Their Queen's Fading Scent

Alpha Parish's POV

Our Queen stirs annoyingly early beside me. I hate her early waking hours the most. Sleep is almost as thrilling to me as sensual pleasure. I do not understand why she rises early like a servant. Looking good for us is the only job she has. That and pleasuring us.

Still I do not appreciate the touch of her hand this early. Unless she only wants to quietly sooth my skin.

"You got our mark!" I hear Alcott exclaim. 

That gives me the motivation to open my eyes. The Mark is indeed clear on our Queen's skin, and it looks lovely. Her witch sister gave it up faster than we thought she would. Did she love us at all? A part of me is disappointed. I was curious about how long she can hold on it despite the torture. A single day means she wasn't that obsessed with us. The story will be boring. Is it strange that my mind wanted her to fight harder to keep it? Having witch impersonate our mate to claim our mark made me feel a sense of pride than never before. 

Our Queen leaves the bed and hurries to stand in front of the mirror on the wall to check the mark herself.

"It's finally mine!" she exclaims, caressing the spot on her neck. "Agila didn't love them that much," she mutters in a lower voice, like she is whispering to herself. 

She thinks the same thing, that her witch sister wasn't that committed to stealing us. It's disappointing.

She turns with a joyous smile and returns to our bed.

"Make love to me. For as long as you want. I can now conceive your child," she says, running her long fingers down her n*ked body seductively. 

I could use more sleep. After all, Alcott would have the best genes for our child. He is the most powerful. 

"Come here," he says first and I feel relieved.

Our Queen eagerly rolls towards him.

"Your scent is faint," he says after she has gotten close and knelt by his side.

I cannot catch a whiff of it either. Her witch sister cannot have stolen it once more, can she? She already gave up the mark.

Our Queen seems to freeze in shock at Alcott's words. Then she forces a smile. 

"Give me just a few minutes. I only need a quick bath," she says before hurrying out of the room. 

I let myself drift back to sleep. But this time it is the intensity of her scent that wakes me. It's so profound, like a thick puff of smoke or a perfume that has been applied too much. Yet she only stands at the door. 

"Is it good enough now?" she asks.

"It's too much," I answer. 

"How does taking a bath make it so intense?" Reid questions.

She falls quiet for a long moment, seeming a bit confused.

"I think cleaning off all other filth helps strengthen it," she answers with a shrug of her shoulders. "I must be very unique, just like your Queen should be," she proudly adds. 

She must be extremely unique to have a scent that fades with time, indeed. It's not something I like. 

* * * * * 

Agila's POV 

Yesterday's bruises and wounds still hurt terribly, yet three guards bursts into my tiny cell with the most devious grins. 

"It's as ugly as a troll. I have no doubt it's hungry too. I will ask Ilan that we burn it before it dies on it's own," one says, kicking my abdomen to check if I am still alive.

"I do not think he has more power than our Queen. Best he can do is talk to her," the second one argues. 

They grab the chain and roughly pull me up. One unlocks the chain from my neck and they drag out of the cell. This time they take the opposite direction from the exist door. They head towards a staircase at the end of the hallway that leads to the upper floors of the building. One drags me by my hair while his counterparts push my back forward. Still they get me to the first floor after a quarter an hour.

There are no closed cells here, just open cubicles with lethal items clearly meant for torture. Some are made of silver, especially knifes and chains, meant for werewolf Shadowbound Outcasts. The walls are stained with more blood than the cell I left. The sight of the place alone sends waves of paralysing fear down my aching body. 

"Bring her here!" the chilling voice of Irina's witch servant yells from a cubicle a few steps away. 

She is alone. Did the beta of the Alpha Kings leave the job to her? He desired to humiliate me most. So I guess that whatever punishment is waiting for me here wasn't his idea because there are no people to watch. 

The evil servant smirks after the guards have gotten me close. She stands in front of a cubicle with a metal seat whose legs are welded to the floor and rusted chains are attached to it's sides. An open box full of lengthy, sharp needles sets not far from the seat. 

"Restrain her to the seat and leave. I will call you after I am done," she tells the guards. 

They do exactly as told. They drag me to the seat and restrain my body with the chains. My wrists and legs are left unchained, but I cannot move because the rest of my body is heavily bound to the seat. The guards tug lightly on the chains to make sure they are tight before walking away.

"Thank you so much for giving up the mark so fast. Now the mate bond is all that is left and you can die in peace," the witch says, her smile quite wide. "I enjoy the task of torturing you, the girl that would have helped the Alpha Kings destroy my kind. I spent my whole night thinking of a very painful punishment. Your heart will be cursing the mate bond by the time I am done."

"I will die with the mate bond. Your queen will have to fake it . . . for the rest of her life," I stutter despite the agony I am still feeling. 

A frown takes over her face. "You will regret those words soon. Your mates gave me the permission to torture you as much as I want. In fact, you don't have to be alive when they burn your body," she snarls.

She steps aside and picks up the box of lengthy needles.