Elaris's POV
I never knew getting back to the moonblood pack would come with such waves of emotions that I shook at the weight of everything.
The palace doors stood open, the massive wooden pieces left unchanged even after five years, still chipped at the edges.
But other than the door, the rest of the palace seemed to have gotten a retouch. The pillars that stretched from the ground up to the over thirty feet away ceiling seemed to have been recast.
I could still remember playing around them like a kid, being chased by Torren, Karl always seemed to be busy as the crown prince, and heir, and Darius always stayed reclusive, keeping to himself.
Memories flooded me, so much, so many, my mind almost crumbled at its weight as I strolled further into the grand hall. It felt like I saw flashes of images around, images of Nathan and me, images of us running around, searching for Father.
I forced my eyes tight shut, and I blinked everything back, maintaining my strides. I needed to keep my emotions in check, especially when the three men I was fated to, two of whom I hated, walked before me. Two of the princes that had damned my parents to servitude and exiled my brother and me.
I had thought that when I would see them again, I would feel that one thing I had felt for them over the years, rage, and murder. When I looked up at Karl, tracing how his tight suit hugged his big body, the large, powerful spread of his shoulders, I couldn't explain what I felt. Rage, murder, desire...
No…I shook my head. It couldn't be desire. There was no way in hell I would ever feel anything as remotely related to desire for the bastard.
I did spy some tension in his back muscles. His neck twitched as if trying to turn, yet didn't. Even his hands buried in his pocket seemed to be clenching and unclenching, at least as much as the bulge in his pockets suggested. He was trying to turn to me, to look at me, and desperately fighting the urge.
But unlike him, Torren stared openly at me, ever the daredevil. At some point, he would turn around and walk from his back, so he could just stare at me, his brows narrowed somewhat with confusion, not suspicion.
He was the least smart of the brothers. I was definitely sure that if one of them were to be suspicious of me early on, it definitely wouldn't be him.
I slipped him a mocking smile each time his eyes found mine. But much like before, mockery never really bothered Torren. The blatant look of hostility on his face didn't ease even for a minute.
I breathed a hard sigh, exhaling softly when he almost stumbled into one of the servants carrying my luggage up the stairs and then to my quarters. He shifted his attention and rage to the servants.
"Just watch where you are going, damn it." He growled.
The servant flinched back in fear, cowering a bit, even though Torren never raised his hands.
Before Torren could steer his attention to me, I increased my pace, striding fast to catch up with Karl and Darius ahead. Alex, my bodyguard, stayed closer behind me, increasing his pace too, shoes tottering after me.
I stared around the place, letting my eyes roam wild. According to the conversation I had had with Darius weeks ago, before I returned today, Dad had been sent to work at the pack mines, but Mom was still here, working as a maid.
It hurt to know that for five years, she had been working as a maid, scrubbing floors, sweeping, and washing dishes in the same palace she once lived as a semi-queen, being the wife of the Alpha's beta. My chest contracted tight with that thought. I blinked hard to chase off the moisture burning beneath my eyelids. There was no use rethinking the past. What matters is reshaping the future.
And I damn well will. I will make sure father and mother return to each other's arms, make sure they see Nathan and me again, make sure we become a family, and by hell, I was going to find the bastard that killed Alpha Kurt Draven and damned my family to this hell.
The chandeliers above glittered, now hanging on a long steel rope that brought the light lower and made it richer, dripped with gold and crystal, onto the floor and the stairs too.
The stairs gleamed beneath my feet. I forced my shoulders to relax and my chin to lift as I walked past Darius and Karl on the stairs.
I moved in a way that made Alex chase me, and shifted oddly at a time, to let Alex move in a particular way so that he had to slam against Karl.
I didn't wait to watch how the collision ended, but I heard Karl grunt, and heard his jaw tic.
But he didn't say a word. It was Alex apologizing. "I am sorry, Alpha King." He said, hurrying after me.
I glanced back to meet Darius's rebuking stare. I looked away before it could undo me. He was the only man I would ever love and respect, and hence his rebuke always landed like a slap.
I apologized with a tight smile. I didn't know what came over me that led to that. All I knew was that it felt great, knowing I made Karl suffer that brief humiliation.
I followed the servants up to the guest wing of the palace, not waiting to be escorted by the brothers again. I felt that was better for my nerves.
The servants pushed the large double doors, opening up mid-nineties luxury, albeit with some bits and pieces of modern extravagance and luxury.
Once the servants had dragged the luggage in, before they could begin to help me unpack, I approached them.
"Why don't we do that later?"
"But my lady—" one of them cried, leading slightly away from the zip of the back.
I forced on a polite smile, cutting him short."We will do that later. For now, I want to rest." I said.
The servant looked to argue, then realized he was in no position to, and he stopped. The whole of them bowed to them, and they trooped out of the room in the semblance of a file.
I nudged my head to Alex then. "Stand guard outside, Alex. A maid is going to be sent here to my room, and please let her in immediately." I said.
"Yes, ma'am." He answered with a nod of his head and shifted to the corridor. The door shut close behind him.
The little bang echoed in my head as it did in the room. I pressed my fingers against each other, folding and grinding them against my clothes as I paced the room, my footsteps jarring my ears as my heartbeat did too.
Darius had said he was going to send Mom to my room immediately I arrived. I just hoped he kept his promise. I pressed my palm harder against my thighs; my pacing increased. I hoped he kept his promise.
There was never any need to doubt Darius. He always kept his promise, always protected me, always loved me. But I just couldn't help it. I couldn't, especially not when I didn't spot Mom anywhere in the palace when I came up. I hoped…
My thought crashed to a halt at the knock on the door. The knuckles were hard—Alex. "She's here. Letting her in."
Excitement surged in my chest immediately. I tried to smooth my clothes, tried to arrange my hair. But before I could prepare myself enough, the door opened, and she strolled in.
Then I realized no preparation mattered. I ran fast into her, throwing my arms wildly around her.
"Mom," I breathed against her neck, though she smelled badly. "Mom." I breathed again, now with moisture in my eyes. I hugged her tight like she was going to vanish from my arms if I let go.