The Rogue King’s Purchased Wife

CHAPTER 2: Marked

My feet were awkward as I walked for the first time in a while.

The streets were wet and I didn’t know where to step on with my shoeless feet. It was one of the very few times I’ve stepped on the ground outside the shop. The few times being the moments where I managed to escape my cage and make a run, only to be whipped on my back and thrown back inside my cage.

But the man who had been with the rogue king held my arm and guided me inside the vehicle that waited for them outside. He held an umbrella up in our heads.

As soon as he opened the car door, the large figure of the rogue king welcomed us, already sitting inside.

The car was long. I’ve heard on the radio that this type of vehicle was called a limo.

With years of spending inside a cage as tall as four feet, I was bound to not gain strength nor develop muscles that much. So my knees shook as soon as I stepped inside the vehicle, making me stumble and slump half of my body on the king’s lap.

He met my eyes. I immediately curled within myself.

“Move away.” I trembled at how cold his voice was.

I scampered on the other side of the car. My knees still felt like they weren’t mine, so I dragged myself on the floor. As soon as I hit the side of the vehicle, I hugged them close to my body. The sound of the rain pattering on the roof calmed me down a little bit.

“You can sit here, Ella.” The other man who was blonde, whose name I didn’t know, tapped on the leather couch he was on.

I looked at it. They were so clean. Horace never let us touch his neat things. I gained a scar on my ankles after getting tied too tightly for a week because I touched his shiny new shoes.

So I shook my head.

“It’s okay. Come on. Sit here.”

Fearful of the strangers, I hugged my knees tighter, my blonde hair fell down on the sides of my face as I kept to myself.

I was closing my eyes when I suddenly felt a painful grasp on my left arm.

I looked up and immediately cowered when I saw the brightest golden eyes I’ve ever seen.

“Sit on the couch. You follow what you are asked to do. Understood?”

I quickly nodded, lips trembling as the rogue king pulled me up and pushed me on the leather seat beside him. Tears brimmed on my eyes again, dreading the feeling of how new everything was for me.

At least inside the cage and the shop, I already knew what would come if I did stuff. I knew Horace’s and Jose’s sensitive spots. I knew what ticked them and what delighted them. I knew the sounds of the cage: the creaking of the door, the movement of the curtains, the buzz on the radio. But not the rogue king and the man he was with, nor the place they were taking me.

Silence filled our space as I sat quietly on the car seat. Then suddenly, the vehicle moved.

I gasped and clutched at the closest thing I could hold on to.

Which unfortunately was the rogue king’s thick arm.

I immediately pulled away, moving towards the opposite side near the window.

“Ella?” The other man, who sounded almost gentle, called. Curiosity was all over his boyish face.

“I-It’s my f-first time… in a v-vehicle.” I swallowed, feeling how dry my mouth was. The last time I used it was when I was screaming my head off when I was getting beaten four days ago.

It was rare I spoke. Horace hated when we did. So it was odd hearing myself speak. I could barely recognize it. My voice sounded delicate, vulnerable. Almost like it could break anytime.

Like me.

“You’ve never really been outside of that cage?” The blonde man asked. I nodded.

“B-But… there were times…” I added, fearing that they might catch my lie. “W-when Horace allows u-us to s-shower… or when we go to the t-toilet.”

I was about to say the times when I tried to escape. But they might think I would try to escape them as well—which is true. But I knew I couldn’t. At least not now.

The only silver lining I could ever think of when being sold is the possibility of getting my freedom if I could be given the chance to escape. Unlike the shop and the cage, the world outside is a bigger place. There will be so much space and possibilities that maybe, when I’m brave and smart enough, I could get out of my master’s grasp and be finally free.

But with my situation where my new master is much more powerful than Horace—much more keen and sharp, I doubt I could get that freedom anytime soon.

I stayed on my seat when I noticed how they both just stared at me. Especially the man who had been talking.

“I am Cain. Don’t worry, you’re no longer caged now, Ella.” He suddenly extended his hand as he smiled gently at me.

I didn’t know what to make do of probably the very first kind gesture that was extended to me.

The radio on the shop sometimes told stories about people: how they meet, how they fall in love and the likes. It was the only few times I’ve ever detached from my reality. But Jose always changed stations whenever he saw we were getting entertained.

Nonetheless, it was my first time receiving such a gesture that I’ve only heard of. And it brought something to my wondering and curious heart.

No one has ever offered me a handshake.

“You take my hand and we shake it.” I followed his instructions, immediately feeling how strong and warm his hand was against my frail and cold palm.

He smiled again at me, and I didn’t know what to do when I suddenly realized he was an attractive man.

I looked away when I felt my cheeks heat up.

The car fell silent and I just continued looking down on my lap where my fingers fidgeted. I still didn’t know what to expect.

And the marriage…

”We have arrived, Elijah.”

