CHAPTER 25
AUDREY’S POV
My senses slowly became aware of the time of day, as the chirpings of birds got louder. I finally opened my eyes and weakly took a quick glance over my surroundings. Mindlessly, my hands stretched out to feel his body that was presumably beside me, but was met with an empty bed space. Immediately, I looked to my side and indeed, it was an empty space. I had thought that he would be in the bathroom, but my hopes were squashed when I saw the small note on his pillow. He was gone already, and I couldn’t help the great feeling of loneliness that came with the realization that I wasn’t going to see him for days or even weeks.
“Logan.” I muttered to myself. “You should have said goodbye at the very least. I thought we were friends?”
‘Oh, shut it! This isn’t about friendship.’ My wolf snorted, but I wasn’t going to give her the benefit of a response. Instead, I thought about how I had apparently wasted a whole day that would have been spent with him, drowning in my sour mood. But then, I couldn’t help my change in mood, after hearing him talk about our coronation so casually, unaware of the harm and loss that would supposedly come to him on that day.
‘Oh?! Now you care?’ My wolf taunted me again, and I rolled my eyes. I turned to the other side of the bed and hopped down.
Lazily, I went on and about my hygiene routine and got dressed. After a while, Alara came in with my breakfast and I ate up. After eating, I headed out to the library, and it felt more lonely than it did without Logan yesterday. Midway through my book, I paused and wondered if Logan had gotten to his destination already. He hadn’t even informed me about where exactly he had gone off to though. After a few minutes of sulking, I looked back at my book and continued reading. The story I had been reading was really intriguing, making me lose track of time.
The sound of hands clapping before me, made me look up in shock. That was until I saw it was Sebastian, and a small smile made its way to my face.
“Seb.” I sighed, reluctantly closing the book I was holding, and looking up at him who wore a very disappointing frown. “What?” I muttered, and he slowly nodded.
“I get it. You have been busy playing ‘wonderful mate’ to Logan, for the king to see. But is that why you haven’t seen or made any effort to speak with me all these while?”
“You also haven’t tried to reach out to me, so don’t make it seem like I am the issue here!” I blurted even before I could comprehend my thoughts. Okay, that came out wrongly.
I looked up at him with an apologectic gaze, and he only chuckled humourlessly.
“You told me that you were trying to be careful because my father had his watchful eyes on you. So I automatically felt you were going to reach out to me when you felt it was safe and okay to do so.”
“I’m sorry for flaring up.” I sighed. “And you’re…. you’re right.” I nodded in agreement. “We really haven’t spoken to each other for….” I paused, realizing it’s actually been more than a week since we last saw or spoke to each other. “…. over a week.” I muttered, making him shake his head in disbelief.
“You have even lost track of time. Wait,” He sighed. “Am I the only one pining after you now? Have you gotten so used to your mate that you have now gotten over me?”
“No! No no no.” I rushed out, feeling fear creep into my heart. “Not at all. I… I just honestly thought you were away.”
“Away?”
“Yes.” I released a deep sigh. “You told me you had plans of visiting the cold moon pack. Something about trying to convince the Alpha Ryan to….” I was still talking, when he cut me off.
“You now refer to our support hunt as ‘something’?” He asked, and I was going crazy for real this time. What the hell did he want from me?!!
“What did you want me to say, Seb?” I lashed out. “Huh? Tell me whatever you want me to say, and I will say it.” I requested, knowing he probably had nothing to say now. He brushed his hand over his face in mild irritation and looked around, before pinning his gaze on me.
“Well, for starters, I want you to want me as badly as I want you. Where is the Audrey I fell in love with?”
“So you don’t know me anymore?” I asked in disappointment.
“You aren’t acting like ‘you’ anymore!” He yelled at me.
“Pipe low!” I whispered. “Anyone could hear us.”
“See?” You flung his hands in the air. “This is what I’m talking about. Everything is about Logan and the king now.”
“No! It’s about them, It’s about us! I am trying to not blow up our cover here. Do you realize we could both be in serious trouble? Our parents inclusive.”
“Fine.” He muttered. “I only came to let you know that I’d be leaving in a few hours.”
“Leaving to where?” I asked.
“To the cold moon pack. I got a bit delayed because my mother and I had to fix a few things relating to the coronation.” At the sound of ‘coronation’, my interest was piqued. I didn’t want to admit that it was because of Logan I was interested in knowing what was going on.
