Fie Wright's P. O. V

"Why are you acting so chipper today, Smilie?" Ezra whispers into my ear from behind, causing me to jump from the sudden intrusion.

A light chuckle lifts up into the air as I turn away from the paper littered desk, raising a single eyebrow at the man's beaming smile. "What do you mean?" I question with a frown marring my face as my attention gets diverted from the documents and onto what Ezra is babbling about.

"I walked in a minute ago and the entire time you were staring at that piece of paper, you had a God awful smile on your face. Didn't even notice little ol' me." He teases while I turn slightly red at his words. Tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear, I avoid his eyes as I give out a subtle shrug.

I can't believe I've been looking like a goof this entire time. What if Asha walked in and thought I wasn't doing the work she had assigned me? Clearing those thoughts from my head, I decide to focus on Ezra instead and just be glad that Asha indeed didn't walk in on me like that.

"I'm just happy. You'll find your own mate one day and then hopefully be a pain in her ass instead of mine." I joke as I pat his shoulder in feigned sympathy.

Ezra smiles rakishly as he runs his hand through his overgrown brown hair, removing it from his forehead before answering.

"Oh, I'll be more than just a pain in her ass, if you know what I mean." He throws in with a sloppy wink while I nearly gag at his words. Wrinkling my nose up in disgust, I shake my head at him.

"I definitely could have survived going my entire life without hearing or even getting that imagery in my head. That is plain nasty." I grumble at his innuendo.

Ezra goes to say something once more, probably another sleazy innuendo but thankfully gets cut off as Asha walks in. Her dark emerald green headscarf making a statement against the uniform that she now wears; the only difference between mine and hers being the long black cloak like robe that drifts from the cuffs at her shoulders and down onto the floor below.

Her eyes scan the interior of her office before landing on me, a smile lighting up her face as she nods before glancing at Ezra.

"Ah. I'm glad you could make it. Ezra isn't it?" The man in question nods his head and extends a hand out which Asha promptly shakes, "Well it's very nice to finally meet you." She continues.

I don't say anything about what is going on even though I am very confused about what is happening. It's almost like Asha senses my confusion as she turns her attention to me once more.

"Since Ezra is also training to be an Advisor and unlike you, hasn't completed it, I thought why let his precious time go to waste and he can train under both of our eyes. I'll either give him some other work to do or he can help out on your own various projects." She says kindly while I nod my head.

As much as the guy is a pain in my backside, it's always fun having him around even though he teeters onto being non-serious at times, nonetheless, I nod my head in agreement at her words.

The hours pass by soon enough with Ezra distracting me every five seconds, more than half of the time being unrelated to the work at hand and just because he was bored. My work not even being halfway complete, I pout as I realise I'll have to go over the rest of my work when I get out of here and doing the one thing I hate; taking my work with me back home. The time being taken up by things I would much rather be doing with higher levels of productivity such as sleeping, maybe even eating.

Passing the man next to me the evil eye, I then roll my eyes at his playful grin while Asha stands up from her desk, clasping her hands together and sending us both passive smiles.

"Ezra, you may go now. We can continue with our work from tomorrow." She announces as the both of us get up from our seats, my shoulders tensing as a soreness runs up the plains of my back. "Fie, why don't you stay back for a few minutes, I need you to meet with someone and then I promise you, you'll be free to get back to your mate." Asha muses with a twinkle in her eyes. I try my best not to let my disappointment shine through as both animal and human parts of me yearn to run up to our mate so that we can cuddle up into him.

Somehow, I manage to find the energy to nod my head, letting Ezra march by me with a cocky grin, knowing how I so badly wished that was me. I guess a few more minutes can't hurt, right?

Asha straightens up a few things while I grab the papers I need to catch up on lost time before the both of us exit Asha's office.

"Where are we headed off to?" I enquire curiously as we start off in a direction of the castle I've never been to before. That isn't saying much, regardless, since I've probably seen less than a fraction of the entire thing.

"We're going to where most of the higher ranks reside. Much like a pack house, this castle has separate areas where different ranked members live." She states as we take so many different twists and turns I'm already lost for count and it hasn't even been a minute since we started walking. Finally after five minutes or so, we reach a set of double doors which Asha briefly knocks on before letting herself inside with a flurry of her hand to motion for me to follow her.

Hesitantly following after her, I feel just a tad out of place as we enter into what appears to be one huge open space. The main thing that catches my eye being the many people that loiter around the vast expanse, some sitting on a variety of couches in a plethora of colours while others stand around a small dining table lined up with cups as they pour various drinks into them simultaneously.

The place seems to be some sort of place where people can come and lounge about as made apparent by the plush sofa's and bean bags strewn across the area with multiple flat screen televisions either showing movies or people playing video games as the consoles are hooked up to the large screens. There are shelves lined with rows and rows upon books. The room is split off but a joined by a communal kitchen com dinning room where the youth are playing beer pong.

