Chapter 71

**DUNCAN'S POV**

“I'm sorry, I have to go.” Arielle ran off.

Adrian raised his brow and I was also confused. Why did she leave? She wasn't someone to bail out on an important and interesting deal. I had noticed the way her hands trembled in mine.

“Why do you think she left?” Adrian asked.

“Honestly,I'm not sure, I apologize on her behalf.”

I was apologizing again. Something I didn't do. But I knew better than to get angry at her. She probably had her reasons or something urgent really did come up.

“It's no worry,I am by no means angry. I have always firmly believed that the female gender is one that cannot be fully understood. They were created that way.”

I pursed my lips,not wanting to give him a reply. Arielle wasn't like other women,she didn't depend on anyone to achieve her goals,she rose to wealth and power on her own, she was a perfect woman. I wouldn't compare her to any other random woman.

“I see that you are quiet on the matter,perhaps you think otherwise?”

“Yes,I do.” I answered, my voice firm and strong.

He smiled and gave a small bow. “Alpha.. I will be taking my leave now.”

I watched him walk away as I grabbed a drink and sat in a reserved corner. My eyes scanned the crowd.as I sipped the cold yet hot whiskey.

What I was searching for in the crowd,I couldn't pinpoint but I knew there was something to watch out for. An alpha always had such instincts.

I was joined by Xavier who wore his expressionless look as he always did. We both sat in silence watching the drama unfold at the party.

Xavier hadn't always been like this, no one ever was. Everybody had to go through something that made them lose their humanity or better still,made them lose their emotions.

He had just completed his mating ceremony,full with smiles and happiness that was contagious. The name of his mate was Allura,a beautiful, strong, and respectable woman in his pack.

She made the night brighter,he would always say. He was in paradise whenever they were together, we were young and friends,back when the cruelty the world had to offer hadn't hit us yet. Close friends we had always been. He had been especially close to my brother as they both met their mates at the same time.

I never understood the joy your mate could give you,the feeling of euphoria and the feeling of being complete as the moon goddess had decided to curse me with having no mate. I wasn't too bothered, I had my family and they were more than enough for me.

But….

I knew the loss that came,the pain, the emptiness in life,the anguish,the eagerness to die all so you could meet them again, the depression, the anger,the urge to take revenge on whoever was responsible, even if it cost your life. Death was no longer feared,no,it became a gift,a blessing,the only possible way of redemption.

I knew it all too well.

He had lost his mate due to betrayal, just like me. His brother had caused the death of his mate. His Alpha.

His brother was in love with Allura even though she wasn't his. He begged her to take him but she refused because she belonged to someone else. He ordered his brother to give up his mate,a taboo? Yes. But,did he care? No. He was blinded by lust,it couldn't be called love, it would not be far fetched to call it hatred.

Xavier refused,unable to surrender his mate. He was tortured,beaten,bruised,weak, poisoned,and then made to watch.

He witnessed everything.

He witnessed her being raped,multiple times until she couldnt breathe, he wanted to die but he was too weak to even cry.

She breathed her last in front of him. Then,the damned poison wore off,his alpha blood,helping him out.

But….
It was too late.
What had been severed could never be joined back together.
Broken glass could never be put back together.
Life could never come back to the dead.
He lost her, his day, his paradise and he fell into darkness,
Just like me.

He killed his brother and became the Supreme Alpha. He was a good Alpha,better than his brother, but he wasn't happy.

“Why're you here?” I asked,finally making the attempt to talk.

He sighed. “Why am I here?”

I kept quiet and waited for him to speak.

“She used to like things like this.” He muttered to himself,smiling softly.

She still made him smile,even in death.

“Jeremy feels that Jade will show up at this party tonight.”

I whipped my head towards him. “What did you say?” Jade was the coven leader who injured me and I was unable to heal. He was also the one who kidnapped Luciana and did creepy shit with some humans.

“The person celebrating has a lot of connections with a lot of people, of different races.” He breathed out. “She might have connections with the witches and not even be aware.”

“What's the catch?”

He suspects that something will be exchanged during the masked dance.

“Masked dance?”

“Yes.. The masked dance is a type of dance where you're not aware of your partner, you do not know who your partner is until after you're done dancing.”

“I see..”

“I think you should dance, Duncan.”

I stood abruptly before sitting back. “What?!”

He turned to me as his lips contorted into a sly smile.

“You're a good dancer. And if you go there,everyone will be too focused on you to notice me, who's dancing just average.”

I furrowed my brows in thought and was about to reject his proposal but saw sense in it.

I sighed. “Just one dance,if after one dance,you fail to confirm anything. It's going to be on you.”

I stood and headed to the dancing section where the dance was about to begin. I took a random black mask that covered half my face as I waited for my mysterious partner to approach me. The thought of it alone felt silly to me.

A lady in a black gown,it looked blue actually. She wore a white mask that revealed only her lips. Her lips looked really beautiful.

She moved closer to me and a scent hit me. Lavender and cinnamon.

It was her..