Chapter 128

Chapter 128 Softness is useless
SILAS
I took my time returning to the banquet hall. It had been a long time since I’d been in Merliscire, but everything was still the same. Always another celebration, another meeting, another bit of drama that ensnared my life so deeply that I could barely breathe.
The scent of my mate’s perfume lingered on my jacket and made my mouth. water. It was lovely- like raspberries and spun sugar. It was delicious and made me crave the taste of her l*ps even more.
Her k*ss was indescribable. It was as if the Moon Goddess had fashioned the most perfect woman for me, only to grant her so much scorn and inner fire that she wanted nothing to do with me.
The image of her danced in my mind and haunted me with every step I took.
I Her gorgeous auburn hair, her cr eamy white skin, her big reddish brown eyes, and her beautiful, petite frame. I could only imagine how easy it would have been to sweep her into my arms and draw her close enough to make her mine completely.
The ghost of her lingered in my head until I entered the banquet hall, where it was suddenly snuffed out by the agitated expression on my father’s face. Oliver Moses may have been smiling, but the sullenness in his eyes was clear.
I had seen my father in this state many times when Adalyn and I were kids. Whenever we did something wrong, Father would act just like this. In front of an aurence, he would smile, but when we returned home, the most severe of punishments would await us.
I hadn’t seen Father like this in ages.
But I knew the source of his unhappiness and anger straight away.
Adalyn stood beside Father with her arms crossed. Her golden eyes mocked
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me as they trailed over me, and her chin was lifted slightly. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. If Adalyn was good at one thing, it was acting superior to anyone else in the room, no matter who they were. I was no exception.
I decided to ignore my sister and turned to face our father.
“Father,” I greeted him curtly.
“Silas,” he replied in a polite but still hardened tone. “Where have you been?”
“The restroom,” I replied without ski pping a beat. Father’s gray eyebrow shot up, and he opened his mouth to speak, but before the words could leave his mouth, Adalyn cleared her throat.
“Likely story,” she sneered, and then her eyes narrowed you were off
with that girl.! saw her leave to go to the restroom too.”
Father frowned.
“Is Adalyn correct?” he asked me. “Did you leave to go sneaking around with that girl?”
I shook my head. “Of course not.”
It was a lie, of course, and Adalyn snorted. Father didn’t seem convinced wither, but after a moment of staring at me, his expression lightened.
“Now that you’re back, Silas, you should focus your attention on more important things,” Father spoke again, his tone dripping with condescension. “Much is wrong these days in Anemond, and your loyalties are needed here. I believe that the events of earlier are little more than a mistake. That girl is not your mate. She
coudn’t be.”
A tightness formed in my throat as Adalyn and Father stared at me with their equally stern expressions.
I managed a nod. “Yes, Father.”
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her.
I decided to push the girl out of my mind. I had to focus on the task at hand. Mingling with the upper-cla*s werewolves of Anemond.
The elite members of the Crescent Pack seemed quite happy to see me, though I couldn’t say why. As a few of the Alpha King’s councilors approached us, I had to stifle my confusion and play the role my Father required of me.
“Silas,” one of the older councilors whose name I couldn’t remember greeted me warmly. “What a pleasure it is to see you back in Anemond. And Oliver… your must be so proud of your son. What a worthy successor to the position of Beta, huh?”
“Indeed,” Father agreed, and his smile widened as he placed his arm around me. “Silas is doing our family a great honor. It’s such a pleasure to have another
Moses serve the crown.”
“Indeed,” the councilor agreed.
Though I wanted to remain silent and endure the rest of this celebration, I played my part well and exchanged pleasantries with the rest of our guests. I spoke of my travels and told everyone how happy I was to finally be back in Anemond.
However, no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t get my mate’s soft l*ps and our pa*sionate k*ss off of my mind.
It was hard to explain, but she reminded me of a small bird I’d raised when I was very young. I’d loved that delicate creature more than anything. In fact, it occupied my thoughts so much that I’d snuck away from the training grounds of the palace as
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often as I could to look after it. The tiny animal had been abandoned by its mother, so I was its sole caretaker.
I was so happy to take care of it.
And my father hated it.
One day, I noticed my bird was sick. I ran to Father and asked him if I c bring it to a vet. I pleaded with all of my might and even offered to administer the necessary medicine myself. I would do anything so long as we could get the poor thing some help.
I thought I’d done a good job convincing him, but much to my shock, Father had taken the bird from my hand and thrown it out of the window.
The bird was so sick and injured that it couldn’t open its wings to fly and it plummeted to the ground. Much to my horror and sadness, the animal died the moment it hit the ground.
As I sobbed and stared at Father with a look of pure disbelief and grief, he simply stared back with a venomous glare.
“Softness is useless for a werewolf,” he said coldly. “That creature was nothir but trouble. I never should have allowed you to take care of it.”
I’d never forgotten that day. It taught me the truth of life, and since then, my heart had been hardened and my outlook on the world had been dimmed.
I stared out into the hall. My mate was nowhere to be found.
It was probably for the best.
I didn’t need a bird anymore.
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