*****CHAPTER 27

ALCOT'S POV
 
I felt a great deal of relief as my mother asked Scarlet to excuse us so that we could have a private moment together to discuss. Although a bit hesitant to leave, Scarlet threw me one final glare before storming out the door.
 
I did not feel an ounce of pity for her. I could not understand why she was acting up when she clearly did not give a damn about me. All she ever wanted was power and to rule as a Luna. She never truly cared if I showed my face to her or not. Neither did it bother her that I wouldn't sleep with her. The only reason she was mad at the closeness between Mae and me was because she was afraid of another woman coming to steal her crown from her.
 
That fake, lying bitch
 
"You can't keep treating her that way, Alcot." My mother finally spoke to me a minute after Scarlet left the room.
 
"She isn't complaining, is she?" I replied, getting tired of the conversation already. True, she spared me the annoying sight of Scarlet, but that should be all. I wanted to hear no more about any of this from her; neither was I in the mood for any of her lectures.
 
"People are talking, Alcot." "Words have gone out about the lycanking who doesn't consummate his Luna."
 
I shrugged nonchalantly and looked ahead into the blank space.
 
Let them talk. No matter how much rumors spread, people are wise enough to beware of saying those kinds of things in my presence unless they want their heads rolling off their bodies.
 
With a gentle sigh, my mother brought herself to sit on the bed beside me. Slowly, she placed a gentle hand over my shoulder and rubbed against it slowly and in a comforting manner.
 
"It's been eighteen years, Alcot. Don't you think you've hidden behind that mask of yours for way too long?"
 
"I am not hiding, mother," she said. I quickly jumped in to defend myself, feeling suddenly tense and uncomfortable.
 
Nobody knows what the Lycan King looks like. "Stop torturing yourself and others." She maintained rather stubbornly.
 
"I told you." I'm saying it between gritted teeth now. "I am not hiding."
 
"Perhaps you aren't anymore." She finally agreed with a sigh and a small nod of her head.  "Maybe that was the reason you allowed the servant to see you that way...
 
"Stop saying nonsense, mother." I flung off her conclusions. "She didn't see my face."
 
"The scars, son." She saw those scars. She beat me to my words, and I gritted my teeth and set my jaw before looking downcast. If there was anything I wanted badly, it was for this conversation between my mother and I to end.
 
"It doesn't matter." "I asked her to make me a cup of chamomile tea, and she bumped into me while I was half dressed. "  I deadpanned, trying my best to make it obvious to my mother that I wasn't interested in having this discussion anymore. But being selfish and stubborn as always, my mother ignored the signs I was giving and continued to talk.
 
"Chamomile tea?"  She sounded puzzled, and it was at that moment that I knew I had made a big mistake. "But you don't like chamomile tea." "You prefer black tea."
 
Fuck.  She knew.  Dumb move, Alcot.
 
"Uh…"  I stuttered, raising my head to face her and searching through my brain for a perfect excuse.
 
"Did you invite her to your room?" "Did you bed her?"
 
"No, I did not!" I almost screamed at her. This was beginning to get more than awkward, and I wished I could just shut her up forever.
 
Not kill her. Shut her up.
 
With a chuckle, she nodded, letting me be. "Fine. Fine. Fine. "I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions and causing you discomfort."
 
I sighed in frustration and looked away again. Thankfully, my mother let me be for a while and did not badger me with any more questions.
 
After a short moment of silence between us again, she smoothed and arranged my hair with her hand.
 
"I did hear there was an exceptionally beautiful servant that was new to the castle." She began to say it again. "They weren't the slightest bit wrong." She really is beautiful. Tell me, are you in love with her?
 
This time, I brought my weight off the bed and stood up on my feet. This was the height of it. I was done with talking to her.
 
"Where did you hear such absurd rumors from?" I was almost yelling at the top of my voice now. But my mother remained calm, and with a small smile now planted across her lips, she rose from the bed and stood directly in front of me.
 
"Why are you being so defensive, son?" I am right, aren't I? "You really do like her."
 
"That's enough, mother. "I don't want to hear or speak about this topic ever again." I ran my fingers through my hair in a frustrated manner now.
 
My mother nodded and leaned in to plant a small kiss on my cheek before stepping back again.
 
"Forgive my silly assumptions, son." How could I be so foolish to think an Alpha would succumb so low as to fall for a mere servant?"
 
Then, with another smile, she finally turned her back on me and walked out of the room, shutting the door gently behind her.
 
I curled my fingers into a tight ball. I felt suddenly angry at myself for being unable to defend Mae as my mother spoke so disrespectfully of her. But I was quick to get a hold of myself again. Mother was right. Why was I acting so jumpy and in defense of her?
 
Because she wasn't just a servant but also a friend whom I was able to connect with after eighteen years of feeling empty and emotionless towards every living thing.
 
But a part of me felt like I was telling a wild lie.  It was as if there was more to our story. A truth I was afraid of unraveling for fear of finding out about something that I wouldn't be able to handle.