KAMILA'S POV
Tonight was supposed to be perfect-the night I've been preparing for my entire life, the very essence of my existence; to become engaged and married to my mate, Artemis, and ascend the throne, finally winning my father's favor.
Yet, she had to show up and ruin everything, as always-intruding where she's not wanted and effortlessly stealing Artemis's attention from me, like the wicked temptress she is.
I hated the way he chased after her, leaving me to be ridiculed in the middle of the dance floor-stealing the attention that should have been mine at my own engagement party.
I hate it to the point that my blood boils as hot as lava.
Regardless, it's already too late; the gears have already been set in motion.
She had her chance when Artemis chose her over me, but thankfully, father was able to put some sense back into my head before I lost what was rightfully mine to her for good.
I would have never been able to forgive myself.
Once again, I'm reminded of the dignity I must possess and not to lose my right to the likes of her. So, she can whine and cry all she wants, but this will happen.
I return to my room on father's orders, deciding to wait it out. Tomorrow will come, and after the wedding, I'll be done having to deal with her.
I walk into my room, closing the door behind me, only to be surprised by a silhouette casually sitting on my bed.
"Hey," Ace says with a small smile, leaning into the light to reveal his face.
He's less tattered than the last time I saw him-cleaned up enough to wear a three-piece suit and look presentable. His hair is brushed away from his face, and his skin looks healthier.
I didn't think I'd see him again until after the wedding, but here he is, in my room, probably having sneaked in through the open window.
I rest both hands on my hips with a raised brow.
"What are you doing here?" I drawl, unimpressed by his intended mysterious entrance.
He tilts his head with a sly smile.
"Do you really expect me not to show up and try to convince you to reconsider this marriage?" he jokes lightly, looking at me with a mischievous smile.
Of course, that's why he'd bother crawling up the wall into this room like a filthy cockroach.
"I didn't think you'd do something as tasteless as showing up in my room the night before my wedding," I enunciate the word 'wedding' clearly for him.
He smiles instead of backing off. "One thing I've always envied about Artemis is he never gives up on anything he wants, and he always goes after it until he can't anymore. I thought of trying that myself too," he comments, getting up on his feet, revealing his height that's similar to Artemis.
He covers the distance in the room to get to me, stopping a few feet in front of me.
"From your expression and the fact that you're back here by this time, I take it that it didn't go as well as you hoped."
I scoff now, hating the glint in his eyes and how he taunts me playfully. He disrespects me with every action he makes in my own room.
He shrugs when I don't answer him, only passing a glare.
"I saw Sera walking in with Jasper through the front door earlier, so I knew," he answers the unexplained question, and I'm reminded of that awful girl again.
She's wormed her way into Artemis's life, befriending his friend so her influence on him only grows further. How pathetic she is, and to think there was ever a time I considered us to be alike.
I was an idiot.
"So what, here to laugh at me? Pining over someone that will never choose me over a rat like her? Here to beg me not to marry your friend and choose you?"
"No, actually?"
"No?" I look at him in disbelief.
The Ace I know would be begging me to choose him over Artemis right about now, yet he stands there perfectly with a smile on his lips, as if he's not about to lose something he claimed to love.
It's not like I'm bothered by it or anything.
Rather, the truth of his fickle emotions is clear as day now.
"I know you, Kam. You're not the kind that would be moved by something like that. I'm here to offer myself to you. You can't be mine, but I want to be yours one last time."
I raise my brow, tilting my head to the side while I watch him, trying to figure him out.
"This isn't some reverse psychology way of wanting to get me to change my mind, is it?"
"If it was, what would be your response?"
I open my mouth, but I can't find the words.
Usually, it would be easier to talk him down, laugh at his ideas, mock him for being a fool, but now, I can't do any of that. Silence is the only response I can offer.
"Exactly," he says, slowly covering the distance between us.
"I love you, Kamila," he says, getting close enough to pick a lock of my hair and kiss it softly, inhaling the expensive oils poured into it, for Artemis to notice.
"Yet you don't mind me getting married."
"I do."
"You're not showing it, though."
"Would you like me to?" he looks at me directly, the question taking me off guard.
