Beta Darius snarled at me. "Flora! Do not waste our patience. We are treating you nicely and what will you give in return?" The disappointment was evident on his face. I did not care if he was disappointed as long as I was enjoying seeing King Elio’s anger. Anger. Disappointment. Sadness. Those were some of the emotions he should only show. Never happiness. He was not allowed. Not wanting to back down, I replied, "The two of you sounded guilty."The beta's hands trembled. "Why are you doing this?"Yeah. Why was I doing this? I wanted to anger the Lycan King. As simple as that. I could not accept he was at peace while my sister was struggling out there. Who knew? She may be beaten by her master or worse, die alone. Scared.My hands shook and hid them away from their sight. I chuckled in the end. "Nothing. I'm only testing you. The two of you don't have to be so serious about it, okay? Geez. You are always serious."I smirked inwardly. Nevertheless...King Elio's proposition was g
In an instant, King Elio was suddenly in front of me and lifted my chin, forcing me to look into his eyes. Not wanting to show him that I was scared, I met his gaze.Shit.I never wanted my skin tingling at his touch as if I was some whore who wanted his bodily contact. I would instead love someone who was not my mate than this bastard.“Feisty. You reminded me of someone.”“I hope it's not your mate, Your Majesty. I want to be remembered for who I am. But not because of someone else.” King Elio’s eyes narrowed. “You are not scared of me?”The distance was good for me. My heart was pounding so fast, and I knew it was because of the bond between us. My wolf was dancing in happiness while I felt sickened. This was my mate? This man could not even keep me safe and protect me. He was still drunk with his past and continued to have a hangover.“Should I be, Your Majesty?” I responded. “Or do you think that I am a fool right now for strolling at this hour?”“Did you know that murders among
I thought King Elio would be furious. But instead, he laughed. His laughter roared and drove away the birds resting on their houses. And with all honesty, he looked like a villain, which made the hairs of my hands crawl. A shiver ran down my spine.“I am a murderer, you say?"“Yes. Without a doubt. I believe you are,” I responded, not leaving my eyes on him. He snorted. “Right. Right. I am a killer, and I slay stubborn women like you. I tortured them until the life from their eyes became lifeless. That makes me the most satisfied of all, woman.”I balled my fist—a confession from a murderer. “You are mad.”King Elio smirked. “Earlier, I was a murderer. Now, I am mad. What else will you describe to me? Fool? Powerful? Mighty? Killer? Yada. Yada. Yada.”Gritting my teeth, I muttered, “You are even proud of it. I feel sorry for the child I will bear and the future he will face on your side.”The Lycan King’s face suddenly turned serious. “Don’t drag my child here. He is innocent."Did
“You are the killer?” I asked. Why was I surprised? Deep inside, I knew it would come to this. King Elio's heart was already gone from him, and humanity was left from him when his fated mate died. “Y-you killed the servant.”I knew it all along. But I needed proof that he was the killer. And here he was. He was walking in front of us.King Elio raised his eyebrows. “Flora. The Lycan King is not the killer!” the beta scolded.I whipped my head in the beta's direction. Shaking my head in disbelief, I inquired, “Until when will you keep defending him even if it is no longer right? He killed that servant! The evidence is right in front of his clothes. There is blood everywhere, and they are fresh blood, Beta Darius. Fresh blood!”King Elio looked at himself. Realization dawned on him. He smirked. “Ah, right. Still believing that I was the killer. Fool.”Fool? He was the stupid one. "I am not! You are!"Beta Darius glared at me.After this, he would then remind me of our agreement to mak
The wine storage room had been located at the farthest part of the palace, where a few people would only go there. I had to walk and run up the grand staircase going to the third floor, meeting the servant's questioning gaze. And by the time I reached the storage room, I was profusely sweating. I had the urge to remove my top but stopped otherwise. It was inappropriate. Fanning myself, I inspected the door right in front of me. Was this the one?The door was heavily decorated with a wine bottle, and the smell coming from the inside was that of alcohol. This must be it. The only ones allowed here were some trusted people and the Lycan King himself.I snickered. Elio was doing the best of his ability to do the job he excelled at—drinking in broad daylight. I knocked on the door and waited for King Elio to open it.“Darius. How many times will I tell you? I am not drinking here. I will do my task later," he growled.Darius?So the beta knew Elio was always in this room drinking
I was about to correct my statement, but after seeing how King Elio lifted his chin and gave me a satisfied look after hearing my apology, I bit my lower lip and stayed silent. There would be no harm, anyway. It would be in my favor since my goal was to make him fall for me, which I knew would be challenging.“Apology, you say?”I gave a short nod. “I was wrong,” I lied. “I mean, it was your people. You bought them. So why would you kill them in the end, right? So no. Saying you were the murderer was something I should never say, especially if it were towards you, Your Majesty.” I made my voice as soft as possible, trying to gain his favor. King Elio smirked and, to his happiness, poured another glass and offered it to me.It would be better if he offered us our pack’s freedom. I just hoped it would not lead to me whoring myself to him.I pushed the glass back to him, not wanting to get drunk. "I am satisfied you know you are at fault. You can't just throw allegations, especially at
I rubbed absently on my arms while looking at King Elio, eyes widening. “Why is it suddenly my fault, Your Majesty? I never do anything wrong!” Well, if it was wrong to disturb him during his drinking session, perhaps that was my mistake. The rest? It was his. King Elio’s nostrils flared. “I should have never bought you.”“Yeah. You should have never brought me. If you did not, maybe I am now serving the kindest master I could ever have. I never wanted to be your servant in the first place!” Beta Darius slapped his forehead as he listened to the Lycan King and my heated exchanges. “Please calm down, Your Majesty,” he said softly.King Elio bared his teeth. “Calm down? Do you understand what you are saying? This woman is mad.”I sucked my cheeks. “You are mad. That is why your people called you Mad King.”Beta Darius's mouth slackened. “What. Did. You. Say?”Before King Elio could attack me, Beta Darius positioned himself between the Lycan King and me, blocking His Majesty. He look
Beta Darius turned his head sideways to avoid staring at me.I smiled inwardly. I wanted to pinch his cheeks. He was too cute right now. The beta stepped backward while crossing his arms across himself as if he was protecting himself from me. Aw.Unfortunately, the beta was only good at protecting himself from the enemies, but when it came to women, he did not know how to react.Ugh. Can I hug him? Cuteness overload! Liking the beta was more fun than the Lycan King himself. He was more worth it. “W-what are you talking about?” the beta asked, his face bet red. “Your Majesty. She is only kidding. She likes you. Not me. She will…” his words trailed, and his cheeks became even redder. "Flora will only scream your n-name."Aw.Without thinking about it, I closed the distance between me and the beta and tiptoed, messing his hair. "I like you more, Beta Darius," I whispered. Beta Darius gasped. I wished I could capture that moment. "Hey. It's not too bad." To his surprise, he p