CHAPTER TWO
1166 Words
“Who is there? "Show yourself!” the male guard demanded, and without wasting time, I walked out of the bush I was hiding in.
The second he saw me, he immediately knew my rank. “How dare you set foot here? ""Don't you know your place, beta!” he lunged at me, ready to kill me.
“ Please no!” I cradled my belly as if it was the only place he could attack, “ I was summoned!”
“ Lair!” the guard shouted, “Summoned by whom?” he shape-shifted his hands into wolf claws and closed the distance between us. The thought of running immediately crossed my mind, but before I could do it, I heard Alpha Khaled's voice.
“ Let her be, you incompetent fool!” his thunderous voice came, then he appeared almost out of nowhere. “She has been roaming around that bush for over twenty minutes, and you are just noticing her.”
For the longest moment I had ever experienced, the air immediately became thin and dry. I would have blamed it on the baby, but I knew very well it was because Khaled
“ My apologies my lord, I….”
“Enough.” Khaled angrily cut him off. Then he turned to me, “ Come with me Marilyn,” he said to me.
I followed him, and we climbed the stairs to the Royal Wolf Caban.
“Do you remember the last time you were in this hall?” he asked, sauntering to where his throne was.
His question made my mind go back to the past. The past I never knew would never last. “ Yes,” I answered.
“ At that time you were a Queen, right?” he asked, but I didn't reply. Though it was the truth. “Now see how the tables have turned,” his lips curved as he gestured to himself sitting comfortably, and then to me as I stood before him, “You are now at my mercy just the same way I was at yours then,”
“ Look, I swear I didn't come looking for it…” before I could say trouble, he interrupted me.
“ Yes, I know you came looking for refuge,” he nodded. Everyone knows your story, kingmaker. Your alpha husband rejected you even after everything you helped him conquer. Now you are all alone in this world, looking for a place to fit in. That's why you sneaked into my pack, knowing fully well, not everyone knew your face.”
“ I swear, if I had known this was your pack…”
“ Relax,” he cut me off again, “ If I wanted you dead, your blood would have soaked my office the second I saw you,”
“Then what do you want from me?” I blurted out.
He went silent while his eyes stayed fixed on me. He was contemplating something. I could see it in his eyes. At the back of my head, I knew what it was. It was another cycle I wished would never repeat itself. “ The full moon is in three days. You will be my new Luna on that fateful night.”
“No,no, not again” I shook my head vigorously, tears welling up in my eyes, “ Please don't let me go through it again.”
Slowly, my heart began to pound again. That title was a death sentence wrapped in chains. And yet, he was demanding it from me again?
No. Never again.
I staggered backwards, my head shaking as I moved. “You can’t force me.”
Khaled leaned forward, and the smirk on his lips deepened. “Did you just say force?” he asked, like it was a strange word. “I don’t need to, Marilyn.” Look around, you have no other option. It's either this or nothing. You have nowhere to go. Your ex-husband abandoned you, your old pack wants you dead, and the Crescent Valley wolves won’t accept a disgraced queen. You belong to me now”.
I clenched my fist in pain. Hearing the word ‘belong’ felt like my two metals rubbing hard against each other.
“I don’t belong to anyone.”
“Oh, really?,” he stood up, walked over to where I was, and then began to circle around me. Slow and deliberate, like a predator toying with its prey, “ Alright then, run. "Run as far as your Queen's legs would carry you. ”He taunted,“ But remember, you made enemies while conquering everything for that husband of yours. And I am the only enemy that doesn't want you dead.
“ What do you want from me? Can't you see I'm nothing? I didn't help Leonardo conquer anything. "He did it all by himself,"I paused, knowing the next thing I was going to say would pain me more than it would scare him. “I was even cursed by the moon goddess. That's why Leonardo threw me away.”
His lips curved with a knowing smile. “ Oh yeah, the curse,” he nodded, as like he was just realizing it. Then he shrugged, “ Yeah, well I will take my chances with that.”
Ever since the moon prophecy came out, I was the only person that ever knew the full details. All they told me was that my birthday had been cursed by the moon goodness, and everyone born on that day must never be accepted into any wolf pack.
“ Why,” for a second, I saw something in his eye that told me he wasn't telling me everything. Like he was hiding something from me.
But then his one good eye darkened, and he leaned closer. “Because,” he murmured, stepping close enough for her to feel his warmth, “I never forget a debt.”
My whole body instantly became tense.
The word sent her thoughts spiraling back. Back to the war, back to the night. I stood victorious over his fallen pack. Back to the moment I watched Leonardo look down on his broken face.
Back to the second, Leonardo spared his life.
A sudden knock at the chamber doors shattered the thick tension.
Khaled didn’t turn. “Enter.”
“ I heard everything, you bastard!” Luna Margarette wailed as she launched at us, “ And it would be over my dead born if I let you do that.”
“ Then so be it…” Khaled replied, almost in a whisper. Then the next thing I heard was something dropping onto the floor. I looked down and saw what it was.
Luna Margarette’s head.
“ Never forget this, Marilyn,” Khaled's voice came. I looked up and saw him back on his throne. His hand dripped with blood. “ That son is mine.”
At first, I didn't think much of it. But then, “ Wait. "How did you know it was a boy?”
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