Louisa's POV
"You look very distracted, Miss She-wolf." I heard Alpha Zackery's voice.
I looked up at him in tears and I was too heartbroken to say anything.
I turned my face away and let my tears fall quietly.
I was nothing to Lucas.
I meant nothing to my mate.
I was a piece of trash that he could randomly dust away or push into other people's carriages.
And I was stupid enough to believe that one day he could fall in love with me, that he could change because of me.
"It seems that you're being deeply troubled by something," Alpha Zackery said. "It hurts to see such a beautiful thing wither in front of me like a fallen petal."
I lowered my head and wiped out my tears. Then, I looked up at him and asked, "What do you want from me?"
"I need your full attention," Alpha Zackery replied.
He smiled while looking at me. Then, he took off the golden ring on his finger and handed it to me.
I pushed it away and said, "I don't want your ring."
"It isn't my ring. It's a relic from the ancient Azula Ruin. It has certain dark matter inside. If you have it, you'll be able to stay in a separate dimension, a transcendental realm..."
I looked at him in confusion.
He gently stroked my hair on the side of my face and winked, "In plain words, it helps you to get rid of the annoying sound in your mind."
"You mean when I have it in my hands, nobody will be able to read my mind?" I asked.
Alpha Zacker nodded with a pleased smile.
I couldn't believe him. So I closed my eyes and asked in my mind, "Lucas, can you hear me?"
No response.
"Lucas, are you there?"
Still, silence.
"Lucas, I'm going to run away with this man now if you don't reply."
Nothing.
I opened my eyes and looked at this ring with surprise.
It looked just like an ordinary golden ring, without any decorations or ornaments.
I flipped it over and saw the engraved letter C on the inside of the ring.
Alpha Zackery drew himself closer to me and said, "It used to belong to the King Czar the Great. Rumor has it that he was a very powerful and unpredictable man when he was alive. I guess he's unpredictable for a reason."
"Because with this ring, no one can read his mind," I whispered.
Alpha Zackery held my hand in his giant hands and checked the size of my fingers.
He said, "You've got such tiny hands. I need to have the best craftsman in the Kingdom to have this ring resized for you."
I withdrew my hand and stretched it out again, presenting the ring in my palm.
"I don't want this ring, Alpha Zackery," I said. "It's a priceless antique and it's too precious for me..."
Alpha Zackery smiled and held my hand, bending my fingers into a fist.
His hand was warm and soft.
"I know it's precious and that's why I want you to have it because such a lovely young lady like you deserves all the best things in the world," he said.
"But the thing is... It's unique. You need it for..."
Alpha Zackery said, "I haven't found my mate yet and even if I found her, I wouldn't want to get rid of her voice from my mind. So, this ring is absolutely useless for me."
I lowered my head. I didn't know how he managed to find out that Lucas was my mate.
I withdrew my hand and looked at the ring. It looked shiny.
Alpha Zackery asked me in a soft voice, "Now, without anyone eavesdropping, could you please tell me something about yourself?"
"Why are you so interested in me?" I asked.
"Because you're an interesting little girl," he said.
"You don't even know me," I frowned.
He leaned backward and sat comfortably in the seat.
"I always follow my instinct," he said. "Do you always look this nervous, by the way?"
I bit my lips and then said, "Maybe you want to hurt me. That's why I'm nervous."
He smirked and said, "If I wanted to do something to you..."
He drew himself closer to me.
"... I would have already done it." His eyes were zigzagging all over my body.
The hunting suit was tight, so I felt naked in front of him.
I moved backward, leaning against the carriage wall.
"Spread your legs and make him happy," I recalled what Lucas said in my mind.
I bit my lips and tried to get that thought out of my mind.
I would rather die to be used as a whore by Lucas.
My hands were approaching Colt's comb knife in my pocket.
At that time, the wheels of the carriage bumped into something, rocking me to the other side of the carriage.
Alpha Zackery caught me in his arms before I fell to the floor.
"I love the way that you just can't help yourself falling for me," he snickered and said.
I tried to push him away, but he said, "Stay put, little girl. You're rocking the carriage and it doesn't look good from outside."
I felt that my face was immediately burnt.
I was caught up in a dilemma.
I wanted to break away from his arms, but I just didn't want anyone to think that we were doing something unspeakable inside the cart.
Fortunately, Alpha Zackery let go of me.
I moved as far as I could from him.
Alpha Zackery smiled at me and said, "You looked pretty relaxed with Lucian. And you know he wants to kill you. I, on the other hand, just want to offer you some help. That's why I don't understand what makes you feel so nervous in front of me."
I was surprised. He had heard the conversation between Lucas and Lucian!
This man seemed to be pretty relaxed and harmless, but apparently, he knew everything about everyone.
How was that possible?
But somehow I understood.
I heard a lot of stories and rumors about the rockrose House from my old nanny as well as a variety of unreliable sources.
The rise of this peculiar family was a chronicle of schemes and intrigues, conspiracies and plots. Every step they took towards the highest sovereign power was drenched in muddy blood, great danger, and despicable treachery.
Yet they still managed to survive.
No.
They thrived.
I suddenly realized that Alpha Zackery might not be as easy-going and harmless as he appeared to be. And this fact was deeply upsetting and spine-chilling.
His genuine attitude and sparkling smile, his chivalry, and the sincerity in his eyes.
All of these were made up.
Beneath his perfectly sealed mask, there might be a hidden creature that was even more vicious and degenerated than Lucas.
So the question was, what made a cold-blooded royal prince notice someone so inconspicuous as me?
I felt I was entangled in a web of fear.
Alpha Zackery looked at me and smiled brightly, "You're really a mysterious creature, Miss She-wolf, aren't you?"
I lowered my head and didn't say anything.
"I saved you twice within three hours this morning. I've given you a ring that is worth a nation's fortune. But the knot between your eyebrows is still getting larger. That's not a good sign. I must have done something wrong. So let's start it all over again. Tell me, Miss She-wolf, what can I do to make you feel less intimidated by me?"