Asha doesn't appear interested in any of this as she walks through all of the teenagers, sparing none of them glances and most like ignoring the looks they cast our ways. I try my best to keep my shoulders squared and head high so that I don't look intimidated by the numerous eyes glancing back and forth between us two women. We, finally, reach an alcove right at the back of the huge room, only to come to a partially hidden door which Asha opens with a turn of the door handle. This time we enter into a smaller version of the same room that's almost identical to the previous except the people here are less in number and older than the teens back there.

Asha clears her throat causing the few people that are in the room to snap their heads towards us, one of them sporting a huge grin and immediately perking up as their eyes land on the woman in front of me. Instead of her usual sternness that Asha carries around towards other people, a soft smile lights up her own face as she teeters over to the man whose sole attention is on her.

My own smile takes over my features as I wistfully think that's how I must look at Malleus, and hopefully he'll look at me in much the same way as we get closer to one another. Butterflies already attack my stomach at the mere thought of my mate, my smile growing ever wider before they land on the other people who look slightly confused as their gaze lands on me. Asha is for once preoccupied as she makes herself comfortable in the man's lap.

The man is built like a giant with sprawling muscles that outmatch even those of my mate. His hair cropped and in a military style cut with the sides faded and short on the top. His eyes dark brown that shine bright as he rips his eyes away from Asha and finally land on me. The man's smile dulls and I can already tell he's quite serious except when it comes to his mate.

"Oh Fie. Sorry about that," Asha says in a sheepish voice while I nod in understanding, "This is my mate, Apollo."

"Who is this?" The man who I now know as Apollo, bluntly asks while raising a brow in intrigue. Asha glares at him through narrowed eyes while passing him a discerning look. He furrows his eyebrows for a further second before his eyes widen partially and he throws me a tentative glance.

"Queen Fie." His muscles tense almost like he wants to stand up, I manage to stop myself from taking a step back as Asha calmly pats the man's arm.

"Don't worry about bowing Apollo. Fie is taking some getting used to with getting into her queenly titles and what not. I'm sure she'd appreciate it better if you stayed where you are." Asha doesn't need any verbal sayings from me since I'm sure the gratitude is widely visible on my face as she nods her head at me in understanding. Apollo seems to relax his himself even more so as his tense muscles relax and he releases another one of his curt nods. I assume he was about to bend down on one knee and how much like the other people have. The thought making me nearly wince and shift about on the spot.

"It's nice to meet you...both." I finally say when I take note of the other people in the room, getting flustered slightly when I realise I unintentionally ignored them, too focused in on Asha and her mate.

The other person in the room now grasps my attention. The woman seemingly around my age as she sits calmly on the sofa with her legs crossed in front of her. Her long strikingly black hair rests against her frame in lose waves. They say looks can be deceiving but on instinct I'm drawn to her delicate features as her face is set into a soft oval structure with a small nose and two burnt umber eyes that have depth to them. She sits up straighter and drops her legs to the floor as a smile graces her face. Her aura almost timid yet having a tenacity behind it that I can't quite put my finger on.

"Fie. Meet Rui." Asha introduces us as Rui stands up now and deftly shakes my hand. Her shy nature shines through as she bites on her lip before smiling at me hesitantly and curtsies so fast I almost don't catch it.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance my Queen. I am Rui, the Kings-," she pauses midway, flustered slightly before she shakes her head and stands straighter, "Old habit. I guess I am considered your War General as well now." Rui says now, a sheepish smile tugging at her small plump lips while I tilt my head to the side, quickly taking her in so that she doesn't notice. Her once hazy aura is now much clearer as the reason behind her tenacity roars it's head at me. The other thing that catches my attention being her scent. Almost the same scent as Ezra's as the smells of Jasmine assaults my senses.

"This is who I wanted you to meet, Fie. Apollo is the Director General to Rui. They both will be in close contact with you. Not for reasons revolving around more but just to keep up the defence of the army and what not. All that stuff." She finishes in a slightly odd tone while Apollo lets out a husky laugh and cuddles into her. Even Rui smiles as she motions for me to sit before doing so herself when I comply.

"Asha always hated the subject of War and tactics with a passion whenever it was taught in school. Or so I've been told." Rui says teasingly while I smile, now feeling more at ease as I sink back into the sofa.

"I'm guessing it was way before our time?" I taunt jokingly as Asha scowls whole simultaneously smacking Apollo who laughs loudly. Rui gives me a subtle wink and then settles down, almost as if she forcefully pushes herself back into her own interior to be quiet and reserved.

"I will have you know-," Asha's words cut off as her eyes glaze over, a telltale sign that someone is mind linking her. The woman's eyes return to normal as she straightens herself on her mate's lap, sitting weirdly dignified. Rui catches the hint as she too throws her legs off of the sofa once more, and stands. I go to ask what exactly is happening but stop before I open my mouth, the addictive scent hitting my senses causing me to stand up right besides Rui. It doesn't even take another three seconds as the door in the little alcove swings open to reveal my gorgeous mate; dressed up in the same attire as this morning but with his hair definitely more mussed up from the constant use of his hands running through the soft silky strands.

I tense my muscles in order to stop my body from launching myself at him, the reaction of both my body and wolf never getting old and keeps taking me back to the time I saw him for the first time, without the cloak of course since that concealed his handsome state from me.

