The Werewolf King’s Runaway Queen
Chapter 9

I slowly fluttered my eyes open and enticing scent got my attention.

I fully opened my eyes and saw Luke by the couch sleeping.

I sat there and stared at Luke while he was sleeping.

He looked peaceful and harmless which is the opposite of how he is when he's awake.

His features matured since the last time I saw him and I'm not surprised.

Aunt Liv and King Luan have really good genes so it's not a surprise that their children are equally as attractive as them.

That's something I can't deny.

Luke is scary and cranky but he's one attractive dude, I'll give him that.

I stared at him like that for a few moments knowing damn well that this is a rare moment.

"Our mate is so dreamy, isn't he?" my wolf suddenly popped in.

I almost chuckled.

"Quinn, you do realize that we've know Luke since I was 11, right? We never looked at him like that before we found out he was our mate" I reminded. "Yeah but still" she said.

I just shook my head.

Suddenly, my stomach growled and my eyes widened.

I hope Luke didn't hear that.

"You're hungry?"

I froze as Luke slowly opened his eyes and met mine.

I gulped.

His eyes or expression weren't as cold as before.

"What do you want to eat?" he asked sleepily as he sat down properly.

"I...uhm...I'm not that hungry" I lied.

Luke tilted his head to the side as if studying me.

"Your growling stomach said otherwise" he pointed out.

I pursed my lips.

"Anything will do" I said.

Luke nodded and he paused for a moment but didn't take his eyes off me.

I looked around feeling extremely awkward being alone in the same room as him.

My wolf on the other hand is ecstatic to be with him.

We were quiet and I never felt Luke's gazw leave me.

"Why did you leave almost 3 years ago?" he suddenly said.

I looked at him and we stared straight into each other's eyes.

"I wanted freedom that I couldn't replace in the palace's territory" I admitted.

Luke didn't reply for a moment.

"Did you replace it?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Yes. Yes, I did" I said.

Then, we just stared at each other without another word.

Suddenly, there was a knock on my door and I saw the Luna's face.

"Luna" I said.

"Oh my, our Alissa" she said as she rushed to put down the tray of food and hugged me.

I hugged her back.

"I'm glad you're okay" she said.

I smiled.

"I'm glad all of you are safe" I said.

"Thanks to you" she said and planted a kiss on the top of my head.

"Uhhh...Luna" I said when I remembered that Luke was in the room.

I glanced at Luke and so did the Luna.

"Oh I apologize, your highness" Luna said as she bowed her head to Luke.

"I was overwhelmed with happiness to see that Alissa is doing well. Please forgive me" she said.

Luke gave a nod.

"It's fine. I think I understand why" Luke simply said.

The Luna gave Luke a thankful nod.

"Fill yourself up and get your energy back. Everyone is waiting patiently for your quick recovery. Specially the kids" she said.

I smiled at the thought of the pups.

"I'll be back on my feet in no time, Luna" I said.

The Luna chuckled and nodded.

"Sure you will. You're Alissa. You're a fighter" she said as she caressed my hair lovingly.

The Luna left after giving a respectful bow to Luke and giving me my food.

"Have you eaten...your majesty?" I asked carefully.

Luke just gave me a look for a moment.

"Yes" he said.

"I doubt it but okay" I said with a shrug as I started eating.

I was famished.

"I thought you said you weren't all that hungry" he pointed out.

"This is how I usually am" I lied.

I am indeed extremely hungry.

I continued eating while Luke just watched me from the side.

It was uncomfortable but I've mastered to pretend he wasn't around no matter what his distance was to me because that's what I did back in the palace.

If I pretend that he's not there then he is not there and there won't be a problem at all.

That's how I adapt and that's also how I avoid trouble with him.

"I've heard that you teach kids instead of being in charge of the security of the pack. Is that why your combat skills became rusty?" he said.

Rusty?

