Chapter 54 The sad girl in the picture

VICTORIA'S POV

"Hey, Vic. What are you doing here?" I heard Daniel's voice from behind me as I was idling around without a purpose.

"Waiting for Alexander. His father called him for some serious talk, and I was hoping to bid him goodbye before I call it a day and go back home." I replied while looking at a painting.

I don't know what it was, but I felt like a connection to the girl who was portrayed in this painting. As if I knew her from way back. Gazing at her eyes, that looked like they wanted to say something to me, I couldn't help but try to touch her face.

"You've taken a liking to this picture. Haven't you?" Daniel asked as he stood beside me while looking at the picture with a gaze similar to mine.

"It feels like she is calling out to you. Like she wants to say something to you and tell you her deepest secrets. Her eyes feel like there is so much sadness in them, and you can't help yourself but want to drown in that pool of sadness." Daniel further added, making me look at him in surprise.

"Oh, I am sorry. It's just. Whenever I see this picture, I feel all these emotions. There was this one time I told Chris about it, and he laughed at my face, saying I was imagining things. Since that day, I haven't spoken out my feelings to anyone. It sounds weird. No?" Daniel asked, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

"You can share your feelings with me, you know. I'll always be there for you. Besides, what you mentioned just now, is all true. I feel the same way about her." I smiled, moving on to the next picture as I felt a tear dropping from my eyes.

"So, you guys live together? I mean, all of you? Then, what about the houses that we see outside?" I couldn't help but try to know more about the pack.

"Usually, it's a tradition for the pack members to live in the same mansion. However, this is no normal packhouse. It's almost a king's palace, and thus, not everybody is allowed to live here." Daniel explained.

"What is your position in the pack, Daniel?" I asked turning around, which made him involuntarily bump into me.

"Sorry about that," I said before taking a step back.

"I am the working beta for the king. In real, I am one of the strongest alpha's out there because of which I got this beta position." Daniel said, smiling sadly.

"You must not be happy, given how sad you look." I could not help but comment when he sighed like that.

"It's not that, Vic. It's just when you're an alpha running the pack, it makes you feel like a leader, and the sense of pride that you feel when your pack members look up to you for their safety hits differently than working as a beta for someone else. I have been here, in pearly canines from the moment of my birth, and never had the chance to lead a pack." He said looking distant.

"Don't worry. You can consider me your pack. I'll always look up to you for my safety, and will always come to you when I am in need or stuck in some problems. Okay?" I asked, giving him my cutest and genuine smile.

"Haha...you are funny. Shouldn't you look at your mate for that? And when your mate is the almighty Alpha king, do you need someone else to take care of you?" Daniel laughed before shaking his head.

"Hey, he will be busy with his stuff and duties. Do you want me to burden him for such trivial matters? It's okay if you don't want to. I won't force myself on you." I said shrugging.

"Okay. It's agreed then. You come to me whenever you are facing some problems or need anything." Daniel said before ruffling my hair, making me chuckle.

"I'll be leaving now. You shouldn't roam around here like this, either. You should wait for him in his room." Daniel said before smiling at me and going towards his room.

Standing beside the railings, I observed where he was going and which room he was entering so that I can crash his room in the future.

As I was still looking in his direction, I felt Alexander behind me as he snaked his arms around my waist affectionately.

"Are you looking at other guys just because I got hold up?" Alexander said before nuzzling his head in my neck while hugging me from behind.

"Hehe...what if I am? Was it something important? Your dad sounded pretty serious when he called you like that." I couldn't help but mutter, remembering the talk between him and me.

"Nothing important. He was just reminding me to not ditch my king duties just because I've found my mate." He said before biting my earlobe playfully.

"Stop... someone will see us," I whispered yelled when he kept biting my earlobe.

"Let's go back to my room. Where no one will see us. Sounds good?" He said before turning me around so that I was facing him.

"That's okay. We can talk tomorrow. It's getting pretty late already. I was just waiting to say goodbye to you before I leave." I said, placing my head on his chest.

"Leaving? To where?" He asked confused, lifting my head making me look at him.

"Home. Don't worry. This time I won't go anywhere without telling you." I said, gesturing at the last month when I wasn't here.

