Rejected by my mate claimed by his king

A predictable enemy

Chapter 6

Alpha Thornsely’s pov

The slap drew the attention of the guards posed by the hallway. In a blink of an eye they were by Elara’s side immediately while the others grabbed Astrid by the arm.

Because whether Elara liked it or not she was the queen, recognized by the empire, until I dropped her. Slapping her was equivalent to slapping the queen, the Luna, and me.

But she held out her hand, not one bit shaken by the fact that she had just been slapped. Her eyes never left Astrid but when she spoke it was directed at the guards.

“You don’t lay your hand on a woman,” she said, voice cold and bereft of emotion.

“This is merely between two women. It will be rash to intervene.” The silken way she spoke only served to make me more curious.

At that moment the hatred that lolled from her words was like the goodbye from a dying mother to her child. Very heated.

The palace guards looked at me and I nodded. They relaxed, heeding to her words. I couldn’t deny that I was curious. Curious to see what she wanted to do. I know she hated me, she’d made that abundantly clear and if she could have her way I would be dead.

However, the repercussions from her actions were restraining her from acting, reducing her to seething and cursing. Now, it seemed as though she’d seen just the perfect person to let that anger out on.

I watched, enthralled as she moved back like a dragon about to burn a green forest to ashes then without breathing a crack sound followed after a slap, so hard like the dry wind against the skin in a desert.

Mouth fell as everyone stared at her. I was very shocked. That wasn’t proper for a queen. But she didn’t seem to care.

“You don’t go around slapping just anyone.” She jerked Astrid’s face closer to hers, “I’m not your regular girl, princess.” Then she shoved her away and stormed out, leaving her presence behind like a trailing ghost.

As much as I savored her fire like heat in a cold winter, it was time I took precaution.

“See the lady out.”

I turned when Astrid yelled. “She slapped me, Thornsely and you are going to do nothing about it?!” She demanded, hurt-filled.

Astrid and I had been close since our teenage years. We were each other’s comfort, brought up in the centre with powers handed to us, yet still demanding to be grabbed lest you’ll be left with nothing. We had many memories growing up in these walls, being an alpha’s daughter herself from Fraction 2.

“It’s Alpha to you, Astrid.” I nudged my head at the guards to see her out still.

“This is not over.” She swirled, packing her dress as she left.

Immediately the door shut behind me I heard. “You should not take the girl as your bride,” my second in command said, emerging from the shadow.

My team materialized along with him, each of them wearing the same expression.

“It’s her I wish to marry.” I let out a sigh of resignation and walked to my chair. She was more predictable, she wore her emotions on her hand, and was easy to understand, knew little of pack politics. She was perfect.

“She’s perfect.”

“Yeah, to kill you,” Helene muttered. “Did you see the way she looked at you? Give her a dagger and she’ll push it through your chest without a sliver of thought.”

“And that’s why I chose her. She hates me. I know it, you know it. She’s—“

“Predictable,” Chaz completed, understanding my point of view. I guess he would. “But it doesn’t make her less dangerous.”

“No, but it makes her a safer choice.” Assassination after assassination had taken place in the pack house, each aimed at me.

‘As long as you are the Alpha king, death will follow you, and so will enemies.’ I chanted my father’s words. Words he’d said to me when I was still little and had not understood the complexities of politics, words that guided me till this moment.

“What have you gotten from the rebellions?” I inquired of Cassian, letting them fester was letting them believe they had a shot at taking the empire from me.

“We can't find their base yet, but we believe someone big is aiding them.”

There was no lie there, someone in power must be aiding them because their access to the pack house, documents and weapons could only be made possible from the higher ups.

Now was time for business, my bride and her personality had been tossed out the window. I pushed the candelabra on the wall, it vibrated and a room came into sight.

Our secret meeting room, since every part of this mansion has possibly been eavesdropped, you never know who was listening in.

We took our various spots on the table, and the meeting commenced.

“Viktor, you’ll do all the underground digging about my bride. She may be a known opponent, but I do not wish to let my guard down. She has a mate, he’ll give a head start.” I relayed his mission to him and he nodded. He was the one who would carry the mission with light weight but carry it out with professionalism. For an assassin, he knew how to have fun and that was what made him perfect for the role.

I faced Sybil next, another assassin in the group, she was too uptight like a string, “you’ll get information from the council. There seems to be a division between them, I want to know what’s going on.”

She gave a clipped nod and I faced Helene, “You’ll keep an eye on my bride.”

“What!” She yelled, whipping her head to face me. “You have got to be kidding, you want me to babysit the little dragon?”

There was a collective laughter at the table and she punched Viktor beside her. “You can’t handle a little dragon?” He teased her.

“Like hell I can’t, I don't want a spoiled little dragon, have you seen her, we are miles apart.”

“I really think you guys will get along well, just have to let her know pack rules and regulations, clothes, and gossip.”

Helene flung herself on the table reaching for Cassian in a blink of an eye, but he saw her attack and moved out of the way. “That’s not what I do.” She faced me. “Tell them,” she implored me.

Helene was the most girly person in our little group, good at seducing, picking gossip and taking men to bed to murder them. And she never, never failed a mission. She was good, exceptionally good at what she did.

“You all are traitors!” She barked when I didn’t add my support, only shrugged my shoulders. “Fine I’ll groom the girl, but don’t run when she starts making advances at you.” She tipped her head at me and I snickered, the thought of Elara snaking her way into my arms wasn’t an image I could conjure.

And finally I turned to Chaz, he was always too quiet and brooding. One would think he was the king and had the weight of the entire empire, friends and enemies on his shoulders.

“You’ll accompany Viktor and Sybil in their mission.”

His head snapped up now, a glint in his dark eyes. “And leave you unprotected, I’m not doing that.”

“I will be protected, I have Cassian with me.”

Cassian lifted his hand to signify his presence but Chaz merely acknowledged him. “And still you have been targeted thrice in one month.”

“That’s a stretch, from seven to thrice,” I told him, adding a little joke to my tone, though it wasn’t something to be joked about, they were getting closer.

“I can do my job, Chaz, stop being a brooding ass.”

“I think Chaz has a point,” Sybil spoke, and we all turned to face her, surprised. The banter in the group never really mattered to her. “Don’t come at me but Cassian will be busy as the second in command, you’ll be busy, you need someone to watch your back, Cassian is good but he can’t do both.”

As much as there was truth in her words I didn’t want to risk their own safety for mine. “And who will protect both of you, if you need emergency aid?”

Sybil rolled her eyes, “We are not babies, Alpha, I believe we can take care of ourselves.” She sent a pointed look at Viktor, “At least I believe I can take care of myself.”

Viktor chuckled and jumped up. “Talk directly to me sweetheart.” Sybil gave another eye roll and stood up as well, ignoring him.

We rose to our feet, the meeting coming to an end. “Be safe, and report to me on your progress.” Everyone nodded and left the room.

The moment we were back in my room, my wolf growled inside my head, bringing me to a sudden stop in pain. I dropped to my knees and clutched my head in agony, the pain so deep that my vision tunneled and turned white.

“Are you okay?” Chaz was by me in an instant. “What is happening!”

His panicked voice strung back memories I didn’t wish to remember. I wanted to tell him that I was fine, but only a moan came out of me before everything went pitch dark.