Chapter 9 — Lilith POV
"He kept his composure during the full moon hunt, only for me to receive news this morning that the Prince nearly died from an overdose," Maverick shared.
"Deep down, I know you want the Prince to stay an addict forever." I smirked.
"What?" They both turned to me.
"What if you're the one enabling his cycle of addiction?" I asked. "What if you're the mastermind of the whole situation?"
"You must be insane if you think Maverick is the one pushing Tristan to take drugs," Cain said.
Maverick started to speak when his phone rang. His eyes widened, and he swiftly stood up.
"Who?" Cain asked.
"Davina," Maverick replied before walking away.
I grabbed the glass of wine, leaning back as I sipped from it.
"You have a plan."
"What?" I snapped my head to Cain.
"You might have been able to trick Maverick, but that won't work on me," he said.
"Could you clarify what you mean? Trick him—how?"
"Considering how powerful you are, I don't believe a hunter like you would just sit back down in this trap house without doing anything."
I smiled. "What would you have me do then?"
"What do you want?" he questioned back. "What is your little plan?"
"Considering I plan on killing your king, I don't believe it's a little plan." I smirked.
"You could kill him. You had plenty of chances to do that, but you did nothing." He leaned closer. "But let this be clear between us: if anything happens to Maverick it won't be like last time when I escaped. This time I would be the hunter, and you the prey."
"I look forward to that day, Cain." I dragged his name, letting it roll off my tongue.
He was about to speak when footsteps approached.
"What's going on here?" Maverick asked.
"Nothing." Cain stood up. "Are you done?"
"Yes." he nodded. "She wants me home for dinner."
"Then what are we still waiting for? Let's go."
…
The moment they left the house, I returned to eating my food, and once I was done, the simmering rage of Sylvia settled over the room.
She started to clear the dishes, and when my dish was the only one left, she angrily told me to follow her to wash them.
"You stated clearly that Maverick assigned you as my maid," I reminded her. "Why then do you want me to do dishes with you?"
"And I remember clearly stating that I am the head of this household, and you must adhere to my every command." Her claws started to extend. "Are you going to follow me to the kitchen or shall I force you?"
"The latter." I flashed her a nervous smile, slowly dragging my foot behind her as we entered the kitchen.
Following her instructions and washing the dishes, I scowled. She didn't move; she only stood at my side with a cane which I knew she'd use on me without a second thought.
"This home operates under certain rules."
"Rules?" I turned to her.
"If you want us to live peacefully, you must follow the rules of this house," she began. "You are prohibited from using phones here. I expect you to be asleep after dinner. No roaming around the house after eleven p.m...."
The more Sylvia spoke, the more her words felt like flies buzzing in my ear. I didn't know how long it went on, but the moment she left the kitchen, I sighed and finished the dishes.
It felt as if I'd barely slept when a voice drew me to consciousness. I groaned, burying my head in the pillow as I tried to avoid Sylvia.
"Wake up," I heard her say.
I drew the blanket over my head, but she quickly grabbed the covers and threw them to the floor. I shivered at the cold breeze that brushed my body.
"I need to sleep more," I moaned.
"Get up!" Sylvia moved closer, yanking the pillow from beneath me. "Wake up. I'm not going to wait all day for you. It's almost ten."
Pulling myself from the bed, I followed Sylvia to the bathroom, where she then threw a towel over my head.
"Be done in ten minutes," she ordered.
When the door closed, I took my clothes off and washed my skin. Closing my eyes as I remained under the shower, my mind drifted away. In Blackheart there was no alarm. I would gut anyone who treated me the way Sylvia does. She, a werewolf, was proving too bold. I began to think of all the possible ways I was going to kill her once I got my powers back. Afterward, I would hunt down her werewolf family and kill them.
For more than thirty minutes, I stayed under the shower, enjoying the feel of the hot water on my skin. Goosebumps lined my skin; still, I remained there, washing my hair and staying as long as I could to avoid Sylvia.
But when the water suddenly turned cold, I swiftly stepped away, wrapping the towel around my body. I heard Sylvia chuckling as I exited the bathroom.
I frowned, shooting her daggers.
"Time to do your hair," she said, pulling me to the mirror. She forced me to sit down and rubbed different scented products into my hair before brushing it.
"Wear this." She threw a gown on the bed.
"Know this," I said as I grabbed the gown from the bed. "You don't get to order me around. I'm a centuries-old, powerful hunter. I'm far older than you. You should be afraid."
"You might be a centuries-old hunter, but under this roof I make the decisions, and you play by my rules." She walked toward the door. "Be fast. Breakfast will be ready soon."
I glared, tossing the towel onto the bed. Once I dressed myself in the blue gown, my frown deepened as I stared at my reflection. Blue wasn't my favourite colour.
Finding my way to the dining room, I noticed that neither Maverick nor Cain was around.
"Where is your king?" I sat down as Sylvia poured me some hot coffee. "I don't see him around."
"Did your tiny brain really believe the king would never leave?" she asked.
"Well, I'm his mate." I said, ignoring the coffee. Striding toward the bar, I seized a wine bottle and downed it in a single swig.
"He's a king. He's busy performing his duties."
"So he can perform his duties as king, but cannot be there for his mate?" I drank more wine.
Sylvia wrestled the wine bottle from my hand. "You're slurring words. That's enough wine for today."
"What? You can't just take it away from me like that!" I sat down. "I'm not drunk."
She walked away. "I'll be leaving and will return in two hours. Don't try to escape because your attempts to leave will be in vain. And I expect to see the house the same way I left it."
"Goodbye, Sylvia." I flashed her a smile, excited that I wouldn't see her face for two hours. I sighed, digging into my breakfast once Sylvia left. Suddenly, the door opened, and I lifted my head. There was no one at the door.
"Sylvia?" I stood up, wondering if she had changed her mind. But the scent that hit my nostrils the next moment caused the hairs on my neck to stand on end.