CHAPTER 41
AUDREY’S POV
I stared blankly at the mirror in front of me, not really able to see anything as my mind was far gone.
“Audrey! Audrey!!” I blinked my eyes back into the present and looked up at Layla, who was calling me.
“Sorry.” I muttered. “What were you saying?”
“Something definitely went wrong.” She said, a worrisome frown etched onto her face. “I could feel his emotions.” The moment she said that, my heart started beating really fast.
Since Logan had walked out of Sebastian’s chambers yesterday, I hadn’t seen him. I had tried to go after him, but unfortunately, I lost him. My heart broke even more, when I went to our chambers to see the beautiful decorations he had made for my birthday. I had fallen to the floor and cried like a baby, begging the goddess to just turn back the hands of time for a few hours. I could correct my mistakes, if she did. I closed my eyes and opened them a lot of times, hoping to find myself hours back in time, but I was continually disappointed. Instead, time kept running forward, and Logan never showed up until the entire night was gone.
I hadn’t slept a wink the whole night. I found myself opening and closing my eyes through the night, hoping the moon goddess would show me undeserving mercy.
It was only this morning, did I see Denver’s letter to me, lying on the floor, on the other side of the bed. I didn’t need anyone to tell me what had happened. Logan had stumbled upon it, and read it. How could I have been so careless? So far, it was safe to say that the root of all my problems was my ability to make really poor decisions.
“Are you alright?” She asked in concern, and I nodded stiffly. “But you have been silent since I walked in here.” She gazed at me in a readable manner. “Did you both have a fight?” She suddenly asked, and I found it difficult to make out a word. All the while, the picture of his disappointed face and his teary eyes flashed through my mind. No, we didn’t have a fight. I hurt him in the worst way possible. “Oh my goodness! You’re crying.” She quickly cleaned away the tears from my eyes. I didn’t even realize I had been crying.
“Did he seem like he was going to be fine?” I found myself asking, and she squinted her eyes in confusion.
“What?”
“You said that you felt his emotions.” I explained. “Did it seem like he was going to be fine?”
“I definitely cannot ascertain that, Audrey.” She sighed, sitting on the chair beside mine. “But knowing how worried you are about him, only makes my heart filled with love for you. Thank you.”
“No….” I shook my head with so much difficulty. “Don’t thank me.” More tears rolled down my cheeks. I contemplated telling her the entire truth, but the look of love in her eyes, made me refrain from doing so.
That endearing gaze of hers, was going to quickly become a look of hatred, the moment she heard what I had done. Was she going to believe me if I told her I had been…. raped by Sebastian, considering the fact that I had wanted to be with him only a month back?
Even my wolf had completely shut me out, I didn’t expect Layla to understand either. Especially when I had badly hurt her twin brother.
“Is he going to return?” I muttered in between tears. “The coronation is in less than a day.”
Just then, the door was pushed open, and Liam stepped in, looking so sweaty.
“What has you looking this way, my love?” Layla stood up from beside me, and walked up to him. “How was the meeting with the council elders?”
“Terrible.” He sighed, shifting his gaze towards me. Oh, goddess! Why was he looking at me in such a manner? What happened during the meeting? Was Sebastian there? I felt a blanket of fear cover me, the moment I thought about Sebastian. I could feel the hair on my skin standing.
“Talk to us, then.” Layla pressed.
“When was the last time you saw him?” Liam asked me, and my lips quivered.
“Oh, stop it already!” Layla rebuffed him. “She is already going through a lot of emotional distress at the moment.”
“Layla?!” Liam looked at her in disbelief. “Your brother is missing, and you think I should be calm about it?! No one has seen him for over 24 hours! His coronation is in less than 14 hours, and you think I should ‘stop it’?”
“Calm down….” She sighed. “I’m worried too.”
“You do not seem like it.” He rolled his eyes.
“Maybe that’s because I am sure that he is safe. I can still feel his energy, and it’s unusually stronger than before.”
“You can feel him?” I rushed out before I could help it.
“Yes.” She nodded at me, a sad smile on her face. “You must have hurt him really bad, for him to have absconded in such a manner.” She sighed, and my face fell. “No no no!” She rushed out. “I don’t mean to make you feel bad.”
“So they had a fight?” Liam asked Layla, and she nodded. “What about?”
“I don’t know!!” She yelled in exasperation.
“What did you both have a fight about?” He asked me, but I just remained unmoving and silent.
“Liam, you do realize she would be your Luna and Queen in a matter of hours, right? Show some respect!” Layla whisper~yelled.
“Yes, I do realize that! And that’s just the reason it doesn’t add up!” He panted.
“She had been missing the whole of yesterday, while Logan and I, got busy decorating this place for her birthday! He had been so happy and excited. How could everything just turn upside down so suddenly?”
‘He had been so happy and excited’. The words continued ringing in my ears, and I couldn’t believe how much I destroyed his happiness.
“Maybe it was a case of misunderstanding.” Layla defended. Truly, it was a misunderstanding, but very unexplainable.
“Majority of the elders have insisted that the coronation would go on as planned, whether or not Logan returns.” Liam muttered weakly, and that was when the severity of things dawned on us.
“Bu… but I thought father promised to make an extension possible?”
“Your father may be the king, but there are certain decisons only him cannot make.” Liam sighed, before turning and heading out of our chambers. I looked up at Layla in worry, more tears clouding my eyes.
