At the Nightwalker.
Amoux was staring at the ceiling, and it looked like his mind wasn't on his anymore. He had a frown on his face while he was tapping his finger on his bed. He frustratedly sat on his bed while clenching his fist.
When he discovered that maybe Leah had a relationship with Alpha Brandon, it grieved his heart. He wanted not to believe what Damon had told him, but he felt his chest burning whenever Alpha Leah did something nasty behind his back. So, that means that Leah, maybe, had a secret relationship with Alpha Brandon.
He never felt jealous, even though Damon was trying to get his parent's attention when they were both fighting for the crown. Even his parents kept telling sugar-coated to Damon he wasn't affected by it.
He thought Damon couldn't lose him; that is what he always believed in himself. He wasn't affected whenever Damon was mocking him and that he didn't deserve to inherit the crown.
‘Leah, please, don't you dare reject me. You're my mate, and I couldn't accept it if you're happy with someone else.'
Amoux remembered seeing Leah in the orphanage where his father was checking. But that was not the first time he had seen Leah. He accidentally saw Leah with her parents, laughing with them. He was secretly jealous that Leah dared to be happy with her parents while he wasn't. He won't be the inheritor of the throne if his younger brother was still alive, and his father couldn't see him if he was alive.
He couldn't blame her for what she did; he was the one who betrayed her trust. He was the one who cheated first; he was the one who didn't realize that he couldn't live without her.
‘I need to do the right thing. I don't want Leah to be stolen by someone like me. I would kneel even if it's needed.’ Amoux shook his head. He couldn't sleep properly, so he decided to stand up. He changed his clothes so that he could run to calm himself down.
After he had changed his clothes, he quickly went out to his room and was about to start running when he saw the Lycan was wearing his jogging suit. They were both stunned and looked at each other. Minutes passed when they quickly removed their eyes from each other.
“Why are you still awake? It's late.” The Lycan asked.
“I want to run tonight. What about you? It's late, and you aren't sleeping well.” Amoux asserted.
“I want to run, too. Same as you, I couldn't even sleep properly.” Amoux thought the Lycan would be mad that he talked to him, but he was wrong. It looked like Lycan had a lot in his mind, the same as him.
“Alright, Lycan. I'll go for now.” Amoux coldly turned his back to Lycan. He couldn't even lay his eyes on his father; sometimes, he wished that he was the son of the ordinary people, not the Lycan who didn't have enough time for his son.
He remembered that when he was studying, a lot of students didn't want to be with him. They're all scared that if they did something wrong with him, they might be punished on the spot. That's why he was alone, even when they had a research or group assignment, unlike Damon, who all the students and his classmates liked. They aren't intimidated by Damon, unlike him.
“Amoux.” The Lycan called him, which made him stop walking away from Lycan. He sighed. He didn't want to receive a nag for tonight; he tried to calm his mind by thinking that Leah might fall in love with Alpha Brandon. He didn't want to talk with the Lycan, but as for respecting him, he needed to face him even though he didn't like it.
“What can I do to help you, Lycan?” He formally asked him, which astonished the Lycan by how he reacted.
“Do you want to run with me? I don't even remember that we both ran simultaneously.”
“You didn't even do that with me. All you wanted me to do was to become an excellent future Lycan to this pack.” Amoux tried his best to stop the bitterness from coming out of his mouth, but he failed. He closed and opened his eyes to prevent himself from showing the emotions that he wanted to be seen.
Lycan was taken aback by what his son told him. He swallowed, and he felt that his heart was clenching until it bled. He wanted to be an excellent father to Amoux, but he couldn't. Amoux was the reason why Luna was with him; Amoux was his unwanted child.
Whenever he saw Amoux, it made him recall everything. If Luna didn't do that, maybe he was with Richelle until now.
“Are you sure that we even take a run?”
“Yeah. Because you don't want to be with me, you're with me if you want to talk about the meeting or plans that you want me to make. That's it. So, I'm sorry if I want to reject your offer; I want to run alone, for I want peace. I don't want to be scolded tonight.”
