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Chapter 2: Threat

When Kiyan and I were much younger and more naïve than we now were, my grandmother would sit us down in front of the fireplace every night and tell us a story. It never changed and always began with the same person- Lycaon. He was said to be the first of the lycans, cursed to shapeshift into a wolf by Zeus. The reason? He tried to serve the great and powerful Zeus human flesh. Furious with Lycaon’s trickery, Zeus cursed him. From there the lycan curse spread. Lycans would bite humans, cursing them to the same fate. Eventually, word had spread about these strange shape-shifting creatures. And so, a war broke out between the humans and lycans, both believing that the world had no place for the other. It was a long, brutal war which almost seemed unending until one faithful day. The day the Lycan Kings and Queens were chosen. Each had a unique ability: Queen Aura was blessed with the ability to manipulate fire and could even command the magma within the Earth’s surface by Hephaestus; Queen Nikita was gifted the ability to manipulate water by Poseidon; King Theodore could speak to and command the dead and see the spirit realm, a gift bestowed upon him by Hades and King Griffen was given the gift of wisdom and thought by Athena- rumour had it he also received dreams and messages from the gods themselves. Lastly was King Nicholas. Zeus generously bestowed upon him the ability to control and manipulate the weather. Once they had entered into the war, it was over for us humans. As punishment for losing the war against the lycans, and so as to ensure lasting ‘peace’, we were condemned to a life of servitude to them. Shortly thereafter a new era was born and the five Lycan Kings and Queens divided the world up into five regions over which to rule- Larkspur, ruled by Queen Aura; Aster ruled by Queen Nikita; Bouvardia ruled by King Theodore, Dhalia ruled by King Griffen and finally Iris, ruled by King Nicholas. Although their rule was prevalent and powerful to this day, they had become nothing but mere legends to me, characters of a story once told in front of a humble fireplace.

But that all changed when I saw him.

Although centuries had passed, he looked ageless. He was tall, well-bult and devilishly handsome in a unique and almost ethereal way. His skin was a beautiful and intense, warm, golden honey tone and not a single blemish tainted any of it. His eyes were a strikingly extraordinary, yet nonchalant shade of grey and were framed by a set of dark, thick brows. His hair, the dark shade of raven, fell in smooth waves which reached below his ears and some of it hung lowly in his face, shadowing its beauty. For a moment, all I could do was bask in awe at how beautiful he was. I was so engrossed and overwhelmed by the man before me that I hadn’t the chance to register what he had previously said. It wasn’t until the red-haired lycan who had previously tried to kill me, spoke, that I finally snapped back to reality.

“Was that aimed at me, King Nicholas?” she asked as she straightened her clothing. But he never even made an attempt to look at her, instead, his eyes stayed on me, watching me curiously.

“No,” he began, “I was talking to her.” And with this, he pointed towards me.

My eyes widened and I gazed at my brother who shared my surprised expression, before resting my eyes back on the King’s.

“Me?” I asked, pointing at my chest.

He nodded slowly before nearing me. Each movement he made was smooth and graceful, as if he’d perfected the art of movement mere centuries ago. Then, he held out a hand for me before saying softly, “Yes, you. It’s taken centuries… but I’ve finally found you, my mate.”

I gulped nervously and then hesitated before taking his hand in mine, letting my curious nature overtake my senses. The second our fingers touched, there was no denying what he’d said. It was as though there was some sort of force, pulling us together, drawing us to one another. Even the way his skin felt against mine was absolutely electrifying. He helped me off of the floor and then almost immediately let my hand go.

“Ah, how rude of me. I haven’t even introduced myself. Forgive me. I am King Nicholas Carden, and you are-”

“Human!” The woman who had previously tried to murder me interjected. “You can’t be serious my love. There is no way this lowly human could be your mate. Besides, it doesn’t even matter. You’re betrothed to me.”

As if this day could not even get any worse, the woman I’d punched just moments ago was also the King’s fiancé. Was there any escaping death today?

I expected King Nicholas to agree with her and then demand that I be executed on spot. After all, the five lycan Kings and Queens were not known for their merciful decision making when it came to humans. But instead, he surprised me, first, by wearing a look of annoyance on his face, then, by the words he spoke.

“I’ve told you many times before not to call me that. We might be engaged, but we’re hardly close enough for you to call me your love. Besides,” he said, once again gazing into my eyes, “I have a feeling that you and I won’t be betrothed for much longer.”

Admittedly I relished in the disappointment on her face, until I realised what his words and her disappointment meant. Although there was no denying that I downright hated the woman standing in front of me, I most certainly did not want to complicate her future marriage especially when it meant fucking up my own very peaceful life in the process. I had a plan for the future, one that Ophelia and I had so carefully constructed together. I wouldn’t have it all amount to nothing because of some extraordinary meeting with a man I once thought of as a myth, now claiming me as his mate.

“Listen… King Nicholas. It was very nice to meet you, but I think my brother and I will be going now.” I said, trying my best to get myself out of the situation. But my efforts proved futile.

“I’m afraid I can’t let you leave Miss-”

“I don’t think you have any business knowing my name. In fact, I’d appreciate it if we could leave this restaurant as we entered it, as nothing but strangers, your Majesty.” I said firmly.

It was then that my brother got up from the floor and rushed to my side, saying, “Her name’s Ariya, your Majesty. I apologise for the scene that we’ve caused but the fault is mine and mine alone. Please don’t punish her.”

Kiyan’s selfless proclamation did nothing but annoy me. This was my mess, and I wanted to fix it myself.

