Chapter 4

If there was one thing I enjoyed after becoming queen was me not having to bother about fights or humans attacking us. The goddess promised there would be nothing like that for years to come. What I had to worry about was dealing with Mavros.

"Hey, Val." He sat on my desk. I was working on approving the files of rogues who wanted to move into the royal pack and he wouldn't let me be.

"What?" I didn't meet his eyes.

"You seem to be in a grim mood." He observed.

I rolled my eyes. "And the discovery of the year goes to Mavros." I was sarcastic.

"Hilarious." He snatched the papers I was working on and skimmed through them. "Pack approval? Can't your Beta do it?"

"I like doing this myself. Give me the papers now."

His eyes glowed for a second, and when he handed me the papers, they were signed. Some had been approved of while he left the ones I was going to deny unsigned.

"You're done, aren't you?" He asked. When I didn't respond, he continued. "Now that you're done, I say we go somewhere. How about the beach? I heard it's good this time of year."

"I will not be going to the beach with you." I stated, opening a file. "There are a lot of things I have to do." Like he did before, he magically signed the papers. I lifted my eyes. "Can you do that for about fourteen more?"

"Only if you come to the beach with me."

"Deal."

<<<>>>

I hadn't been to beach since my father and brother died. I was glad I got to come here again despite the ache in my chest. There was something about the shimmering sunlight that made the sand sparkle like a thousand tiny jewels. It drew me in every time I came here. Perhaps it was the seagulls that beat their wings against the wind. The air smelled like sea water and the humid air against my skin calmed me.

A warm breeze swirled around me, sending my hair in all different directions, yet it didn't stop me from noticing how the long, golden sands with the waves lapped on the shore. Also how tanned bodies laid under the promising sun and children building sand castles. With the infinite blue sky, and the big, fluffy white clouds adding a touch of happiness, I couldn't stop myself from smiling.

"I knew you'd like it." Mavros said from behind me. "But you've got to lose the jeans and tee."

"Don't you dare." I warned.

He grinned. "Don't tell me what to do."

Before I could blink, he stripped me out of my clothes and into a black, two-piece bikini. The color just screamed Mavros' doing. He nodded proudly.

"You annoy me." I admitted.

"What are you going to do about it? Fight me?"

"I would. Maybe when we go back to the palace."

He tilted his head to the side. "You want me to go back with you?"

I shrugged and sat down on the shiny sand. "If you'd like."

"Okay." He sat beside me. "I'll go back to the palace with you."

"Don't make it sound like I asked you out on a date."

He grinned. "It's a date, darling."

Darling. I noticed he called me that yesterday when we met. Perhaps he liked it.

"Hey," He leaned in. "Do you hate me?"

In all honesty, I didn't know. He killed my brother, made me kill my mate, and it was all because of Fitia. No, I didn't hate him. If I wanted to hate someone, it would be Fitia. She was the mastermind behind everything. They only followed her orders.

I breathed in the salty air before responding. "I don't hate you." I met his eyes. "But it doesn't mean I like you."

"We can change that."

"No, we can't. Your obedience to the goddess has cost me a lot. I can't just forget about that."

"Yes, you can." He sighed. "Val, I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry I took your brother away from you. Forgive me for forcing you to kill your mate."

I didn't know what to respond to that, so I didn't. "The sky is so clear today."

It wasn't exactly the smartest thing to say, but it was better than saying whether or not I had accepted his apology because a part of me would always blame him for everything.

"Yeah." He seemed to notice I didn't want to talk about it anymore, so he dropped it, only to bring up another thing I didn't really want to talk about. "How are things with you and my brother?"

"He found out you told me."

"And?" He was almost close to my face.

"And he left."

I could have sworn he said 'yes!' under his breath, but I shrugged it off. It had been a long time since I came here and I was going to make the best of it. He would not get to ruin it for me.

"Do you miss him?" He asked.

When I looked at him, I expected him to be joking. He was serious. "What?"

"Do you miss Aspro?"

Did I miss him? Sure, things changed after Mavros' story and it changed even more when Aspro confirmed it for me. My past life seemed to have revolved around him if I had loved him, despite knowing I'd get in trouble for it.

"I don't know if I miss him or not."

"But do you think you might miss having him around?"

I didn't know why he was asking these questions, yet I answered. "Maybe."

"You're so frustrating." He dragged a hand down his face.

I laughed a little. "How am I frustrating?"

"I need a yes or no."

"And since I can't really decide, I'm frustrating?"

"Yes." He got up from the sand. "I need to get my mind off this love thing going on between you and my brother. Get up."

I came to my feet. "There is nothing going on between us."

"Sure, darling." He held his hand out for me to take. "Let's go do something fun."

I stared at his hand tentatively before putting my hand in his. I was here already. Might as well relax a little. Opportunities like this rarely come by when you are Alpha.

