Diana was roughly thrown to the ground a few feet away from the castle. She rolled a few times and then paused with one knee bent over the ground and one knee on the ground. Calhoun was somehow impressed, he smirked.
However, his smirk disappeared when his gaze landed on the face of the owner. Diana's gaze landed on him as well. It was as if time had stopped for the both of them.
She was wowed by his strength, the way he had grabbed her so easily. And when she stared at his face, although it was dark, she could see that he had become more handsome than she could remember.
Calhoun however was struck by her facial features. Maybe because she was always busy, working, he had never taken his time to admire how beautiful she looked.
Now, he had time to stare at her face, into her eyes, her body. He quickly turned his gaze back to her face.
"Diana..." He called softly. "It's you." He couldn't help himself, he was still in denial. He took slow steady steps as if he was going to touch her just to be sure that she was the one.
Diana allowed him to get close and then she came up a little, releasing her bent knee in a powerful kick that sent Calhoun a few feet back. Before he could regain himself, she had run away.
Calhoun's face had turned into a terrible scowl. He could feel something come up from his guts to his mouth and then he spat it away. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and stood, staring in the direction she had gone.
He could swear that she was the one. Even with the mask, he could recognize her. How come she became this beautiful? And is this strong too? The pain was still there.
He turned and went back into the castle. When he got in, he touched his face and he felt the mask on his face. Of course, that was why she hadn't recognized him. He still had his mask on.
He sighed. Instantly, he forgave her for what she did. At least he was certain that she was still alive. But he hoped that she had returned for good. Even if she would kick him in the guts every minute for how bad he had treated her, he wouldn't mind.
So long as it meant that she was going to stay with him. George came up from nowhere and stood before him, staring in surprise.
"Did you drink blood, my king?" He whispered. Calhoun scowled at him. What did he mean by such a question? Why would he drink blood in his human form, was he a vampire?
"Don't be angry, my king." He quickly pacified. "It's just that you have blood stains on your face as if you tried wiping your mouth after drinking blood, and your hand..."
Calhoun raised his hand to his eye level. Indeed there was blood. That was the hand he had used to wipe his mouth after being beaten by the girl whom he suspected to be Diana.
"Something strange happened." He said and before George could ask what strange thing had happened, he was already on his way quickly. George did not allow him to go, he followed him, running slightly to keep up with his pace.
"My king...!" He cried.
"Inform everyone to join me in the dining. The seats on my right and left must be empty." Calhoun ordered. George stopped following him, watching as he left hurriedly.
He went back to announce the hall where the people were eager to meet Calhoun. It had been a long since they saw him and they wanted to be sure he was still the one ruling them.
It wasn't that they loved him, it was just that they were more protected with him as their king. At least because of that, they would support him wholeheartedly.
Calhoun sat at his seat, watching as the people hurried into the dining room just to eat with him. They had set three tables aside from the one that used to be there. It was even longer than usual and it contained all the people who were present.
Calhoun smiled at his people, enjoying their reverence.
"Let's make a toast to the king," George announced, raising his glass. He turned to Felix who took the cue.
Diana ran a little distance and then stopped. She knew she wasn't being chased. So she watched how he wiped the blood that came out from his mouth with the back of his hand.
She felt sorry for him. Maybe if he wasn't so proud, she would have given him a chance. The way he called, it was obvious he expected that she should run into his arms.
She saw him return to the castle and she smiled softly. She returned to the forest where they camped. It was night and the moonlight above her was causing a reaction. She didn't want to transform but she felt like she had freedom since she was in Wisteria.
She went to the opposite side of the forest, and there she transformed and pranced around the forest, enjoying the freedom of letting her wolf free.
After playing for a while, she returned to her human form and found her way back to the camp. She managed to enter without being spotted by any of the soldiers.
"Julitta." She whispered as she entered. "I saw him."
"Who? Calhoun?" Julitta asked sleepily.
"Thomas, my stepfather," Diana said. "He was so weak, so thin."
Julitta nodded. "So you didn't see Calhoun? I find this hard to believe."
"I didn't say I didn't see him," Diana said. "I did see him, but it didn't turn out well."
"What happened?" Julitta asked softly. She had thought that maybe Calhoun was an asshole and had said some nasty things to Diana which would probably hurt her.
"Well, he caught me talking to Thomas and he started chasing me, perhaps he didn't know it was me," Diana said. "Then he somehow maneuvered his way to the front and caught me."
"He grabbed me so tightly and fiercely, I felt like a marshmallow under someone's teeth," Diana said. "Then he threw me outside his castle and when I raised my head, he was surprised to see me."
"He stared at me for a long time and then he whispered my name. He asked if it was me, can you believe it? Then he approached me. I kicked him so hard and he moved back."