“Like hell! That bitch fucking punched me in the face! She deserves to die!” King Nicholas’ fiancé yelled out before attempting to charge towards me. But he grabbed her arm and pulled her back as if she were nothing but a blade of grass in the soil.

“Stop it now Stacey! And no one is getting punished here so if we could all keep our composure!” he said sternly. It was mostly directed towards Stacey who eventually retreated to his side. Then, he once again turned his attention towards me before coming a little closer.

“Ariya…” he tested on his tongue. “It’s an absolutely beautiful name. However, I’m afraid that you and I cannot leave this place as strangers. You are going to have to come with me.”

I’ll admit, it was a charming moment until he started commanding me to follow him. I snatched my hand from his immediately and then shook my head. “Excuse you? I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, your Majesty, but I don’t know you. I refuse to go anywhere with you! In fact, I’d much rather die.”

He looked taken aback for a moment before saying, “That’s a bold statement, don’t you think? Though, taking into account your previous actions towards my fiancé, I doubt you truly fear death…” then his eyes wandered to my brother, and suddenly, I began to realise that perhaps I’d made a mistake.

“Judging by the way you tried to protect your brother earlier, I assume you love him quite a lot.”

I didn’t answer, instead, I grabbed at my brother’s hand and pulled him behind me, unfortunately only confirming the King’s suspicions.

“If you don’t come along with me then I’ll…” he fell silent for a moment. “I’ll…” again, a moment of silence passed by before his eyes widened and he nodded, “I’ll kill your brother.”

I shared a confused glance with Kiyan who’d escaped my grasp and moved from behind me, to next to me. Then I glanced back at Nicholas and asked the question on both my mind and my brother’s, “Is that a serious threat?”

“Of course it is. Do you think I’m the type of person to make false threats?”

Admittedly I didn’t doubt his ability to end my brother’s life. But I’d been threatened a few times in my lifetime and so I could more or less tell whenever a threat was made half-heartedly. And so, I nodded and folded my arms in front of my chest. “Yes.”

He raised a brow before letting out a sigh and then raising his fingers in the air before snapping them thrice. Immediately, two women entered the restaurant, both identical to one another, with stern, sharp brown eyes, dark skin and short, curly hair styled exactly the same. Even the black suits they wore were exactly identical. They took quick strides and then stopped abruptly, each on either side of King Nicholas.

“These two lethal ladies are Lovita and Floran. Both are more than equipped to have your brother’s head and the rest of his body on either side of the room. If you aren’t convinced, then I could have them demonstrate.”

I stood silent for a moment as I gazed into the eyes of the people standing before me. Although his were insincere, the look in Lovita’s and Floran’s were more than enough to convince me not to argue any further. Kiyan’s life was much too important for me to attempt to defy the King further. So, I let out a sigh before nodding my head and saying, “Fine. I will go with you as long as you leave my brother alone and you at least tell me where you’re taking me.”

Kiyan let out an angered gasp and then shook his head violently, finally letting his polite façade fade away. “No! You’re not taking my sister anywhere!”

But King Nicholas completely ignored him. Instead, he fixed his gaze on me and said, “Very well then. I’ll be taking you back to your master’s home so that you may collect your belongings.”

“My belongings? Why the hell will I need my belongings?” I asked confused.

“Because you’re going to be staying with me.” He said in an almost matter-of-fact tone.

Staying with him? There was no way in hell. However just as I was about to open my mouth and argue with him, he pointed at the two women standing on either side of him. And so, I sighed and nodded. “Fine.”

I then turned towards my brother, who was just about to make another protest, and brought him into a tight hug before saying softly, “I need you to listen to me very carefully. I don’t trust anyone here. So, what you’re going to do the second I let you go, is walk straight out of this restaurant. Did you come with a car?”

“No but-”

I shook my head at him and then dug my hand in my pocket before retrieving a pair of keys from it. “Take the car I used. Drive home and when you get there, lock the door. Then call me and tell me that you’re safe.”

“But-”

“I don’t have time to argue with you Kiyan.” I then sighed deeply. I didn’t want to use the blame card, especially because Kiyan was just trying to do the right thing in the first place. But I had no other choice. “This is all your fault Kiyan. So, you’re going to suck it up and respect my decision. I’m going with King Nicholas, and you’re going to do what I asked. I appreciate you trying to look after me, but it’s just you and I left. I can’t lose you too.”

His eyes, once angry and determined, now softened. “I-I just don’t want you to get hurt… he might say you’re his mate, but you’re still human and he’s lycan.”

I was about to reassure him when King Nicholas spoke instead. “Kiyan, was it? I assure you; I mean no harm. Your sister is my mate and so if I hurt her, I’ll only end up hurting myself. I don’t care about the fact that I’m lycan and she’s human. My only intention is to keep her safe with me so that no harm comes to her.” He said it as though he were doing me some sort of great favour, as though he were the only person in the world capable of keeping me safe. It was funny, especially seeing as he was the one parading around with two ‘bodyguards’.

When I pulled away from Kiyan, I gazed into his eyes, inspecting them carefully. It seemed both King Nicholas and I had silenced him into agreeing. He wrapped his arms around me tightly, one last time, apologised softly and then let go. Then, he spared me one last sad glance before heading for the door, bypassing King Nicholas who was now engaged in a rather heated conversation with his fiancé. They whispered harshly and she flung her arms in the air in frustration, but eventually, she reluctantly sighed and nodded. Then, he turned to me, held out a hand and said, “Ariya, I believe we should get going.”

In that moment I knew that nothing would ever be the same again. The comfort of the life I’d grown to appreciate shattered with every step I took towards King Nicholas, every step towards a future which was now becoming unknown to me.

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