The lycan's bride

THE KING IS BAD

Chapter 10

Bianca's pov

My ear literally fell down... shift?!!!

I’ve only done that once, and it was so painful that I vowed never to shift again.

And coupled with the fact that the people I called family badmouthed my wolf, they made my wolf and me feel... less.

So what if I shift and my wolf turns out exactly how they described—ugly?

What if the beta sees it as a discouragement to my mission?

I can’t... No, I can’t.

I looked up at him, and his fierce eyes pierced mine. Maybe he was waiting for me to shift.

"I... I... I can't..." I stammered.

He looked at me as though I had grown two horns.

"Don’t make me repeat myself, little omega."

I shook my head. "I... I don't want to."

"And why's that, if I may ask?" he said, lips curling into a smirk.

"An ugly wolf, huh?!" he asked, amusement dancing in his eyes.

He was having so much fun teasing me, but I wouldn’t give him that privilege.

Still...

I can’t shift.

It’s painful and... and... my wolf...

I saw the beta twist his face.

In a flash, he grabbed my hand and started leading me out of the training room. Jerry made to follow us.

"Stop right there," he warned, but Jerry didn’t, so I had to stop him.

Maybe I could use this opportunity to ask what he meant by taking the king's position. That thought had caused me sleepless nights.

He dragged me into a dark room, where I was pinned to the wall.

I gasped and looked at him.

The beta wasn’t supposed to keep me in such a position.

I struggled to push him away, but he didn’t budge.

"Let me go," I almost yelled.

He looked at me, and I saw him swallow a lump of saliva.

"What did you do?" His question was out of the blue—I didn’t understand.

As if reading my thoughts, he asked again, "Your thoughts?"

Okay, that was even more confusing.

I saw his eyes flash green, and then he choked me. I grabbed his hand.

"L-l-let m-m-me g-g-go," I struggled to get his hand off my throat.

I hit him hard, very hard, but it felt like hitting a rock.

Then it clicked in my head.

I stomped on his foot with all my strength. He lost his balance, his hold on my neck loosening, and I jammed my knee into his groin.

"Ahh!" He finally released me, and I darted toward the locked door.

"What did you do to your thoughts? I can’t hear them anymore," he muttered.

My thoughts? I know werewolves can hear people’s thoughts, so for him not to hear mine...

"Well, I’m just hearing that for the first time. So for a high-rank wolf like you not to hear me? You should know. Check it and tell me, 'cause I’m as confused as you are."

He started walking toward me, and I banged on the door.

"No one will hear you, so quit," he said.

"Don’t harm me."

"Harm you?" He chuckled.

"Why should I, when I need you?" he said—and that spiked something in me. Whether it was a defense spirit or something else, I didn’t know.

But then... how was I able to make a beta groan from just a hit—an omega’s hit?

He looked me up and down and broke into laughter.

An eerie one.

"You know, I underestimated you... so much."

"I thought you’d be useless, but damn, you keep surprising me every day."

"You have an extraordinary spirit... I admire you for that."

"Why did you bring me here, Beta Ric?" I asked, getting tired of his blabbering.

"Why do you think?" He moved closer, and I suddenly felt nauseous. The thought of him kissing or touching me sent shivers down my spine. I was tempted to run.

"I’m your lycan’s mate."

As if that brought him back to his senses, he stopped, his face returning to normal.

Then something hit me—his talk about the king’s position.

"I want to ask you something," I said.

He gave me a long stare and silence before replying, "What?" His tone was harsh.

I cleared my throat, unsure where to start.

"Okay... the other day, you talked about being interested in the king’s position."

I saw him shiver a bit.

"I thought it was a prank, but I needed to be certain and—"

"Yes."

"Hmm?!"

"I said yes," he repeated.

I wanted to be sure... maybe watch him say no, deny it—even if he meant it. But accepting openly?

"D-do you trust me?" I asked.

"Do you trust me that much to say such a thing? I’m the lycan’s mate. I could go out there and tell him."

He chuckled.

"First of all, he won’t believe you, and you have no evidence."

I thought as much.

"Second of all, the king is an enemy. Nobody can walk up to him and tell him he’s wrong because he’s the king. But we can’t continue like this."

"I’ve never heard of the king treating his people badly," I said.

"Oh, dear naïve wolf. When you get there, you’ll know. But just make do with the little information you’ve got." He moved closer to me.

"I want you to keep this to yourself. Any loose mouth will cost your life."

I looked at him. He meant every word.

"So why do you need me?" I asked, curious.

"You see why I call you naïve?" he chuckled.

"You’re his mate. What do you think?"

I had to put two and two together.

"Wait... you mean you’ll use me to get to the king?!"

Shock was an understatement. If he wanted to save the people—something I was still conflicted about—why use me?

The lycan couldn’t be a bad person. At least, history never said so. His only scandal was his beef with the moon goddess herself... or is it?

"He has a secret he’s keeping from everyone. I want you to find out what it is. Maybe we can start from there. And like I said before—make him love you. Dearly," he added, unlocking the door with his eyes.

Using power openly like this?

"Get ready for your run. Don’t think I’ve forgotten."

I stared at his back as he left, going over and over everything he just said to me.