At this point, I was expecting her to ask me what really transpired between I and her brother, but she didn’t. Instead, she pulled me into her warm embrace and assured me that all was going to be well. I didn’t need a soothsayer to tell me she didn’t even believe her own words.
**
**
CORONATION DAY
I watched quietly as Alara fixed the last pin through my hair. She had smiled so widely, as if things were normal. I couldn’t imagine the nerve she had, to still step into my chambers even after betraying me. I looked at myself in the mirror, and I undeniably looked beautiful. But even as much as I looked good, I felt the opposite way. My heart was hurting so badly, and I couldn’t even think about anything else, other than Logan. Where was he? Was he fine? Would he return?
The door creaked open and the next minute, I heard Layla’s sombre voice.
“Drop it there.” Through the reflection in the mirror, I saw a maid walk over to the bed and placed a regal looking robe on the bed. It looked extremely heavy, from the way she dropped it on the bed with difficulty.
“Layla.” I called out, and she walked towards me. Standing behind me, she placed her hand on my shoulder, and looked at my reflection in the mirror.
“You’re so beautiful.” Was she kidding me? “Leave us.” She muttered, and all the maids present in the room, walked out in a file.
“Layla, he is yet to return.”
“Heyyy! Do not cry now.” She firmly chastised. “You do not want to ruin this look.”
“But what is the use, when Logan isn’t here?”
“Oh gosh, you ruined it eventually!” She sighed in frustration, bending to the vanity shelf and picking up a clean napkin. Carefully, she dabbed the napkin underneath my eyes, trying to clean the tear stains. She really couldn’t understand the level of guilt I felt, knowing I was to be blamed for destabilizing him in this manner.Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.
Suddenly, I looked at the robe on the bed and swallowed. Had he returned already?
“Is he back?” I asked, and she gave a look of confusion. “The robe.” I pointed towards it. “That means he is back, right?” I asked hopefully, sniffing back more tears that threatened to completely ruin my face. She firmly held me chin, and looked into my eyes.
“He will be back. He is my brother, and I know him.” Was she kidding? The coronation was going to take place in less than an hour! Immediately, her expression changed into a subtle one. “It is expected that the royal family arrive the coronation hall, atleast half an hour before the event begins. Come with me.” She said, wearing a smile.
Reluctantly, I stood up and followed behind her. I would have preferred to stay back in the room until Logan returned, but I had no choice.
Layla and I walked hand in hand until we got to the coronation hall. True to her words, the chairs arranged for the royal family were almost completely occupied. The king and Beta Justin were already seated, same as Liam. They were a few empty seats, before the seat occupied by the Queen and… Sebastian.
I felt goosebumps on my skin, the moment I saw him. He wore a smirk when he looked up to see me, and shivers literally ran down my spine. The images of him assaulting me regardless of my pleas, invaded my thoughts.
I quickly tore my eyes away from him, suddenly unable to move from where I stood. I couldn’t feel tears pricking my eyes, and had to continuously blink my eyes to keep them at bay.
“Audrey, you’re strong.” Layla muttered into my ears. “What is happening to you?”
I guess strength and power were very useless when it came to certain things in life. My strength could heal my pain now, could it? Some of the elders had started whispering amongst themselves, making me finally walk to my reserved seat beside Layla’s.
For the next half hour, the hall kept getting fuller and fuller with people. A lot of glamorously dressed men and women of high esteem, trooped into the coronation hall, making me more agitated. At some point, I looked down at Layla’s hands to see them shaking. Even the king and Beta Justin looked bothered. This was getting more serious.
“Beloved supernaturals of the werewolf race…!!!” I jolted in shock, and looked up to see a very unfamiliar man standing on the podium.
“That is Chief Drakos. He is the descendant of the Dragon wolves. Their bloodline have been tasked with coordinating the coronation.” Her voice was so shaky, making me hold her hand in support.
“Stand!” Liam whispered to us, and Layla and I sprung up. I looked up to see all the dignified wolves in the hall, on their feet.
“It gladdens me to coordinate the second coronation ritual in my lifetime.” He smiled, and the crowd howled in excitement. Were this people being serious? Why was everyone acting like they didn’t know the prince in question to be coronated, was missing?
“From the moon, was our life made, and in the moon goddess, does our lives abide.” Immediately, some guards marched into the hall, carrying a very gigantic statue of a crescent moon.
“Reverence the goddess!!” He yelled out with such energy I had never seen before.
“Oh goddess of the moon, our hearts abide in thee, and our tongues speak in reverence of thee. Shine your wondrous light upon our race, and bless us with the gift of good leadership. Create a link so strong amongst us….” everyone chorused, but I was lost all through the chants. “In thee, we trust.” They completed, and I took a quick look around, to be sure that no one noticed I was distracted.
“Today, we have come to crown a new king over this dignified race.” Chief Drakos continued. “We call on Prince Logan to step forward.”
“Is he being serious?!” I whispered to Layla in annoyance. “He is clearly not here.”
Murmurs began to erupt from the crowd, and a guard walked over to him and whispered some things in his ear.
“Okay!” Chief Drakos called back everyone’s attention. “The king has requested we spare some more minutes in waiting, for the prince!!”
“That wouldn’t be necessary!” I heard the familiar voice and looked up to see Logan walking into the hall with such authority I really couldn’t explain.
I didn’t know if I should cry in shame, or laugh in happiness.