But I didn't back down. Instead, I glared at him, feeling a sense of satisfaction in seeing his calm facade break. "I'm tired of you threatening me, Noah. I won't stand for it anymore. I may have been forced to marry you, but that doesn't give you the right to treat me like this." Noah stood up, his eyes blazing with anger. I could feel the tension in the air, like a storm waiting to break. "You have no idea what you're getting yourself into, Bailey. You have no idea what kind of power I hold." Noah's expression twisted with anger. "What do you think you're doing, Bailey? You can't just barge in here and make demands. You're nothing but a pawn in this game, and you'd do well to remember that." His words stung, but I refused to back down. "I won't be treated like this, Noah. I'm your mate, not your servant. I demand to be treated with respect." Noah snorted, his eyes flashing with contempt. "Respect? You don't deserve respect. You're lucky to even be here. If it were up to me, I
I couldn't stop thinking about her. Her fiery spirit, her stubbornness. I had always prided myself on being in control, on being the one to call the shots. But Bailey had thrown me off balance, and I didn't know how to regain my footing. As I sat at my desk, trying to focus on the task at hand, all I could see was her face, her eyes filled with anger and defiance. And yet, there was something else there, something that made my heart skip a beat. I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. This was not the time to be distracted. I had a kingdom to run, and I couldn't let my feelings for one woman cloud my judgment. But even as I tried to push her out of my mind, I couldn't deny the attraction I felt for her. Her curves, her scent, the way she moved - it all drew me in, like a moth to a flame. It was a dangerous game I was playing, one that could cost me everything. But as I sat there, lost in thought, I couldn't help but wonder - was it worth it? I knew the answer, deep down. N
FLAHBACK (Before The Ceremony) The low hum of the fan swirling around filled the room. The bright bulb from up the ceiling hurt my eyes but I was too tired to switch it off. Tired? I didn't think that was the word. All I knew was I didn't like the way I was feeling and this bright light wasn't helping matters. Tapping around my bed lighly, my hand found a rubber ball. Lisa's ball. Channeling some part of my frustration to the ball, I threw it and it bounced right on the socket, shredding the room into total darkness. I guess playing catch with Lisa had it's advantages. "Who is it?" I groaned. That knock on my door was the last thing I needed right now. " Just go away." "Bailey, it's me." Nita's soft voice came from the other side. " Please open up." "I'm sleeping." I pressed my face on a pillow, muffling my voice in the process. "Just go away." The door creaking open let me know Nita in fact did not take my advise. Before I could yell Jack Robinson the lights came back on and
The walk to the dining room was awkward as hell. Awkward because every single maid Gustav and I came across made it their sole duty of riling me up by making sure their foreheads touched every inch of the shiny ground. Gustav on the other hand wasn't helping matters. He was walking too close to me for comfort, and he was constantly breathing down my neck.Relax Gustav, it's not like I could disappear into thin air. Right now, I actually wished wereolves could do that. We passed a giant glass stained window and I caught a whiff of my reflection. I was in the dress Noah had handpicked for me. It was a blue kimono like gown with a distinct flowery pattern. It's neckline was very flattering, leaving a lot to the human eye and none to ones imagination. It seemed our Alpha had a thing for dresses. Either that or he knew I hated dresses and this was one of his many ways to punish me. If I could I wouldn't wear it, but seeing it was either this or my underwear, I decided to please Noah this
The room was quiet, several eyes on me. Ranging from big ones to small ones and different colored irises, we had them all in here. If looks could kill, I'd have not only been dead by now, but also decapitated and cremated too.A total of five elders were with me in the room, alongside Eric who'd just been scowling since we got here. We were in a different room, different from the palace and every other room in it. Instead of bright paint, a dull gloomy gray color was splattered everywhere. The walls were high up and arched upwards into some kind of dome. There were no windows, and it made me wonder how the hell we all hadn't passed out by now. There were also six doors linkes to each other with some strange line running along the walls. I didn't know much, but something told me they weren't normal.In the midst of all this, was a huge and round wooden table. There were seven seats but just six were occupied. The Five elders in their respective seats, Eric on his and an empty chair for
Everyone's heads whipped to the direction the voice came from. As far as I knew, Noah hated interruptions but this one, this one he accepted with open arms and even a smile too.I had no idea who had walked in because my back was turned to the door, but when I did take a peek, I was shocked. The voice that interrupted us was calm like the tides gently washing up against the shore on a sunny beach day. But the face I saw was definitely a case of before in before meets after scenes.The old lady walked towards us, a slight leap in her stride. Her cane kissed the tiled ground so loudly, the sound bounced around the walls. Her hair was a sparkling silver and it looked like it would catch the light if she were outside. In no time, she was in front of me, eyes trained at Noah."My king." She gave a curt nod. She beamed and I noticed half of her dentition were gone. " It's so good to see you again.""The pleasure is mine." Noah replied, all cheerily. " What brings you here today? At this hou
After the bizarre incident everyone trickled out, myself included leaving Noah to his thoughts. As I stepped through the unfamiliar walls of wherever I was, my mind drifted back to Noah. I wasn't his biggest fan or his fan at all, but I could tell he was distraught. If it was from the Elders not fully in support of him, or Diana's revelation or even Eric's outburst, I didn't know which would be troubling him the more. Whichever it was, he needed time to soak it all in and that was what I was giving him.Like I'd said, the hallway of this building was strange and nothing compared to the palace. As much as I hated it, I was kind of getting used to that place.Kind of.I continued my walk with nowhere in particular. Until someone else stepped in front of me. Almost like he'd been waiting for me to get here. We stared each other down for a while before I broke the silence."What are you doing here?" He wasn't in the pathetic state that he was. He seemed to have recovered and his arm was b
The wind billowed in, sending in a few leaves inside my room. My bed was unkempt with torn pieces of silk fabric in every nook, cranny and corner you could think of. A pair of scissors lay haphazardly on my bed and I smiled. Intuitively, my gaze flicked to what I was wearing and I felt my heart swell with pride.I was in a pair of black pants a little lose at the end and a slightly jumbo sized top to complete the look. On my neck, the hook of a cloak I'd made clamped shut, securing the piece of material firmly.After my not so friendly run in with Eric this afternoon, I gave all he'd said a thought and unfortunately, there was a grain of truth in all the nonsense he'd been spitting.I hadn't seen Nita since that night and I hadn't made any attempt whatsoever to reach her. I literally had no excuse because I had all the resources in the world. I was a queen now, I still hated the way it sounded, but I didn't make use of it. Not anymore.I peered out the window one more time, mentally