04

SANDY: 

I was suddenly in front of the BEAST KING. 

I had not even grieved for what happened between me and Alpha Oswald. Now, I was paired again to the Lycan King whom I didn't even know. 

Why did it have to be me? Why did my family willingly sell me out? What could they get from this? 

“Your Highness,” Mom greeted and at the same time bowed. 

“Your Majesty,” Dad declared. “As what we promised twenty years ago, we will take care of the child you wanted.”

A Lycan King for a mate?

Does this mean I'm going to be his queen in this godforsaken place? The castle looked like it was abandoned. It looked lifeless. My simple room back in the pack house was better than this. 

The Lycan King spared me a glance and his eyes were back to my parents. Was I the only one who knew we were mates or not?

Fine. If he did not want to acknowledge our bond, I did not care. Finding my second chance mate was not my goal but to heal the wound Alpha Oswald had inflicted. I wished that bastard would rot in hell after what he did.

"It took you a long time to come here," he said, commanding full authority. "Did I not tell you that she would come here when she reached legal age?"

The legal age for us werewolves were eighteen years old. I remembered one time when my parents kept on urging me to come with them when they visited the castle. During that time, I was already in a relationship with Alpha Oswald and used him as an excuse that I could not join them. 

My parents did not force me anymore. The next year, they told me to come again, but I did not use the same excuse and in the third year, here I was. If not for breaking up and rejecting Alpha Oswald, I will not come here willingly. 

My parents bowed even more while I remained standing. 

I refused to bow down to anyone even if he was the Lycan King, himself. 

“Your disobedience should be punished,” he declared. 

A shiver ran down my spine, but my stubbornness continued to prevail. 

My parents grovelled. 

My eyes widened.

They were not like this.

“Please forgive us, Your Highness! It will not happen again. There is no excuse for the failure that we did, but it will not happen again,” Dad said. 

The Lycan King glanced at me. “And you?” he asked me. "Will you not beg for your life?"

He stared at my neck, as if he was looking for something. A mark? He will find none. I made sure that Alpha Oswald would not be able to mark me even if he begged me a couple of times. 

"I believe I did not come here to die in your hands, Your Majesty. If you wanted me dead, my parents should have brought me a corpse to come here."

Mom gasped beside me and tugged my hands, forcing me to grovel like them. 

‘What the fuck are you doing, Sandra?!' dad exclaimed,   using our mind link. 'How could you answer His Highness like that? Are you out of your mind?'

Maybe I was out of my mind after what happened yesterday. My mate cheated on me for two years and I did not know about that. And then there was me stupid enough to give myself. But no one knew about that except me and the alpha. 

'I hated someone who took advantage of your situation twenty years ago,' I responded.

'Foolish child!' he chastised. 

"Your tongue is sharp," the Lycan King expressed. He went down and sauntered towards me. His heel kissed the cold floor bringing back shivers down on my spine.

I continued not to move.

“Who are you?” he asked. 

It was only a simple question, yet my parents were already shivering. They did not want to die, but they did not care what happened to their daughter if they gave her to the Beast King. 

I pitied them. Pitied that they were subjected to someone like him. That we always had to bow to authorities. Especially the Lycan King. 

‘You should pity yourself more for this kind of stubbornness. What makes you think he will spare us if you keep on acting like this, huh?’ Rina muttered. ‘Bow down to His Highness. Submit! He will kill us! I don’t want to die!’  Mom’s voice was full of horror. 

‘No! I am already done with men trying to control me. I will not bow down to anyone.’

“Speak, woman,” he declared as he stood in front of me. His eyes told me that he would never forgive me if I continued to act like a bitch. “Don’t make me say it again,” he growled.

‘Do you want the three of us to be killed?’ Dad exclaimed inside my head.

‘For Pete’s sake, speak, Sandra!’ Mom cried, fear evident in her voice.

My eyes stared back at the Lycan King.

Could he hear the fast beating of my heart or not?

“It’s…It’s Sandra Austin, Your Highness.”

“So you have a tongue. Next time, do not make me repeat myself again. A lowly woman like you doesn't have the right to do that.”

I had no right even if he was my second chance mate? 

I bit the inside of my cheeks to stop myself from responding. I was scared that the boomerang effect would be towards my parents.

Yes. Keep your mouth shut, Sandy. You don’t know what kind of man he is. You never know anything about him except that he was the alpha king.

“You may return to your pack. I will send an invitation when we arrange our wedding. Rise.”

A wedding, without me asking if I was fine with it. 

But who cares? You no longer cared about it, right? One of the reasons why you agreed to coming here was to forget about what happened. To forget about Alpha Oswald’s betrayal to you.

Marrying the Lycan King seemed to be no problem.

My parents automatically rise. “Thank you for forgiving us, Your Highness. We will never forget this kindness that you had showered on us.”

What kindness were they referring to? 

‘Keep your mouth shut, Sandy. You don’t want anything to happen to your parent’s right?’ Rina muttered.

Before leaving me alone to the monster, Mom said, “Behave here, Sandy. Whatever your future husband says, you have to follow him.” In short, Mom wanted me to submit to the Lycan King. A complete submission? I was already tired of dealing with men who will only hurt you in the end. I was certain the Lycan King had no difference when it comes to Alpha Oswald. He was also an asshole like my ex-mate. He will also after my body and when he is done, he will toss me around. “You will be the future queen of this castle. You make us proud.” Tears swelled in her eyes. “His Highness will take care of you from now on.” Will he? Or will he kill me right after I did not follow him?

Dad wrapped his arms around Mom’s shoulders.

I was not touched because of Mom’s words. But I was touched by the affection and love they had shown towards each other.

“Don’t do anything stupid, Sandy. We will know if you did something which will make us unhappy.”

In short, they will know if I attempted to get out of this place.

I gave Dad a curt nod, knowing that arguing was not the wisest thing to do right now.

“Let’s go, darling,” he said. “Remember what I told you, Sandy. Behave.”

Why did he keep on saying that I behaved? Treating me like a child was not helping at all.

“Your Highness, we will get going now,” they excused while Dad was glaring at me.

He did not want me to embarrass our family. 

“Escort them,” the Lycan King ordered.

The two guards beside him left his side and assisted my parents. “Your generosity does not bound, Your Highness,” Mom  commented and we were the only ones left alone.

I could feel his eyes boring in my face.

When I looked up, I was not mistaken  when I said that he  was openly staring at me.

“What is it, Your Highness? Do you regret taking me as your wife now?”