"Rui. Apollo. Asha." He nods his head at all three of them as Apollo has the same expression on his face as when he found out who I was, except this time it's ten times more stronger and he almost looks constipated with the effort of battling between the comfort of his mate and the authority of his King. A thin throbbing of his vein is clearly visible on his forehead, the sound of Asha letting out a sigh heard around the room as she stands, her mate immediately standing up and bowing down on one knee to greet his King.

Malleus takes a few steps towards me till he's right besides me, turning my body around so that my back hits his chest while he places his hands on my hips to hold me in place. Tilting my head back till it lays comfortably against his chest, I smile up at him which he returns with an equally tender look. He cuts it short as he glances up at Apollo and nods his head once more.

"You do not need to bow every time you see me Apollo." Malleus states as Apollo raises a hand to rub at the back of his neck, the action increasingly bashful.

"Force of habit." He says with a subdued sigh.

"If Fie has completed all her tasks, I'd like to take her out of your hands." He says smoothly, his grip tightening slightly causing the sparks to go wild.

"Of course. She finished a little while ago. In her wanted to introduce her to a few important people she'll be working with." Asha finishes smoothly as Malleus hums his approval.

"Good. I'll be needing progress reports at the end of the week," a quick glance his way makes him continue quickly, "Send Ezra's reports while you're at it."

"Yes Sir." She says and with that, the two of us make our way passed the other room, where once again we get lingering stares but this time with a few mouths ajar. Heading back to the room, an unknown tension perched on my shoulders lifts as soon as my foot crosses over the threshold from the hall to the living room. My eyes widen considerably at all the bags lying smack dab in the middle of the room, various designer brands plastered on the bags with bits of paper sticking out.

"Like I said in the morning, your clothes would be shortly arriving." Malleus speaks up from behind me, causing me to move further into the room till I'm standing amidst all the clothes, taking it all in.

"I'll go change and put the clothes in my room." I announce as I go to bend down so that I can haul as many possible, wanting to make the least trips I have to in order to get everything in the room.

"Why don't you leave them here. Once you get changed, rifle through the clothes and discard what you don't like. We'll go through them together." My eyes narrow at his words, something not sounding quite right about them but by the time I straighten up to accuse him, he's already in his room with the door locked shut.

Rolling my eyes at his trying to be sneaky, I let out a sigh before heading to the room to change into comfortable clothes quickly so as to not make my mate wait. By the time I'm exiting out of my room, Malleus is already sitting on the sofa eyeing the bags suspiciously almost like if they're plotting tyranny against him.

"Everything okay?" I question, voice laced with suspicion as he casually nods his head.

"Of course. I just wanted to see what you've bought. In case you need anything else." He says almost innocently while I try to hold back my scoff.

Yeah right.

Taking a seat besides him on the sofa, I don't bother putting much distance between us since I know by now he doesn't care if I sit too close, quite the contrary actually. Leaning down, I pick up one of the bags and immediately notice that most of the brands are ones I haven't even bought anything from which must mean Asha or whoever was ordered by Asha to get the clothes delivered must have added their own touches. Not that I mind. I'm sure my lack of fashion could be updated for the better.

The clothes are mainly what I'd wear on a day to day basis anyways ranging from dresses to shirts to blouses with jeans, leggings and shorts all in different styles. I find quite a few pair of shoes from heels to flats to vans along with a few accessories here and there. I had braced myself for comments from Malleus since a few dresses were a tad bit on the revealing side but he managed to stay quiet like a good little boy.

"These are a lot of things." I mutter, slightly baffled before thanking my mate quickly for nearly the tenth time.

"You've got two bags left." He muses as he points to two black ones I had skimmed over altogether. Frowning to myself, I lean over to grab it, placing one of the two on my bag and blindly putting my hand in it only to pull the material back out in the same second. My eyebrows furrow as I hold the item up high to try and make head or tails of it.

Malleus' chuckle startles me as my blush rages further, the both of us realising what it is at the same time as the flimsy piece of lingerie with straps makes sense in my head. Shoving it back in the bag quickly, I put it back down and don't even bother to check the other two since I already know what they're going to contain.

"I'm going to kill Asha." I mumble, half flustered as my mate's deep laugh resumes in the background of my thoughts. The sound causing goosebumps to raise on my skin as a delicious shiver runs down me. "It barely had any cloth to it. It was a piece of rag." I mutter further, my mouth not getting the memo to keep itself shut.

"I think that was the entire point Fie." He muses with a soft chuckle, my eyes diverting to him and causing my breath to hitch in my throat. Malleus deep blue eyes shining lighter than I've ever seen them as his eyes crinkle at the sides, face slightly flush from his laughter as his face lights up in joy. I find myself starting to laugh along with him and chastise myself for the one thought that plagues my mind.

Things have been going good. Too good. My gut clenches in preparation for something that stirs an unsettling feeling within me.

———————

AN: Hi everyone! I'm so sorry for the late update but my schedule has gotten messed up and I'm only now falling into it properly. The next update should be sooner so don't worry!

Question: What do you consider a deal breaker in a relationship?

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