Romans & histoires From Substitute To Queen

"A contract? You’re selling me off? Why not Laurence? He’s the 'golden son' you’re always bragging about." My father finally looked up, his gaze icy. "This marriage was originally meant for Laurence. But Laurence is stuck in London. The Montefalcos won't wait. So, you are going to be his substitute. You will marry the girl and play the part for one year until your brother is ready to take over." My jaw tightened. A substitute? I was being used as a placeholder for my own brother. The insult stung more than the marriage itself. "And who is the lucky girl?" I asked, my voice dripping with venom. "Is it Aria? That mousy girl who followed me around like a lost puppy in freshman year?"

But as they touched me, as they smiled, all I could see was Eleanor’s cold, ledger-soul eyes watching me from across the room. She wasn’t welcoming me home, she was measuring the damage. And I had just been crowned queen in her stolen kingdom.

She connected our hands again. "Athena, repeat after me. I Athena Bloodstone, accept my title and role as your QQueen," She instructed. "I, Athena Bloodstone, accept my title and role as your Queen," I said, the energy growing around us. She turned to Erik. "Repeat after me, I Erik Bloodstone, accept my title and role as your King." She instructed. He nodded and repeated after her.

Her dark hair was braided like the rest of the maid, but her face was already rumpled with crease of hardship. The Queen looked at the new worker from head to toe. She then spoke, “Oh, the replacement. I see. What is your name?” “Catherine Slywood, my Queen, people often call me Kate,” the woman replied respectfully. ‘Aren’t you too old for that name?’ Zita wanted to say, but held her lips. The Queen nodded, “Okay, Kate, Margret will show you around and how we do things here. I will get back to you as soon as I can..”

Instead, I redirected my steps towards the queen. As I entered the grand room, the queen turned her attention towards her, a warm smile gracing her regal features. Approaching me, she gently cupped her face, a gesture filled with affection and pride. "My dear, tomorrow marks the day of your mating ceremony with Axel," the queen announced, her voice carrying a mix of excitement and tenderness. "After that, you will officially become my daughter, and our kingdom will rejoice in your union."

But I am the queen of the fracture. And queens do not kneel.

I brought a hand to my stomach and sighed, "what title does Quade hold? I mean, have you seen his mark?" My father nodded curtly, shifting his attention to Quade, "A King title is higher than a Queen's. It's only the natural order of things. As a she-wolf, you already hold the Luna of Luna's title and because of your wolf, you hold the Alpha of Alpha's title as well. With you holding both titles, Quade has none. Hence his mark. However, as your mate, he can attend meetings. We cannot call him a King, not when in actuality you have a higher ranking than him."

The Queen asked, unusually, with a soft voice. "But a prophecy always fulfills itself," Allura said, "No matter what." "That's why I'm doing all these." The Queen said with a deep frown, "I'm replacing the King with a Queen. The Kingdom, will be in the hands of witches from now on."

Against all odds. But holding is not the same as winning. And eventually, they could not hold anymore. I turned the page. And found a portrait. Just a sketch, really. Pen and ink. Faded with age. A woman. She was not young in the portrait, but she was not old either. She was somewhere in between, in that particular place where a person stops looking like what they were and starts looking like what they are. Her hair was loose. Her expression was not afraid. Mira. Last Queen of the Witch Covens. Keeper of the High Flame. Killed in the forty-third year of the Crimson War by Aldric the Elder, great-great-grandfather of the current Alpha King.

But there were so many things to consider so, as much as I wanted to give in, I stepped back a let the cold draft snap me back to reality. Disappointment flickered in his gaze before burning out like the last remaining embers of a flame. I wanted to apologize but that seemed like a foolish thing to do. "When you're Queen," he began in a voice so firm, it sounded as if he believed every word that left his blush pink lips, "you'll rule fairly. You'll protect your people. You've already proven what lengths you can go to to make sure your people live the lives they deserve." "That is if they accept me as Queen," I muttered under my breath.