“What about?” I asked, and he gave a small smile.
“My mother has been talking about being on the safer side, in case things do not work out as planned.”
“By that, you mean?”
“Our plan to challenge Logan for the throne would only end well, if I end up defeating him. If I don’t, I become a rebel. And those who supported me, would be rebels as well.”
“Oh…” I muttered. “I know. But you would definitely win.” I muttered, but cringed internally at the sound of that. My statement simply implied that Logan would unavoidably be in danger and weirdly, I loathed the sound of that.
“I would most definitely win, if we are judging things based on a personal fight between Logan and I. But recently, there seems to be a threat to our plans.”
“What is?”
“Alpha Ryan. His appearance at your wedding only changes things, and I didn’t really think of it that way, until one of the council elders on our side brought it to my notice. Apparently, Alpha Ryan has ended his isolation from the rest of the world, and the first place he decides to show up, is at Logan’s wedding. That only goes to show how loyal he is to the King and Logan. Which means there are higher tendencies that….”
“He may support Logan when you challenge him for the throne.” I completed, a somewhat excited feeling dancing around my belly. Was I going crazy or what?
“Exactly.” He nodded. “And if that happens, we may end up on the losing side. The Alphas supporting us may cower in fear when they see Alpha Ryan solidly behind Logan.”
“What was the plan all along? Did you promise them that we would have Alpha Ryan’s support?” I asked in confusion.
“Audrey.” He suddenly looked so serious. “What is really going on with you? Have you totally forgotten that Alpha Ryan was never part of the plan? No one envisaged that he was going to suddenly come out of isolation. And to make it worse, our recent approaches to buy him over to n our side, has been futile. That is the reason we were so keen on visiting his pack personally.”
“Ohhhh…” I muttered in realization.
“Yes, Audrey! What have you been doing? Busy reading mindless love stories in the library with that fool, Logan?!” He yelled in anger, making me frown slightly. I couldn’t hide my apparent dislike for the way he referred to Logan. “I had only delayed my trip because my mother and I had to make sure we would be safe no matter the turn out of things. We had to find a way to make Logan request to be challenged.”
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“Well, according to the law, if the king or the crown prince gives an open floor to whomever wants to challenge him for the throne, it no longer becomes rebellion.”
What?!
“And Logan did that?” I asked, trying to hide my apparent worry.
“Yes, he did. During the council meeting yesterday.”
“Oh?!” I forced a chuckle. “How?”
“A few elders on our side had to do a lot of work, pushing him to anger, you know? They made implying statements that he wasn’t fit to be king.”
“And he disagreed on that?” I asked, and Sebastian nodded.
“Trust Logan to have unnecessary pride.” He laughed.
I didn’t know why, but hearing that Logan stood up for himself, had been more than enough to make me happy. He wasn’t a pushover after all. He was proving to not be weak, and I was proud.
“With how much you are smiling, it is clear that you are happy about our success.” Sebastian said, and I nodded in agreement. It wasn’t totally a lie though. I was happy, but it just wasn’t because they had succeeded in making Logan give them an open floor to challenge him. “At least, even if things go in his favour during the coronation, we wouldn’t be in any sort of trouble, because we didn’t ‘rebel’. But then, I would never accept defeat, which is why I would go to the cold moon pack today, and ensure that I get Alpha Ryan on our side.”
That firm promise of his, was supposed to make me happy but strangely, I found that it brought fear to me. Why was I so worried about Logan? I was never bothered about anyone else, other than myself.
“I would be taking my leave now. Take good care of yourself.” He leaned down and kissed me on the lips. His kisses suddenly didn’t feel as sweet as I used to find them. Why?
I gently pulled away after letting him kiss me to his heart’s content, and forced a smile on my face. I wasn’t ready for another argument with him.
“Be careful. Bye.” I muttered and gave a wave as he walked away. The moment he stepped out, I found myself lost in thought. I truly didn’t blame him for complaining so much today. Even I, was beginning to not understand myself. Was it normal for me to care for Sebastian, and also care for Logan as well? Hell! I even missed being in his embrace when I woke up this morning. And now, I couldn’t stop thinking of when he would return home. I guess I was truly becoming crazy, and I had to put a stop to it as soon as possible. This wasn’t me.