CHAPTER 5 (KITCHEN TRIP)

 

ANNA'S POV

 

The whole place looked too calm for an invasion. Apart from the large influx of armed guards, I could not hear any sound of a battle. That however was not any of my business.

 

My business was the only thing I cared about and that imbecile Xavier was trying to block my path.

 

I walked around the palace, so magnificent it felt otherworldly, and with every step I took and the magnificence I beheld, my anger and hate for the royal house of the Black Moon pack grew.

 

I walked aimlessly with no direction in mind except the direction my nose led me. It had been a long time since I perceived the sweet smell of fresh bloody meat baked with butter and spices and the sweet-smelling scent of the roast drew me using my nose as bait towards what I suspected to be the kitchen.

 

I walked around freely, facing only a few oppositions from the royal guards which I happily and easily obliged. In fact, I was glad for their opposition as it accorded me a means to unleash the rage that was coursing through my veins and making my blood boil.

 

The surprise on their faces, when I faced and defeated four of them at once granted me the satisfaction I always got when I put men in their right places.

 

How could that imbecile, Xavier refuse me? Who did he think he was?

 

I could not stop thinking about all he had said in the throne room, despite the strong pull of the sweet scent from the kitchen.

 

I never thought a time would come when a man rumored to be an imbecile who could not rule over his pack and who had to answer to his uncle would ever talk to me the way I have been spoken to of late by the impotent fool I have been offered to in marriage.

 

It had taken every form of self-will in me to keep my temper in check and all of that I did, not for my sake but for the sake of my father and my people.

 

I was their only hope and I was not going to destroy our only chance of survival one more time.

 

If I was the bastard, Xavier, I would go and thank my dad and my people for their sake was the only reason his heart was still beating in his chest and not my hands.

 

I pushed my thoughts back and focused on the food. I would deal with Xavier and his foolish uncle later.

 

I must have gotten closer to the kitchen because my mouth had started to already taste the delicious meal even without seeing it.

 

My feet hurried, drawn by the idea of a full belly and the juicy taste of the butter dripping from the well-roasted meat.

 

I got to the kitchen door and without any thought of my actions, I raised my hand to knock on the door.

 

"Madam?" A voice filled with uncertainty called from behind me stopping me right before my fist landed on the door.

 

I turned around sharply.

 

"Yes?" I answered looking into the face of a young guard.

 

"Are you by chance Princess Anna?" The young guard asked.

 

I sighed and then dropped my hands from the door and turned completely to fully face the young guard.

 

A huge part of me wanted to run up on him and send him unconscious as I did his other colleagues that had crossed my path but there was something about him that stopped me.

 

His eyes were innocent. An innocence characterized by fear.

 

He looked out of place, his uniform unfitting on his young frame. All these features struck a chord in me as I found him familiar even though I was a hundred percent sure I had never seen him before.

 

"Who is asking?" I answered, the instinctive urge in me to always answer a question with another question taking over the need to be courteous as royalty.

 

The boy looked relieved as if my answer had assured him of safety.

 

"His Royal Majesty, Alpha Lartes has sent for you. He awaits you in the throne room," The young guard said.

 

My brows raised but for once in my life, I decided to think with my head and not my fists.

 

"Okay. I will be there," I answered.

 

I waited for the young guard to be on his way, leaving me to continue what I had already started and that which tormented my nose, my tongue, and my belly with the promises of a delicious taste and a full belly but he just stood there looking at me.

 

"Is there any problem?" I asked, my words getting mispronounced by the large amount of saliva that had been flooding my mouth.

 

"No, ma'am. It is just that I am to escort you back to the throne room. There is an attacker in the palace and he has successfully attacked and disarmed a good number of the guards and so it is not wise for you to walk around unguarded," The young guard said.

 

For the record, I tried not to laugh but I couldn't help it. I burst into a peal of laughter. I almost fell to the ground even.

 

The confused look on the young guard's face didn't help matters and it took a lot of my willpower to be able to stop myself from laughing.

 

"I am unsafe?" I asked amused at all he had just finished saying.

 

"Yes!" The guard answered his eyebrows scrunched up in confusion as to why I was laughing.

 

"Okay. If you say so," I said to him.

 

If only he knew he was the unsafe one. If only he knew I could take away his ability to be a full-functioning man without breaking a sweat. If only he knew I was the one who had attacked all those guards.

 

But he did not know and that was why I did not blame him.

 

I had a strong urge however to tell him that I was the attacker they were all afraid of but I knew it was all hopeless. He would not believe me. No one would or did.

 

Moreover, I did not want anyone to know my capabilities. I was not here to divulge anything to them rather I was here to spy on them and that I intend to do no matter what their toothless bulldog of an heir did to stop me.

 

"Lead the way then..." I said with a befitting smile.