The Royal Alpha's Destined Bride

Chapter 2

I had to listen to Iris and Maribel ridiculing and belittling me for the past month without doing much. She was the queen and talking back would only create trouble for me. Besides, I doubted that my fiancé would have believed me. Iris displayed her dislike towards me only when he wasn't around; and when he was, she pretended as though we were friendly with each other.

It hurt my feelings when she spoke badly about me and I couldn't do much about it. He loved his mother too much to see her flaws and she was a doting parent who wanted nothing else but her son's love. I couldn't get in the middle of their relationship even if I tried desperately. The best I could do until the wedding day was to do everything they told me to and to endure the harm they caused me without crying or begging them to stop.

As I hurriedly made my way to Mari's bedroom where the replacement laces were kept, I came across two servants who mockingly glared in my direction. It didn't matter whether I was to be queen; werewolves looked down on anyone that was weaker than they were. I averted my eyes from their glares and walked past them, repeating to myself in my mind that once I was queen, they would rue the way they treated me. The same could be same for Iris and Mari.

The reason I tolerated their behavior other than my love for Venkert was that I knew I would have an opportunity to get back at them in the future.

I entered the princess' room when I reached it, my eyes instantly moving to the white royal dress gown dressed over a mannequin in the corner of the room. Iris didn't trust me enough to leave the dress in my room because she feared that I would ruin it. I was able to admit to myself many times that I was clumsy and saw that it was better if the dress was kept in Mari's room. She knew how to take care of it better than I did because it needed daily maintenance until the day of the wedding. I walked closer to the dress and saw that there wasn't a single wrinkle on it.

Mari may have been cold towards me but she did put in effort to make sure that the dress was well kept and safe. I had to thank her for that later. I stood a few feet away from the dress, afraid that if I touched something would go wrong. There was no need to be impatient either. In a few days, I would be wearing that dress and all eyes would be on me as the wedding ceremony would commence. But I couldn't wait for that long.

That was the dress that Ven bought specifically for me. It was mine and I should have been able to touch it whenever I wanted. Without another thought, I raised my right hand and used my fingers to take a hold of the soft fabric from the cuff of the sleeve. But not long afterwards, a sharp pain swam through my arm and I winced, moving my hand away and tearing away at the fabric because I forgot that I was holding on to it.

At the same time, I heard a knock on the door and quickly turned around to see the figure of my fiancé leaning against the doorframe. His waist-length, snow-white hair framed his handsome face that displayed a delightful smile. The moment I sat my eyes on him, I stepped to the side to stand in front of the dress. I also brought my right arm behind me so that he wouldn't be able to see the bruise on my elbow.

"I was looking for you. I thought you'd be in the dressing room but mother told me that you would be in here," he said with his suave voice that almost made my heart melt. But I was too occupied with my throbbing elbow and the frustration I felt at having torn the wedding dress behind me. Ven stepped into the room from the door and I took a step back to make sure he wouldn't see the tear on the dress. He stopped before me and I titled my head upwards to look at him as he was taller than I was.

"Odette... why do you look so dispirited?" He asked, his crimson-red eyes making contact with my pale gray ones. For a second, all sense of worry I felt vanished and I wanted to melt away in his arms.

"It's nothing... I'm just nervous about the wedding day," I said, a lie that was actual half true. I really was nervous about the wedding. Becoming a queen was never something I thought I would do before. The stress that came with the title was shown to me everyday by Iris and I wasn't certain if I was ready for that just yet. Ven lifted his hand and used his fingers to twirl a strand of my blonde hand between them. I forced a smile on to my face but he definitely saw through it. I was never able to lie to him.

"Tell me. What's bothering you?" He asked, his voice so convincingly assuring. There was no reason for me to lie to him at that moment but I didn't want to tell him about his mother and sister. He wouldn't have believed me if I did, but there was something else that was bothering me. I stepped to the side and lifted up the sleeved of the dress to show him the tear. The moment I did, he chuckled to himself.

"That's what you're worried about? Odette, the dress can be replaced. You're going to be my queen. There's no need for you to be so modest," he said, taking the sleeve out from my hand and letting it drop to the side of the dress. He took ahold of my neck with his hands and pulled me in to plant a kiss on my forehead. I made sure to keep my right arm out of the way so as to not irritate it. It wouldn't do me any good if he saw the bruise.

"I know. But I'm not used to this lifestyle yet," I said and he moved his hands down to place them on my way. He unknowingly brushed his hand against my elbow and I bit the inside of my lower lip to hold in a groan. At that point, I was certain that I had fractured a bone and that it wasn't just a small injury.

"I can't express how grateful I am to have you by my side. If that's all you're worried about, we should get along with our day. I came here to give you something," he said, moving away from me to my disappointment. He reached into his suit top's pocket to pull out a small box. My heart began to race as he opened the box to reveal a diamond incrested necklace that glimmered due to the little daylight that swam into the room.

That wasn't the first time he had bought me an expensive present so there was no need for my heartbeat to accelerate drastically. I was grateful for the gifts, of course, but they were expensive and gifts that were only meant to be worn by a worthy person. Ven already proved to me that he saw me as worthy of being his queen, but before he brought me to his kingdom, I was a regular human who lived in a small town.

I never used to pay much attention to my facial features and one of the reasons he fell for me was because he saw me as the most beautiful and kind person he had ever met. I didn't see the charm even when I looked in the mirror. I was just an average human who was too humbled to think of myself as anything but a little pretty.

I came from a household that made an average yearly salary. When Ven came around with a new gift every once in a while, a sense of guilt came over me. There was no chance that I would be able to get him a gift that matched even one of all of the ones he had given me. He could give me anything I wanted but I couldn't give him much at all.

"Ven, I already have enough. You don't need to give me anymore," I said but he ignored my words and asked me to turn around. After pulling the necklace out of its box, he walked up to me when I turned to face the window and raised his hands over my head to bring the necklace down to my collarbone. He clicked it behind my neck and pushed aside my hair so that he could get a good view of the necklace once it was around me.

"You're nothing short of magnificent. I have searched for many years and you're the only one who is suited to be my bride," was the comment he gave me as I walked over to the mirror to see that beautiful necklace. I didn't see myself as worthy and it was Ven's declaration that I was that made me see myself as beautiful. I moved my hands up to brush my fingertips on the necklace, specifically the diamonds that adorned it.

"I don't have anything to give you," I muttered under my breath, but it was loud enough for him to hear me. He walked up to me and rested his hands on my waist once again, turning my body so I could face him.

"You don't need to give me anything. As long as you're here, I have everything that I need." Before I could object, he leaned in to press his pale lips against my soft ones. The kiss made me want to melt in his arms. We had shared a kiss many times before but everytime we did it felt brand new as though I were experiencing it for the first time. Unfortunately for us, the kiss was short lived. He moved away from me and grinned sheepishly as he released my waist

"Get dressed. We have to welcome our guests. They'll be arriving soon," he said and I nodded, too happy to find any words to say to him. He told me that he had something to take care of before we could head down to welcome our guests. He walked out of the room and I looked back at the wedding dress for a moment. He told me not to worry about it but I couldn't help but fear how the queen would react when she would find out. Before Mari could return to her room and find me there, I hurriedly left the room to my own to get dressed.