"What do you mean home? We are mates, Ria. We are supposed to live together that you've accepted me." Alexander said, squinting his brows.

"I know. I've heard about it already. But I am not ready for that yet. It hasn't been long since I came to know about this world, and last month was spent adjusting to it. I don't think I can handle living together right now." I told him.

"I understand, Ria. I promise I will introduce our world to you slowly. Don't worry about the rest. Are you afraid that you won't be able to cooperate?" He asked me, and honestly, I didn't know how to answer that question.

Was I afraid? No. With Carla and joy by my side, how can I be scared of anyone?

But was I feeling nervous? Heck yeah!

"I am not sure, Alexander. It's just, I know you are the alpha king, and being your mate makes me Luna Queen. You are already crowned, and it won't be long before you'll crown me since almost everyone saw me today, and I daringly declared I was your mate to the world. It's just, I want to enjoy my peace and calm till I am finally loaded with the responsibilities." I answered honestly, not wanting to sugarcoat my words.

I was scared if I start living in this house so soon, then the incident that happened today will be played on repeat many times since Carla already considers herself a queen.

If I stay at my home which is around a 30-minute distance from here, I am hoping I would be able to save myself from such incidents to some extent.

I know, many of you must be thinking that I was some coward, and honestly, I am fine with it. I don't want to risk my life just because someone thinks of me as a coward. Besides, I need some time to adjust to this Queen thing that Carla has started.

I, who never even acted like a queen in any plays when I was a kid, was now an actual queen with buck-loads of responsibilities. I think I need a break from it. I have been working my ass off since last month to train myself anyways.

Also, the most important reason why I wasn't agreeing to live with him is that I didn't want to become awkward with him when we have just taken our first step towards each other. I mean, apart from knowing that we are each other's mates and a few things here and there, what else do we know about each other?

When I didn't get any reply from him, I looked at him, trying to decipher what he was thinking.

Concentrating on my powers, I tried to cross his mind barrier.

As soon as I crossed his mind barrier, a series of thoughts started to flood my mind.

'How can I let her go when I have not even held her close to myself enough?'

'She was away from us for soo long. And when I met her today, I was so busy that I couldn't even talk to her properly. Now that I am free, she is talking about going back already.'

'But she is right, we shouldn't pressurize her into anything.'

'I know that. It's just, I have been feeling this insecurity in my heart because of how she disappeared for a whole month.'

'Stop saying that. I know why you are saying this. You just want to kiss her and have your way with her. Don't tell me, you weren't aroused when she entered the hall earlier today.'

'I was aroused, but it didn't mean I'll force myself on to her.'

'But there is no guarantee you will be able to control yourself either. I mean, look at her alluring body. And her legs that are looking so milky white, even I want to take a bite. Look at those curves. Don't tell me you don't want to hold onto them. Just imagine how good she will feel when we will sleep while hugging her close to ourselves.'

'Shut up! Don't implicate your lusty thoughts on me.'

'Hey, I was just talking about hugging. Why are you getting annoyed? Don't tell me you thought something along the lines of Sex. You did, didn't you?'

'Will you please shut your mouth? She is our mate. What if she listens to us and thinks that I am a creep who just wants to sleep with her.'

"Okay, stop!" I couldn't help but shout in my mind, feeling my ears burning at his trail of thoughts

Opening my eyes, I looked at Alexander, who had a confused expression on his face.

'You just screamed that aloud.' Joy mumbled before going back to her sleeping mode.

"Oh...I mean, don't think too much. How about I spend a night here with you since we met after such a long time? But, this won't repeat. And you are not allowed to act funny with me." I warned, earning a chuckle from him.

"I promise, I won't act funny," Alexander said before pecking my lips and picking me bridal style as he started walking towards his room.

Looking at his side profile, I couldn't help but feel blessed to have such a sexy, understanding, and caring mate by my side.

"If you keep looking at me that way, I'll start thinking that you are planning to devour me tonight," Alexander commented, and I couldn't help but hide my face in his neck as his body reverberated with his chuckle.

"Don't hide your face like that. I like it when you're shy." He said, making me smile, however his next words left me speechless,

"Because when you are shy, you look like a red tomato that I want to eat all day."