Novel Palace
Beta's Runaway Bride: 5 - Xiomara
Beta's Runaway Bride: 5 - Xiomara
I am going to kill him.
Who the hell does he think he is? ¡Dios mío! I am not going to survive this without spilling blood, and I
don’t mean mine!
Pacing the floor of what I now know is my prison, I try to come up with some plan of escape. But when I
looked outside throughout the day and saw there was no gap between the patrol and how high the
gates were, I knew that there would be no escaping for me.
And as much as I want to drive a steak knife through Maxim’s eye, it would surely lead to my death. So
what am I going to do? I want nothing more than to escape here and from my exchange with Maxim
earlier, he doesn’t want this either.
But a Beta is loyal to his Alpha, I suppose.
My shoulders sag in defeat and I sink down onto the soft bed, feeling annoyed at how absolutely plush
and comfortable it feels. I want to hate it here, I want to pitch a fit and fight my way out of this…But is it
wise?
I have nowhere to return to, those thieves stole my money in the alleyway and I defected from my old
pack. In short, I am screwed even if I do escape.
/“Perhaps we should give Maxim a chance,”/ Yingze says, invading my thoughts. /“He was right, his
earlier move didn’t hurt us, it just subdued us.”/
“It doesn’t mean he won’t still hurt us,” I remind her. “He’s Alpha Nikolaos’ Beta for a reason, you
know.”
I don’t trust Maxim as far as I can throw him. He might have saved me, taken care of me, and made me
breakfast, but that doesn’t mean I’m about to open my legs for him because of duty. Sighing, I decide to
go to the kitchen and make myself some coffee; it’s the only thing I missed after being forced to lay low
for so long.
I sneak out of the bedroom and strain my ears, but I don’t hear any other heartbeats in the house
beside mine. So I make my way to the kitchen and set everything up for some expensive, delicious
coffee.
I’m so lost in the smell and sounds of the machine bubbling and trickling out the liquid into my cup, that
I just barely miss the slamming of a car door outside. Oh, hell; I wanted to avoid him all day, but now I
won’t be able to since the kitchen faces the living room and front door,
Focusing harder on the machine in front of me, I don’t turn around when I hear the front door opening,
nor do I acknowledge the man who I’ve been thinking about the entire day. As much as I hate to admit
it to myself, he was at the forefront of my thoughts.
The sound of boots hitting the wooden floor makes my heart leap into my throat. I don’t want him to
know what his presence does to me, so I continue to stare holes into the coffee machine, willing it to
brew faster.
“Good evening, Xiomara,” is all he says before he walks towards the opposite side of the house and
slams the door behind him.
From my snooping today, I am guessing he’s headed toward the locked room at the back of the house.
At that moment, my stomach decides to growl and I groan in annoyance because I haven’t eaten since
this morning.
Resigned to the fact that I’m not going anywhere, I raid the fridge and freezer in hopes of being able to
whip up a meal. Since I was left to take over from my Mamma after her death, I had to learn to feed the
men in our pack house. So after finding two steaks, I get lost in preparing the meal for me and the man Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.
I want to kill.
Rookie mistake.
Once the smell of the searing steak and sauteed mushrooms wafts through the house, I forgot where I
was for a few minutes. That is until I plate the steaks and am about to turn around to dish the scalloped
potatoes when I see Maxim standing behind me.
I get such a damn fright that I nearly drop the plates, but Maxim is right there to catch me as well as the
almost-ruined dinner.
“Didn’t mean to startle you,” he says as he pulls me to my feet and puts the plates down on the counter
before letting me go. But I’m not startled by Maxim standing behind me…I’m started because of what I
see.
Now I realize that the locked room is a gym.
He’s only wearing his black cargo pants, no shirt, and is dripping with sweat, his blonde hair is no
longer slicked back, but matted with sweat and sticking to the side of his face. I shouldn’t be staring at
the dips and planes of his well-defined upper body, but my eyes wander of their own accord…right
down to the strip of hair leading to what I don’t want to think about…but do.
Why is temptation so beautiful?
I clear my throat when I realize what the hell I’m doing. “Uh…Uhm, sorry, I shouldn’t have…reacted like
that,” I turn around to tend to the mushrooms so I don’t have to look into his eyes. “Dinner will be ready
in five minutes.”
He grunts a response and I hear him walk away, but I still don’t turn around until I hear the water
running. Breathing out a sigh of relief, I got done with plating the food and putting them down on the
opposite side of the island just like this morning.
I don’t know why seeing Maxim half-naked affected me like that, but it did. Maybe it’s because it’s the
first time I’m seeing a Beta who isn’t covered in tattoos. Or maybe because, for a split second, I found
him sexy as hell.
Groaning, I hang my head in my hands; I can still smell his scent on me, too. That heady sandalwood
and amber scent feels like it’s imprinted right on my soul. It shouldn’t head right to my pussy, but it
does. It also leads me to wonder how he is in-
“Sorry, that took more than five minutes,” Maxim strolls in and sits down opposite me. He looks down at
the plated food and his eyes widen. “Wow, this looks and smells delicious; thank you.”
