Chapter 182: Loyalty
Enzo
After Selena touched me, I blacked out. I didn’t wake up again until much later, when the sun was shining through my window. My head was still stuck in a thick fog as it reeled dizzily. Once the dizziness began to pass, I groaned and pushed myself up to a seated position as I took in my surroundings; slowly, I began to recognize the room I was in now as the bedroom I had been given the last time I was at the Alpha King’s mansion.
There was a pounding in my head, however, leaving me wondering how I even got in this room. The last thing I remembered was leaving the Alpha King’s study with Selena. I
remembered that my father had been acting strange, as though he didn’t even know how or why I left and had no recollection of helping me escape, and when I tried to say something about it, Selena must have used some sort of spell on me to keep me from speaking.
Suddenly, as I slowly came to my senses, I began to notice something shifting beside me in the bed. I slowly turned my head, my eyes widening. Selena was lying next to me.
How did she get here? I didn’t remember anything after she touched my forehead with her thumb, right after we left the Alpha King’s study…
Almost as though she hadn’t even been sleeping at all, her eyes suddenly shot open and looked straight at me. A lazy smile spread across her face and she stretched, showing off her midriff in her shirt, and rolled over onto her side to look at me.
“Good morning, handsome,” she cooed, her voice low and thick like molasses. “That was amazing.” I frowned as I tried to rack my brain. ” What are you talking about?” I asked, feeling myself begin to panic ever so slightly despite how hard I tried to keep myself calm. “What was amazing?”
Selena chuckled. “Well, last night, of course!” she replied with a wry chuckle. “Don’t you remember, silly? I thought you wanted to wait until marriage… What changed your mind?”
My eyes widened. No… I couldn’t have had sex with Selena. I didn’t remember anything from the night before. I quickly jumped up and backed away from the bed, shaking my head vigorously. “We didn’t have sex,” 1 said, feeling my heart begin to race and my stomach start to turn. “We couldn’t have.”
Selena’s smile turned into a pout. She pushed her lower lip out like a child and batted her eyelashes. “You… You really don’t remember?” she said, her voice quivering theatrically. “It was our first time. I thought it was special…”
I paused. I couldn’t believe that I would have been unfaithful to Nina. No… I simply wouldn’t believe it. But I also couldn’t alert Selena to anything being awry, so once again, I had to play into her game. I furrowed my brow as though I was thinking, then forced a smile and approached the bed again.
“You know what?” I said, sitting on the edge of the bed. “I do remember. I’m sorry… I’m just tired.”
Selena grinned once more and sat up. She was wearing a tight little shirt and shorts that practically looked like underwear, and I hated to say it, but she looked… hot. In fact, the longer 1 looked at her, the less Nina’s face showed clearly in my mind.
It was only for a split second, but I swore as I looked at Selena’s body that the name “Nina” wasn’t even a name I’d heard before… Who was Nina?
No! I thought to myself, shaking my head and tearing my gaze away from Selena. She was clearly using some sort of spell on me. Of course I knew who Nina was; she was the love of my life, and I wouldn’t have had sex with Selena because I loved Nina and only ever wanted to be faithful to her. I had to get my father and get out of this place so I could return to Nina, who would be my mate once I paid the witch to lift her curse. I couldn’t let Selena’s magic make me forget so easily. I had to fight it.
“So,” Selena said, breaking my train of thought, “what do you want to do today? I wanna go on a date. We can go shopping, or go to the movies, or…”
I shook my head, still keeping my gaze away from her. “I’m really tired, actually,” I said as I tried to keep my tone of voice as nonchalant and innocent as possible. “I’m sorry. Maybe we can go tomorrow?”
Selena paused. I felt my heart leap into my throat as I wondered what she would say or do next, but much to my surprise, she didn’t fuss over it.
“No problem,” she replied in an almost sing-song voice. She then sauntered over to the door; I could see the way she swung her hips seductively in the corner of my eye, but I kept my gaze glued to the floor in front of me so as not to be compelled by her tricks again. “Tomorrow, then. Get some rest… I’ll see you later tonight for round two.”
I nodded, forcing out an uncomfortable chuckle. “Sure thing,” I lied, although I knew fully well that I would somehow get my father and get the hell out of here before that happened. “I’ll see you later.” As soon as I was alone, I began pacing and scheming ways to get out. I couldn’t waste any time, but I also had to be tactful about it.
Maybe, if I just waited a little bit and then found my father, making it look like I was just sitting with him for lunch or something, I could use it as my chance to tell him what was going on and get him out of here. But would he even believe me, or were Selena’s spells already too deeply ingrained in his mind?
I almost began to wonder if I should just make a run for myself and find someone to open a portal for me in the nearest town, but I just couldn’t bring myself to leave my father like that. Not only that, but Selena was sure to be watching me like a hawk. I was such a fool for thinking that she actually bought anything that I said the night before in the woods. If anything, I was the one who got led into her trap.
But there had to be something I could do. Suddenly, I had an idea: the Alpha King. I was supposed to meet with him this morning to discuss the wedding. If I could get there a little early and tell him everything, he was sure to believe ‘me.
Without another moment wasted, I quickly got dressed and flung the door open to go and find the Alpha King before the meeting began.
But, as it turned out, I was right about Selena watching me like a hawk. She must have made her wolf retract her scent, just as I had the night before, because I didn’t pick up her scent through the door. And she was still standing there with a big grin on her face.
“Naughty boy,” she said, placing her hand on my chest and shoving me back into my room. “I knew you’d be up to no good. But that’s okay; I know how to handle bad boys.”
