novelxo Chapter Twenty-One
Mircea
Vali’s red scarf was in my hand, the material soft against my fingertips. It was hard not to imagine the piece of clothing wrapped around her long neck… “I’m starting to think I might have royally fucked up.” I said, looking at the portrait of my mother. “I should have told Vali everything before we parted ways.”
I should have told her that I wasn’t Traian’s son, but rather his nephew. Should have told her that this was probably a bad idea and that I would likely end up dead. That I have a strong feeling we’re mates.
Or more than a strong feeling.
We had to be.
It was the only thing that truly made sense to me anymore. I’d seen her, had continued seeing her, since she came into power. Since that night where I saw flashes of her life through my eyes. I had seen her in my dreams nearly every night since then.
Those dreams only stopped once I saw her in person. That fact had to hold some kind of merit too. There were a few other factors I should be taking into account. Mates had a similar scent, it was part of how they found each other. I lifted her scarf to my face and inhaled deeply. What did she smell like to me? Pine trees and… myself.
Or rather, the familiar scent of mint and sandalwood.
Mates were also supposed to have complimenting powers. Those who had fire were usually mated with someone who had fire or air. Ice and water. Water and earth. Shadows and light. Telekinesis and… telepathy.
Many things about wolves have been forgotten since the treaty was signed, we decided to keep them to ourselves to give us some form of upper hand.
Jackson’s words echoed through my mind once more. But that wasn’t all.
You think that’s the biggest secret our kind have?
Marcy’s voice rang through my brain, speaking about telling me the secret of wolves being able to smell emotions.
Knowing that we can smell emotions is rather inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, wouldn’t you agree?
What if that was another secret of theirs? Vali had cut the conversation off before I’d been able to push for more answers. Maybe not all wolves had telepathy, but what if the White Wolf did? It could explain how Vali was able to change so much within a handful of years. Especially if the telepathy was potent, if it could overrule the calling of the moon.
There were stories of werewolves stuck in human form, it drove them crazy. Being seperated from a half of yourself like that… what if it was the White Wolf’s doing?
What if she had manipulated me? Or the others at the Summit to do her bidding? To go through with her plan, just as she wished? No. She wouldn’t… although that could be my naivety speaking.
I would have to speak with her to find out for sure.
Maybe I should call her. Or send a text. Just something to initiate contact between us. Calling would probably be a bad idea, anyone would be able to hear me. A text would probably be safest, just so I could work this out.
Although, I could be moving too quickly. It was just a loose theory based on what I thought we were to each other. Based on us actually being mates which I only thought because she matched the silhouette of the person I see in my dreams. I should probably be more sure of that before I accuse her of manipulation.
And maybe I should get a second opinion about the scent.
Nari, I needed to find Nari. I could trust her with this. My feet carried me through the castle, finding Nari in the throne room with paper and a pen. No doubt preparing for our wedding.
“Picked a theme yet?” I asked her, she turned around and smirked.
“Well, it’s happening on the Blue Moon, which I think your father forgot about. So, currently it’s just death I guess.” She said, I forced a tight smile onto my face. “What’s wrong?” Maybe this was a bad idea.
“Nothing, just needed a second opinion on something.” I replied, looking around as I pulled the scarf out from underneath my cloak.
“On what?”
“What does this smell like to you?” I asked, handing it over to her. She shuffled her notepad and oen around before she took it and lifted it to her nose.
“Pine…” She replied, her eyebrows furrowing. “You,” she added before her eyes shot up to mine. “Wolf. Why does this smell like a wolf, Mircea?”
“I um… it belongs to…”
Something was off. Her heartbeat was too fast. Her scent was off, like it had turned bitter.
“I found it, and thought it had a similar scent to mine. I just wanted to make sure, it might have belonged to a vampire before a wolf took it.” I said.
A likely story.
Nari’s voice echoed in my head, but it wasn’t a memory. It was clear, and new, and sounded as if she had spoken them right then and there. But she hadn’t. Her lips hadn’t moved. But the tone of her words, of her voice… she didn’t believe my lie, and her voice sounded malicious.
“Seriously, are you okay?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Uh, just a bit tired with everything going on.” I told her, my head starting to spin as the room became overwhelming with scents and sounds.
“That’s reasonable, maybe you should go and lay down for a while…”
I was walking down the hallways of the French chateaux. A black cloak billowing behind me as I walked. Everyone should be out of the chateaux by now, all preparing for the night ahead. The final meeting had wrapped up an hour ago, so now was my chance to get to Traian.
There were no guards standing vigil at the door to the wine cellar. While the spell the witches had used would have been strong enough to keep him in, guards would have been helpful to stop others from letting the King out. Like me.
I reached for the handle, my fingernails painted blood red, and pushed open the door. The King was waiting, a smile on his face as he walked over to me.
“Well done, Nari, you’ve held your end of the bargain.”
“Was there ever any doubt, my King?”
“When it comes to you? Never.”
My heart fell out of my chest. But I couldn’t let it show. Surely that was just my imagination, some cruel trick of the mind due to my exhaustion. There was no way that I had just seen a memory of Nari’s. And there was surely no way she would be working for my father.
“Yeah I think I might go and lay down…” I agreed, she nodded her hand and gently gave me the scarf back.
“Yeah, you don’t look too well. Maybe too much escargot back in France, we both know your stomach doesn’t enjoy it.” She said, her hand lightly brushing my forearm with a gentle smile on her face.
“Yeah, the escargot. That’s probably it.” I said, smiling back and tucking the scarf back into my cloak.
“Go and rest up, okay? I’ll get you to help with the wedding planning tomorrow night.” She replied, I nodded as I walked out of the throne room. But I didn’t go back to my bedroom. Without thinking, I ended up in the records room, coming up with some excuse to see the parchment that tracks the usage of the scent-inhibitors.
There was one reason I had possibly seen into Nari’s mind. Heard her thoughts. Smelled her emotions…
But I couldn’t jump to conclusions without knowing that vision was real. So I looked up the right date and time, and almost threw up when I saw it. Nari’s name with the exact location of the French chateaux, an hour after the ending of the final meeting.
Somehow I ended back up in my room, sitting on the bed and staring at my mother’s portrait. She would know what to do, I know she would. But she wasn’t here. And I wasn’t safe.
Because if my powers were changing, my scent would change soon too. The only reason someone’s powers change in the way mine were, was because they had come in contact with their mate.
It was confirmation of the bond between us.
And as I looked away from the portrait to my mirror, all I saw looking back were glowing gold irises. I was right, Vali was my mate, and she had telepathy.
And I had to run from Bran Castle before I was killed.