I don’t know what to say, so I proceed to cut my meat and not look into his eyes. But then he speaks
again and my head whips up towards him.
“Wait, there’s no poison in here, right?” he asks, incredibly serious. “This is the only reason I can think
of that you’d be nice to me after this morning.”
I roll my eyes and stand up, then I walk over to his side, cut a piece of his meat, and pop it into my
mouth. “Am I foaming at the mouth yet?”
This makes him burst out laughing and he shakes his head. “Ah, so you’re just being nice to me then,”
he says and I sit down on my side again. “Does this mean we’re calling a truce?”
“This means I’ve come to terms with my captivity,” I say while cutting my steak. “That’s something,
right?”
The light amusement playing in his eyes is gone when I utter those words, and for some reason, my
stomach tightens with anxiety. Great going there, Zara; way to ruin the mood.
We spend the rest of the dinner in silence and I hate myself for it. I’m here not because I want to be
and he’s here because of duty; it’s neither of our faults that we’re in this predicament.
“Luna Mia would like to come to see you tomorrow,” he suddenly says, cutting through the silence and I
look up at him.
“Why?” I can’t help but ask. “There’s no reason for her to?”
Maxim gets to his feet and collects both our plates. “She’s seen all the brides on the estate and doesn’t
want you to feel left out or ignored,” he says, and the reverence in his voice causes an unknown feeling
to stab me in the heart.
Why does this Luna want to extend an olive branch when I don’t even want to be here? “What do you
mean by all the brides?” I ask with a frown. “There are more being held here?”
Maxim scoffs. “Yes, and unlike you, they know the role they have to play here,” he says as he scrapes
the leftovers into the rubbish and packs the dishwasher. “She will be here at 9 am.”
With that, Maxim walks out and leaves me wondering why I felt jealous when he spoke about his Luna
with such pride.
Only after I realized what that feeling meant, did I rush upstairs to hide my shame. There’s no way I
could be jealous of someone like that, especially not someone who Maxim so clearly cares for.
I growl and hop into a shower before bed, but my night is plagued with thoughts I tried to push away.
What the hell is wrong with me?
By 8:50 AM the next morning, I am in a bad fucking mood but dressed to meet the Luna as requested
of me. I’m sitting in the living room with my hands in my lap when the front door opens and Maxim
walks in with her.
I don’t know what I expected, a bombshell catwalk model beauty I guess, but Luna Mia was not it. She
looked quite average, nothing like most women I see on some Alphas' arms. Soft brown curls, brown
eyes, shorter than me, and plain, I guess?
Maxim walks inside and I don’t miss the warm smile on his face or his hand on her lower back, nor do I
miss the absolute trust she seems to have when looking at him. He walks her over to where I’ve now
gotten to my feet and gestures toward me.
“Xiomara, this is Luna Mia; Alpha Nikolaos’ mate and wife,” he says and I blink at the word ‘mate’.
What? I didn’t think mates existed anymore! “Mia, this is my bride.”
I try not to blush at the introduction, and the Luna ruins it by walking up to me. “It’s lovely to meet you,
Xiomara,” she says with a smile. “Maxim mentioned that you’re struggling to settle in-”
“Struggling to settle in?” I scoff and cross my arms. “I’m here against my will, being forced to marry a
man I don’t even know!”
Luna Mia blinks back in surprise and her cheeks redden; she looks to Maxim for help and I chuckle in
amusement. “Not everyone is like you, we don’t particularly like the idea of being a sex slave-”
The words weren’t even out of my mouth before I found myself on the opposite end of the wall with
Maxim’s hand around my neck. His eyes have shimmered to their Beta gold and the killing intent
coming from him invites a cold shard of fear to slip into my heart.
“Speak to her like that again, and I won’t hesitate to rip your throat open,” he growls and the grip on my
throat tightens. “She. Is. Your. Luna. Have some fucking respect!”
“Maxim!” I hear her exclaim and through my fading vision, I see her attempt to pull his arm away. “Stop
this, she just needs time!”
He lets go of me and I hear a growl rumbling in his chest. “She’ll get no mercy from me, Mia,” he says
and when I look up at him, I see the disdain in his eyes.
I would be lying if I didn’t feel absolute fucking fear right now; no one has ever threatened me like that
before. Then again, no one has come to my rescue like that before, either.
“Why don’t you go up to Niko and leave me here with her, hmm?” she asks and he growls again.
“No fucking way-”
“Maxim, she’s not going to speak to me while you’re here lording over us. Give me some time to speak
to Xiomara alone. I promise nothing will happen,” she says and touches his chest with both his hands.
That annoying feeling curls up in my heart again and I push it down as I get to my feet. Maxim looks at
me, then at Luna Mia. “I’ll be back in an hour,” he says before storming off. “But I’m asking Ghost to
come here!”
Luna Mia chuckles and shakes her head, looking at him as he walks off. Then she turns her head
towards me and offers me that warm smile again. “Let me reintroduce myself, Xiomara; my name is
Mia.”