"For the record, before aunt Livi saved me and before I almost died, I fought and killed more than 50 rogues on my own. I wasn't rusty. I was exhausted and injured...your majesty" I defended myself.

"So you don't admit that you lack training?" he said.

I bit my lower lip.

"So maybe I do lack training. I spend my day dealing with children and by the end of the day, I no longer have much energy left in me so maybe I train less since I was in the palace but I'm still an outstanding fighter...your majesty" I said. Luke looked at me with a look of disbelief.

"And you still risked your life knowing damn well that you lack the ability to fight anymore" he said as his jaw clenched.

I paused as Luke's expression turned to one of anger and disbelief.

My heart raced inside of my chest nervously.

This is the same look I get from him years back because he disliked everything I did so much.

I gulped.

Then, the door to my room opened and I saw Liana.

"Good morning, girly. I brought your favorite snacks all the way from the palace" she said enthusiastically as she sat beside me.

"But first, finish your meal first" she added.

I chuckled and nodded.

"I'm going out for some air" Luke suddenly said and left without another word.

Liana and I watched as he left.

"Well, that was weird. Dude wouldn't even volunteer to leave you in the room before. Now, he suddenly needs air" Liana said and looked at me.

"Be honest. You guys had an argument before I walked in, didn't you?" she said.

I shook my head.

"No, of course not. We barely exchanged words with each other and we haven't even seen each other in almost 3 years until yesterday. What were we supposed to argue about?" I denied it. Lia shrugged.

"I don't know, Ali. There are a lot of reasons why my brother would start an argument with you and the number one on the list is why you suddenly left without a word" she said.

I bit my lower lip and Lia sighed.

"Why did you leave, Ali?" she asked sadly.

I set aside the tray of food and held Liana's hands.

"I'm sorry, Lia. I'm sorry that I left without a word. I was lost and desperate. I wanted to replace myself but I couldn't do it while I was in the palace territory so I ran away" I said. Liana started to tear up.

"You should've at least said goodbye" she said.

"If I did, would you have let me go?" I said.

Lia shook her head.

"Exactly" I said.

"I missed you so much. Every single day, Ali" she said as a tear fell from her eye.

I held her face and wiped her tear.

"I missed you too. More than you can imagine" I said.

I hugged Liana as she cried on my shoulder.

I knew Liana would be affected by my absence but never this much.

Maybe I didn't realize how emotionally tied she actually was to me.

That was my fault and I'll regret doing that for the rest of my life.

Liana doesn't deserve to be hurt the way I've hurt her.

After Liana calmed down, we started catching up with each other while we ate the snacks that she brought from the palace.

"Do you remember the first time we met?" Lia asked.

I nodded.

"Of course, I do. How can I forget? Your brother accused me of bullying you and Lucas" I said.

We both chuckled.

Flashback...

"Mom, I'm going out" I said as I was out the door.

"Don't forget to wear one of your dad's shirt so you the others will know that you're with him. Remember that we're new" she reminded.

I sighed and grabbed a jacket that belonged to Axel and wore it so I could go out.

We only arrived yesterday and already got myself into enough trouble to last me a few years.

Of course, I didn't want anymore trouble after that.

I walked around and I was aware of the guards glancing at me but they didn't stop me despite being a new face probably because of Axel's scent on me.

If I'm being honest, I was scared seeing the unfamiliar wolves around me but I acted like I was okay.

I wanted to leave the house and this was the only way I can do that.

I kept walking and walking until I reached the woods.

At some point, I found a spot where beautiful flowers grew and the sun along with the trees made a spotlight in the middle.

I sat below a tree as I kept looking around.

Then, that's where it hit me.

I was away from the home that I once knew without a way of going back.

My heart squeezed inside of my chest and I burst into tears.

I cried and cried until I was too tired to continue.

Then, I unexpectedly fell asleep in the shade.

When I woke up, it was still day, thankfully.

I got up and dusted myself.

I'm surprised I'm still alive after falling asleep in an unknown area.

