*****CHAPTER 36

ALCOT'S POV
 
As soon as I entered my chamber, I took off my armor, threw it on the floor, and plodded my weight onto my bed. I sucked in sharp, frustrated air through my teeth and ran my fingers through my hair.
 
Fuck. She knows now. She knows everything.
 
It was all because of that bastard, who didn't know how to keep his hands off other people's possessions. In my head, I imagined countless ways that I would inflict bodily harm on Draven, and none of them seemed to satisfy me enough. I wanted to hurt him so badly that he would wish for a death that would never come.
 
Again, my thoughts traveled to Mae, and the image of her shocked expression played before my eyes. I tried to convince myself that perhaps she only thought it looked like something she had seen before, but I knew I was only lying to myself. She had added the initials of our names to the bracelet.
 
AM.
 
There was no way she wouldn't recognize the gift she had given to me. There was absolutely no way. To find out the truth and see if maybe I was panicking for nothing, I decided to send for her and find out the truth myself.
 
"Tell the head servant to send Mae Barrow over to my chamber with a cup of chamomile tea." I instructed Oliver after I had sent for him. I was inspecting the sword that I had gotten as a gift from the Red Wolf Pack.
 
Those sly bastards were probably trying to double-cross me. How stupid would they be to assume that I would fall for their stupid tricks after witnessing how they had caused the deaths of my father and brother? They were so stupid to not think that I had my own plots against them.
 
"Mae Barrow, sir?" Oliver sounded surprised, as if that was the last name he expected to come out of my mouth. I had seen him a few times, hanging around Mae. My guess?  They were close even before she had come to work at the castle and were probably friends. It was quite understandable that he was worried about her, seeing that someone as dangerous as myself was specific about wanting her to serve my tea.
 
"Yes." I gave a simple answer and continued to inspect the sword. I noticed as Oliver tried to move his feet but stopped immediately, as if suddenly recalling something.
 
"Chamomile tea, my Lord?" He sounded skeptical, and I paused, suddenly realizing that I had used the same stupid excuse that Sia had used to let Mae into my chamber. Almost everyone knew I never liked chamomile tea, even as a child.
 
Shit.
 
"Yea." I cleared my throat, trying to compose myself again. "I'd like to try a new tea routine this time."
 
"Oh." Oliver sounded unconvinced, but knowing he couldn't argue with me, he bowed to me again before leaving the room to carry out the instructions I had given him.
 
Half an hour later, a knock came upon my door, and for the first time in a very long time, I felt anxious and returned the sword to its sheath before getting up from my bed and heading towards the door.
 
Once I was standing before the door, I took a deep breath and turned the door knob, opening the door to reveal Mae's slender figure standing by the doorway with a small tray that held a mug of coffee in her hand.
 
Her eyes were huge and expectant. A little frightened and nervous too. With the experience I had in studying the psychology of people, I had a strong feeling that she knew the truth about me as her stranger friend from across the bridge.
 
"My Lord." She bowed her head a little before looking back at me again. "I was asked to deliver this to you."
 
I took a few more seconds to analyze her soft facial features and how feminine and breathtakingly beautiful she was even without making an effort to look this attractive. She could easily pass for the most beautiful woman in the entire pack.
 
"Come in." I finally replied to her, opening the door wider and giving her space to walk in. Once she was inside my room, I shut the door beside me and walked towards my bed, sitting gently on it. I watched as she poured the tea into a smaller mug, added a little sugar, and stirred it gently. All the while, her fingers were slightly shaky, and she was obviously nervous.
 
I looked away again and stared into the blank space. My hand felt my wrist, and I played with the bracelet on my wrist. From the corners of my eyes, I caught her glance at the bracelet, her eyes completely in recognition of the gift I had received from her.
 
"To be honest, I never wanted you to find out about me this way." I finally spoke, breaking the silence as I confessed.
 
"It's a beautiful bracelet." I turned my head to look at her. Her lips were slightly parted now as she stared at me as if she were trying hard not to believe that this moment was real. My eyes lingered on her softly parted lips, and I imagined myself running my fingers along the moistness of her lips and tracing my fingers along the sharp, beautiful features of her face, maybe down to the subtle curves of her body too.
 
"The bridge." She whispered, cutting me off from my wild imagination just in time before I dove even deeper.
 
"Yes." I nodded at her. I wanted to smile at her, but my face remained firm. I guess that's what happens when you hardly smile. Your face becomes used to the rigidity and refuses to adjust to the smile.
 
And the mask, too. It wouldn't let her see my smile even if I did.
 
"Meet me at the bridge by 8 p.m. tonight." I told her. "I will be waiting for you."