11. Capture His Heart #2
“Let’s start with the basics. When I step forward with my left foot, you move your right foot back ...” he said, while slowly lifting his left foot forward.
I followed his instructions and moved my right foot back.
“Okay, good, then your other foot follows, then we step once ... And now it’s your turn to move your right foot forward, and I step back ...”
He was very patient, and it wasn’t as hard as I thought, at least at first. But when we started adding side steps and increasing speed to match the music, my feet began to fight each other, and I actually stepped on him.
“Fuck! I’m so sorry!” I blurted, wanting to step back, but he didn’t let go of my hand and my waist.
“It’s okay, my feet are not made of glass,” he reassured me with a sweet smile. Then he leaned in a little, whispering, “I also kind of enjoy leading an alpha. You don’t get this kind of chance every day.”
Well, that was ... unexpectedly hot to hear.
I sniffed his neck, feeling the tickle of desire under my skin again. He leaned in and slightly bared his neck, a gesture of invitation. I gulped, ready to take what was offered, and just as I was about to dive into his scent, a cold voice behind us broke the intimate moment.
“John, the master of the ship is looking for you. We are docking soon.”
I froze for a second. I recognized the voice without needing to turn back to look.
Why was Damien out there? Wasn’t he with my brother? Surely he could find someone else to deliver such a trivial message.
Johnathan sighed, giving me an apologetic look. “Sorry, I’m overseeing the chamberlain duty tonight. I’ll see you later on the island?”
I nodded, giving him a warm smile.
Johnathan turned to leave, bowing to Damien, who had a severe, almost angry look on his face.
“Please don’t start another fight, Your Highness ...” I heard Johnathan mutter softly to Damien before he left.
“What the fuck were you doing?” Damien growled at me the moment Johnathan was out of earshot.
I frowned, crossing my arms. “Dancing, like what you were doing with my brother.”
“You like John?” He approached me, slowly and deliberately, while continuing with that menacing, dangerous tone, as though he had caught me cheating on him. “Or have you two already fucked?”
I was all riled up now. Who did he think he was to talk to me like this?! I bared my teeth, hissing, “Why do you care?! I’m not your mate!”
“You are bearing my mark!”
“So?! It was an accident! You said it yourself!”
Now he was right in front of me. We had similar statures, but he was slightly taller, probably by only one or two inches.
But now, for some reason, I felt he was looming over me, and I had an urge to appease his ire, to submit to whatever need he had.
I knew it was the mating mark’s doing, since I was the marked one.
I resisted the urge with all I had and stared back into his abysmal eyes.
He placed a hand on the railing behind me, cornering me. His scent inundated me like seawater. His voice vibrated in the depths of his throat. “I don’t like to see you do that with others!”
The audacity! I returned with the same throaty growl. “Well, too bad, Your Highness. The moon doesn’t revolve around you. I can do whatever I want with anyone I want. You have no authority over me!”
“I don’t?” His hand suddenly came to my throat, pressing at my scent gland. “I’m courting your omega brother just so that you’ll have more chances to smell me without raising questions. What if I cut you and your brother out? How long do you think you can last with such a fresh mating mark?”
An alarm rang in my head. I grabbed his wrist. “What do you mean? You are not courting my brother because you like him?”
“Your brother is lovely, but, as you can see, I have plenty of choices!” He yanked his hand out of my grasp.
I was no longer in the mood for bickering with him.
I stared him dead in the eyes, saying with all the mountainous weight on my chest, “If you don’t love him, DO NOT mess with his feelings!
He hasn’t fallen in love with you yet, but he will if you continue to seduce him like that!
I swear I will break your head if you play with his heart! ”
“I thought you took him here to be my mate.” His voice was colder than a frozen lake. “Your clan needs my support in the Nocturne court. You need an army.”
“We do, but I won’t sacrifice my brother’s happiness,” I replied firmly. “And I won’t allow anyone to break his heart!”
My adamance seemed to change something in him. He studied me for a long moment; the anger in him seemed to be subsiding.
I didn’t know what I said that softened him. But he turned to leave, never saying another word.
We debarked at the dock of the small island and trailed along a winding road lit by glass lanterns through the exuberant woods.
I could tell the island was maintained by the royal household from the beautiful yet impractical pavillions and pergolas that occasionally appeared along the ascending road.