Again, my words fail me, and I'm unwillingly silent. He suddenly draws even closer, entering my personal space.
"Don't marry him, choose me. He won't treat you how you deserve to be treated. He doesn't love you, not the way I would."
I frown, hating those words that mean nothing.
Who needs love, right?
Yet I recall moments between Artemis and that thing, feeling my own heart yearning for a little more than what I have, for someone to look at me and want me as much as he did for her.
When I look up at Ace, I see it staring back at me in a form I never asked for.
"You wasted your time coming here," I reprimand him, trying to turn away in an attempt to conceal my turmoil.
My own breath becomes rushed now; something about his close proximity, even if it means nothing to me, has me flustered.
I need it to end now; I need to push him away and put a stop to all this madness, and yet our eyes meet again when he pulls me back, forcing me to face him.
"Will you let me love you for one night alone, and after, I'll let you go," he pleads with his eyes.
"No," I refuse him, yet my response sounds anything but what I want it to be.
He leans in too fast, capturing my lips with his, engulfing mine completely. I wasn't expecting it; frozen for the first second, but even after, I don't push him away or fight against his kiss.
It's like my muscles refuse to obey me, or fight for me. Instead, I find myself leaning into it.
I'm transported to the night when we last kissed like this, recalling how it felt to be in control, to be worshipped, praised, and cherished with lips that pressed against every inch of my body.
I remember the pleasure I felt; it wasn't so astronomical, still, it was good, and I liked it. It's been too long since I've been held this way.
I wonder if this is how it feels for someone to want you, to need you like oxygen, to be on the other end receiving affection that never fizzles out like a fickle flame.
For the briefest moment, while recalling the moment she ran off and Artemis chased after her, I wonder to myself what it would feel like to be loved by someone, crazily, what emotions I would feel to have what they have.
Would I really be happy? My mind spirals with thoughts I've never let myself have for so long because I wasn't meant to, because it wasn't part of my duty to doubt myself, to have my own personal wants like a greedy child.
And yet, the feel of this person that isn't Artemis makes me question too much.
I hear footsteps drawing closer at the door, and I snap out of it, realizing what I'm doing, kicking him off me with enough force that sends him flying across my room before the door opens.
Father walks in, turning the entire room into an icy, cold Eskimo.
I freeze with fear, bowing my head, not daring to raise it to meet his face. Even without seeing it, I can feel the overwhelming pressure of his gaze pressing down on my windpipe.
"What... is going on here?" His question comes out almost sounding like a threat than a question.
I tremble, looking for an excuse to cover our crimes up before he loses his patience, and tonight ends worse than I can imagine.
"Good evening, Alpha Gideon," Ace speaks up suddenly, gathering himself up to take a bow.
I send a glare his way instantly, yet he simply looks at my father, boldly unable to fathom how dangerous he is.
"Actually, I-"
"He was just leaving," I cut in before he can make things worse. I turn to him, now looking at me confused. "Goodbye, Ace."
He looks hurt by my abrupt interruption, clearly with a mouthful of things to say, but he nods and leaves right through the door, leaving me alone with father.
A stretch of silence passes between us before I gather the courage to speak.
"Father, I can explain."
He slaps me before I can say anything more, covering the distance between us at lightning speed.
"I didn't raise you to be a pathetic little whore for some boy that isn't even at a rank high enough to stand next to a Wildheart, Kamila," he spits bitterly, while I spit out the blood in my mouth from his blow, gathering my bearings again.
"Right now, when your position hasn't been stabilized, I will not let you ruin all my hard work," he wipes his hand on a handkerchief before tossing it at me and looking away towards the door.
"I should hunt that bastard down and kill him, shouldn't I? Add his head to my collection back home," he thinks out loud, purposely trying to terrify me.
My entire body tenses, and I fall to my knees too fast, forehead pressed to the floor.
"I'm sorry, father, please have mercy," I plead now, for my sake and Ace's.
It's my fault he came here, feeding him the idea by ever giving him a chance in the first place, but I was wrong.
"You look pathetic when you beg for a life that isn't yours," he spits again, heading towards the door. "But I will spare him simply because he isn't much of a threat, right?"
"Yes, father."