The Evil Queen's Demands

Agila's POV 

The cell is extremely cold. I would have stayed on my feet if they weren't aching and swollen from the kicks. I had to lay down and let the muscles of my back grow numb from the cold. 

I would be sleeping on a cushioned bed in my messy room if I did not come up with a silly plan to reclaim my unworthy mates. The Alphas who made me a Shadowbound Outcast and ordered that I be put through the worst kind of tortures. 

I hear sounds of several footsteps in the hallway outside. Is it already morning? This night would have to be extraordinarily short.

"She must be regretting fighting to keep them by now. The assistant informed me that the soldiers beat her well. She will agree to every one of my demands," I hear Irina's voice say, quite close to my cell's door. 

So it's not the soldiers or the beta of the Alpha Kings. It's my evil sister coming to make demands. I have never heard her admit that the Alpha Kings are my mates before. I wonder who she is with. And what demands she is coming to make. They must be important for a spoiled Princess like her to want to visit this filthy place. 

"I assured you the plan would work. I will make sure that you're the Queen and that you bear their child," another woman's voice says, and I recognize it. 

Irina had a favourite maid, Novar, whose behavior always seemed strange to me. She was always lurking around dark places, whispering in strange languages. 

The door opens and their small lamp lits up the small cell. I open my eyes and glare at the two despite my shameful state. I am sure that my mouth and sides of my face are also swollen from the kicks of the guards. 

"Wow! They did beat it up well indeed. I love the sight of it," Irina comments with laughter. 

"It's exactly what it deserved after stealing your dress and making you fake all those tears. The Mark hasn't faded even a little though. The longer it stays so close to the Alpha Kings the faster my spell will fade and no longer be able to withhold their mate bond," the maid replies. 

So she is the one that cast the spell to withhold my mate bond with the Alpha Kings. I should have known that Irina could not have done it alone. Her beauty and grace is all she cared about, not ancient spells. I wonder how she even knew that I would be the mate of the Alpha Kings. Unless the seers are corrupted too.

"You need to put me in charge of her torture. I will ensure that she surrenders both the Mark and the Mate bond to you in few days, and the Alpha Kings will never know that you were never their mate," the servant adds. 

They want the mate bond too? Why would I give them that when they will have me burned to death anyway? I would rather she live in fear of being discovered that she isn't their mate even after my death.

"Won't we need to cast another spell to take the mate bond?" Irina asks. 

"I only need her blood for the spell. But she must genuinely give up the mate bond too for the spell to work," the maid answers. 

Irina strides closer to me, a mocking grin on her lips. 

"Look at you. The guards must have really enjoyed themselves. I have never seen a face more uglier," she says after halting a step away from me. "You were right. I am not the mate of the Alpha Kings. Novar helped me steal your scent and put it in a bottle of perfume. Not that the gorgeous Kings would have accepted you anyway. You were stupid to steal their mark, because now you will suffer unimaginable pain for the next few days leading to your death."

I do not have the strength to shout at her or claw at her eyes just for a little revenge. I can only glare at her, which she doesn't seem to mind. She already got everything she desired, as usual. Everything that was meant to be mine is now hers, and I will be tortured to give her more. I wonder if our parents knew what she had done and supported her anyway.

"I know you will give up the mark soon and it will appear on my beautiful skin. I am however more interested in your mate bond with them. It's difficult to be applying perfume every inch of my body everyday. I need the real thing before you die," she demands. 

What an entitled witch! 

Her perfume won't be lasting very long, but it definitely won't run out before my death. I was unaware that it is in fact my scent when I stole it. My mates cannot smell it from me because the mate bond is withheld by a spell. I would kill her if I had the strength.

"I hope they realize what you're, even after my death . . . and burn you," I force the bitter words through my swollen lips. 

Her grin disappears. She steps closer, bends and lands a sharp slap on the left side of my face. 

"You will give me the mate bond, filthy human! I will torture you myself until you beg me to take it!" she snarls in range, bring down another slap on my swollen face. 

I gasp and clench my jaws. I no longer crave the affection of my powerful, stolen mates, but I want revenge. I will die whether or not I surrender the mate bond to her. I just want to make sure that she won't be getting the thing that would help her live comfortably in their palace ever after. 

"Do not bruise your hand before your night with the Kings, your Majesty," her maid cautions, getting closer. "I will get you the mate bond. Just put me in charge of her torture like I asked." 

"It will be the first thing that I will request from the Kings. I will tell them that you're much more skilled than their assistant," Irina promises. 

Sounds like I will be terribly tortured for her to get the mate bond and the mark before my death. I am glad to hear that it's still early in the night.

Her wicked maid pulls a tiny knife and bottle out of the pockets of her dress and squats next to me. "I need a little blood to cast the spell, so that the mate bond can be your sister's once you give it up," she says before grasping my hand.

I try pulling back my hand out of her grasp but she has great strength, being a werewolf, while my body is already weakend by pain. 

She uses the knife to make a cut across the skin of my palm and fetches the blood that oozes from the wound into the bottle. She lets go after getting a few drops and puts the knife and the bottle back into her pockets. 

Now all they need is for me to give up the mate bond, which I won't.

"You will regret holding onto that mate bond once I begin torturing you. I will humiliate you so much that you will be mocked even in your grave," the servant hisses with a wicked smile before turning away. 

My hand is left bleeding. But the cut is not too deep. I would have liked to bleed to death now before those witches decide what my torture will be tomorrow.