Julitta gasped. "Diana!"
"How could you do such a thing?"
"What do you mean?" Diana asked in confusion. "Was I supposed to just let him come and touch me and kiss him like everything is alright?"
"Answer me in all honesty, Diana. Do you love him or not? And don't lie to me okay?" Julitta said. "I can sense when you are lying."
Diana glared at her. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Go ahead. It's a yes or no question."
Diana kept quiet. Of course, she still loved him, it was difficult to not love him. Especially since she knew that he was his mate. It would be too difficult for her to find another mate after bearing the king's son.
No sane wolf would want to take her, knowing that the king will not only come for his son but also his son's mother. She turned her face away from Julitta.
"I love him." She whispered. "It's difficult to not love him, wolves' relationship works differently from a human's."
"How so?"
"Like I told you, we find our mates." She said, "It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing. If we get rejected by our mates, we can get another one. But it's more difficult when you have a child for your mate."
"So you are loving him by law and not by choice or will?" Julitta inquired. She didn't think it was ideal. She didn't think she could cope with it.
Diana shook her head. "It's more of, I fell in love with him, then I realized he was my chosen partner for life. And now that I have found the one that is mine for eternity, one that could never actually cheat on me because he knows there would be dire consequences..."
"I just don't want to lose him permanently."
Julitta understood. "So if he wasn't Nate, would you still love him?"
"And don't give me the I was in love with him before I figured he was my mate answer, after all, he did to you if he wasn't your mate... Let's assume you both were humans and there was nothing like mates or the consequences."
"Diana, would you still love him?"
Diana stared at Julitta. "It is love. I am in love, it is more than being fated to be with him."
Julitta nodded. "Then why don't you go for it?"
"Because he treated me badly and I have to make sure that he is seriously wanting me back." Came Diana's answer. She walked over to the thick clothes which she used as a bed for Coco. He was asleep already.
"Coco doesn't look like me." She whispered. Julitta turned her gaze to the boy. She knew that. He had initially taken his mother's face but gradually, his face began to change as he grew.
"He looks just like Calhoun looks," Diana said. "Although I didn't get to see his face... It was a mask party. But, I could tell that he had also lost some weight."
Julitta smiled. "Love is so beautiful when you are with the right people."
"Yeah." Diana agreed. "Anyway, I think that this would be the wrong time for us to be here."
"Why?" Julitta asked.
"Well because there is a banquet. They have a banquet tonight. The people will most likely be drunk by the following morning."
"Ooh, that's bad," Julitta said. "If you did see him, why didn't you hint to him about it?"
"Instincts made me react brashly to him. Any soft moment could have ended up with me in his bed." Diana admitted.
"Eek. You both can't control yourselves around each other that much?"
"No," Diana responded. "He is just that good with words."
Julitta nodded. "Anyway, let's hope that the spy sent to spy on us wouldn't have arrived. That would be so bad."
"Diana, Commander Theodore has asked me to call you. He says if you see Julitta, bring her as well." A soldier said from outside.
Diana stared at Julitta. What was the matter now? This soldier, she hadn't heard him approach, did he manage to hear what they had said?
"Come on, let's go." She said. She placed Coco carefully where he could be hidden and while she left with Julitta, she zipped her tent shut and locked it with a small padlock.
They went to Theodore's tent together. She found the other soldiers there as well as two new soldiers that didn't come along with them. She and Julitta shared a glance.
"Oh, Diana. Umm, these people have come to ask us for what we have seen." Theodore said. "I had to bring you because we saw you leaving to spy on the towns in the country."
Diana's face turned hard. They had seen her? She turned to Julitta who simply shrugged.
"Yeah, I did." She admitted. "I don't know about the attack but the people seemed calm."
"A calm that feels like they have something cooking."
"Cooking?" Theodore asked.
"She means that they are planning something," Julitta explained.
"I know what she means," Theodore said. "Isn't that a term used by the eastern habitats?"
"Well, Jasyn did say we should try to blend in," Diana said. "You can't blame me for speaking like them."
Theodore nodded. "Is that all?"
"Yes," Diana said.
"Not all sir." The soldier who came to call them said. "I overheard her telling Julitta that she doesn't think now would be a good time to attack because the town was having a banquet and they would all be drunk by morning."
Theodore stared at Diana. Who was she for? Was she for them or the Easterners?
"Diana...?"
Diana glared at the soldier, smirking wickedly. The young man didn't dare to keep eye contact with her, he could feel a certain fear grip him. Diana was angry. Did he dare to spy on her and tell on her? What could she do to salvage the situation? If those soldiers told Jasyn about what she had said then she would be in big trouble.