Chapter 6: Breaking The Engagement

DAHLIA:

“Lady Dahlia, are you sure you’re alright?”

“Umm, yeah… yes…”

It was not true. My head and heart were in a daze. Ever since the white wolf had left, it felt like my heart was in excruciating pain that I cannot speak. Were all fated mate partings like this?

‘Of course, what were you thinking,’ Eva said. After speaking her first words to me earlier, she found the power of her speech so amusing that all she could do now was talk. ‘Fated mates are destined by the Moon Goddess herself. Once a wolf finds his or her fated mate, he or she becomes complete. What do you think will happen once you separate again? It’s like splitting your soul in half!’

It felt exactly like that - like my heart was splitting itself into pieces, crushing my whole being. I wanted to cry and whimper, but I could not. I was still a long way from home…

It was already morning time. After finding me, Sir Raleigh, Rick, Lina, and I stopped by an inn in the next village. Sir Raleigh said he would get reinforcements to get our things from the forest. He also had to inform my father and the king about what had happened.

I asked Sir Raleigh if he could keep the information about the white wolf out of his report, but he refused.

“You had disappeared for several hours, my lady. We had been worried to death when we found traces of your clothes and your dagger by the cliff. Who knows what could have happened if we did not find you,” he reasoned out.

“You were only able to find me because of that wolf, Sir Raleigh. He didn’t harm me. It’s just that I had passed out, so I couldn’t come back sooner.”

“But, my lady -”

“Alright, if you must tell my father, then I should come with you. I will tell him about it myself,” I sighed.

It wasn’t that I wanted to conceal the truth from papa. What I wanted to prevent was him taking action by looking for the white wolf and throwing him in jail if he misunderstood something.

“Very well, Lady Hurst, I won’t give any detailed report to your father, but I do have to tell the prince. It’s a matter of national security. Please rest for a bit here. Rick will come home first and inform the duke about what had happened. I promise not to say anything more than the fact that the wolf had rescued you. Please wait for his response and rest a bit.”

I consented. I wanted to catch some slumber before telling papa what had transpired. I also needed the courage to tell him what I intended to do because of the appearance of the white wolf…

Two hours after our conversation, Lina and I heard a knock on the door of our rented room from Sir Raleigh.

“My lady, Prince Kaist is here.”

Lina immediately opened the door. She curtsied, but Kaist did not pay any attention to her. He opened the door widely and burst immediately inside. He walked straight to me and hugged me tightly.

“Dahlia,” he said, clutching me fast in his arms. “I went straight here when I heard what have happened! Are you alright?”

I did my best to smile at him. “I’m well, as you can see.”

His worried eyes scanned me from head to foot. “Why did you come here and not to the palace? You should have come straight to me and not here!”

“We returned during the wee hours of the morning. I don’t think it’s proper that I come to the palace in this state,” I said. Despite my slight attempts to push Kaist away from me, he did not let go.

“I read Sir Raleigh’s report. What did that white wolf do to you? Why did he kidnap you?”

As expected, Kaist would misunderstand what had happened. I eyed Lina and Sir Raleigh who were still by the door. “Please leave us,” I said.

Kaist seated me on the bed, and he took a chair from the table nearby and propped it in front of me and sat on it.

“Why did you ask them to leave? What had really happened,” he said in a whisper.

Kaist and I had known each other since we were children. He knew my thoughts and behaviors, even the ones that are yet unknown to me. The look on my face probably said it all.

“Kaist… Today, I met him.”

“Him?”

I nodded. “Yes… I met my fated mate.”

His light purple eyes popped out in surprise. “Him? Are you sure you’ve met him?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” I said. “Eva recognized him too, and my wolf even spoke to me for the first time!”

“How did you meet him? Was he one of the rogues?”

“I don’t think so... Actually, he saved me from them. I was about to be attacked by two rogues on the cliff, and he went ahead and finished them off,” I said in astonishment. Now that I was recalling it, everything he did felt surreal. It was as if I was in a fairytale at that time!

“Are you sure he isn’t one of them? He could have staged the attack and pretended to run into you so that he could make it seem like he rescued you.”

I laughed softly at Kaist’s idea. He did have a wild imagination sometimes. “No, Kaist. I’m sure he wasn’t one of them. He actually killed the rogues…”

I didn’t want to paint Tristan as a bad or a vicious wolf in front of Kaist, but I couldn’t stand the thought of my best friend thinking that he was a bad person.

“You know what I am saying is highly possible, Dahlia. Wasn’t it weird that he showed out of the blue when you were in trouble? What do you know about him? Did he do anything weird to you? Did he try getting intimate with you?”

Perhaps my blushing face was already proof enough that a lot of the things had happened since my mate and I had met. How in the world did Kaist know about all those things?

“Contrary to what you say, Kaist, he is a good person. He helped me when I fell down the cliff and brought me back to Sir Raleigh and Rick safely.” I omitted the part where he tempted me numerous times with his body and his words to come away with him. Kaist did not need to know any of that…

“Well, that wasn’t what Sir Raleigh said in his report. Apparently, the wolf did not seem to want to stop when he called on him.”

“T-That’s because he thought they were rogues… He was just being cautious,” I lied.

Kaist held my face in his hands. “Are you sure you’re telling me the truth, Dahlia? You’re not covering up for him just because you think he is your mate, aren’t you?”

“Of course not,” I said, beaming at him to assure him I was being truthful. “And I am sure he is my mate. Weren’t I supposed to trust Eva on this thing?”

Kaist did not say a word. He was still looking at me with worry in his eyes.

“By the way, Kaist, about our engagement,” I started to say. I averted my eyes away from his gaze. What I was about to tell him was utterly embarrassing and uncomfortable. “Do you think… Do you think we can postpone it a bit?... Maybe until you find your own mate, because, you know, I’m sure she’s out there somewhere just waiting for you… Just like what happened to me today.”

Kaist smiled lightly at me. He caressed my cheek, a gesture he had always done even when we were younger.

“Of course, Dahlia….”