True Alpha’s Chosen Mate - Chapter 194

It took us minutes to recover from Ida’s brazen actions. Although she walked out of us alive, I was certain Hugo wouldn’t let this go. Even when he didn’t say anything about it when she left, I noticed the glint that flickered across his eyes.

Fortunately, Cora was there for us. If she wasn’t present, I was certain Ida wouldn’t leave easily. With my sister-in-law’s insistence, Hugo and I followed her to a particular tent. As we did, I kept glancing at Hugo. When he noticed my glances, he arched a brow and gazed at me.

He raised a finger in front of his lips, holding my bicep. To my surprise, he bent over, tilting his head to the side, and claimed my lips. Cora was walking ahead of us, talking about something I couldn’t understand.

“Hu –”

“Shh…” he hushed me when he draw his head back. “Wash your mouth later. I’ll kill that woman.”

His voice was only above a whisper, but the hairs behind my neck raised. I had goosebumps sensing the murderous intent in his eyes. Hugo straightened his back, eyes on Cora’s back as if nothing had happened. Surely, he and Ida had shared the same personality.

But… why me? I felt like my lips weren’t mine since people kept stealing them from me. Never mind, though. That wasn’t important. What was important right now was the current situation. An army from the Ronmin empire was in Althea, and it seemed Azazel truly didn’t know about this, since no one mentioned this during Hugo’s meeting with him.

‘This is concerning,’ I thought, considering that not just Hugo, but Cora was here too. ‘What were they planning? Would they truly betray Azazel? Or do they have more plans?’

I hung my head low as I followed in silence. Tons of conclusions hovered over my head. So far, although there were warriors scattered around, it wasn’t enough numbers to consider they were going against an entire empire such as Hendrik Empire. Still, the numbers were enough to conquer a land reigned by humans.

Soon, we arrived in a particular tent. I raised my head. The outside was unguarded. For reasons unknown, my heart thumped loudly against my chest.

“Hey, hey!” Cora’s voice was lazy, hooking the entrance of the tent with the back of her hand. “Hugo is here.”

She announced while Hugo and I followed. As soon as I stepped foot inside, the noises inside instantly died. I stood frozen, blinking blankly as my eyes glossed over the people inside.

“What the…” Sally was the first to speak, clinging onto Percival’s neck from behind as if she was choking him. My eyes dilated, shifting it to the others who were around the table that had a map laid on top of it.

There, Alice looked back at us with the same surprise plastered on her face. Near her seat was Silas, the third prince. Next to him was Tomas, then Maurice, the sixth prince. They all stared at us in silence, blinking.

Eight royalties. I assumed there would be a few, but eight royalties gathered in this place — it would be nine if Tito was here. What was going on?

“Kyah!! Rinnie~!” Sally squealed, breaking the sudden silence, letting go of Percival’s neck before rushing in my direction. With a gigantic leap, I caught her little figure. I took a step back to keep us from falling.

“Is this really you??? Kyah~! Are you even real??”

“Sally…” I smiled awkwardly, turning my head to Hugo, who stood beside me. He just gave me a wink before peeling his eyes away from me.

“Sally, save your tears for later. Important stuff first,” he uttered, strutting towards the table. Hugo glanced over it, hands on the edge.

“Silly dwarf.” Percival clicked his tongue, glaring dagger at Sally, who was still hugging and crying in my arms. “Just you wait and see. Once we return home, I will set all your dolls on fire!”

“Bully!” came out a shameless remark from Sally as she drew her head away from me. Her older brother gasped in disbelief. I wouldn’t understand him if I didn’t see that Sally was bullying him when we came in.

“Rinnie, I’m so happy to see you again. You have no idea what happened when you’re gone and…” she trailed off when Alice clapped and spoke.

“As much as I am also glad to see Rinnie and ask how you found her, Hugo, the fourth prince, Azazel, is near the border.” Alice simply cast me a smile before setting her eyes on Hugo. “The plan is, as soon as they exit Althea, they will meet an ambush. Garret is already patrolling the area, but the people are larger than I expected.”

“Make sense. He is part of the royal family. Taking him down is not easy.” Hugo rocked his head lightly, and the conversation proceeded as if they weren’t just siblings, but they were colleagues.

I remained silent, holding Sally’s hand, and we sat down on the empty chairs around the table. Unlike me, who had zero clue about everything aside from Hugo ‘betraying’ Azazel, Sally could keep up. She would even voice out her thoughts about it.

Listening to them was almost amazing to hear. This was the royal family of the Ronmin Empire. The actual power of the Tempest clan. It wasn’t simply brute force, but their team effort. But… more than my curiosity of the entirety of their plan. I could not help but notice something strange.

‘Why… are they treating Hugo as if their leader?’ I wondered, my eyes glossing over their solemn faces. ‘Although they still addressed him the same, something changed with how they treat him.’

Why?

Those three letters occupy my speech bubble. WHY?

“Alright.” My thoughts trailed off when Hugo spoke after his long silence. “The plan will remain the same. Silas and Alice will get Azazel; Cora and Perci will regroup with Garret. Sally, Mau, and Tomas will meet with Tito in Everfell.”

“Alright.” Cora smacked her lips as she arrogantly ran her hand through her short hair, another hand on her hips. “What about Rinnie? Shall I ask someone to protect her while we’re out there smashing mosquitoes?”

My brows rose when Hugo let out a low laugh, casting me a look. “No. She’ll come with me.” He smirked, causing everyone to frown.

For some reason, their reaction was strange. They didn’t react when Sally was given a task, but they were obviously surprised by this. I only realized why their reaction was strange when Hugo spoke again.

“We’ll meet Niall together,” he stressed, eyes full of contempt.. “He wants Bambi, after all.”