THE ALPHA KING I MARRIED AGAINST MY WISH

It felt like a dream to me, the randomness of the events that took place were too much for me to comprehend. I woke up that morning, very cheerful as usual. I had planned to spend my whole day playing in the fields and singing with the bird in the woods. All those plans were halted as I found myself being dressed up by the maids in my room. I was getting married? To who exactly? How did this even happen? My father was ruler of the humans. As a princess I always had dreams of my marriage being grand, dreams of my prince charming coming to take me. Sadly my dreams had been crushed to dust, I was getting married and I didn’t even know who my husband was. It was only at the ceremony that I was informed about the reason for my sudden marriage. Apparently, the father who was the king of humans, had finally decided to make peace with the werewolves. They agreed to peace and tried to come up with a way of coexistence between our races. The war went on for as long as two hundred years. In that time period, both races were facing danger of population deterioration. My father told me I was going to be the peace offering. I had to marry the Alpha king and birth babies as a sign of the peace between our people. I couldn’t be selfish and decline but still, the Alpha wasn’t the kind of man I wanted to marry, I didn’t love him. Without any dispute, I walked down the aisle with my father’s arm around mine. In front of me was a middle aged man, he looked like he was passed his youth. Some strands of gray hair, a scar on his face accompanied by wrinkles on his fore head. My husband to be was older than my father. My heart was broken and I tried my hardest to hold back my tears while walking down the Isle. The Alpha king wore a warm smile on his face, maybe I was just being judgmental without giving him a chance but I had everything right to feel sad because I knew, I knew this was the last day I’d have freedom to roam the fields or play with the birds in the woods. My people cheered me on, they were overjoyed. The child of prophecy was indeed fufiling her purpose and ending two decades of war. I stood face to face with my groom, who smiled at me brightly “You look amazing, my love” He grabbed my chin and tilted my head so my eyes could meet his directly. My face devoid of happiness, I stood there without uttering anything as much as a word to him. The Queen, my mother; stood beside my father with tears of joy rolling down her face. At the end of the day, the only unhappy person was me. Before I knew it, I was being escorted to my new home. I was queen, wife of the Alpha king. We arrived at a big old castle, much bigger than my father’s. Compared to the celebration held at my father’s castle, there wasn’t any celebration at the Alpha’s castle. I was frowned upon, the men and women of the pack whispered negative comments when I passed by. It was clear that they hated me. I blame my parents for believing that I would be treated well here, I mean… I was a human in a pack of werewolves. My first day waking up in my new home felt very different. The sound of birds singing couldn’t be heard, the warm breeze that greeted me every morning was nowhere to be found. This place had the smell of death and sadness all over. I couldn’t find children playing outside the windows. I stood up from my large bed and walked outside my room. The hallways were cold and quiet, It felt as if I was alone in this whole castle. The quietness bothered me so I ran through the halls, trying to find even one person, it felt like insanity had set in. I didn’t know my way around this massive castle, running in circles is what I was doing till I finally found the staircase leading downstairs. My husband stood at the end of the staircase like he had been waiting for me for quite some time. “Good morning” “Do you normally wake up this late?” “I’m sorry, I have a habit of oversleeping” “Oversleeping? I think not. You’re just lazy and lousy like other humans” “Other humans? I didn’t ask to be here, I won’t stand here and watch you insult my people” He walked closer to me, held my shoulders and whispered in my ears “Don’t ever talk back to me again, you won’t find my reaction pretty if you do” “In truth, I am tired of the war between our people but that doesn’t mean I’d tolerate insults from a little human like you” Tears built up underneath my eyes, I had to hold myself back from crying so I didn’t look weak. I wondered why this Alpha married me if he hated humans so much, I wondered what made him believe in that prophecy that I could end the war. “Why di- why did you marry me if you were going to treat me like this?” The tears I had been trying so hard to conceal finally rolled down my cheeks “Are you sure you really want to know? My answer could be a bit hurtful to you” “Tell me, why? Why didn’t you just leave me where I found happiness” “In reality, Reia; I wouldn’t miss out on the opportunity to torment a human being, never” He stroked my hair off my face and held my chin “You married me to torment me then?” “Precisely, but that’s not even the main reason. I married you because it meant I’d be able to control your father, the king of the humans. We have won this war, Reia” “What makes you