”Get her cleaned up and ready,” the rogue king said.

He had been silent the entire time, but when he spoke his voice never lost its command. It was the type that didn’t need to shout for people to hear and obey.

“I will.” Cain bowed subtly before the rogue king took off. I watched his back, seeing how guards and people bowed down at the sight of him.

Weren’t rogues supposed to not bow down to anyone?

“Ready to be Elijah’s wife, Ella?”

I looked at Cain and saw that boyish smile again. His blue eyes sparkled beneath the small light we had inside the vehicle.

I just looked at him, not knowing what to feel. I didn’t even know if what they were saying was really real.

>>>

I was scrubbed out of my mind and I could only bite my lip to avoid yelping in shock and pain.

The Omega maids shampooed my hair over and over, and put some other things in it along with my body. They clipped my long nails and dressed me in a cloth I have never imagined wearing.

It felt too soft against my skin—my skin felt too soft against my own touch. It didn’t feel like it was mine.

“You are ready, My Lady,” said the Omega. I realized these rogues were different. They had some sort of organization—unlike the savages I’ve heard that they were.

And these ladies had no idea where I came from. They had no idea that I was lower than them, and that if there was someone who should be calling someone a ‘my lady’ and serving, it should be me.

But I couldn’t seem to speak when I saw myself in the mirror.

Bright blonde hair, bordering on silver. Bright blue eyes that looked too stunned and in awe about everything. My cheeks were flushed and I vaguely remembered I had a small nose. It was my first time seeing myself in a while.

Horace never kept a mirror in our common bathroom. And whenever we were granted access in that place, we were timed. If we ever stay past it, the doors would be opened and we’d be dragged back to the cage, whether we’ve washed or not.

The one time I tried my luck—acting as if I had bad diarrhea, Horace didn’t allow me to use the bathroom for a week. My cage stunk of my own dirt that I was almost thrown out and beaten once again.

The maids started guiding me towards another room that was thrice as large as Horace’s shop—it was the only place I’ve ever been and I had nothing else to compare this new place to.

I wore a simple white dress that covered the healing wounds on my knees and thighs. It showed my thin arms and chest, though. It made me self-conscious.

I knew my look was simple despite my ignorance about fashion and makeup, so once the doors opened and I saw how three men looked at me with shock in their faces, I almost flushed.

“Lila?”

”I-I’m Ella, Sir.” I looked down as soon as I spoke.

“Pardon my mistake, but…” The man said, still staring at my face, stunned.

“She looks so much like your—“

”Let us begin.”

The rogue king who had been standing in the middle of them spoke.

He wore the same simple clothes he wore earlier: black pants, white shirt and a black jacket. He turned to me, his bright eyes intense, his face serious. He suddenly offered his hand.

Following his lead, I took it, immediately feeling how warm and large his hand was compared to mine.

“We are gathered here today to wed Elijah and Ella…”

The officiant’s words faded against my ears as I realized what truly was happening.

We were truly getting wed. I just looked down and kept my silence.

Horace always told us that Masters never liked it when their slaves talked and had questions and opinions.

“I pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

I froze on my spot. The king moved.

I looked at him. He turned me towards him, and all I could do was wait as he leaned down and inched closer until his mouth found my bare neck.

Before I realized what was happening, I gasped at the painful bite on my shoulder. It reverberated all throughout my body and I lost all my strength, leaving my fingers grasping at his jacket.

He was biting me, digging his canines on my skin, creating waves and waves of pain that hurt much more than the lashes I got nor the beatings I’ve had.

“S-Stop… please…” I gasped in pain.

My eyes rolled back as my vision blurred. The king held me tight, not listening, his other hand already on my back as my knees shook.

I gasped for breath, suddenly feeling so hot. The sensation felt like there was something attacking my system. Something trying to curl around my very being—and it hurt. It was forced. I didn’t know he was going to do this.

My eyes burned and my tears fell down on my clean cheeks.

I cried, feeling him suck on my skin as another wave of sensation drowned me. It wasn’t as painful, in fact it almost felt good, the earlier hurt transforming into something more intense, deep and grabbing.

It almost felt like I’d yearn for it. Like a drug we both know we shouldn’t take but wanted. And I could feel that the king was feeling it too as I felt him grab me harder against him, hugging me, lapping at the skin around the mark that he had made. It was intoxicating, but I knew it was bad.

It felt like an eternity when he stopped.

I fell on the ground, heaving, losing strength. My shoulders tingled in both pain and pleasure, and it disgusted me.

Tears continued falling on my face as he grinned at the officiant who looked unsurprised of the events.

Elijah’s eyes had turned red, showing the rogue wolf in his system. That’s when I saw a glimpse of the monster that everyone was talking about. The heartless rogue king.

Streaks of my blood were still on his lips. He licked them clean.

“Now, we can start with the real plan.” He grinned.