The Cursed Wolf’s Love

Iris kept her back toward Adolphus, who was lying beside her. She found him moving on the bed, but she didn’t dare to look at him.

“How did you grow up, Iris? Mind telling me about your life,” Adolphus’s sudden question puzzled her. Why did he want to know about her? No one ever wanted to know.

“Are you asleep?” Adolphus asked when he got no response from Iris.

“No, Master,” Iris replied.

“Then, why are you not replying? Is it too tough to answer?” Adolphus inquired.

“Nobody ever asks me, so I am unable to understand where to start,” Iris said.

“Hmm. You can tell me everything,” Adolphus replied. “How did it all start? An aristocrat’s daughter ended up in such a condition. I would like to know about it. Everything that happened to you. Since I’ve to meet your father tomorrow, I need to tell him why you cannot go to that house,” Adolphus explained to her.

“Am I a burden to His Grace? It must be a headache for” Before she could finish the words, Adolphus interrupted her.

“I have told you before as well. It is not a headache for me. I hold enough power to shut anyone’s mouth in the kingdom,” Adolphus said, and asked her to turn to him.

Iris turned around and faced him.

“Now, tell me everything. I won’t let you sleep until you tell me about your life, your struggles,” Adolphus stated.

Iris contemplated for some time before she opened her mouth to speak. “After my mother died, Father married another woman, who was a widow with two children. I was five at that time. Everything was good at the beginning. I thought I had got another mother for me who would give me love. I would get siblings who were elder than me. However, as time passed, my illusions broke. I worked as a servant in that house. I cried in front of my father, but he only scolded me for being weak and useless.”

Iris prevented her tears from falling. Whenever she went to her father, he would look at her with disgust and sometimes would even slap her. Life started turning miserable for her. When her two step-siblings were enjoying their lives, she was living in hell.

She didn’t know what happiness was. She was forced to eat the leftovers they would leave after their meals. When she demanded clothes, her father ignored her. She had to wear those rug-looking clothes because there was no way she could buy anything. She wasn’t allowed to go out of the house.

They would celebrate every occasion, including birthdays, and anniversaries, but they forgot Iris. Her presence in that house was even lower than that of a slave.

“When does your birthday come, Iris?” Adolphus asked after hearing that.

Iris looked at him with an astonished gaze. Her heart skipped a beat when his warm harmed fingers brushed the temple of her forehead. “I will celebrate it with you,” he said with a smile.

“It is in the middle of the rainy season,” Iris replied and told him the date, “the eighteenth of the month.”

“Ahh, it’s close. After a month, we will celebrate it,” Adolphus said.

“Thank you, Master. Even if Master does not celebrate it, I will be happy,” Iris stated.

“Why do you think I won’t celebrate it? Is it because I am the Crown Prince?” Adolphus asked as he gently caressed her hair.Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

“Hmm. It would not be appropriate if” she could not finish her words as Adolphus placed his finger on her lips.

“Everything is inappropriate for you,” Adolphus remarked. “When I have given you my words, that means I will fulfill them.” His statement was more like a promise to her.

“What did your step-brother do to you? I know it is difficult for you to answer about it, but you have to tell me,” Adolphus makes her understand.

“He touched me inappropriately on my arms and thighs, and asked me not to tell protest. However, I didn’t listen to him and hit him with a vase the first time he did that. I knew I would be dead for doing it, but I was ready to accept my death,” Iris said while looking into his eyes. She didn’t know from where she got that confidence to tell Adolphus. Perhaps because he understood her.

“Anywhere else?” Adolphus asked.

Iris shook her head. “I didn’t let him,” Iris said.

“You were always a brave girl,” Adolphus remarked and smiled a bit. He didn’t want to show the raging storm inside him. He could see the pain, the stress Iris underwent in that house.

“What did your father say when you informed him about it?” Adolphus questioned her.

“Father thought I lied. He slapped me hard, seeing the bleeding head of his stepson. I was locked in the basement for three days without food and water,” Iris asserted.

Adolphus’s heart clenched to hear that. He never felt this sort of pain for anyone. He had seen many cruel cases but this one was different.

At that moment, all Adolphus could do was hug her tightly. His fingers moved into her hair and he didn’t utter a single word. Iris also didn’t push him away. At least, there was someone who understood her better.

“Iris, when someone troubles my person, I go crazy. Tomorrow you may see the most ruthless side of mine. I want you not to stop me because it is time those bastards should get punished for what they did to you. I don’t believe in forgiveness,” Adolphus informed her beforehand. He had decided he would torture all of them to the point they would beg him to kill them.

However, he would not do that. He would see them crying in pain until the very end, and that was the most reasonable punishment in his eyes for those bastards.

He pulled away and looked into her eyes. She also kept her gaze intact on him. Her eyes widened the moment he planted a soft kiss on the middle of her forehead.

“You are my person, Iris,” Adolphus pronounced with an authoritative sound.