think that?” I was crippled with fear but I had to put on a tough front. “You see, your father wouldn’t dare do anything stupid knowing fully well that his precious daughter is in my possession” “And what happens if I just decide to run away?” “Oh my kind hearted queen..” The alpha walked around me while laughing maniacally. “If you want to leave the castle and run back home then please, by all means do so” “You liar. If I leave you’ll just start war with my people again” “You catch on quickly, I’m glad you’ve come to the realization that you’re my prisoner” He patted my face gently “Whenever you talk to your people, make sure to tell them you’re happy, don’t try anything funny” He walked out of the door and banged it. Immediately I made sure I was alone, I broke down into tears and fell to my knees. Why was this happening to me? I felt like dying. Meanwhile, in the human realm things weren’t going smoother either. My father has always been known to be a man who never listens or takes the opinions of others, however he puts his people first. Him putting his people first made my mother very angry often. It was morning In the royal household. Usually it’d be quiet but today was totally different. They was trouble in the king’s chambers and it could be heard throughout the castle. “Why did you have to do that? You willingly gave your daughter away to the very people we have been at war with for the past two hundred years, what is wrong with you?” “You have no right, absolutely no right to talk to me like that. I could remember you smiling yesterday, saying you were proud of her” “So what if I said all of that? I just did that so you wouldn’t feel bad in front of your subjects” “I really can’t stand you this morning, what has come over you” They went back an forth for a half hour before things calmed down. “I just missed Reia so much, I didn’t get to say a proper good bye to her, I miss my daughter” “Well maybe we could pay her a visit?” The queen’s face brightened up “Really? You’d do that for me?” “Why of course, you’re Reia’s mother and you have every right to see her whenever you feel like” Her facial expression turned dark again “We’d be going into the territory of those vile beasts. That scares me” “Beasts? The war has ended, we don’t have to see them like that anymore. It’s time to be more open minded and accepting” “You do have a point, Reia is the child of prophecy and that prophecy is being fulfilled” “Exactly, so stop worrying. We should probably start making plans” “Can we make the trip tomorrow?” “We’re countries apart, it’d take at least a week before we’d get to our destination” “The more reason why we need to get on our journey early. About two weeks had passed since I started living in the Alpha’s castle. With every passing day, it felt like all my humanity was being sucked away. I was turning into someone I couldn’t recognize, an emotionless person. I usually spent all my time in my room, either making drawings or just sleeping because I was a prisoner now. I didn’t have a life. My thoughts were interrupted by the noise coming from outside the castle. It sounded like there was pandemonium which couldn’t be sorted out. I left my room and ran outside out of curiosity. The most unexpected sight was standing in front of me and I felt like it wasn’t really. My parents were in my new home? They stood with the Alpha, discussing and laughing about something. The Alpha king laughed loudly with every word my father said. He was pretending and I knew I had to pretend too. “Ah, Queen Reia. You’re awake, your parents are here” My mom was overly excited to see me, she shed a few tears. She walked up to me and held my hands. “Oh Reia. My beautiful girl. How are you? I do hope you’re doing well” “I’m doing very well, Mother. I’ve missed you so much” My attempts to stop the tears from falling off my eyes were futile. “My dear, you look pale. How are you my dear?” My Dad’s voice echoed. I didn’t exactly hate him but I wouldn’t look at him “I’m fine father, thank you” “Come on now, my love” I left the arms of my mother and rushed to stand beside the Alpha, he put his hand around my waist and I was very uncomfortable but I couldn’t say anything. I had to pretend. “please, follow us to the dinning room” A feast had already been prepared before my parents arrival. This visit felt like a joyful celebration more than my wedding, the two kings shared stories, laughed and drank. I was at peace seeing that my parents were happy but I was sad that they couldn’t notice my inner bitterness. The maids in the castle were on their best behavior, they treated my parents far differently from the way they usually treated me. “So, when are we excepting a grandchild?” “A child? We aren’t planning that yet” “Why?” “I feel like my queen isn’t ready yet” The Alpha put his hand over mine at the dinning table while talking to my father. The conversation sounded very disgusting to me because I wanted nothing to do with this man, I didn’t plan on ever having his babies. Shortly after the feast, my parents were on their way and it made me cry again. “Mother, I miss you. Please visit more often” “I’l l try to” After the tearful farewell, they left. “You acted well” The Alpha pat my head and walked away, laughing.