Cursed and Fated: Offered To The Wicked Alpha Prince
Chapter 34: A rebellious heart

Chapter 34: A rebellious heart

"Sorry. I won’t disturb you anymore. I only wanted to apologize," Renard said, his voice sounding small and defeated over the line.

"Hmm. I’m hanging up," Adeline said shortly, ending the call before he could say another word. "I wonder how he found my number," she murmured again.

Losing the desire to look at the view from the balcony, she sat back on the edge of the bed. Her thoughts immediately drifted toward the treeline. "I hope Gideon stays fine. Battles involving wolves never end nicely."

As she lowered herself onto the mattress, the silence of the cottage wrapped around her. She realized with a start just how much her life had shifted in such a short span of time.

All the constant discomfort and the sharp edge of her worries seemed to have dissipated.

There was a time when she would have craved even a single moment of peace like this; now, the entire day belonged to her.

"What if I cook dinner for us today?" Adeline murmured to the quiet room. "Gideon usually only eats food prepared by his chefs, so he might not like it. But I want to do something to show my gratitude."

As she rolled over, her hand brushed against something unexpectedly soft tucked between the pillows. She pulled it out to find a plush, super-fluffy panda.

"Who brought this here?" she whispered, a small smile playing on her lips. It was incredibly soft, and without thinking, she snuggled against it, picked up her phone, and snapped a quick selfie with the toy.

An impulsive idea struck her, and before she could overthink it, she hit send on the photo to Gideon’s number.

The second the progress bar finished, reality set in. "Did I make a mistake?" she gasped. "He’s probably in the middle of a serious briefing..."

She frantically tried to delete the message, but it was too late, the "delivered" status switched instantly. Gideon had already seen it.

"What???" She clamped her hand over her mouth, her face heating up with intense embarrassment. "What must he be thinking? Am I a child, sending pictures with a stuffed toy?"

Mortified, Adeline buried her face into the panda’s fluffy head, kicking her legs slightly against the mattress as she waited for a response, or the ground to swallow her whole.

~~~~~

Gideon’s sudden, genuine smile as he looked at his phone sent a ripple of confusion through the room. The senior officers and commanders exchanged baffled glances; they had rarely seen the Alpha Prince look so disarmed in the middle of a war council.

Micah cleared his throat loudly, trying to pull his friend back to the map spread across the table. "Your Highness, we should continue. Directly attacking the rogue strongholds might only serve to incense them further. Perhaps a diplomatic warning—"

The warmth vanished from Gideon’s face instantly. He switched off his phone and set it facedown, his expression hardening into stone.

"I have no intention of showing them mercy," he interrupted. "They attacked sleeping Gammas in their tents who were unarmed and defenseless. Why offer peace to those who chose cowardice and slaughter? Crushing them is the only language they understand. You cannot change a rebellious heart, Micah; you can only stop it from beating."

"I agree with Prince Gideon," Beta Zinnia stated. She looked around at her fellow warriors, her gaze challenging. "We need to crush them. It is the only way to prevent them from absorbing more lone wolves into their pack and expanding their reach."

"But as far as I recall, you were all initially against a full-scale confrontation," Gideon asserted, his eyes narrowing as he surveyed the room. "None of you fought with the intent to truly decimate them."

The room fell into a heavy silence for a second.

"That was our error, Your Highness," another warrior wolf spoke up, bowing his head in acknowledgment. "We hesitated, hoping for a resolution that didn’t involve total erasure. But now that you have set the tone, I assure you, no mercy will be shown."

Gideon stood up and walked toward the glowing screen where the tactical map flickered.

"In love and war, no rules are followed," he stated, his voice low and dangerous. "Send one final warning their way. If they submit now, we halt. But if they refuse, we strike immediately. The objective is to capture their leaders and bring them to me alive."

Sliding his hands into the pockets of his trousers, he turned back to face the room, his presence dominating the space. "I assume all of you are clear now. I will not tolerate a single mistake. Any error on your part delays the very mission that brought me to this border, and my patience is thin."

"Rest assured, Prince Gideon," Commander Stellan reassured him, standing at attention. "We will not let these rogues trouble us or our people a moment longer. The message will be delivered within the hour."

~~~~~~

Adeline couldn’t rest. The longer Gideon’s reply remained absent, the more her heart hammered with a restless anxiety. She was certain he would scold her for being a distraction in the middle of a high-stakes military meeting.

"I will apologize to him," she murmured, her fingers trembling slightly as she twisted her hair into a practical bun. "I’ll tell him it was a mistake and it won’t happen during his working hours again."

Checking the time, she saw it was already evening, the hour she had designated for her surprise dinner preparation. Pushing her nerves aside, she moved downstairs and stopped a passing maid to ask for directions to the kitchen.

Upon entering, she found the head chef deep in discussion with two helpers over the night’s menu. As she approached, they immediately straightened and bowed in unison.

"I was thinking of preparing dinner myself tonight," Adeline said, her voice soft but determined. "You can all take the evening to rest."

"But the Alpha Prince might be upset if we allow Miss Valois to work in the kitchen," one of the helpers replied, looking hesitant.

"I really want to cook for him," Adeline insisted, fiddling with her fingers nervously. "I don’t think he will be angry with you. I just want to give him a surprise."

The chef studied her for a moment, seeing the earnestness in her eyes. He finally nodded, unfastening his apron. "Alright, Miss Valois. You shall take charge of the kitchen tonight. We will leave everything in your hands." He gestured for the helpers to follow him out. "Have a great night ahead."

Once they left, Adeline took a deep breath. Now, she just had to decide what a Prince would actually want to eat.