3. Kiss at the corner

Amara flinched when the footsteps came closer. She held her necklace tightly, her hand searching for something she could use as a weapon. She managed to grab a wooden stick, unbothered by the splinters she acquired from grabbing the old wooden stick recklessly.

When the shadow of the unknown man loomed over her, she immediately rose, without hesitation, and swung the stick. But her futile attack was quickly apprehended when the man grabbed her hand before the stick landed on his face.

"L-let go! You evil man!" Amara pulled her arm, but she got pinned on the wall instead.

"I'm evil? You're the one who just swung a stick at someone!" Azer shouted back. His shins were kicked by the woman; thus, he pressed his knees on the gap between her thighs, locking her legs in place.

Amara stiffened. She felt dizzy and scared from the proximity. She struggled to break free, "S-stop! Please have mercy! P-Please…"

Once again, her tears rolled down her cheeks, and her voice sounded frightened and weak. Azer was taken aback by seeing the woman suddenly cry. He loosened his grip on her hands, which he pinned above her head. 

"I'm not…going to harm you." He explained. He scanned the woman in the darkness, and only then did he realize that her clothes were torn, exposing her legs next to his limbs. "What…?"

His face darkened when he understood why the woman was hiding and trembling. He let her go, snatching the stick and throwing it away before taking his cloak off and draping it over the startled woman. He carefully tied the strings under her chin and took a step away.

"W-Who…" Amara was baffled by the man's actions. She couldn't see his face in the dark but knew he wasn't her evil ex-lover or the old nobleman. His voice was deep and somehow sounded intimidating.

Azer didn't answer. He grabbed the woman and pulled her out of the dark alley. On the other hand, Amara kept pulling her hand back, wary towards the unknown man. But because of her weakened state and fatigue, she could no longer resist and let the man drag her somewhere again.

After Azer took the woman away from that place, he suddenly stopped on the corner. He whirled around, and Amara jolted, hugging herself with her free hand. From the lights of the streetlamps lined on the edges of the cobbled road, she finally saw the man's visage.

She would have admired his handsome appearance in a normal situation, but her heart was racing from fear due to the night's events.

Azer frowned, "Where do you live? I'll escort you."

Amara was silent. She weighed the man's words, hesitantly believing him and letting him accompany her home. Her silence was broken by some knights running from the direction they came from. Their armors glistened from the moonlight, and Amara trembled out of fear.

They were out to chase her!

Azer took her sudden reaction as directed to him, "I'm not going to do anything. I simply want—

"H-Hide me, p-please…" Amara grabbed his collar and whispered; her voice quivered, and her eyes begged.

"Why? What did you do?" Azer answered, glancing over the approaching knights. 

"P-please!" Amara begged. She no longer cared if the man was not trustworthy or sincere. Her fear of being sentenced to death overwhelmed her fear of being molested. She wore the hood of the cloak and hugged herself. Trying to think of how to escape.

When suddenly, her body was pinned on the vast column of the closed establishment they stopped at. Her tear-stained face was cupped by large, rough hands, inclined upwards, meeting cold grey eyes showing a dangerous glint. 

"Pardon me," the man's low and husky voice whispered to her ear before it dove down to her face, his lips touching the corner of hers.

Amara froze on her spot. Her eyes widened, and her heart beat loudly out of fear. She tried to push him, but she instantly understood his action when she heard the heavy footsteps approaching. Her head was tilted further away from the corner where the knights emerged, and the hood hid her auburn hair while the large hands and face of the man covered her entire face.

"Damn it. That woman had probably gone back home. Let's go." An annoyed voice from the knight was heard in the background. They passed the corner, ignoring the pair of lovers who decided to show their affection in public.

They walked away. Amara sighed in relief after the man moved his face away. Adrenaline rushed over, and she felt her knees giving out. She almost slid on the floor if only the man didn't quickly catch her. 

"Are those knights looking for you because you escaped from your job?" Azer questioned.

Amara firmly shook her head, "N-No! I didn't work in that place! I was dragged there. I escaped by…h-hitting a nobleman with a lamp…"

Her hands unconsciously clenched on the man's clothes. "I swear, I didn't kill him…I just—

"I got it," Azer interrupted. He let her go and fixed the hood on her head. It seems that you can't go back home. Do you have any place you can stay for the night?"

Amara shook her head again.

Azer sighed at the woman's pitiful state. She was probably a commoner kidnapped and sold in that place, and leaving her alone gnawed on his conscience.

'When did I even start to care over strangers?' He thought to himself as he pulled the petite woman towards a proper inn.

"Room for two." 

He received a nod from the clerk. They were lucky to find an open inn with vacant rooms instantly, as the capital was bustling with foreign people celebrating the royal wedding.

He accepted the key and went upstairs. Opening the door, he strode inside, but the woman stood by the entrance. She looked hesitant and wary again. 

"You can stay here for the meantime. Don't worry; I'll leave when you're settled." Azer reassured her.

Relief washed over Amara's face. She lowered her head and mumbled, "Thank you."

After checking the room, he finally left, "Lock the door."

He even advised the woman before leaving.

He returned to the palace after paying the inn's manager a handsome amount to care for her and let him know if something would happen to his companion. 

"Where have you been, your highness?" Azer's attendant, Hansel, asked as soon as he arrived in his room.

"How come you're here in my room?" He returned the question.

"I checked on you, your highness," Hansel replied.

He raised his brow. Is he a child that needs to be checked on while asleep? "Nevermind. I want you to look for something for me."

"What is it?"

Azer told his attendant about his wolf sensing his mate.

"Is it true, Your Highness?!" Hansel expressed his joy and cheered for him. But he was silent when he told him how she slipped from his grasp and disappeared mysteriously. 

"But still, Your Highness, it meant she probably lives here! I should tell the crown prince and ask him to extend your stay here."

Azer nodded. He already decided to stay after feeling that his mate was nearby. He was determined to come back to Leymar with her by his side. 

He also told Hansel what happened after. He asked him to investigate the matter before he finally retired to his bed.