’t go yet. Come and check if my chest wound is inflamed or something. Why does it keep paining?”
The doctor turned around and asked with a confused expression, “Is the medicine not effective enough?”
Then he removed the gauze and examined my wound. Meanwhile, I turned my attention to my mother and said, “Now that I’m supposed to get married soon, and I have happened to meet the mate designated to me by the Moon Goddess, I think this is my fate. That being said, Adela and I should get married.”
Mom stared at me speechlessly. She looked like she wanted to say something but stopped after giving it a second thought.
The doctor finished examining my wound. “It’s fine. Maybe your sudden movement just now disturbed it.”
I touched my chest again and realized that it didn’t hurt so badly anymore, so I nodded indifferently and asked the doctor to leave.
After pondering for a while, I turned my gaze to Adela, who was standing by the bed, and calmly asked, “Did you hear what I just said? Are you willing to marry me?”
Adela lowered her head shyly and softly replied, “Of course, I am. I’ve been your admirer for a long time.”
My mother, who had been quiet for quite a while, abruptly asked Adela, “Since you came to the ball we held the last time, didn’t Rufus and you notice each other as mates?”
Adela paused for a moment, and then replied, “I was unwell that day, so I left before the ball began and His Majesty didn’t get a chance to meet me.”
She wiped her palms on the sides of her dress again. Every time she answered Mom’s or my questions, she got an overcautious and uneasy expression on her face.
And for some reason, her timid tone irked me.
But considering she was my mate and had saved me, I stayed calm and interrupted her conversation with Mom. “Adela, is your body in any discomfort?”
Thinking back to the unrestrained sex I had with her over and over again last night, another wave of guilt washed over me.
Although I didn’t feel the joy and expectation in my heart when I was in her company, as her mate, I would still take care of her until the end. I would protect her, cherish her, and fulfill all her desires.
I repeatedly tried to convince myself that this was the best outcome, but in my mind, a vision of Crystal taking off her mask and smiling at me popped up. Her eyes were bright and clear. Her red lips parted, and she said to me, “Idiot!”
I was so enraged that I wanted to teach her a lesson, but Adela’s voice interrupted my reverie.
It was only then that I realized I had fallen into some kind of hallucination just now. It felt like a memory deep in my brain had shaken loose, or I had just imagined a scene.
I put a hand to my mouth and coughed. Then I looked up at Adela and asked, “What did you say just now?”
In a soft voice, she replied, “I just said that I was fine.”
It suddenly dawned on me that she was answering my question. And then I was bewildered. Was she truly in such good health? How come she didn’t even feel tired after an entire night of wild sex with me?
Rufus’ POV
I was bewildered by the look of confusion in Adela’s face. I recalled having sex with the she-wolf that had saved me yesterday. I remembered losing control. It felt so good that I never wanted to stop.
It was unfathomable for Adela to just sit there and act like nothing happened. I was a beast. At the very least, she should be acting all awkward and embarrassed around me, but that wasn’t the case at all.
“You can tell me if you are not feeling well.”
I curled my hand into a fist and held it up to my mouth to stifle my cough. It was then that I noticed a faint bit mark on my index finger. I had brief flashes of our intense lovemaking. I remember how, toward the end, the she-wolf had been crying and screaming, and she had bitten me in an attempt to stop my passionate onslaught. But Adela didn’t look like someone who had been subjected to hours of torture, passionate or otherwise. Did her body simply recover more quickly than normal?
“Your Majesty,” she said in a timid voice. “I’m quite all right. Do you need me to do anything for you?”
“No, thanks,” I snapped, surprising myself. I didn’t know why, but I couldn’t seem to muster my previous zeal toward her. Was it possible that yesterday was just a dream? A deliciously long, erotic dream… But then, how would that explain the bite mark on my finger? I sure as hell couldn’t have bitten myself. I would have instinctively stopped from the pain.
I sighed and felt a headache coming on. Whenever I closed my eyes, I could almost still hear the moans and whimpers of the she-wolf right in my ear. Her face, however… It was too bad that I couldn’t remember it clearly, when even her unique scent seemed to linger in the air around me.
I suddenly realized that I couldn’t smell that haunting scent from Adela.
Had it all been a dream, after all?
“Rufus, are you sure you want to…” my mother paused and glanced at the girl by the bed before heaving a long sigh. “Have you made up your mind to marry Adela? Don’t you think you need some time to think this through carefully?”
“I do want to marry her.” I was not in the mood for this discussion. “Adela saved me, and that’s that. The wedding shall be held according to the highest standard of the kingdom. Please arrange for her accommodations as well.”
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