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Chapter 5 - You Were Supposed to Be MINE!

Eloise’s POV

It was early the next morning when I was woken up by a sudden knock at my door.

“Lady Eloise,” Adrian called out. “Miss Nora is here to help you with your morning preparations. Lord Xavier has ordered your departure for the town of Noah to be soon. I’ll escort you to the stables once you’re ready.”

I rubbed my eyes and let out a sigh. Last night was so much of a blur that I honestly don’t even remember falling asleep.

I looked out the window to see the sun hidden behind some clouds. The gloominess of the day mirrored how I felt in my heart.

Today was the day I was leaving for Noah and I didn’t like it one bit. It put a damper on my plans to get close with Lord Xavier but there was no denying his orders. Ever.

Everyone in town had been talking about the Alpha Lord sending his new wife away from Normand. I hated how fast word traveled.

I bet one of his nosey servants overheard us arguing and they couldn’t just keep their mouths shut..

I wanted to shut out their chatter but it was so hard when I could hear their loud gossiping through the stone walls.

“Did you hear that Lord Xavier was sending Lady Eloise away today?”

“It was their first night together last night, wasn’t it? Maybe she couldn’t make him happy and that’s why he’s sending her to go live somewhere else.”

“Why would Lord Xavier marry such a lowly witch anyway? Just because she comes from a powerful family doesn’t mean she’s powerful.”

“Lord Xavier doesn’t deserve to be with a false Luna anyway!”

I let out another sigh, hopefully, loud enough to where the citizens outside could hear it. I dragged myself out of bed to take a quick shower. Maybe it was going to be a good thing to get out of Normand for a little bit.

I would be able to clear my head and then think about how I’m actually going to kill Lord Xavier…

I wrapped a towel around my body and I stepped back out into the room after I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down.

“Lady Eloise, don’t listen to them!” Nora stomped around the room as she laid out a dress for me to wear today. “They only say such terrible things about you because they’re jealous they’re not the ones married to Lord Xavier.”

I smiled at her. Ever since I was a child, I had been the topic of such nasty gossip—today was no different. People would laugh at me because I wasn’t able to use my magical abilities to my full potential.

I would be lying if I said that their words didn’t hurt.

But over time, I learned to not take so much offense to how others wanted to judge me. They were always going to say terrible things, regardless of how nice I was or how hard I tried. There was no stopping it.

But my dear Nora couldn’t shrug off their hateful words. “Why was Alpha Xavier sending you away anyway? It makes no sense! You are so beautiful and kind! You’d make a wonderful wife if he would quit being so stubborn and give you a chance!”

“Nora, it’s fine! Really. I’ll be okay,” I tried to comfort her.

“You know what?” Nora continued on like she had ignored my words. “I’m going to give you a makeover that’ll make Lord Xavier regret his decision!”

Before I could protest, Nora was already beginning to braid my hair into a delicate twist. After that, she painted my lips with a bright shade of red. Even the cream-colored dress was perfectly cut to where it would show my collarbone.

Oh, Nora. You’re really having fun with this, aren’t you?

After all was said and done, I stepped out of my room to see Adrian waiting for me. He nodded his head in acknowledgement and then escorted me to the stables.

On the walk there, I felt so many eyes on me. A small crowd began to follow us and soon after, it became huge. People even began to circle the carriage after I had gone inside.

Children approached my window to give me candy. The women waved at me kindly. The men were shouting compliments.

I simply looked back at them and waved kindly.

“Your beauty is like a beacon, Lady Eloise. It inspires people.” Nora chimed after she was able to squeeze through the crowd of people and board the carriage.

I smiled bitterly. “If only it would inspire the Lord to rethink his decision to send me away…” I looked out the window and up at the castle.

It felt like Xavier was looking at me from up in those stone walls even though I couldn’t see him.

Adrian sat patiently and waited for the crowd to disperse. I watched as two guards came out from the stables and walked right into the sea of people. After a few minutes, the citizens that were around the carriage walked away.

My hope faded as the crowd continued to thin out until the carriage was finally able to trot away.

The ride to Noah was quiet. Adrian sat in the driver’s seat and was focused on the road before us. Nora sat across from me and was already asleep.

I sat my head against the window and stared outside. My thoughts began to wander. I couldn’t help but bring my fingertips to my lips. The day of our wedding still lingered in my mind.

What did Xavier mean when he asked if I could feel anything?

I pulled the mirror from my small backpack and looked at my reflection. Could it be…? Does he already suspect me of… No…

I let my thoughts pass until nightfall fell on us.

Adrian stopped the carriage and knocked on the door. “Lady Eloise, the roads are too dangerous to travel at this time of night. We’ll set up camp and rest for now. I don’t want to take any risks, especially with you here. Otherwise, Alpha Xavier will have my head on a silver plate.”

