CHAPTER 7

CAESAR

The night before, as she left her alluring scent on my bed, she also forgot her bracelet there.

I clenched it in my fist, bringing it close to my nose, and I could smell her on it—a mixture of caramel and vanilla. The thought of losing control to such a small kitten made me tremble within. And now I was on my way to the king's chambers to confront the same face that threatened my quest for revenge.

*******

Mordax and I had arrived, along with all the surviving alphas scattered around the chambers.

The king was not far off, accompanied by his Luna, the queen, on his right hand side. On his left hand side stood Princess Esmeray, and I could bet that just staring at her made Zion growl.

I could also spot her lover, who had attacked me, dressed in a blue royal gown at her side. Of course, the king allowed him to remain close to his daughter as much as he liked.

I was clearly uninterested in what the king was about to say. It would be his usual nonsense, meant to motivate the surviving alphas for the next stage, something I never needed.

So I ignored everything that was said until the king finished speaking, and I saw the princess move. I am not a good man—I have slain beasts and anyone or anything that stood in my path of revenge—yet here I was, returning her bracelet. Mordax would surely laugh at me if he knew I was on my way to return it.

The king finished, and the alphas were free to return to the warriors' chambers. I followed the corner passage where we first met, for I knew I would find her there. But my teeth ground together when I encountered someone along the way.

Her lover, heading in my direction.

Did he sense me and know I was coming this way? I couldn't smell the aura of an Alpha in him. He must be a Beta—this is insane.

I clenched my jaw, realizing that the princess was with a Beta when Alphas were busy flying around the entire kingdom. Why stoop so damn low? What does he have that no Alpha in this kingdom possesses? And finally, we closed the distance between us.

I would have kept walking without uttering a word to him, but he grabbed my arm, halting my steps and forcing me to face his icy eyes.

"Look here, Alpha. My warning remains the same," he said, giving me a striking glare. "Approach the princess again, and it will be your last breath."

"No one tells me what to do," I growled, scrutinizing him from head to toe. "Especially not someone who is a Beta."

I could tell he didn't expect me to know he was a Beta, as I saw his eyes slowly widen. "Stay away from Esmeray. You are nothing but a curse to her, you wretched bastard."

"And who are you? Her lover?"

"Yes!" he growled. "As her lover and chosen mate, I won't allow you to bring curses upon my mate. Your supposed bond means nothing."

I agreed. The mate bond was nonsense, and the moon goddess definitely made a mistake by pairing me with the princess. But suddenly, I felt a strong desire to prove this proud Beta wrong.

I would relish in crushing any hopes he had with the princess, so I decided to pretend to accept Esmeray as my fated mate. This should be fun.

"We'll see about that, Beta," I said, revealing an evil smirk on my lips as I turned my back to him and headed in my direction.

"You dare threaten me, Alpha? Get ready to be burned!" he yelled, but I didn't bother looking back as I walked away.

The brief but impactful conversation with the Beta gave me an idea of what to do next, and I was determined to make him regret his words and choke on them.

_________

ESMERAY

"I could have sworn I saw him among the crowd of alphas a moment ago," I said to Miriam, who had come to escort me from the chambers back inside the royal palace.

She gave me a sidelong glance and sighed as we walked together, with my personal guards trailing behind us.

"What?" I asked.

Perhaps she knew that bringing up the topic of me forgetting about Caesar after he threw me out last night would not be productive, so she chose not to say anything.

We arrived at the passage where it all began—the place where my mate had rejected me. Deep inside, I secretly hoped to catch a glimpse of him as I lifted my gaze.

And just like a wish come true, there he was right in front of me, in the flesh. His skin glistened in the sunlight that beamed upon him, and his crystal green eyes radiated beauty on his perfect face.

I gulped and momentarily froze, but then a soft smile formed on my lips.

"Leave us, guards. Miriam, you can stay," I said without taking my gaze off him.

"So, your name is Cae..."

Before I could finish what I wanted to say, he pulled me by my wrist, causing me to lose my balance and fall into his strong arms. Then, his soft lips descended upon mine, igniting a passionate kiss.

My arms, initially on his chest when I entered his embrace, found their way to the back of his neck, while his hands entangled in the back of my hair as the intensity of our kiss heightened.

Miriam stood there, observing us. I couldn't see her expression as my eyes were closed and my lips were locked with Caesar's, but I imagined her jaw would be hanging open in surprise by now.

I could feel the spark as we kissed, reminiscent of our first kiss. After what felt like an endless, magical moment for me, he gently broke the kiss, and I slowly opened my eyes to meet his gaze. His eyes were calm, devoid of ruthlessness, and a joyful scream erupted within me.

He took my right hand, still wrapped around his neck, as I stared at him innocently, wondering what he was about to do next.

Then he placed his palms on mine and closed my fingers after dropping something into my hand.

I slowly opened my hand to see what it was, and there it was—the bracelet my mother had passed down to me from my grandmother.

"You forgot it at the tent last night," he said, his lips still moist with the remnants of our kiss.

The ruthless Alpha who had once rejected me was now being generous towards me.

"Thank you so much, Caesar," I said, biting my bottom lip. "This is actually a gift from my mother, and I would have been devastated if I had lost it."

He smiled at my words. Oh, goddess, my Alpha smiled at my words for the first time, and I nearly let the overwhelming joy show on my face.

His crystal green eyes followed my fingers as I lifted my hands to his lips to wipe away the remnants of our passionate kiss.

But instead of lowering my hands, I found myself cupping his face, causing him to clench his jaw.

"Come to my tent tonight," his voice came out husky.

My eyes widened. Did I hear correctly? Did my Alpha just invite me to his tent? Was he asking me out on a date?

Sheepishly, I nodded in response.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

It seems that our little princess's plan to seduce the ruthless Caesar is finally progressing, or not? The next couple of chapters are going to be revealing, so brace yourselves, lovely readers. Also, Caesar and Esmeray would appreciate it if you could provide us with gems along the way🙏. Thank youuu!