Chapter 11

Lucas' POV:

My heart raced even faster, and my hand trembled as I reached for the doorknob. My room was rarely lit up and a wild creature might be lurking in a dark corner of my room.

I pushed the door open slowly, my eyes scanning the dark room for any sign of danger. That's when I saw her. Veronica, sitting on my bed, looking up at me with those big, beautiful brown eyes.

My fear melted away instantly as I remembered how she had impulsively kissed me just a few hours ago. The memory of her soft lips on mine sent a shiver down my spine.

"Hey, Lucas," she said, her voice soft and sweet.

"Veronica," I replied, my voice barely above a whisper. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry for barging in like this, but I had to see you. I couldn't stop thinking about you after...well, you know", she said, her voice soft and husky.

I felt my heart skip a beat as she stood up and walked towards me. I could smell the sweet scent of her perfume, and it made my head spin.

Before I knew it, she was standing right in front of me, her hand fumbling with the edge of her pajamas nervously.

"Who showed you the way to my room?" I asked.

"Beatrice," she said, looking up at me with those enchanting beautiful eyes.

"Veronica, whatever happened outside there did not affect me and it meant absolutely nothing to me" I replied. "Now if you don't mind, I'll like to sleep. I've had a long night".

I could see a crease appear on her forehead as she walked towards the door with mixed feelings of embarrassment and anger.

"Hey" I called out, making her freeze in her tracks, "Stop wandering around alone at night. There's a dangerous creature on the run and if you don't want to be its next victim, I'll advise you to stay in your room".

Without a word, she nodded and walked out of the door. Immediately she left, the room suddenly became chilly as though her presence offered some form of warmth to the room. I took a deep breath and slumped on my bed. I didn't mind changing my clothes, I simply drifted off to sleep.

I woke up the next morning as the rays of the sun hit my skin. The memories of last night came flooding back. I quickly changed into a comfy pair of joggers and headed downstairs. When I got to the dining table, I met my mom, Dad, Chloe, and Veronica having a breakfast of seared lamb with wild mushroom risotto. It was my dad's favorite.

"Good morning Dad, morning' mom," I said bowing briefly.

"Morning granny," I said, taking Chloe's hand and placing a warm kiss on it.

"Stop it, young man. You're making me feel old" Chloe said, chuckling like a teenager.

Everyone laughed at my grandma's words. One of the palace servants drew out a chair beside my grandma and I settled down. Veronica sat just opposite my direction, smiling nervously as she picked on her food. We all ate in silence as I relished the savory flavor of the seared lamb.

"So, Veronica, what would you like to do? The role of a princess comes with heavy responsibilities and I believe that your lady-in-waiting gave you a detailed rundown of what you should do" My dad said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, Beatrice told me about it" her voice rang melodiously like soothing music to the ear.

"I'd like to work in the nursery. I feel drawn to kids and I'll like to teach them and assist the pack warriors—" she said, smiling broadly.

"You're not even a werewolf. How do you intend on teaching the pups how to shift into their wolf form when you can't even shift" Chloe interrupted, giving Veronica a sly smile.

Veronica's eyes quickly darted in my dad and mom's direction as if she was pleading for their defense.

"Chloe, allow the girl help in whatever way she can. Besides, you can't jump to a conclusion about her inability to shift" my dad retorted, eyeing my grandma.

The duo has a lot of personality differences which always caused a rift between them.

"Dad, I'll have to get going now. I need to meet up with Karen and Ethan concerning last night's event" I said, standing up from where I sat. I knew my dad and grandma would soon start an endless argument and this was my opportunity to leave before the argument started.

As I headed to the door, my dad's voice stopped me in my tracks.

"Lucas, why don't you drive Veronica to the training ground"

"Fuck! I don't want this", I thought to myself as I bit my lower lip in frustration.

"I don't think that will be necessary. I can find my way to the training ground, Beatrice can escort me there" Veronica said defensively. I bet she still felt awkward about last night and staying around me will make her more uncomfortable.

"I insist", my Dad spoke with a tone of finality. "Lucas, drive her to the training ground. You both should take some time to get to know each other and bond together as siblings".

"Meet me at the car in 30 minutes" I cursed under my breath as I walked out of the door.

The drive to the training ground was uncomfortably quiet. I tightly gripped the steering with a straight look on my face as I weaved in and out of the morning traffic. I got to the training ground and parked my car in a space. Stepping out of the car, I saw Matilda. On seeing me, she flashed me a wide smile and winked but almost immediately, a frown replaced the smile on her face as her eyes darted to the figure that stepped out of my car. It was Veronica.

She was dressed in a simple white flair gown and a pair of black sneakers. She tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear as the wind blew softly. She looked gorgeous and fragile and I couldn't help but wonder why Matilda doesn't like her.

"Well, that's for them to sort out their invisible hate for each other," I thought to myself as I climbed back inside my car and zoomed off.