Chapter 18: Brawl

TRISTAN:

It was far too early in the morning when Gideon came and told me I had an important guest at the living room. I had been expecting this to happen, but my eyebrows still went up in surprise when my assistant told me who it was.

“My lord, the Crown Prince is here.”

It had been some weeks since I met the man and some days since I last saw Lady Hurst. She must have already told him what happened; that’s the only reason why he would be here.

The corners of my mouth began to curve into a smile. It’s time to face this wolf head on then.

I changed my clothes quickly before I showed myself in front of the prince. This will probably be a long day.

“You highness,” I said, bowing down. “It’s an honor to have you at my villa.”

He didn’t say anything back. He just kept looking at me with a contemptuous gaze in his eyes as if he was controlling his rage. This was good. If he goes crazy, I’ll have the upper hand so long as I stay calm.

“I want to talk to you in private,” he quickly said.

I bowed down once again and sent Gideon away. He also sent his knights outside of my villa, away from earshot.

“May I know what this visit of yours is about,” I asked although I already have a rough idea of why he was here.

He folded his hands in front of his face and rested his chin on top of his fingers as if he was studying me intently. “Let’s cut to the chase. What the hell are you up to?”

I smiled internally. I have studied this young royalty for months now, and he was always known to act cool and unfazed no matter what the situation was. What was it that they called him again – the gentle breeze of Talandor?

“What are you implying, your highness? That I am up to no good,” I replied in jest.

“Then why the hell did you approach Dahlia? What do you really want from her?”

“There’s nothing more that I want for Lady Hurst but to choose me,” I said languidly. “After all, she is my fated mate.”

“Cut the stupid crap! She isn’t and never will be your mate!”

My eyebrows went up. “Believe it or not, she really is my mate. Why do you doubt our bond, sire? Do you like her that badly?”

He instantly reached out to me from across the table and grabbed my collar. It was a shame. He really did not resemble the gentle breeze his nickname implied at that very moment.

“You aren’t Dahlia’s mate! I am!”

I wanted to laugh out loud. Things had turned better than I had expected!

“Well, how’s that now? Did Lady Hurst herself acknowledge your bond? Is it really possible that she’s got two mates?” Of course, I knew the truth, but seeing his face contort in anger was far more satisfying than anything else in the world.

“Liar! You aren’t his mate! There’s no such thing as having two mates,” he spat, his eyes looking like a sharp knife, ready to dig its way into my flesh.

“Oh yeah? Says who? I am his mate and you also claim to be hers. Who among us could be lying then,” I began to say, feeling a vein snap inside my chest. I was feeling amused with his reactions, but at the same time, I was feeling something I have never felt before. What was it? Was it jealousy, perhaps? What was I getting angry at? “Ask her yourself. Dahlia herself had recognized our bond. She belongs to none other than me!”

In his rage, that puny royal blood threw me sideways into the drawer. I collided with the cupboard and incurred some scratches, but it was nothing. Now, the real battle between us will just begin.

“You have no right to utter her name! Stay away from Dahlia,” the prince said, his eyes turning wild with rage, his fists aimed at me.

He swung hard, and I received his fist with my left hand, pressing at it as firmly as I can.

“Dahlia is my mate! She’s mine! I have already marked her!”

I was right. I knew the words that would tick his anger up a notch. After I uttered those words, I saw the prince’s face flush even redder in anger. I smirked, and threw him off into the enormous glass window overlooking the garden.

Despite being bloody, that blasted prince stood up once more. It didn’t look like he has any plans of giving up, and I was the same. I stepped outside to the now open window and drove a punch into his ribs.

“If anyone is lying, it must be you! How can you make up stories of being her fated mate? Have you no shame? How can you cling to her like a parasite when you are the prince of this land?!”

He growled at me, his eyes emanating the spirit of a fierce wolf. This was what I needed! I wanted to anger him to the point that he’ll go wild and berserk!

The prince did not do anything to quell my punch. Instead of blocking it, he let my fist land in his left rib cage and threw a punch at my jaw on the left side of my face instead.

“How about you? What is your real intention towards Dahlly? Why did you approach my queen?!”

I spat blood on the ground before I spoke. “She is not your queen! How long do you intend to cage my mate?”

Perhaps even more enraged by the term I called Dahlia, the haughty prince tore his upper garments away and finally turned himself into a wolf – a gray wolf with a white, diamond patch between his eyes and his snout. He snarled and barred his angry fangs at me.

Accepting his challenge further, I turned into Albus’ form myself, growling fiercely back at him.

The royalty before me charged himself straight to my direction, trying to sink his teeth into my neck.

I did not give him the satisfaction of doing so. I readily swiped his face with my right paw as he charged.

“You dare take Dahlia away from me by tying her to your side after trying to send assassins to my house? How pathetic,” I howled in anger at the blasted wolf.

The boy was instantly thrown into the nearby bushes. He shook his fur to get the twigs and leaves out of his body, not caring at all how foolish he looked like against me.

“I told you I didn’t send them! Now I think I should have!”

I sniggered. Of course he didn’t send them…

Before we can attack each other again, his men and most of my men, who were training not far from the garden, had run over to us, most of them transforming into a wolf. They circled around us, waiting for a signal to help out. One of the prince’s knights however, stood in the midst, trying to quell the fight.

“Your highness, please calm down! We came here as a guest.”

“Get out of my way, Pelle!”

“Sire, if word of this comes out, it wouldn’t be good.”

I could already imagine the headlines of tomorrow’s newspapers myself, and I felt excited. I howled even louder at the young wolf they deemed as royalty on the other side.

“Why start a fight if you cannot finish it, prince? You want to give this up all of a sudden?!”

The wolf growled back again, and I growled back ever fiercer. ‘Go on, what are you waiting for? Let’s fight some more’ I thought at the back of my head.

I knew how much he liked Dahlia Hurst. I remembered how hurt his face was when I revealed myself at the party and how pained his expression was when she saw how I was threatened and how he might have been involved. Too bad I have no intentions of giving him Dahlia though!

After some more coaxing from his assistant knight, the prince finally calmed himself down. He looked back at me, his wolf eyes still burning with fury.

“My mate and I will be wedded, and there is nothing that could change her mind, so stay away from her!”

“Dare to stop me,” I muttered. The prince gave me a sharp look before he walked away with his assistant.

Gideon came running towards me. He handled me a robe as I transformed back into my human form.

“Lord Abell, your face looks nasty,” he said, his eyes looking a bit concerned. “Let’s go inside and treat those wounds.”

I smiled back at him. “No need, Gideon. In fact, this is what I needed from that prince all along.”

That’s right. That damned prince could use his connection to her as her friend for all he wanted, but Lady Hurst’s heart belonged to me. Now, I’ll use the repercussions of his temper to finally snatch Dahlia away.

Finally, things are about to take a turn for the best!