Rejected At The Altar, Claimed By The Lycan King

10

Zara's POV

Two days.

Two days since the court meeting and since I'd seen Thorne.

It almost felt like he was avoiding me.

Which was ridiculous right? He was the Lycan King. He had a kingdom to run, wars to plan and alliance to manage but since I'd arrived at the palace, he'd found time to see me every single day.

Now? Nothing.

No visits.

No messages.

No sign of him at all.

I told myself I didn't care I told myself it was fine. I didn't need him hovering over me like some overprotective guard dog.

But who was I kidding? Of course there was more to it.

Maybe he realized that I am worthless and could never be powerful queen they all talk about.

I shook my head.

Stop it.

Stop being pathetic.

You don't need him but the thought didn't make me feel any better.

I wandered the palace aimlessly, trying to distract myself. Helena had offered to give me a tour but I'd declined.

I needed space

The palace was enormous with corridors upon corridors, rooms I'd never seen and gardens I'd never explored.

I walked without direction letting my feet carry me wherever they wanted.

That's when I heard the voices.

I stopped.

"...can't believe he actually brought her to court."

It was a woman's voice that sounded familiar.

I crept closer staying in the shadows.

"She's nothing special," another voice said. "Just some pathetic omega he found in the forest."

Lady Elara.

My blood went cold.

I pressed myself against the wall barely breathing.

"She can't even shift," Elara continued. "She has no training, no connections, no experience. She's completely useless."

"And yet His Majesty chose her."

"Of course he did." Elara's voice was sharp. Mocking. "He doesn't want her. He wants her bloodline."

I felt my heart stop.

"What do you mean?"

Elara laughed, a cold, bitter sound. "Once she gives him an heir with that bloodline he'll discard her. She's just a vessel."

A vessel.

I felt sick.

"You really think he'd do that?"

"I know he would. He did it before."

"Before?"

"Queen Athena. She was powerful, yes but she was also a pawn. Thorne married her for the same reason her bloodline and when she served her purpose she conveniently died." Elara paused. "Or so the story goes."

My vision blurred.

"You're saying he killed her?"

"I'm saying the timing was very convenient. Athena dies. The bloodline nearly ends and now, centuries later, another woman with the same blood appears?" Elara's voice dripped with mockery. "Don't be naive Thorne doesn't love anyone he’s incapable."

I pressed a hand to my mouth.

"But... she's supposed to be Athena's reincarnation isn't she? That's what the prophecy says."

Elara laughed. "Reincarnation? Please. That's just a story Thorne made up to justify his obsession."

"An obsession?"

"Of course. He's been searching for three hundred years. Three hundred years of chasing a ghost." Elara's voice was filled with contempt. "And now he's found some pathetic omega with the right bloodline and he's convinced himself she's Athena reborn."

"So she's not Athena?"

"Absolutely not. She's just a girl with powerful blood and a convenient birthmark. Thorne wants to believe she's Athena because it makes his obsession seem noble but she's not. She'll never be Athena."

I felt like I'd been stabbed.

"She's a replacement," another noblewoman said. "A copy or rather a poor imitation."

"Exactly." Elara sighed dramatically. "He'll keep her around until he realizes she can never live up to the original and then he'll find someone else."

"But she'll still give him an heir first."

"Of course. That's all she's good for a broodmare with royal blood."

A broodmare.

My hands were shaking.

Elara laughed again. "Thorne doesn’t realize I’m the only one that could give him what he wants but I’ll make him understand that with time. And Zara? he'll realize she's not Athena and then she'll be out on the street just like the rest of them."

I stumbled back my hand covering my mouth.

The others.

There were others.

Women Thorne had brought here.

Women he'd convinced they were special.

Women he'd discarded when they couldn't give him what he wanted and I was just the next one in line.

"You really think he'd do that?"

"I know he would. He's done it before and he’ll do it again. Thorne doesn't love anyone. He loves the idea of Athena. He loves what she represented but the actual women? They're just placeholders."

"So what happens to them?"

"Eventually? They're forgotten, casted aside and they go back to their lives and pretend they never met him."

"How awful."

"It's the way of powerful men. They use what they need and move on. Thorne is no different."