Chapter 09

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. ”