But then again, this is Palace territory.

Of course it'll be secure here because the royal family lives here along with skilled fighters and their families.

What did I expect exactly?

I sighed.

I made my way back to where I came from.

At some point in my path, I started realizing that I was lost.

Why?

Because if I was in the right direction, I would have already been in the house.

I sighed in frustration.

What a way to start the day.

I just kept walking.

Maybe I'll see some guards roaming around and ask them for directions.

Or I could get lost here for days and die.

Great.

Suddenly, I heard voices so I stopped.

"That's mine! Give it back!"

It was a girl's voice.

I rushed towards that direction.

"It's mine now and you can go and cry about it"

This time, it was a boy's voice.

I started running and finally saw a clearing from a distance.

I reached it and as soon as I did, I witnessed two kids cry while the boy was on the ground.

I stood there stunned but immediately rushed to them when I realized that no one else was around to comfort them.

"Hey hey hey. What's wrong?" I carefully approached them.

They looked at me and stopped crying as the girl stepped away.

I stopped at my tracks seeing the surprised expression on their face.

"Oh uh hi. My name is Alissa. I'm new here. I...uh...I'm with Axel" I said.

"Uncle Axel?" the girl said.

I nodded.

"Do you need help?" I asked the boy.

The boy carefully nodded.

I helped the boy get up and dusted him off.

"What happened?" I asked carefully.

"She pushed me!" the boy said and pointed at the girl.

"He was bullying me!" the girl defended and she started crying again.

The boy just looked at her with a frown.

I lightly pulled the girl to me and gave her a hug while I held the boy's hand with my other hand.

"It's not okay to bully others but it's also wrong to push someone, okay?" I told the both of them softly.

They both looked at me and nodded in unison.

I smiled seeing they were listening to what I was saying.

"Will you please say sorry to each other?" I said.

"No!" they both refused.

I sighed.

Well, this is a challenge.

A tough one at that.

"Do you want to lose each other over a silly fight?" I asked softly.

They looked at each other and shook their head.

"So what do you think you should do?" I asked.

They both sighed.

"Apologize" they said.

I smiled.

"Exactly" I said.

I held their hands and put it with one another as they faced each other.

They both looked at each other for a moment.

"I'm sorry" they said to each other in unison.

I smiled in satisfaction.

"You again? What are you doing with my brother and sister?"

We turned to look and my eyes widened when I saw the boy from yesterday.

"Luke!" the boy and girl said as they rushed towards the boy I punched yesterday.

Brother and sister?

They're all siblings?

Oh ghad.

He looked at them and his brows furrowed as he looked at me.

"Did you make my siblings cry? What are you? A bully?" he said with a gritted teeth.

I immediately shook my head.

"No, of course not" I immediately denied.

The boy glared at me.

"It's not her fault, Luke. She even helped Lucas and I make up" the girl said.

"Lia is right" the other boy agreed.

They all looked at me again but the boy named Luke did not look very pleased with me.

That's strike two.

End of Flashback...

"We never really got along, Lia. From the first time I set foot in the palace and even when I left. Luke and I weren't compatible in any way" I said.

Lia said.

"And yet, you're mates. You are each other's missing part. How's that going to play out?" she said.

I sighed.

"Frankly, I'm not sure but if I were to guess, there's a high probability that it wilk go south" I said.

I can already feel Quinn disagreeing with me but I had to say the truthy.

There was never a time when Luke and I got along in the 6 years of being in the same territory with him.

So what's the chance of us getting along now, right?

As much as it hurts me, I am well aware of the truth.

If I can't accept that, I won't be able to face the problems that I will encounter with Luke in the future. Suddenly, the door opened and I saw Luke again.

Only this time, he's back with his cold expression and a face filled with disbelief as he looked at me.

I almost shivered.

"We need to talk" he said to me and glanced at my sister.

"In private" he emphasized.

I gulped nervously.

Totally.