AVERY
“ Come close. ” He says in the familiar gruff tone.
I should be relieved that he is the man I was looking for—this very King that I feared would find about another man laying claim on me. I don’t need to fear him finding out about the mark on me anymore because it belongs to him.
But…
I don’t know why. Something just doesn’t fit in.
What was a Lycan King doing in the North, a place he was never supposed to be in? Why did he mark me in the first place if he didn’t know me? And if he knew me back then…
A shudder runs down my back at the thought.
He waits, his gaze predatory. To test the waters, I shake off my thoughts and walk closer to the staircase that leads to his throne. Everything is so dark here that it makes my eyes hurt. I am used to the blue ocean, a life full of solitude—not this chaos and glares pricking my skin from everywhere.
When I reach the first stair, I pause, not sure if I should climb up or if this is close enough for him. My mind has gone numb and I can no longer make sense of anything. I can just stare at him, with a strange fear coursing through my veins.
He rises, leaving his throne and moving down the stairs to reach me. With each step closer, my heartbeat speeds up and my cheeks flush.
He stops on the last stair that I didn’t dare step on. His dark eyes look me up and down slowly. Wherever his gaze rests, I feel the skin becoming hot as if touched by an invisible force
He steps down the last stair, invading my very personal space like he did that night. The memories swirl around my head, making me uneasy and at the same time, aroused. My breathing becomes labored as I step away from him cautiously.
The corners of his lips lift in a cold smirk before he moves past me. My body stiffens as he rounds my body, taking in every inch of whatever I have to offer.
After he is done moving around me in circles and checking me out in front of his people, he stops in front of me again. Calmly, I pick up my head to meet his gaze, to search his eyes for what he is thinking or planning or anything.
“ I heard their Princess is the most beautiful girl in the Kingdom. ” His voice carries a hint of mockery. “ so? This is what they call beautiful? ”
A sudden coldness grips my heart but my cheeks warm even more. This time, in embarrassment.
The people around me burst out into small snickers first, and then it is a full-blown laughter, and chattering aimed at humiliating me further.
Despite feeling the need to hide, I stand my ground. The softness in my eyes after recognizing him fades behind a vicious glare.
He doesn’t laugh along with the others. He just stares at me, his gaze lingering on my shoulder that is covered by my hair. It’s like he wants to see the mark he left on me.
I don’t understand what’s happening. So, I decide that I must wait to find out what this humiliation means and why must he do this.
Suddenly, he turns around. His towering figure retreats while I notice the dark aura that clings to him.
The color of his eyes that night makes sense. Back then, the coldness he radiated doesn’t seem odd now.
He is a Lycan King. They are born with the curse to bear a burden far greater than what their shoulders can endure before they break and become like this—A vessel of evil, to commit sins no ordinary man can even think about.
“ Kneel, Princess. Show your respect to the King. ” The man from earlier growls threateningly and Aleister doesn’t stop him.
It’s enough to tell me his stance on everything. For whatever reason, he doesn’t mind his people disrespecting me.
“ The place where I come from… ” I steel myself and ignore the mocking laughter. “ we don’t bow down to the men who are supposed to become our mates. ”
Amusement flashes across Aleister’s eyes who sits on his throne and leans back, staring down at me as if I am some insignificant pest.
Why is he acting like he doesn’t know? Or doesn’t care that he knows me?
“ Mate? ” The man beside him utters.
I think I got the point across but the hall breaks out into a fit of laughter for the second round. Every sound of that taunting gesture drives a nail deeper into my heart.
Is this what my brother wanted? It’s not possible that he didn’t know they would treat me like this.
Or did he not know? Maybe, he didn’t.
“ Is this what your brother told you? That you are to be my mate? ” Aleister drawls, and continues to keep a straight face instead of laughing like his people.
I am already his mate since he marked me, but I can’t say that unless I know why he is behaving like this.
“ It’s what you promised. ” I say through my clenched teeth.
I am at my limit, trying my very best to not show any frustration or anger because that will give them satisfaction. If they know their actions hurt me or angered me, they will only be more happy and I refuse to let it happen.
“ Promised? Me? ” The amusement in his eyes grows so profound that I feel like I am saying absurd things.
“ The Princess thinks she is special. ” Someone says from the crowd.
Invisible cold fingers touch my spine, making me grit my teeth harder.
“ How foolish of her. ” A woman’s voice follows.
The hall is filled with people who seem to know more than me and their demeaning laughter continues to flow across the huge place.
“ If this is your way of establishing your dominance over the Princess who belongs to an enemy Kingdom, then you are using the wrong approach. Isn’t humiliating me the same as humiliating the King since I am to become his woman? ” I say in a soft voice that is void of any hint of emotions.
Immediately, the people in the hall fall silent and even hold their breaths. Smugly, I lift my head towards Aleister again and find him still staring at me, assessing me, overpowering me silently.
Then, he waves his hand in the air. “ Make her kneel. ”
Surprise flashes across my face and before I register what’s happening, my hands are already behind my back, and silver chains are around my wrists, their coldness biting into my skin. Silver can’t affect me and I should be able to break free but no matter how hard I try, I just can’t do it. It’s only possible if the chains have a spell on them.
I frown as I think about the possibility of magic being this common in the South. What are these people doing here?
The man who called this my prison kicks my ankle from behind and I fall to the ground. My knees hit the edge of the stairs and pain sears through my legs but I don’t let any sound out.
“ Princess. ” Renee yells from behind. “ let her go! What are you doing?!! She is the Princess of the North. You can’t treat her like mmmhhh mmmhh. ”
I glance over my shoulder in panic when her voice gets muffled, only to meet a pair of legs and no view of her.
“ What do you think you are doing? ” Anger flares to the surface as I face him.
