Chapter 18 : Secret Mates

Vika's POV I walked through the castle with a goofy smile on my face. How could I not? I had one week off, and Asher had me all mixed up in all the best ways. We may have a week to do secret training. "Shh, someone will hear," I heard Devi whisper. Oh no. I didn't want to run into Devi again. She'd gone crazy to let two he-wolves have their way with me. I turned to run in the opposite direction, but another voice caught my ears. "No one is around. I have checked," a male voice said. Wait, was that… Was that Asher's brother, Prince Regent Lucian? What were Lucian and Devi doing meeting secretly? I could not control my curiosity. I held my breath and quietly inched closer to the hallway corner and listened in. Devi sighed, and I heard a smacking sound like they were kissing or something. "Don't pull away from me," Lucian said. Devi grunted. I pressed myself to the wall behind me, staying perfectly quiet and still. "We shouldn't be meeting like this," Devi argued. "You know it's wrong." "It isn't wrong. Not with the way we feel about each other," Lucian said. "You have no idea how I feel," Devi snapped. I peeked my head out carefully with my heart almost jumping to my throat. Thanks to the Moon Goddess, Devi's back was to me. Prince Regent Lucian was focused on Devi in his arms. It was hard to notice me. "Yes, I know. Devi." Lucian chuckled and whispered in Devi's ear, "You love me. Just admit it." "No way. " Devi raised her volume and quickly realized it and lowered her voice. "Are you joking me?" "Just because you're engaged to my loser brother doesn't mean you love him," Lucian said. "I know how you feel about me." "You're crazy." Devi left Lucian's arms. Her stiletto heels were knocking on the floor. Her footsteps stopped because Lucian grabbed her wrist and pressed his lips on hers, which even shocked me. Devi gave a sweet sigh that bordered on a moan. "Stop that," Devi whispered, panting. "Stop me," Lucian countered and kept kissing. Some soft, heavy breathing and gasping ran into my ear. "Lucian, stop," Devi stopped him. "You can't deny that you love me. We're mates. You can't fight that," Lucian said. I nearly choked on my breath. What? Devi and Lucian were mates? How was that possible? I couldn't believe what breaking news I had found. I had to get out of there before they noticed me, or I might not be able to stay hidden. One more shocking declaration and I would give myself away for sure. My hands covered my mouth to help me keep quiet, and my inner voice comforted me. 'Okay, you got this, Vika. Just take a deep breath and relax. Just move quietly. They'll never know you are here.' "It doesn't matter if we are mates," Devi was saying. "Asher and I are engaged, and he is going to be the perfect Alpha." "So, all you love is power and throne, is it?" Lucian scoffed. "Don't worry. Devi, I'll prove I'm so much better than my idiot brother." Uh-oh, that didn't sound good. I'd have to warn Asher. I heard footsteps down the hall. Someone was getting close to me. I peeled myself off the wall and turned around, coming face to face with Shian. "What the hell are you doing here lurking around corners?" Shian asked me. I swallowed hard. Her eyes brightened with anger. There was no way I could escape. "I was just leaving," I said. "You hear that?" Lucian asked. Suddenly, Devi and Lucian came to meet Shian and me around the corner. Oh crap. This was a bad situation. Ignoring Princess Devi, one Omega against one Gamma plus a Beta-level male wolf… The likelihood of me escaping unscathed was probably lower than the likelihood of Asher showing up. "Well, well," Lucian said, snarling at me. "What are you doing here? You little maid." "I was just passing by," I said, rolling my eyes. "Don't believe her. She's a snitch and a rat," Devi said, crossing her arm. That was strange considering her tantrum. Why didn't she ask Shian to catch me today? "Who would you snitch to?" Lucian asked, raising a blond eyebrow at me. I glared back at him. He may have had Asher's eyes, but I could only read sinister from Lucian's eyes, not beautiful. "That slut would go for Asher. She's been trying to seduce him." Devi scoffed, standing there with no madness. Shian was the same. "Well, I can't let you do that. You've heard too much. I'll have to take care of you so you'll never spill a word of what you heard," Lucian snarled. Lucian took a step toward me and raised his arm. As I took a step backward, Devi grabbed his hand. "Don't," she said quickly. I raised an eyebrow at her and turned to Shian, who was just staring at me with anger, no action. What's wrong with them? Compared to yesterday, the two of them are simply different beings. Lucian's eyes widened, and then he glared at Devi. "What are you doing?" he asked. "We can't let her go." "She's not even worth it," Devi said, coming to my defense. "You are quite right, Your Highness." Shian walked directly behind Devi. "Fine. If you don't mind." Lucian sighed. "Let's go." He put his arm around Devi's shoulders, and they walked away. Shian followed closely in their footsteps. Okay, what just happened? What bizarro world had I fallen into? Shian and Devi were defending me? Had I hit my head earlier? I ran my fingers through my hair, checking for any lumps and bumps. No, my head was fine. Could it be that Asher said something to them yesterday? I was still shocked by what I'd seen and experienced when I snuck out and met with Asher at the center of the garden labyrinth. He had a training sword in his hand, swinging it back and forth. I stopped walking, just watching how strong and masculine he looked with the sword. I enjoyed seeing how his muscles bulged. The sweat on his brow glistened in the moonlight. "Oh, hey, I was wondering when you'd show up," Asher said. I started, fanning myself with my hand to try and cool down. "Sorry, I'm late," I said. Asher shrugged. He didn't seem to care. I had to tell him what I'd heard. I didn't think it would be easy for him to hear, but he still had to know. "Asher, on my way here, I overheard something between your brother and Princess Devi," I said quickly. "Are you okay? Did they give you a hard time?" Asher set the training sword down and quickly grabbed my wrist. "I'm good." I smiled at him. His hand was so warm. "Wait, that's not what I wanted to tell you. Did you know he was Devi's mate? But when Devi told him that it didn't matter, he got pretty upset," I explained. "Did Devi reject Lucian?" Asher's eyes were widened since I told him Devi was Lucian's mate. I shook my head. "Not officially. He wasn't too happy about being reminded that she is engaged to you though. He claimed he would make Devi see that he was better than you. You should be careful." "Careful?" Asher raised his eyebrow and smiled. "He did often challenge me since we were children, but he never won." "Please, be careful for me," I said and took his hand. "How can I resist such a sweet request?" Asher smirked. "There was something else about Devi and Shian," I said, creasing my brow. "What happened?" Asher asked, his eyebright with concern. He put his hand on my cheek. "Lucian threatened me not to tell anyone what I saw today. He was going to attack me, but Shian and Devi stopped him. It was the weirdest thing," I said. Asher just nodded and smiled. He rubbed my face with his thumb. "That's good, isn't it?" Why wasn't he surprised? He really did something to Devi and Shian. I grabbed his hand and asked, "What have you done to them?"