True Alpha's Ch Chapter 26: Today is our first day

Chapter 26: Today is our first day

After going through my usual morning routine, I went to find Hugo. Fortunately, he briefly toured

last night — or rather, he pointed at the places of what was in the inn. So, I knew the way to the dining hall. He ntioned having breakfast at this ti of the day.

When I was by the entrance of the dining hall, the chatterings from inside already tickled my ears. I peeked my head in, seeing a few more people already eating.

’Wow...’ I awed. ’I thought we’re the only ones in this place. I had never eaten with anyone aside from mother and father. Sotis, Ashton will join because I would stubbornly not eat during my tantrums. And then... Hugo.’

Once again, my dinner last night with Hugo resurfaced in my head. I pursed my lips into a thin line, thinking that Hugo and I didn’t just eat together. We basically shared the sa food on the sa plate and the sa cutlery. I blad his laziness for not using his arms.

"Where are they, anyway?" I wondered while looking around. I instantly froze the second I caught Hugo staring in my direction. His brows rose while tilting his head as if he was wondering what I was doing.

Instead of going in, I found myself sliding back carefully. I exhaled a deep breath when I straightened my back, clasping my chest.

"What’s wrong with

so suddenly?" I muttered, feeling my face heat up with my heart hamring against my chest. Seeing him and locking eyes with him made

recall the sensation he left on my neck last night.

"Why am I so scared of him now?" ca out a question along with a heavy breath. "Or... am I really scared?"

I was unsure why I suddenly felt nervous. That man kept

up all night because of his careless words and he kept teasing . I frowned at the thought, clicking my tongue. I glanced at the entrance of the dining hall once again and sighed heavily.

"I want to avoid him... " I trailed off, seeing him approach , making

step back. My body’s initial reaction was to run away from him. But just when I took three steps away, a hand suddenly grabbed my wrist and spun

around.

’Goodness... why is he so fast?’ I looked at him, wide-eyed. Hugo arched a brow and cocked his head to the side.

"You want to avoid ? Why?" he asked while I swallowed a mouthful of saliva. He heard . Had he been listening to

all this ti? Also, did he run to appear here so fast? Right... that was impossible because he was a werewolf.

"Bambi, I’m asking you. Why do you want to avoid the great ?" he repeated, stressing the word great to highlight he was great and important.

"N — no..." ca out a weak lie. "I an, there’s sothing wrong with my heart."

"Ah?" He blinked twice, bending over as he bobbed his face to scan . "Are you not feeling well?"

I tried to move my head back a bit. The drumming of my heart would deafen

if he went closer. So, I turned my head away and shook my head.

"I’m alright," I reassured in a quiet tone, biting my inner lower lip. "It’s nothing."

"So you’re alright?" I nodded at his question, not daring to look at him in the eye. "And I misheard you need to avoid ?"

"No."

"Ah?"

I took a deep breath and snuck a look at him. He had his brows furrowed, sporting a misplaced, clueless expression.

"You didn’t mishear it," I confessed, hoping he would understand.

"My Rinnie, why?" he gasped in surprise. Didn’t he really know? Because he kept spewing nonsense, that was why! I didn’t give him an answer, though. I kept my mouth shut and avoided his gaze.

"Hey, did I do sothing in your dream, and now you hate ?" he questioned, but I shook my head. "Hah... this is strange and unfair. You’re not even looking at ."

I pretended I didn’t hear him. Even when I didn’t, I would ignore him since I was busy calming my heart.

"You can’t ignore ," he said after a few seconds of silence. "How can I do courtship if you ignore ?"

"Pardon?" this ti, I couldn’t help but face him with eyes dilating. "Courtship?"

"Mhm! Courtship. They said humans do that kind of thing. I can’t court you if you avoid . Also, you’ll be stuck with

around the clock, so it’s really an impossible feat to achieve, you know?"

I looked at his determined face, feeling a little conflicted. "Hu — Hugo, do you even know what courtship ans?"

"Of course!"

"Can you tell ?" I inquired just for clarity. Hugo averted his eyes as he pondered about it.

"It’s to get you?" he explained in an ambiguous tone.

"You didn’t have an idea how it works, don’t you?"

"Well, do you?"

I pressed my lips into a thin line. I wasn’t an expert in this area, but I was once interested in it. Living inside the castle made

read a lot of books where I lived a thousand lives. Also, the maids were always inclined to talk about those kinds of things — they would even brag about their lovers to the other maids. It was safe to say I heard a lot about their experience through eavesdropping.

"Hugo, courtship is when you want soone to be your lover or a marriage partner. It’s when you show your sincerity and heart to persuade soone to marry," I explained with a sigh, planting my palm on his chest to push him a bit. "The great you will have to humble himself, which is a more impossible feat to achieve than avoiding you."

"What? Are you saying yours truly can’t do that?" he gasped, offended by the truth.

"Well, I’m not the one to judge. But..." I trailed off, a bit hesitant to tell him about what sort of person I viewed him. "... never mind. I won’t avoid you, so you can let

go now. You’re right when you said it’s impossible to avoid soone I am stuck with."

Hugo batted his eyes lazily while still holding my wrist up. "Please."

"What?"

"Please, let

court you. Yours truly is humbling himself so you can give him a chance to show his humbleness, sincerity, and how kind I can be." My face distorted in disbelief. "This is the third ti in my life I will say the word, please. Please — that’s the fourth."

A helpless scoff escaped my mouth while staring at his dead expression. "That is very... humble, indeed."

"I know, right?" He shrugged as if he didn’t get the sarcasm in my words. "So?"

His brows rose while waiting for my response. I stared at him helplessly. His eyes told

he wouldn’t take no for an answer. This wasn’t courtship at all. It was all wrong from the very beginning... or at least, it was different from what I know.

"Well? Do you plan to stand here all day?" he asked, batting his eyes cluelessly. "I don’t mind, though."

"Will we stand here unless I give you an answer?" I inquired, and Hugo nodded slightly, but I knew any answer wouldn’t do fine. Does this man play this much? Was he that bored in his life? I studied him and considered the pros and cons.

’I’m sure he will leave

alone when he got bored,’ I thought, ntally nodding my head. ’I’ll just play along.’

"Sure." I nodded, watching the side of his lips stretch into a grin. "Let’s do that. Courtship, I an. But..."

"But? Bambi, no buts!"

"Hugo, I need you to promise

that you..." I paused to take a deep breath while looking back at him bravely. "... you will tell

once you’ve given up." — because I planned to make him give up.

Hugo narrowed his eyes as his nose scrunched up. "That doesn’t make sense, but alright?"

I nodded while he rocked his head. His smile remained before he suddenly bent over, catching

off guard. I instantly froze, watching him draw away after leaving a peck on my cheek.

"Today is our first day then." He winked with a bright grin. A giant question mark instantly hovered over my head.

Huh????