IS EVIRELDA A WITCH?

On the other side of the palace, Grey walked around in silence while looking for the girl who had the same flower as his own. He was a bit uncomfortable because he was still wearing the flower crown and he knew he obviously looked childish. He tried to act like nothing was wrong but he was too aware of the flower crown on his head. Suddenly he felt his wolf pull him to a certain direction and he wondered if it meant there was trouble somewhere. But this feeling was different from all the other times in the past when his wolf was steering him away from danger or pointing him to the danger. The feeling that was erupting from his core and it felt like his heart was being torn apart and rebuilt over and over again.

He cautiously walked in the direction his wolf was leading him to then he stopped abruptly when he saw a young maiden sitting alone on a quiet balcony as they were in the third floor of the palace. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever had the chance to lay his eyes on. She had shoulder-length brown hair that had traces of black strands in them and was comfortably wearing the flowers crown with a blood red rose on it. She seemed completely oblivious to his presence at the balcony and Grey took it as opportunity to watch and observe her.

His feet felt glued to the ground and he continued to stare at her for a few more minutes but before he could hide somewhere so he could look at her for longer, she turned around to face him with a look of utter shock and disbelief. She quickly composed herself and wet her lips before speaking and Grey's eyes followed every movement of her lips like he could only see them.

"May I help you with something ?" She asked him with a look of suspicion and guardedness in eyes.

"No..... I was looking for you.....the... the crown I mean." Grey responded while trying his best to concentrate on speaking properly.

"The flower.....Ohhh right! You have my flower." she said finally smiling and the sight of her gleeful face warmed Grey's heart.

"Yes I do." he responded simply.

"The princess said we have to talk." she said to keep the conversation going.

Grey followed her hand where she was pointing to the empty seat in front of her.

"Is that so?" he asked walking closer so he could take a seat in front of her.

She had a calm and collected expression on her face that told him that she wasn't lying about Evirelda telling her that she has to talk to him.

"Lovely to meet you my lady. I am sir Merlin." he introduced himself with a slight bow while he was still standing,"And what might I call you?" "Delilah." she answered him not providing him with her family name but it didn't bother him because he hadn't either.

"Nice to meet you lady Delilah."

"Nice to meet you too Merlin."

Grey felt his heart warm at that at how she had addressed him without the honorific. If it had been some other woman he wouldn't have felt this way but it was her; it was his mate.

In another part of the palace Philip, another one of the lycan brothers, walked quietly as he searched for the girl who had his flower. His flower was a purple rose and he wondered exactly how Evirelda had managed to find a purple rose because he had been to the palace garden many times before but he had never seen one. He stopped walking when he saw a girl who had a purple rose in her hand while her flower crown was bare. Was she that forgetful that she needed to have the flower in front of her to remember what color it was? When she finally registered his presence in the hallway she looked at the top of his head and then at the flower in her hands and then excitedly raised it to show him that they had the same flower.

Philip noticed that her eyes were also purple and he frowned at the odds. At the same time I'm his heart rate slowed down and his wolf started to push him towards the girl which he understood meant this woman was his mate but he didn't move forward. He could tell that they were exact opposites; he was quiet while she looked noisy and he was sure she would bother him for the rest of his life. He turned around ready to ignore her but his wolf wouldn't let him and he felt a squeeze in his chest and his heart felt like it was being torn apart.

"Where are you off to." she asked him," The princess said we have to talk."

"I don't want to talk. The only thing I was told to do is find a girl and then leave." Philip said turning back to look at her.

"Really? Did she actually say that? That you should leave?" she asked him smiling brightly.

"Did she really tell you that we have to talk?"

"Now that is purely common sense. I mean wouldn't it be odd to just see each other and leave?" She asked tilting her head to the side in question.

Philip frowned at her but complied because his body was starting to feel weak as he was in conflict with his wolf. She led him out to the stables where he saw Benjamin talking to a girl who had his rose and from what he could see they were getting close.

"I am Lucy." Philip was taken aback by his mate's introduction.

" Lovely to meet you, lady Lucy." he said unenthusiastically which made her frown at him but the smile was quick to come back on her face. She then asked him what his name was but he chose not to respond. He looked at his horse and walked towards it so that he could have a chance to get away from Lucy. Lucy stood right behind him waiting for him to ask her to ride with him.

"Ladies aren't supposed to ride; it's against society." Philip said noticing how she.looked at the horse with admiration.

"I don't care about society." Lucy said confidently and defiantly.

"Then why don't you wear men's clothes or cut your hair or join the army?"

"Because it doesn't interest me but you know what? I do I paint even if my mother doesn't want me to and I play with animals even though my father doesn't want me to."

Philip raised his brows at her in disbelief and she raised her chin in confidence and in pride. "Shall we." she said patting his horse on the back.

Philip sighed and helped her get onto the horse reluctantly. Philip heaved up his weight to climb the horse but before he could sit Lucy pushed him to the ground and then she kicked the horse's side that made it start to gallop away from Philip. Philip looked in her direction with clear annoyance in his eyes and he heard Benjamin and the lady he was with start to laugh at him. Lucy also joined in the laughter as she looked back at Philip. Philip left the place annoyed and walked back into the palace while making sure to remove the flower crown from his head. He should never have agreed to this!

"Where to?" Evirelda asked frightening Philip because he hadn't sensed her presence in the area.

"Where did you come? I'm sure you were not there before." Philip voiced out his thoughts to her.

"You are just sure but you don't know if it is true." deadpanned Evirelda and this slightly irked Philip.

"Are you a witch?" Philip asked as he stared at the little girl.

She started to cry all of the sudden and it made Philip break into a cold sweat because he knew that Evirelda was precious to his master. He looked around to see if anyone was around and spotted a guard not too far away looking at him. He glared at the man and the guard left without protest.

"Why are you crying? Stop crying I was just joking." Philip tried to coax her.

"You called me a witch. How could you?" Evirelda sobbed loudly.

"How could you find my mate if you're not a witch?" Philip tested her.

She didn't respond immediately and looked a little alarmed.

'That's why I called you witch.....because it is impossible for someone to know that. So are you?"

Her silence made it clear to Philip that there was a possibility.

"I don't know." she finally said,"But I know some spells from grandmother Genevia."

Philip frowned and said,"Excuse me now I have to get away from Lucy."

'You're running away from your mate? Isn't that bad for you?" she asked looking around to make sure no one was eavesdropping on their conversation.

"I don't know; you tell me, witch."

"I am not a witch I just know spells."

Philip left the place immediately not wanting for Evirelda's madness to rub off him. When he was finally in a closed room, his wolf started nagging him and telling him to go back to his mate, to his heart; half of his heart and soul.

In the Prince's room, Ceaser sat on the bed as he soaked his feet in a dish of warm water.