“I don't have any plans to scold you, Amoux. I want to jog with you, that's all.”
“Aside from that, I want to be alone,” Amoux added and acted like he didn't hear the Lycan's words.
Lycan's face slowly scowled at how he acted in front of him. He was aware of how stubborn Amoux was.
“Amoux, I'm trying to be nice to you as your father, not the Lycan of this pack. Do you want me to use—”
“It's too late to act as my father, Lycan, because, from the very start, you didn't act like one. All you did was scold me whenever you saw that I did something wrong in your eyes. But, as a member of this pack, alright, let's run. I don't want to be flamboyant in front of you.”
“You're disrespecting me as the Lycan.” Amoux stopped and then gazed at the Lycan with disappointment plastered on his face.
“I thought you wanted to act as my father. This will be how I would perform if you wanted to be my father tonight.” Amoux enunciated.
The Lycan was dumbfounded to hear his words. He sighed to submit to his only son.
“Alright.” He surrendered. There's a part of his heart that wants to have private time with his son. When he examined Amoux's appearance, he realized that Amoux wasn't a child anymore. And his heart was grieving that he didn't have time to spend a day with him.
Although Amoux was his carbon copy, Amoux didn't even inherit small details from his wife; he couldn't prevent himself from galling whenever he laid his eyes on him.
They didn't even repeat another word when running outside their pack house. The Lycan couldn't avoid staring at Amoux, who had a severe expression.
“You aren't a child anymore.” The Lycan muttered, which made Amoux glance at him. There was a hidden pain in his eyes; he pursed his lips to prevent himself from scowling.
Amoux thought about why his father lately realized that he wasn't a child anymore. He even fucked his mate, so he wasn't a kid anymore.
“Yeah, right?” Amoux replied.
The Lycan gasped when he stopped running. He saw how Amoux stepped away from him.
“Are you mad at me?” The Lycan couldn't help but ask his son.
“Lycan, I don't even know I had the authority to get mad at you.”
“You're being sarcastic, Amoux. I'm trying to—”
“I didn't tell you to persuade me, Lycan. I don't even seek your care at all. I'm done with it because all you cared about was yourself. I'm your only inheritor, not your son.”
“I don't understand why you're furious with me. Amoux, what I want is to make you successfully inherit the throne. Didn't you want the throne so bad? I still remember that you kept fighting with Damon to have the throne.”
“That's what I wanted before I met Leah, Lycan.” Amoux blinked to stop himself from crying. He cleared his throat and avoided his eyes on the Lycan. He didn't want him to witness the vulnerable he was. He doesn't want the Lycan to notice that he's weak like he was constantly criticizing him.
“So, you're acting like this because of Leah. I don't understand what made you like her, Amoux.” The Lycan sat on the ground as if he was an ordinary man. He turned his gaze, and he was surprised when he realized that they were in the middle part of the forest.
He stood up and walked towards the lake. He closed his eyes and slowly sniffed the fresh air. He thought back to his youth when he was with Richelle. When he met Richelle, he never thought he would be nice to him, even though he was a healer. They became friends, and before they discovered they were mates, his father announced his upcoming wedding to Luna.
Luna was innocent in his eyes; he never thought she could do something terrible. He felt that she was his friend, too. That day, he returned to the forest to rant to Richelle, but that was the most memorable day; he discovered that Richelle was his mate.
He was grateful that the Moon Goddess gave him a beautiful and pure mate.
Flashback:
“Hector, you shouldn't act like that when you're with your father,” Richelle whispered. She had a small leaf on her hands, and she was too busy studying the plants that she's been checking.
“I wasn't!” Hector pouted his lips and then licked them when Richelle stared at him. He noticed how Richelle looked away while her face flushed.
“Do you want me to kiss you? Rochelle, there's nothing wrong with it; we're mates.”
“Yeah, but you should marry me first if you want a kiss.” Hector's eyes expanded, and it was full of excitement. He wouldn't believe that Richelle wanted to marry him, which makes his heart thump so fast that he can't breathe normally.