Leif had been walking next to Damien, laughing at whatever stupid joke Damien was telling. He looked happy, which was the only solace I got.
I still wasn’t sure of Damien’s intentions of courting Leif, and what he said on the ship only made me more paranoid.
On top of that, the mate bond kept messing with my head, making me irritated every time I saw Damien smile at Leif in that affectionate way that he had never shown me.
I mean, rationally, I knew I was in no position to complain, since we had been at each other’s throats all this time, and I was at least half-responsible for it.
I shouldn’t even crave his affection. But I had never anticipated that a mate bond could have such a strong influence on one’s thoughts and mood, even when I was also an alpha.
How could any so-called “fated” mate be sure if their love was real or merely the product of the mark?
Luckily, Johnathan had been chatting with me, distracting me from my own head. He was smart and charming, but not in an aggressive way; his aura was like the warmth of an early spring breeze brushing gently against my skin, and I felt relaxed in his company.
“So what do you do as one of Prince Damien’s companions?” I asked. “Besides cleaning up his mess?”
Johnathan chuckled. “Damien is not bad, you know? He takes care of his friends and never sells us out when we get into trouble. When I was fifteen and serving as the king’s page, I accidentally broke a bottle of wine, which was the king’s favourite, and the very last bottle in his collection, no less.
Damien took the blame for me, telling the king that he had broken it. He was grounded for over a month.”
I was surprised, as I had not expected such altruistic behaviour from a brat like him.
Johnathan saw the astonishment on my face and smiled.
“He has always treated me like a brother, better than my own brother. He hasn’t had the easy life that people tend to think he has, you know.
The queen has put a lot of expectations and pressure on him, and a mother’s love can be smothering sometimes. ”
Better to have a smothering mother who’s alive than a dead one. But I didn’t say that. I asked, “How about your own family, do they also have high expectations of you?”
“Well, my father is the Duke of Westmoor, so there are always expectations. But since I’m only the second son, and a boring beta, they focus more on my alpha brother and my omega sister.”
“You are not boring at all,” I said, looking intensely at him, using all my charm. “I think you may be the most interesting person I’ve met in the Nocturne court.”
Johnathan blushed. A delectable pink suffused his alabaster cheeks, so adorable that I almost wanted to kiss him. But considering all the observers nearby, I held myself back.
A shiver climbed up my back. I looked up and saw Damien sending me some eye daggers through the crowd, before returning an indulgent smile to Leif, pretending nothing happened.
I rolled my eyes, deciding to pay him no mind.
The performance was held under an ancient, giant willow tree standing on the highest point of the island. The long, slender twigs swayed in the night breeze like silver ribbons, illuminated by the mystic fluorescent dots of the fireflies.
The troubadour was an omega lady dressed in a fashionable yellow gown, named Yarrow Greylark.
She was supposed to be very famous in the south, though I’d never heard of her.
She performed with three other bards in her band; one played the flute, one played the lyre, and one played a hand drum.
Yarrow herself played the lute while singing and dancing.
All nobles just leisurely sat on the wildflower-dappled grassy ground around her, some in pairs, some in groups, forming a loose circle. Food and wine were arranged at several nearby stations.
The singing was beautiful, but too soft for my taste.
I chatted quietly with Johnathan in the back, sipping wine.
He asked me a lot of questions about the lives and traditions in the North, and I thought, perhaps he and his father could be our ally.
Duke of Westmoor was a powerful man, and perhaps his support was strong enough to deter the vampires.
“Would you like to visit my clan sometime?” I asked, reclining on the soft grass.
Johnathan beamed at me, a spark in his eyes. “I’d love to. I haven’t had much chance to travel out of Erevos.”
“I can teach you how to skate on the ice, and then we can go out to hunt the snow fox; legend says they can change into beautiful women sometimes, but I’ve never seen it.”
He had this dreamy look when I told him about my home, and I really liked that.
Just then, the troubadour paused her performance and invited Lovel Eclipse to try his hand at the legendary lute that Yarrow was allegedly gifted by a nymph, saying that Lovel was known for his singing in Eclipse.
“Huh ... that’s why Eclipse recommended Yarrow for the performance ...” Johnathan suddenly muttered, a slight frown on his brows.
“What?” I asked.