CLAIMED BY THE ALPHA PRINCE

4: We Must Pretend to be Mates

AMERIE

I hate that I knew he was right. I hate the dread that pooled in my stomach at his words, the sweat that gathered in my armpits, and how my hand trembled so much that I had to hug myself.

“You're lying,” I whispered like a broken child.

“You know I'm not, Amerie. You've sat in history classes. You've studied history. You know how much of a blood scene royal politics is. You know that as long as that mark remains on your neck, the only place where you can actually survive is standing beside me.”

I chuckled in bitterness as tears pooled in my eyes. I tried to calm my erratic heartbeats, but none of my techniques was working. Instead, what I felt was blood pounding in my chest, heart racing wildly while my whole body trembled. He was right, and I hated the situation I was in. I fought for this scholarship with a solid plan that'd ensure I live a life of dreams, one that'd blur away the starvation and pain I knew as a child. I wanted to be great, to be a self-made woman, and nothing in my plan included me being in this situation at all. I glared at Axel, who just looked resigned as if he had accepted the situation and was going to make the best use of it.

“So, you orchestrated everything, right?”

He had the audacity to veer back in shock.

“Come on, Amerie, does that sound plausible to you?”

“Of course, it does. You planned the attack, made sure I got hit instead of you so you'd have no option but to mark me under the guise of saving me.”

He only looked more disturbed as I spoke.

“And why the hell would I do that?”

“No, you tell me. Maybe you wanted to put my life in danger in an elaborate way. Maybe you wanted me to become completely dependent on you so you could exert your alpha powers and make my life a living hell. That's what your kind do, isn't it? Gamble with human lives and treat us like shit.”

“I'm not that vile. And I can't risk my future by marking you to make your life a living hell at the expense of claiming my throne.”

“Ohh please, who had his minions kidnap me and lock me up in some dark storage room because he was scared I'd win over him during a debate competition.”

He winced, “We're talking about something more important here, Amerie. We're talking about how you can only survive if you allow me to protect you.”

“Shove your protection up your ass, Wolfe,” I felt a sudden surge of anger and determination as I turned towards the door again, “I'd rather risk my life than do this with you.”

I grabbed the doorknob, and before I could turn it, he grabbed me, whirled me around, and pushed me against the wall. My skin burned from where his hand held my shoulder, and I ignored the tingling feeling as he ran his free hand through his hair.

“Listen to me, Amerie,” his voice was serious and so were his blue eyes, “this is serious. This is the most serious thing in Wolfspire right now, and I know that you know it, so please stop being so difficult and listen to me.”

“I'm going to listen to you if you promise to undo the mark.”

“That's not possible,” he replied gravely, “and now you're going to be a good girl and listen to me.”

My body calmed down out of my volition. I hated it, but it seemed to please him, as he nodded in approval.

“Good. I have the strongest claim to the throne, and once I have a mate, the competition is more or less over, since that puts me at least 80% ahead of other alpha heirs. I haven't found my mate till now, and my wolf has refused to mark any of my chosen mates until you.”

“So you believe that I'm special or what?”

“No,” his reply was too prompt, “I believe this is a mistake or some kind of glitch, but whatever it is, I need to capitalize on it and secure my position as the king. So I'm going to…” he sighed. I could have sworn that his eyes dropped to my lips for a nanosecond before he looked up again.

“I'm going to have to lie to the council that you're my mate and tell them that the marking wasn't a mistake. It was an instinctive move from my wolf.”

I maintained a neutral look as I waited for him to laugh and say that all of this, especially the last bit, was just a part of a big and elaborate prank, but instead, he kept on talking.

“I'm going to tell them that I tried rejecting you earlier because, of course, I didn't want a human mate, but rejection wasn't working. This is plausible and aligns with how my wolf has been rejecting all the mates they chose for me. That means we'll have to pretend to be mates, and I get to become the alpha king in a couple of months while I protect you from those who might harm you because they don't want me to become king.”

“Ohh, I'm signing my life away, and the only thing I get in return is protection from the danger you put me in in the first place.”

“Amerie…”

“Please,” I shrugged his hand off, and a mild look of surprise crossed his eyes at the fact that I had enough strength to push him off, “I'm signing my life away, putting my dreams on hold to fake being your mate, and that's what I get in return?”

“What you get in return is a certainty that you'll remain alive. Isn't that enough?”

“Not at all! Listen to yourself. You put me in this danger, you're protecting me from it, and you think you're helping me. Every single thing here is aiding your ambition, and I'm just nothing but a pawn in your pack politics.”

“Okay! What do you want? Money? Gold? A royal appointment when you're done with school? Just name it, and I'll do anything. We'd sign it with a werewolf contract. That's all bidding and can't be broken.”

“I don't want your influence in getting a good job. I'm brilliant enough to do that with just my skills alone.”

“Don't be delusional, Amerie. You're human. You could be the most brilliant person in the room, and the system will still pick the least qualified wolf over you.”

I smiled sadly at the truthfulness of his statement, “It's a good thing you're pointing out how much your kind step over humans.”

“Blame the system.”

“You. Are. The. System.”

“Listen, Amerie,” he grabbed a handful of his hair and squeezed, “this is urgent. You could demand a better world for humans in Wolfspire. As Luna Queen or Luna Princess, you could influence the system to treat humans as equal to wolves.”

I scoffed, “And you expect me to believe that you'll allow me to do that? Nobody hates humans more than you do.”

He stepped closer to me, “Maybe you're right, but right now, I'm desperate, and if that's the one thing that'll make you accept my offer, then I'm willing to do it. If you don't believe me, we'll sign the contract using the werewolf pact. That means it can't be broken. That means I could die if I don't keep my end of the bargain.”

I stared at him, shocked at the length he was willing to go. I studied him carefully, expecting to see a crack in his demeanor, but all I could see was vulnerability and desperation in his eyes. He needed me to say yes.

And getting that in return? The opportunity to build a fair world for people like me was more than enough. It was worth pretending to be his mate for.

“Okay, let's do it, but we're signing it with the werewolf pact,” I muttered, and his eyes closed briefly in relief.

“Definitely.”

“So what now?”

He looked at me carefully and his eyes lingered on my lips a bit too long that I instinctively bit down on my lower lip. His jaw tightened, and he forced his eyes back to mine.

“According to the pack laws, you’ll have to move in with me.”