For the next minutes, Mavros and I ran into the water and out like little children. We fried ourselves on the sand like fishes under the sun, had ice cream and ran about. It was nice to finally do something that wasn't signing papers, holding meetings, or crying. It felt good to let go of my worries and be me. Be happy.

"Val, I hate to be a party pooper, but it's time to go back." Mavros pushed away his wet hair from his face. He looked very attractive when he did that.

"Already? Can't we stay a little more?"

"I'm afraid not."

I was disappointed and at the same time thankful. I hated that I had to go back to my boring life, and I was thankful I had some time away from it.

"Alright then."

I don't know how he did it, but the next thing I knew; I was in my study, on my chair, wearing proper clothes. Mavros picked up the files I had wanted him to sign if I went with him to the beach. His life was really easy. Magic could sort everything out for him. If he wanted to be the wealthiest man alive, it was as easy as snapping his fingers. It was as if he could do everything.

Could he?

"Mavros?"

"Yeah?" He was busy with the files.

"What does your god ability not allow you to do?"

He lifted his head. "You want to know what I cannot do."

"Yeah."

"Well, I can't bring back the dead."

Such a shame.

"I can't bond wolves. I cannot wipe out the entire human race even though I wish to."

"Why would you want to kill them? Did they rub you the wrong way?"

He let out a soft laugher. It made me feel things in my tummy. "Wiping them out doesn't necessarily mean killing them. I just want the earth to have never had humans walk on it."

"Why?"

His eyes darkened. "Your kind is not as feral as they are supposed to be. The ways of humans are rubbing of on werewolves. You are supposed to be savages, monsters, killers, but that's not the case. Y'all are a bunch of dollies who eat fried eggs and bacon."

"So, you don't like the things humans have invented?" I motioned to his shirt. "Would you have preferred being naked?"

I saw mischief burn in his eyes. "I would have loved it."

"You're weird."

He smiled. "Thank you. Besides, humans have done more harm than good to the earth. The pollution, the disregard for nature, for the wild. It angers me a lot more than it should." He slid two files across the table to me. "I don't like them."

"Well, my mom was a human. I love her."

Even though I never met her, I knew she would have been a wonderful woman. From her smiles to her looks, she was perfect.

"Of course you love her." He said. "She's your mother. I'd expect nothing less."

"Do you have a mother?"

In books, they barely talked about the family if gods and goddesses, so it was unclear if they had parents. It made me think they just appeared out of nowhere. But with one in front of me, I could get answers.

"Of course I do." He answered. "Do you think I appeared out of nowhere?"

"Who is she?"

He shrugged. "The moon goddess before Fitia."

"Selene?"

"Yes."

Hold on a second.

"But Fitia is Selene's daughter."

"You're putting two and two together. Keep going." He slid another file to me.

I clapped my hands. "You are Fitia's brother."

He chuckled. "You are cute."

I slightly turned red. "Who is older?"

"Fitia of course. Why do you think I do what she wants?"

"Because she is the goddess."

"No," he corrected me. "It's out of respect. I can do whatever I want to do, but because I have a lot of respect for her, I obey. Also, killing is kind of fun for me."

I curled into my chair while he did my work for me. "Where is Selene now?"

He didn't look at me. "Why do you want to know that?"

"Just because."

"She's a member of the council." He answered. "How do I put this for you?" he thumbed the papers in front of him. "It's kind of like a retirement. Once gods and goddesses retire, they join the council to make sure things are balanced and that the active gods and goddesses do not overstep their boundaries."

It made another thought come to mind.

"Was she a part of the council when I was judged in my past life?"

He nodded. "Yes. She hated that she had to hurt her child, but rules are rules and no one abides by rules like she does."

All the more reason for me to stay away from Aspro. I'd hate to hurt a mother twice. I wouldn't like it if my child were to do the same to me.

"And done." He slid across the last file.

"That was fast." I arranged them on my table. I would give them to Logan and Melody later. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

He lifted his wrist to check his wristwatch. "It's time for Tyrion to go."

"Is that so?" I rose to my feet.

"Mm-hmm." He studied my face. "Do you want me to stay?"

"No."

"You look like you want me to stay."

"Don't flatter yourself." I walked past him and left the study.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay?"

I spun. "Yes, Ma... Tyrion."

Logan.

"Did you go somewhere?" he inquired, his eyes flickering between me and Mavros. "I came to your study earlier, but you weren't there."

"I stepped out for a bit. I needed to get some fresh air. Did you need something?"

"Not really. I just wanted to confirm if the pack run is still on. You haven't forgotten, right?"

I had completely forgotten about it. Tonight's moon was going to be a full one and on such nights, the pack would run together, hunt, and just hang out. It was a time for bonding. How could I have forgotten about something of so much importance to the pack?

"Of course I remember." I lied.

Logan nodded his head in Mavros' direction. "Won't you invite Tyrion?"

"Yeah. Won't you invite me?"

I forced a smile. "Tyrion, would you like to join my pack and I for the run?"

"I'd love to."