*****CHAPTER 35

MAE'S POV
 
It had been almost a week since I had sent the letter to the stranger on the bridge. Six days, to be precise. And I had kept my eyes on the Alpha to see if I would catch sight of the bracelet on his wrist. There was no sign of any bracelet around the Alpha. At this point, I had already given up.
 
I felt foolish. How absurd and foolish was it for me to think that someone as important as the Alpha would stoop so low as to be friends with me? How stupid was I to even imagine that he was the same person as the stranger from the bridge?
 
As I waited with a few servants in the field with jars of water and towels while Alpha Alcot and Alpha Draven were practicing their swordsmanship, I watched and paid attention to every detail of Alpha Alcot as he wielded his swords and clashed against Alpha Draven's. Even though his face was masked as always and his body properly covered, I couldn't take my eyes off the way his strong arms held the sword and how he moved his feet effortlessly as he fought. My heart gave a wild flutter, and I fought to keep it in check. I wondered what his face would look like beneath that mask.
 
The thought of someday unraveling the mystery behind his masked face interested me to a great degree.
 
In a swift second, Alpha Alcot had Alpha Draven flip from his feet to the ground, pointing his long, sharp sword barely an inch away from his throat. Both of the men breathed heavily as they remained in their positions for a few seconds. For a moment, a small smile crossed my lips as the Alpha beat his opponent in the training, but I immediately composed myself as one of the servants stared at me in a suspicious manner.
 
"You're weak."  Alpha Alcot spoke to Draven, finally retracting his sword from his throat. "What a waste of time."
 
He turned his back to leave, but in the blink of an eye, Draven pulled his weight off the ground and caught Alcot by the arm, trapping and flipping him around so fast that he was pinned to the ground the next second.
 
A short, unexpected gasp escaped my lips, and I immediately composed myself again. The servant girl once again gave me another suspicious look, and I snarled at her this time before looking away from her again.
 
What was her problem with me, anyway?
 
Draven laughed this time, his sword pinned towards the Alpha's neck in the same manner the Alpha had held his sword just a few seconds ago.
 
"You are quite strong, Alpha Alcot. I am going to give that to you. But then again, you seem to forget the most important rule in swordsmanship. "Never turn your back on your enemy without making sure you are safe."
 
His eyes moved from the Alpha, landing on the ground closely, behind where Alcot lay. Scotting down a little, he picked something from the ground and raised it up to get a proper view, his forehead slightly wrinkled in puzzlement.
 
"This looks pretty."
 
My heart stopped beating for a moment as my eyes landed on the item he had picked from the grass. A Clvheap colorful bead bracelet.
 
The exact type of bracelet I had gifted my stranger friend And it was that same bracelet that had fallen from the Alpha's armor suit and was now in Alpha Draven's hand.
 
Staring in disbelief at the bracelet in Draven's hand, I felt my heart accelerate, and for a moment, it felt like I was in a dream. Even though I had spent the entire week imagining the moment when I would see the Alpha with the bracelet, I couldn't believe this was really happening right now.
 
I was right all along. The Alpha was my stranger friend from the bridge.
 
Alpha Alcot's eyes met mine for a second, and I could see the bewilderment that was written in his eyes. Immediately, he pulled himself up and snatched the bracelet from Draven's grip.
 
"Don't touch my stuff!" Alpha Alcot barked at Draven, who only laughed like a total jerk.
 
"Woah, woah, woah." Easy, my Lord. I guess that little thing is quite special to you anyway. "You got it as a gift?"
 
"Fuck off!"  The Alpha cursed at him before storming out of the field, looking visibly angry. I wondered what exactly he was angry about. Was it the fact that Draven had touched his stuff or because I had seen him with the bracelet and was now aware of the truth?
 
For the first time, I felt completely foolish and naive, as if I had never smelled the truth in the first place. First of all, he had not punished me even after I had tried to steal from him. Instead, he has brought me to work at the castle.
 
Secondly, he always chose me to attend to his needs, even though I was just a newbie in the castle. Thirdly, he kept defending me from the luna, even though I was only a servant working for them.
 
It all makes clear sense to me now. He had treated me nicely because he was my friend, not because he wasn't as ruthless or deadly as the rumors spoke of him.
 
How dumb was I not to be able to connect the dots on time?
 
I watched as Draven followed suit after Alpha Alcot took his leave. But he paused on his feet again and turned his head. This time, look in my direction. At first, I looked around, wondering who it was that he had his eyes on, but it only pointed to me. I gulped nervously as his eyes remained fixed on me for a few seconds, eyes that stared at me as if trying to uncover a secret I was hiding.
 
And then he turned his head again and walked out of the field, leaving me in my dazed state, wondering why he had stared at me that way and wondering what was going to happen between the Alpha and myself now that I had just found out the most shocking truth about my relationship with the Alpha.
 
A dangerous Alpha who only turned out to be my friend.