Chapter 14: The King's Bride

Samantha's POV

Five days had passed since Maddox had left the castle to make his journey through the Seven Packs. The days had become gloomy there in Emberclaw; aside from organizing things for the mating ritual, I spent my days reading boring books and staring at the window, hoping to see the king's caravan returning home. I was missing him so much it hurt, really hard.

That afternoon when Tori brought me hot tea and biscuits, Ysabella came with her. I stood up, hands sweating. I hadn't seen her since that evening when I forced her to stop insisting on Beta Emrich.

Ysa was a sentimental girl and needed a lot of time to process her feelings. I know I owed her an apology, but I also knew she needed her time to deal with the fact that she and her beloved wouldn't work out.

And now seeing her here, it seemed she was ready to talk about that matter. “Ysa, I'm really sorry about what happened,” I said, my voice low.

She smiled slightly, but with a lot of emotion. “I know you’re not to blame, lady. And I’m sorry to put this heavy burden on your shoulders.”

“Oh, dear…” I went to hug her, my eyes wet. She was hugging me too, Tori smiling warmly at that sight.

She, more than anyone, wanted Ysa and me to resolve things quickly. “That’s awesome! now we can play chess together again.”

Ysa and I smiled and pulled Tori for a group hug. I was genuinely happy to have met them both; I could see from afar that my life here in this place would be much calmer, not only because of my love for Maddox, but also because of this friendship with these two beautiful girls.

But my happiness was short-lived.

A guard came to tell me that someone had come to see me and was waiting for me in the throne room. As King Maddox's bride and acknowledged mate, I received many visits from the pack wanting to meet me, elders trying to advise me about being a queen, or even generals' wives already trying to get close to me, hoping it would give them advantages in the County. So now, the guard coming to call me, saying someone was waiting for me in the throne room, wasn't unexpected.

My girls and I went there. I wore a creamy dress, its long train rustling on the polished floor as I walked through the castle corridors.

A small group of women awaited me, and the one who stood out most was in front, wearing an elegant dark blue dress, her neatly styled black curly hair falling over her shoulders in an intricate bun at the nape of her neck. She was pretty, but her cold blue eyes reminded me of Carmen; the way she looked at me showed contempt and envy, even though I was her sister.

I swallowed hard, knowing that this was not a friendly visit like the others I had received so far.

“So you’re Alpha Maddox’s bride? A wolfless” she asked, and there was a mocking tone when she said bride.

I approached, not really getting close. “Who would I be talking to?”

The woman gave a mocking laugh, those accompanying her looking at me as if I were a fool. “So it seems Maddox didn’t tell you about me,” she teased. “I’m Odette, Maddox’s first mate.”

I backed off. Maddox’s first mate? But he said he didn’t have anyone. I looked at Tori and Ysabella. Did they know anything about this? But from their expressions, they were as lost as I was.

“Maddox’s first mate? Impossible. He would tell me,” I dismissed her words; it made no sense.

But Odette still had her chest puffed out. “Since he tells you everything, then he must have told you how he hurt me so badly that I was in a coma for years.”

“What…?” Maddox left her in a coma? For years.

“It was during his first fits of rage, three years ago. He and I loved each other, I went to perform the mating ritual with him and became queen of this place. But he lost control and assaulted me so badly that I went into a coma and just collapsed now.

I came back to return to my rightful place, but then there you are, playing the naive bride.” She looked me up and down with a disgusted look. “Tell me, what do you intend to do with this?”

For a moment I was speechless, trying to understand why Maddox hadn’t told me about her, but I quickly raised my head. “However, the Goddess chose me as his Mate and he chose me as his bride,” I said, not intimidated by the defiant look she gave me.

“How dare you—” she hissed, but I didn’t let her finish.

“I’m sorry for what you went through, but you and I have no issues to resolve.” Having nothing more to say to her, I turned to leave.

But she stopped me. “Since you are the lady of the castle now, have rooms prepared for me,” she said, her voice sharp. “I’ll be here until Maddox returns, then we'll see who's usurping whose place here.”

I looked at her without lowering myself. “Welcome to Emberclaw then.” Then I turned and left with my girls, one on each side of me.

“By the Moon Goddess, who is that woman?” Ysabella asked in shock as we climbed the stairs. “She literally appeared out of nowhere.”

“Could her story be true? This sounds very much like a setup. Those bitches are desperate to destabilize you, lady,” Tori said, sounding like she was about to kill someone.

"Let's just not give them a platform. Maddox will come and get to the bottom of this," I said. And as a cue, we heard the bell ringing, announcing the king’s return to the castle.