Heir To The Iron Crown: Butterfly ✓

5 - Fimmti

I couldn't breathe.

I felt like I had to, I could tell my brain had shut down and my heart was beating so fast I felt like it would be a good time to take a breath now. But I couldn't.

I wasn't uncomfortable around him. But my body and emotions did go into overdrive.

I took a step back, and only then did I take a breath. I couldn't look at him again because I knew now, it was a trap.

I turned away from him and walked a few steps to put a little more distance between us. I needed to calm my heart a little. It didn't take much to excite it.

"Let's go. It's getting dark," he said, and walked past me around the side of the cottage. I quietly followed him.

We didn't say a word the entire way to the back of my home. I couldn't make much of the conversation we had at the cottage, or what he was meaning to do by asking me to come.

When I reached my door, and he started to walk away, I didn't think I'd ever get a chance like this to speak to him again.

"Is this a truce?" I asked him, after mustering up some courage.

"I don't know. Is it?" he replied, with a cocky smirk, walking away.

And just like that, I couldn't stand him again.

...

It had been a few days since my birthday, and as unceremonious as it was, I think it was one of my better ones.

And although I owed it mostly to Gramma and my friends, a bigger part of me skipped a beat thinking about Valente.

"He is kinda hot," said Imadis.

"He's not our mate Ima stop it," I scolded her.

"He could be," she replied back.

I sighed. I knew I didn't want to catch any feelings for someone who may not be my mate. And I won't find out who that is at least till I'm eighteen.

So till then, I need to keep myself clear on that front.

The past few days were pretty dry, from the classes to the lunches to the walking back home. Eidis had been avoiding me, either she took the hint or is planning to 'do better next time'. Either way, to that I'd say 'bring it on'.

All was the usual except for the staring game we played.

Valente had been a little more discrete about his staring, not that he had stopped completely. But I could tell he'd sneak a look thinking I wouldn't catch him, and then immediately look away, pinching his nose as if concentrating on what the person in front of him had to say.

Instead of staring, he'd started mindlinking me about the most random things.

"The spaghetti here is horrible. I should do something about that."

"I hate history."

"When I'm Alpha, half these teachers will be in the dungeons."

"This color suits you."

"If you sit next to that Mordekai guy again, I'm banning him from the cafeteria."

At that, I looked up at his table to find him looking at his plate. Even though he wasn't looking at me, his ever so slight shrug said he was talking to me.

I found his behavior towards me slowly changing from the cold, indifferent guy to a more in-your-face-but-in-a-subtle-way kinda guy. There was no other way to describe it.