The way Fang called me daughter of the ruler only made things more vexatious. It clearly showed how lightly he took the king. Fang had a look on his face that sharply said that the place where he stood belonged to only him.

I could tell how all he worded was only mockery towards my claim. As if the king can’t do anything to him, just a mere minister Fang was and what audacity he might have to claim a land rightfully owned by the king as his rule. But clarifying things and talking to this man who would just turn my every word into a badinage was something I did not want to do.

“It is None of your business why I am here for”, I responded and jumped on an adjacent branch gaining a significant distance from him.

“Oh, so you are here for the Red fruit!” Fang exclaimed, tracing his sharp jawline and his eyes piercing into mine. His lips had not left the subtle hint of devilish desire sugar-coated with amusement, “You know Channing loves them a lot right? Perhaps you are here to get the fruit and woo him, or else why would a princess risk herself in the crime of trespassing the lands of war”

It was true that trespassing between the lands has been governed with strict laws since the Great War took place two decades back. It had been done so strict that even the king carried a permit with himself all the time.

But that had nothing to do here and especially Fang’s delusional claim of me courting Channing.

The mischievous smirk on Fang’s face played the tune of anger in my head. My eyes shut to calm myself, “Mind your thoughts, Fang. If you already know what I am here for then don’t waste my time in asking nonsensical questions to which you know the answers and stop making delusional scenarios in your head”

“I didn’t know the answers, you told it to me just now,” Fang casually leaned on the tree trunk. Crossing his hands, he let his fairly built chest. Fang was not as demonically buffed as Channing but he had all the right proportions and muscles that showed through this hugging t-shirt.

My eyes rolled at his yet another stupid sentence. Though he was having fun, pretty evident on his face, I did not have the luxury to waste my time playing the game of words with him which he was so good at.

I climbed higher and higher trying to find the fruit and ignoring his presence. He followed me up the tree silently which I did not notice till he spoke right next to my ear leaning from behind, “I can give you the red fruit, but why do you want it?”

I got my distance hastily so I was not standing close to him when I turned, he was eating something as his words were mumbled a while back.

The moment I turned I saw him casually eating a big red fruit, Fang took a large bite and a purple juice dripped down the side of his lips. His thumps came up reflexively to stop the drop that had escaped and he sucked it off his thumb. As much as the scene was irritating me, the fact that he was holding a red fruit had me a little excited knowing I wasn’t at the wrong place,

“Where did you find it?”, I almost supplicated.

A grin spread across his face as his tongue sinfully ran over his teeth, “I asked you a question first.” Fang raised the fruit to his mouth again, taking yet another slow bite from the juicy fruit. I could see his adam’s apple move as he gulped what he had chewed so earnestly.

He wasn’t answering my question just deriding me. “Where did you get it?” I asked again, swallowing my pride. I barely had any time with me right now and if all of the other members finish their task before mine and we miss being the first team, then I would have successfully proved myself handicapped.

Fang simply smirked and took a seat leaning against the tree trunk and stretched his long legs on the branch. He was as if a bird sitting on a thin twig, the trust was not on the twig but its own wings.

And then it clicked me, this man was Fang Warchild. The one who had priced me a marriage in exchange for truth!

“I’ll find it on my own,” there was no way I am falling for the same thing again.

But before I knew Fang jumped on the branch that I stood on, forcefully turning me to look at him by my elbow. I lost my balance because of the sudden jerk but he casually held me in place with just one of his hands and not even budging himself while taking my wobbly weight.

“Don’t try to act as you wish in my territory princess, you’ll regret it. Now answer my question first then I might answer yours if I feel like it”, a threat was evident in his words and the last thing I wanted was to be caught up in Waterwoods, giving more problems to Channing. If I aimed to be the Beta of Winterwells pack, then I should rather reduce the weight off the Alpha.

“It is for a competition,” I answered his question, “and no need to answer my question, I will complete my task on my own”

“I never plan on answering it,” said Fang plainly bringing the half-eaten fruit near his mouth but instead whiffed it, waving it near his nose. He didn’t have to do that, the citric smell was evident even to my nose from a distance and it was a little different than the one that was fuming from the tree.

Fang’s eyes raised to catch mine, “I also know the fact that how desperately and why you want to win this competition and be the Beta”

My brows creased in response, how did he know? As any player in the competition would be desperate for the prize. Channing must have told Fang about the competition and other details of the task, but how does he know WHY I want to be a Beta!

“Because you are elaborating all the details to me”, he said deviously smirking as if a hidden agenda was jumping at the back of his head.