26 Riding his Horse

Instead of covering his body, the Prince lifted an eyebrow. "Perhaps you should ask yourself why you are in my tent." He turned his back, revealing a deep sword scar on his back as he started putting some clothes on. "I hope you're not here to get me in trouble?"

She walked closer and noticed that the room wasn't as grand as the one where her grandfather and the head of the Cephie Clan were staying. There was a bed with a red quilt in front of the prince. Next to the bed was a circular table and a wooden chair.

The absence of decorations inside made her wonder if this was voluntary or… was he treated like this because he could no longer use elements? Seeing that he had put on his pants, she said, "I will ride your horse." Alright, that sounded wrong.

He turned his head towards her. "Why?"

"Because I want to be near you."

She didn't miss the surprise in his eyes. "No."

"Is this how you treat your future bride?" she asked.

"My previous wives died after a week of marrying me." He walked towards the table shirtless. "Did you think I would treat you any better?"

"I did. After all, I am definitely prettier." And more sinister.

She watched as he downed a glass of what looked like water. "Why are you here?" he asked.

"I already told you— "

"I heard about what you did, in there," he interrupted her. "That man wouldn't let this go."

She scoffed and sat on his bed. Surprisingly, the bed was cozy and warm. Somehow, she had been expecting it to be cold. After all, dark ones were believed to stay in colder places.

"I want to stay with you," she said.

"Why?"

She only responded with a wry smile. She cast him a mysterious glance before suddenly letting herself slump on the bed. She spread her arms and stared at the tent.

The simplicity of the interior was making her comfortable enough to feel a bit sleepy. It actually reminded her of the apartment in London. Small and cozy.

"What are you doing?" he asked. "You're not trying to seduce me, are you?"

"Hm?"

"Now, why would an unmarried woman suddenly get inside my tent and lie in my bed?"

She turned her head towards him. He was already sitting on the chair, legs crossed, a wineglass in his hand. She wondered where he had got the wine glass. Earlier, he was clearly holding a normal-looking one.

"You are thinking too much," she answered. At least here, she didn't need to pretend. She was aware that this person was an enemy and to her, this was better than being around someone pretending to be a friend. She soon realized that the Prince was just eerily staring at her without saying anything.

She smirked before turning her attention towards the tent. The silence that followed was relaxing. At least for her.

"You're not scared that I would kill you in the forest?" he asked.

"You won't." If everyone knew that she was with him, the Prince wouldn't try to do anything crazy. "Carmichael would burn you."

She heard him snort. "Your brother is hiding something."

Just like him… and her. She gave a tightlipped smile. If Carmichael could smell the Prince, then maybe he could smell her brother too. Wait… wait…

She blinked as she thought of the book that she was writing. She had been so busy since arriving here that she had forgotten that she was writing a crime story in her new novel. A hot detective and another hot criminal. Perhaps she could use the Prince and Carmichael as the models for her new leads?

She thought of the outside world and how many of the novels there would have been banned on this continent. After all, people here weren't really that accepting when it came to different types of relationships.

For instance, the people in Zealandia didn't like homosexuals. Not because of religion or any belief that the Gods only created straight men and women. It was because they were hoping that all people inside Zealandia could procreate.

Producing offspring was a bit of a responsibility. Especially the ones in the noble families and even in the four great families. This made a lot of people scared to even consider the idea that they would like someone from the same gender.

This train of thoughts soon brought her to Prince Hunter's face. The man would kill his wives and was now trying to kill her. Perhaps…

Perhaps…

The thought made her smile. Then she thought of the Prince and her Brother.

Is this the enemy to lovers trope?

Hate to Love theme?

Hmm. A dark one and a Lycan.

She hadn't thought of that before!

"You look amused?" She heard him say.

She glanced at his morose expression. Perhaps her presence really irritated him? Maybe he hated women that much? "I am happy to be with you," she said as she tried to stop herself from bursting into a puddle of laughter.

Seeing the man's uncomfortable expression, Cassandra covered her mouth as she stifled a giggle. This man's gaze was sharp and a bit gloomy. But for some reason, it made her want to tease him more.

"Hey, what do you think about this marriage?" she continued. "At first I hated it. But after a few nights of thinking about you, I actually thought that we are perfectly suited for each other. I am a bit snobbish without my coffee and you look like your dog just died. No offense but… I think I'll tell the King to marry us ahead of time. What do you think?"

To her surprise, his face suddenly flushed before it turned grim. "Do you really want to die?" he asked.

Unable to stop herself, she laughed. Now that she thought about it, this man was actually a little cute. Seeing how his discomfort was making her happy, the Prince squinted and swiftly joined her in the bed, pinning her hands on either side of her. "Lady Cassandra…" He pressed his naked chest into her breast, preventing her from moving. The change in his voice reminded Cassandra of what had happened last week. It happened just before his eyes turned red. Her unyielding eyes met his dark brown ones.

"Do you really want to die?" he asked.

...

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