I nodded and watched as Adrian swiftly began to unpack some supplies. He was able to set up two decent-sized tents and not long after, he began to make dinner.

I approached Adrian once he was done and sat next to him by the fire. I looked up at him as I took a sip of the wine he packed.

“Hey, Adrian…” I hesitated. “Do you think you can tell me a little bit about Xavier? You know, like his past…?”

Adrian gulped down the rest of his stew and looked at me hesitantly. A look of doubt flashed across his face before he shook it off of him. “Well, I suppose there’s no harm in me telling you, although I think it’d be more appropriate for Lord Xavier to do that.”

I smiled. “You can trust me, Adrian.”

He chuckled. “Well…Lord Xavier used to be a bright and cheerful little boy.” Then his expression turned grim. “That all changed when his father was… well, murdered.”

Adrian took a swig of wine before he continued. “Xavier was only 15 years old and he was already expected to take on the responsibility as king of the werewolf kingdom. However, it was Douglas, Xavier’s uncle, who ascended to the throne instead. All was good for a little bit and it seemed like Xavier was being well taken care of…”

I noticed how Adrian’s words trailed. It was almost as if he didn’t want to say anything else, though I gently encouraged him to keep going. “What happened next?”

“Douglas had no intention of taking care of Xavier—if anything, he saw the young crown prince as a threat. Douglas tried to carry out an assassination attempt on Xavier. Can you believe that? His own nephew…” Adrian shook his head. “After that, Xavier and a portion of the Leonard family who supported him as king fled the kingdom.

“That’s when they settled in the city of Normand.” He continued. “Other men in the family challenged Xavier since some believed he was far too young to be an Alpha and lead the family.”

Adrian chuckled. “Well, you see how that turned out. He became known as the youngest and most powerful Alpha all across Lowell.”

“Wow…”

Adrian paused for a moment before he met my eyes and smiled. “I’m not entirely sure why you decided to propose to Lord Xavier but now that you’re his wife, I do hope that you’ll do everything you can to be the best wife for him, Lady Eloise.”

I nodded my head and returned the smile.My mind wandered again. Now I could see why Xavier had been so hostile towards me—and all of the Wisdom family for that matter.

My family did nothing to help Xavier when he was trying to escape death at the hands of his uncle… Even worse, they ended up serving Douglas.

His path was filled with betrayal, hurt, and death. It made more sense.

But that doesn’t change what I need to do. If he lives, only more death and hurt will follow him. I can’t let him take away the people I love.

Later on in the night, I found it hard to sleep. I tossed and turned so much as my dreams repeated the words Adrian told me that evening. After some time when I thought my body and mind had settled down, a new wave of unease crept up on me.

It felt like someone was watching me.

I opened my eyes and saw that someone stood in the corner of my tent. There was no mistaking the looming, muscular frame of the man who was skulking just a few feet from my bed. Before I could scream, the man crossed the distance and firmly pressed his hand against my mouth.

“Jesus, Eloise! Calm down! It’s me, Adam!” With his free hand, the man yanked the hood that concealed his pale face and red eyes.

“Adam?! What are you doing here? Why are you here?”

The vampire prince, Adam. Well, an illegitimate one. I was supposed to marry him on my 19th birthday. We had been good friends since we were kids and our families thought it’d be wise to marry us to each other in order to forge an alliance.

But they never took into account the fact that I had no romantic feelings for him whatsoever. Sure, he was nice but I only appreciated him as a friend and nothing more. Before I came to the city of Norman to marry Xavier, I broke off the engagement with Adam.

I hadn’t spoken to him since.

So how in the hell did he find me?

“I came to take you away, Eloise. Look, I’ll explain everything later, okay? You just need to come with me,” Adam tried to grab my hand.

I jerked my hand back. “No, Adam. I can’t go with you! I’m a married woman now. You'd better leave now.”

“Look, I know your family forced you to marry Xavier. But that doesn’t matter to me! What matters is that you’re safe and I’ll be the one to make sure you stay that way. So please, come with me. You won’t have to be afraid anymore.” Adam pleaded and squeezed my shoulder.

“No, Adam… I wasn’t forced to marry Xavier. I went to him and proposed voluntarily.” I reeled back and pushed Adam away again. “I’m sorry that I had to break off the engagement, but I have my own reasons for marrying Xavier. I’m not going with you.”

Adam’s bright red eyes turned to a darker shade of crimson. “No! I don’t believe this! You are supposed to be MINE,” he growled.

His arms wrapped around me like how a snake would wrap around its next meal. I tried to fight against his strength but I couldn’t even move against his grip. After some time, my vision went completely black and I fainted.

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