Chapter 6

Russo's breath hitched when he saw her walk into the dining room. He was not expecting her here, especially now that Roxanne was the one with the mark.

He knew she was going to be mad at finding out that the cup had not chosen her and he did not want her feeling uncomfortable not when he had invited Roxanne for breakfast.

Alpha Russo had just one plan in mind and that was just to figure out how to transfer the mark from Roxanne to the woman whom he loved and all of these would be over and he would do anything even if it means bonding with the chosen wolfless trash.

“Hello, my love.” Cecile greeted with a brilliant smile and clamped her lips on his in the presence of everyone at the table.

Russo found himself reciprocating the kiss, but for some strange reasons it felt weird. This would be the first time he would ever think that kissing Cecile was wrong, but he could not help it.

What if Roxanne walked in and found them kissing? What if she never agrees to getting the mark transferred? Thoughts like ran his head.

“Hello Cecile, what are you doing here?” He asked as soon as he pulled away from the kiss.

"Can't I come see the love of my life again?" Cecile asked, her expression crestfallen.

Russo stared at her for a moment and knew he had to put things under control as Roxanne could walk in anytime but knowing how stubborn Cecile can be, he decided to play it by the ear so as not to upset her.

“You can and it is just about time for breakfast.” Alpha Russo replied.

"Great then I would join you guys for breakfast," Cecile answered and turned to take the seat closest to Russo. That was where she usually sat, but whenever a new lady of the Alpha king was brought, she had to always relinquish the seat. But well, this time she had no intention of doing so.

Cecile decided to make things clear to this new girl that she was in charge and she did not mind that she was the one with the mark. The cup had made a mistake and that was all.

"No problem," Russo answered as he allowed her trying to pull the chair for her. "But next time, make sure you…" He trailed off.

Alpha Russo didn't finished his sentence when his focus shifted elsewhere. It was as though he was transfixed, especially with the look of awe on his face.

Instinctively, Cecile moved her gaze in the direction that Russo was looking at and murderous intent overwhelmed her. This lady, whoever she was, had to go and she had to go fast.

*

Russo could not believe his eyes. This was not the Roxanne he had seen in his bedroom last night. Well, she was the same person, but the aura and persona were different. She had her chin raised up and her face was set like that of a real Luna.

She walked gracefully like one too and overwhelmed the room with her aura. This Roxanne looked completely different, determined, and focused.

It also did not help that she was wearing a very beautiful dress that accentuated the curves he hadn't seen last night. It was as though he was just meeting her for the first time and the impression she was making on him was everything, even more than any impression any woman had left him with.

His wolf yelped in excitement and he knew that if he did not satisfy his wolf, he wouldn't be at peace.

With a fixed gaze, he fixed his suit and took steps towards Roxanne, eager to claim her as his and assert his dominance over her.

“You look beautiful this morning.” Russo found himself kissing the back of Roxanne’s palm.

Roxanne was taken back by the compliment. "Thank you so much sire but I do not hold a candle close to you." She managed to answer gracefully trying hard to maintain composure.

Russo beamed at her, looped his arm around hers, and led her to the table. Ignoring Cecile, he pulled the chair back for Roxanne, letting her sit closest to him.

Cecile almost went up in flames from Russo's actions. He never acted this way towards his Ladies. He never bothered to show care and affection to them.

"Why then is he being nice to this girl? Is it because she had the mark of the cup? Is it because she was the chosen one?" A million and one questions ran through Cecile's mind as she tightened her grip on the cup in front of her.

He had promised her he would find a way to transfer the mark to her if the cup didn't choose her. Why then was he being nice to this girl?

Swallowing her pain and pride, she took a seat just beside Roxanne. It was high time she pulled through with her plans to end Roxanne's life.

Roxanne did her best to prevent her hand from shaking. She was still yet to understand just why Alpha Russo had requested for her presence and it turned out to be for breakfast. She couldn't bring herself to believe that for the first time in six years, she wasn't eating alone. Also, why was he so sweet to her?

Last night, he had been like a monster to her and right now, he was all sweet like she was the best thing to have ever happened to him. She remembered Larry's words telling her that she was special.

"Is it because of the mark?" She almost said aloud but was able to stop herself right on time.

Other than this strange mark on her body, she was just a wolfless and abandoned princess whose family had led to be slaughtered and she feared that in no time, Alpha Russo would murder her just like the rest of the girls that had been brought to him.

“So, Roxanne, I asked you to breakfast today so that I can introduce you to the members of my family.” Alpha Russo said and nodded to everyone at the table.

Roxanne's eyes moved round the table taking in the faces of everyone. Apart from her and Russo, there were six other people at the table and the only face she recognized was that of Simone, Russo's beta who had walked passed her the previous day.

“Good morning everyone.” Roxanne greeted, doing her best to be calm and brave.

“On my left here, is my lovely sister, Dera. She is married and came in so she could meet you.” He pointed to the lady directly opposite her.

“It is nice to meet you.” The woman answered with a polite smile and pulled her eyes away from her.

Roxanne nodded, getting the message from the woman, but just as she had promised herself, she was going to remain strong till the end.

“Here is my brother, Calvin.” He pointed to the man seated beside his sister.

“Nice to meet you.” Calvin nodded and went back to his meal.

“And this is my cousin, Alfred.” He nodded to the next man.

"Hello, I hope you make it for more than a week here. It won't be nice to see such beauty wasted." Alfred chuckled but stopped immediately he felt Russo's heated gaze on him.

Roxanne took a sip of her water, doing her best to remain calm. She hated her parents and her sister for causing her to be in this situation. Her life was a mess and now she was living on the edge, not knowing exactly when she was going to die. As much as she loved the luxury she was enjoying here, she hated living on edge.

“Well, this is my Uncle and my adviser.” Alpha Russo pointed to the oldest man at the table. "His name is Mars."

“Good morning, Uncle.” She nodded with courtesy.

“Good morning, child.” The old man answered.

“Seated over there, is Simone, my Beta.” He nodded to his beta.

Roxanne acknowledged his presence and turned her gaze to the woman who sat beside her. There was something so different about her that he could not place her hand on.

She had an aura and even though she could not say if it was good or bad, it had a way of capturing the attention of anyone and the woman's aura had definitely captured her, especially her high level of confidence.

“Seated beside you is… Cecile. She is my….”

“Friend.” Cecile finished for him after his hesitation and offered her hand to Roxanne.

An idea had dropped in her head and she knew that if she played her cards well, Roxanne would be dead in no time and she would have Russo all to herself.

She had noticed Roxanne's nervousness and from the way she had reacted to Dera's cold attitude, she was certain that the young girl would need a friend. Cecile was ready to be anything, provided it would get her what she wanted.

"It is nice to meet you, Miss," Roxanne answered.

“Please call me Cecile, I can tell from a glance that you're such a special lady. Russo is so lucky to have you.” Cecile flashed her best smile at Roxanne.

Roxanne stared at the young woman beside her and could not believe her ears. This was the second time in twenty four hours someone was calling her special. It made her heart strangely warm.

"Thank you for your kind words." Roxanne replied with a smile, it's was the first since she came in to the palace.

"Now that we are done with the introduction, we should eat." Alpha Russo said as he found Cecile's friendly attitude strange.