“So, you want to marry me?” Hector went closer to her, which made Richelle jump in surprise. Richelle arched her brow and stared at the lake beside them.
“I want to marry you here in the same spot, Hector. This place was too magical.” Richelle muttered. She closed her eyes and sniffed the air. “The atmosphere was too fresh, and it made my heart calm down because whenever you're with me, my heart is thumping so fast that I thought that I was going to have a heart attack.”
Hector bit his lips again. He closed his eyes like Richelle was doing. He realized why Richelle wanted him to marry her in the forest; besides the grand air, that place was the first time they met. And that's why she told him that it's too magical.
Hector's heart was full of love. All he thought of was Richelle and their plans when she conceived his child.
When he opened his eyes, he imagined how Richelle walked towards him while she was wearing a beautiful dress. He glanced at Richelle, who had still closed her eyes. He moved closer and gave her a passionate steal kiss. He felt that Richelle quickly pushed back, so he playfully smiled at her.
“Hector, why did you do that? Did you forget what I told you? I want to kiss you first in our marriage.” Richelle bowed her head and gritted her teeth. She felt ashamed because she didn't even know how to kiss.
“Richelle, what's the difference between kissing you after our wedding and kissing you right now? You're the woman I want to marry; I think your lips taste great. That's why I kissed you.” Hector uttered. He pulled her while grinning at her.
“Maybe, you can give me another kiss so I can be a good boy to my father. What do you think?” he added. He caressed her hair slowly, and he couldn't take his eyes off the beautiful woman in front of him. He chuckled when he saw Richelle closing her eyes as if she was enjoying his touch.
“You're such a naughty one, Hector. Maybe, I should ask the Moon Goddess to change my mate because you're so stubborn.” Hector's forehead ceased in anger. He moved away from Richelle and then glared at her. Instead of getting scared, Richelle just laughed at his reaction.
“It's not funny!” he complained.
“If I have a son with you, and he's stubborn like you, I would spank his little butt.” Richelle shook her head and then gave him the sweetest smile.
Hector was taken aback; his heart jumped with joy at what Richelle told him. If Richelle would do that, then he would treasure and care for their child.
“I'm sorry, I'm just kidding, alright. I was devastated that you ruined my plans. I want to have my first kiss at our wedding ceremony.” Hector was amazed when Richelle sadly walked close to him and what he didn't expect was Richelle kissing him. His eyes widened in surprise, but he grabbed her nape and kissed her. He felt his stomach tickling, and it looked like he had finally experienced what it felt like having a butterfly in his stomach.
He opened his mouth and deepened the kiss they both shared. He thought the world stopped spinning when he felt the softness of Richelle's lips. He never thought that kissing Richelle wanted him to kiss her again and again.
Their kiss was like a seal for their promises, and Hector knew that it wouldn't happen, as Richelle was dead.
When Hector opened his eyes, there was a small tear coming out of his eyes. He blinked and then looked at the moon; he remembered everything, and that's all he could do. He didn't have an opportunity to ask Richelle. He didn't have a chance to ask for his forgiveness for not trusting her and for not understanding her. His heart clenched whenever he thought that Richelle had died, lonely.
“I don't understand why I liked Leah so much.” Hector glanced at Amoux, who was standing beside him. Amoux was closing his eyes, but he wasn't aware that there were tears on his cheeks.
Hector felt his heart cut into a million pieces while watching his son crying for a woman he loved. He remembered that he was like that when his father forced him to marry Luna after they got caught on the bed.
“I think I don't like her; she's poor. She doesn't even have a pack. She's an omega.” Amoux sobbed. He didn't mind if his father were mad at him; all he thought of was Leah, and he wanted someone to talk with, or else he would be insane.
“That's why I thought at first, but even though I didn't treat her right, she didn't even dare to kill me. She was willing to risk her life for me, even though she knew she would die if she used her healing ability. She was too selfless, and I'm hurt that she's mad at me because I am Sergio. She's the woman that I want; she's the woman that I want to be the mother of my children; I don't want to lose her.” Amoux whispered. At the same time, his heart was mourning and scared that he might lose Leah.