Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Klaus

Lisa pushed back against me anytime I attempted to get closer. I could smell her fear, yet her determination to keep me away prevailed over her fear of me. She wasn't as weak as I had made her out to be, and a part of me was proud of her. I had watched her confrontation with Maeve from the window and had sent Rudolph to fetch her. I expected her to sit still and take Maeve's bullying, but she had actually fought back, and for that brief moment I felt proud of my mate for the first time.

"I won't let you do what you want with me! Even if you go on with this, I'll keep killing your babies until the day I die!" She yelled out in a shaky tone, and only then did I pull away from the unrequited embrace.

I glared at her with rage in my eyes. Did she just threaten to kill my children? Maybe I had heard wrongly, surely she hadn't developed the guts to threaten the Alpha.

"What did you just say?" I questioned in a calm, yet serious tone. I wanted to make sure I had heard her correctly, jumping to conclusions without firm affirmation was not in my character.

Lisa turned her head away from my gaze and slowly put an arm distance between us. Her eyes failed to meet mine, and when she spoke, I could barely hear a thing.

"I said I won't carry your child if you force yourself on me." She muttered, and in that very moment I felt myself temporarily lose control. My rage was steadily climbing towards its apex, but somehow I managed to restrain myself from going out of control. I couldn't kill my mate, especially not on our mating night. It was hard to ignore what she had just said, and no matter how hard I tried to pass it off as an empty threat, the look on her face made it evidently clear that she wasn't joking.

"I could kill you for saying that!" I yelled at her, but instead of trembling in fear, a cynical smile spread across Lisa's face. She was happy to hear me threaten to kill her, and she couldn't care less about my rage. I could tell she was enjoying herself, and it was all because she had found out about Icarus. All of a sudden she had gained a sense of importance in my life, and she was beginning to misuse it.

"You think I care if I die? I've lived my life suffering in the streets, and now I'm being held hostage and getting treated like a toy. I'd rather be dead than turn to your pleasure puppet. I won't let you do what you like!" Lisa returned boldly, the look in her eyes one of determination and contempt. At that moment, she had lost all fear of me and was ready to die just to get away from this relationship.

My fist tightened in frustration and rage, but I didn't act on those emotions. There wasn't really anything I could do to her, she had won for now, and all I could do was stare at her in shock and disbelief. She had grit, few people had stood up to me like she'd done, and neither of them had lived to see the light of dawn. However in this case, I was helpless against her threats. I could strike her, torture her, but that wouldn't change the end result. She wouldn't carry my child unless she wanted to, and without her, my claim to the throne was basically hanging on a thread.

The elders wouldn't accept a baby that didn't come from my mate, if that hadn't been the case, Maeve would have sufficed. However, thanks to ridiculous laws, I was now at the mercy of a commoner.

"You should get some sleep, we had a long night." I said dismissively. This conversation was done for now, we would definitely bring it up someday, but for now it was best to let it go. I didn't want to lose my temper anymore than I had already done, and if we continued with this conversation, I was certain Lisa would push me beyond my tolerance limits.

Picking up my shirt from the bed, I walked out of the room and left her to be alone. After taking a quick stroll around the castle, I finally retired to the comfort of the couch in the study room.

"Can't sleep?" Damon's voice frightened me, and I immediately arose to find the man settled by the corner, a book and a cup of coffee strapped to his hand. He didn't need a lamp to read, with our wolf vision, seeing in the dark was just the same as seeing the daytime.

"Stressed." I answered before sitting upright on the couch. "What are you still doing here? Haven't you read enough for the day?" I inquired out of mere curiosity.

"I'm your Beta, gathering knowledge for the sake of the kingdom is part of my work." Damon replied before finally shutting the book in his grip. He lowered the cup of coffee to the floor, and arched a brow as he glared at me. "How is Lisa? Were you successful?"

"Let's not talk about her for now." I suggested, but Damon was relentless.

"I think it's best to talk about her now. She's the key to keeping the crown, if you don't produce an heir soon, Icarus is going to steal everything from you." Damon reminded me as though I wasn't already aware of that fact.

Annoyed and frustrated, I finally decided to engage the topic. "She wouldn't let me touch her, and even if I'd managed to get her in bed, she swore to rid herself of any pregnancy she might get." I revealed and all Damon could do was laugh. I raised a brow in confusion as I desperately tried to figure out what was funny about the situation. Reading the hint off my eyes, Damon finally controlled himself.

"Forgive me, but I couldn't help but marvel at how tenacious she is. She's nothing like you thought she was." He remarked, and even though it was painful to accept, it was the truth. Lisa Thornberry was not the weak woman I made her out to be.

"You're my Beta right, what do you suggest I do?" I asked. Damon was probably the smartest person I know, but his response had me questioning if he was really my friend.

"I don't know, make her feel like she matters, love her. Lisa Thornberry won't submit to you if you keep treating her like a tool." Damon has answered with a shrug.

Jokingly, I let out a scoff and tried to laugh Damon's suggestion off, but the look on his face made me reconsider my actions.

"You're not actually being serious, are you? Love her? We're from different dimensions, I don't think that's possible—"

"Then make it possible, either way you don't really have a choice. You either find a way to make her trust you, or you can enslave the kingdom by losing the crown to Icarus. Besides, Lisa is your mate, you two can't spend eternity hating each other." Damon said, and only then did I really come to terms with his decision. Just thinking about it was already giving me a headache, but for my sake and that of my people, I had no choice but to love and earn the love of Lisa Thornberry.