A surprised gasp leaves my mouth when I find him close again. He is on the second stair, looking down at me with the same degrading glint in his eyes.
It’s different from the look he gave me that night. When I first met him, he looked ready to just…devour me but now he seems like he can’t wait to trample all over me.
“ Let’s talk about some important things, Princess. ”
Hey Lovelies! Why do you think Aleister is behaving like this? Does he really not remember her or does he have some twisted plans? Comment your thoughts and don't forget to vote if you like the story so far! ❤️
AVERYLife is unpredictable, they say.I caress the cheek of the newborn, my finger trembling softly. I am awed and reduced to a teary-eyed, half-conscious woman with nothing more meaningful in life than the bundle lying on the bed beside me. So, I believe now…Life is unpredictable. If someone had told me that I will give birth to a beautiful girl, with glassy grey eyes and a sharp cry…I would have told them that I didn’t need them to fool me into believing things that would never happen.But it has happened.“ You have the right. ” Aleister lays on the other side, watching the girl lying between us with similar expressions. He looks dazed as if he is in a dream and scared of touching this beautiful creature.“ We decided on that. You will get to name her if it’s a girl. ” I pull my knees to my chest, trying hard to forget the pain I felt during labor yesterday. People say something else too—they say giving birth is no easy feat. It’s like dying and coming back to life after seei
AVERY“ Was this really as necessary as you make it out to be? ” I ask, moving across his room, smoothening down the non-existent creases in the dress.It’s the same gown that I wore to the festival. Back then, Aleister sent me away without even looking at me but he carried this dress with him wherever he went when I left him.Now, he wants me to wear it on my initiation. I told him it’s unnecessary, but he insists that I must wear this.“ I can get you a new dress if you want, my Princess. ” Aleister says, stepping out of the dressing room and pulling me into his arms immediately. I notice the dark suit he is wearing, the material fitting every bulging muscle and making him appear bigger than he already is. Our eyes meet and warmth spreads in my insides—It’s instant and soothing. “ How do I look? ” I whisper, reaching up to press my lips to his mouth gently.“ Like my Princess. ” Aleister tilts his head, connecting our lips again. “ Like the greatest star in the sky or the beautif
AVERYIt was not as bad as I imagined it. Aleister did stick out from the others, but no matter how wary they were, they couldn’t say anything about it or him anymore.We had breakfast together, and then I showed Aleister around. As expected, Dustin gave us a side eye whenever we stumbled across him but he couldn’t do anything about it which left me giddy.For the first time in my life, I have my own team. Aleister and I are together, and I don’t care if the whole world is on the other side. He is enough for me.But I like that my former friends and acquaintances have accepted him as my mate.“ You have been smiling from the morning. ” Aleister mumbles, pressing a kiss to my neck from behind.“ Do you not like it when I smile? ” I inquire playfully.“ Of course, I love it, Princess. ” He trails a path of kisses up my neck as his hand rests on my stomach, caressing it softly. “ I want you to keep smiling like this forever. Will you do that for me? ”“ If you don’t make me mad, I will. ”
DUSTIN“ What are you thinking now? ” Lenora asks curiously.“ That’s not the right question, Lenora. ” I tell her and place my palm over the edge of the window. The sea appears calm today, or maybe, it’s just me. I am calm, inside out. There is no noise inside my head right now. After seeing Avi genuinely happy, I think I will be better for some time. “ Did you always know that King is her mate? ” She inquires and stands beside me.“ Does it matter? ” I wonder. Why does everyone make a fuss about it? If I know, so what? Does it change anything?The loser thinking makes me want to roll my eyes. If you jump into the ditch after knowing that it’s not deep or you jump without knowing it’s not deep…it’s all the same. In the end, you still have to jump in the ditch. “ How did you know? ” She turns her head and studies me curiously.“ Moon Goddess told me. ” I vowed to not lie to Lenora before, so she gets all the honest answers.She snickers. “ I am serious, Dustin. ”It’s another thi
ALEISTER“ Levian…can tell when someone is lying. If you had stayed back, he would have found out about your child. You don’t realize how brutal he can be when it comes to getting what he wants. And right now, it’s not the time for the war. It’s time to hide that you are pregnant, Avi. ” Dustin explains to her.“ You want to hide my child? ” She huffs. “ that’s not happening. ”“ That’s why I didn’t tell you before. Now that your mate here has told Levian that you are not pregnant and that he is not allied with the other three Kingdoms, Levian is not desperate to snatch your child. He will wait. Because he believes we are weak when we are not united as the four Kingdoms. ” He says and wipes the dried blood from under his nose again. “ He will wait for you to find your mate. ” I conclude neutrally.“ He will wait for me to break and join him. Or he will wait for a mate to come to break me and get me to lose my mind like the rest of you. ” Dustin replies, and smirks. “ but that’s never
ALEISTERI have a hunch that Dustin Landric—the twat let me hit him intentionally. I would have preferred if he fought back. I don’t enjoy hitting those who want to get hit.“ Aleister. ” My Princess nuzzles into my neck, and peer at me with her puppy eyes.My throat feels heavy as I stare into those eyes. I came here to be mad at her. Her friend sent me a letter and informed me that my Princess hadn’t left me and it was all her brother’s plot. He drugged her and kidnapped her.But she could have let me know about it.And she didn’t.I was mad, but what do I feel right now? The heaviness in my throat increases. She loves me, she is carrying my child and she is showing me that she cares about me without giving a fuck about the watching eyes.It’s like I am in a dream. Maybe, I lost my mind back in the South and this is a part of a beautiful imagination.If it’s that…I slide her stray hair behind her ear and watch as she smiles at me brightly. Her blue eyes are moist, and they still l