FOREDOOMED

Chapter 2.1

When they were all sent away, the royal beta kneeled to the king. "There are no words that could express how deeply sorry I am for putting at risk the life of the queen. And I would accept any form of punishment Your Highness would render to me, for I rightfully deserve it." He would even willingly welcome death for his stupid recklessness.

"You have vowed your life to the queen. I need you alive to keep that," King Henric said, fully understanding he needed the beta by his side for his own plan to fully realize. Not for the royal beta's strength or skills as a warrior, but his unbending loyalty to him throughout, that not any of his relatives could reciprocate. "Rise up, Beta," he ordered, to which he abided.

"I am forever grateful for the mercy you've bestowed upon me, Your Highness, even though I may not deserve it," the beta said before sitting down.

"Focus not on the past. The future is now ours to hold," King Henric said, thinking everything was coming to his terms.

"But with the queen's identity revealed, are you not worried about--"

King Henric slightly tilted his head. "Her safety. She resides at the most formidable fortress," he said without a single trace of doubt.

"I'm not referring to that, Your Highness. But your reputation... people would be talking... you having... well, a mate... that is Inferus" the royal beta stammered and whispered the last word.

"Let them talk," King Henric said. He might have been filled with disgust and wrath upon discovering the manipulative goddess had bequeathed him a mate, a second chance mate, that was a frail mortal, but presently, it did not bother him in the slightest. It did not matter anymore, as long as she would give him an heir.

Indeed, an heir was the only missing stability in his reign. One of the laws that his forefathers had established long ago was that only a son from the king of werewolf and his mate could become a legitimate heir. And if the king failed to have an heir before his fiftieth birthday, the closest relative would be the successor. Since he was the only child, his uncle would be the one claiming the throne. And now that it would only be a decade before King Henric would reach that age, his uncle was more eager to snatch the crown from him.

Deprived of a mate had its own advantages and disadvantages for King Henric. In the first few years after his mate died, humanity fled from him. He wanted nothing but a bloodbath, that benefitted him since he was at war with the king of vampires at that time. But after he'd won the war, his strength was fast declining. He might not have physically aged, but deep within, he was like a rotten tomato.

Having a mate equalizes to power and strength, but that would grow less and less when the couple aged to ensure that the offspring would be given an opportunity to take charge and write their own history. Though the lifespan of a werewolf extended to two centuries, especially if they were to live together with their mates.

And now that King Henric found his second chance mate, there was no use in forestalling that grand plan that he had plotted long ago. He would conquer the world--both human and supernatural. But before that, he must have a queen, and that human would be his queen. No, only a queen by title, he would assure that.

As for the queen, Adira was still hauled inside her room, the attempt of fleeing at the very moment was thrown out of the window. She must formulate a long-term sort of plan, not for the purpose of escaping alone, but for completely freeing herself from the bond she shared with the beast.

However her body was stiffly weak with her sitting down and her back reclining to the headboard, her mind was working in full vigor. One after another plan was formed in her mind, but she would brush it off when she saw a flaw underlying it, leading to an ultimate failure. If the beast were an ordinary alpha of a pack, it would have been less difficult for her. But she was dealing with the most cunning, cruelest beast there was. And honestly, it scared her more than she could admit it.

Adira tried to recall a memory she had buried deep within her. That memory which she successfully tricked the beast by being the most ever innocent, docile mate, and when she gained his trust, she struck him at his least expectations. That wouldn't work now, judging by his displeased look when she acted submissively after waking up, feeding his oversized ego to dominate her. Now, what must she do? Must she seduce him? That won't do. That was one art she did not master nor make an effort to learn. If she cannot be a docile housewife or a seductive mistress, then what character must she play?

'Queen does not beg, but demands and commands'. Those were his words that kept resounding in her ears. Then, her mind flashed that image when he smirked right after she spat him in the face when they met in her apartment. Maybe that was it. She should be what he wanted her to be. A fierce mate, no his fierce queen. And she needed not to put much effort into acting as she would be portraying her true self. Though, she must be extra careful not to show her hatred toward him. Indeed, she would charm the king of werewolves with her fiery personality until he would get burned into ashes. And after that...

Someone barging in forcefully pulled her out of contemplation. And without looking, she knew it would be the beast. She composed herself before searching for the blazing eyes, only to find them a dim darker like gold that had lost its shining luster. Somehow, she was relieved. She could face this dark version of him without getting distracted.

"Let's talk," King Henric said, choosing to stand up this time and looking down at her.

Judging by his domineering posture, Adira thought he would be imposing his will on her. And if he expected she would easily bend, then he must be dreaming. If he wanted a stubborn queen, then that's what he was getting. "And what that would be?" Adira asked confidently, meeting his steady gaze.

Just in the morning, she was like a scared cat begging her master not to hurt her. But now, she appeared like she was prepared to go through hell, without any indication of backing down. The king thought she must have gotten over the shock, returning to her feisty nature.

King Henric smirked. "Have you thought about my proposal?"

Adira clasped her hands over her thighs that were covered with white blankets. "Being your queen, you mean?" she asked, like how any human would talk.

"Do you accept?" he asked back, keeping his stare on her, and her alone.

She dared not to look away, she would be d*mnd if she did. "And how would you prove you're really a king and not some lunatic who had escaped from a mental institution."

She was not too trusting, and the king liked that. "You're in a castle," he simply pointed out.

Adira bit the inside of her cheeks in annoyance. His simple comments made her appear like some i***t. "Any other solid proof," she challenged him.

King Henric showed her his white large fists in which wrapped around his forefinger a gold ring with a round black onyx at the top and engraved werewolf eyes at each side. "The king's official ring," he stated. "My crown and cape could be fetched by the Lady Chamberlain," he added to reassure her.

"You mean the woman cleaning this room and bringing me food this day?" she asked even though she already knew the answer.

The king nodded. "Are you now convinced?"

There was no point fighting him over that fact since she already achieved her purpose. "If we are to establish that you are a king, then why would you marry a commoner, a mere peasant without a trace of royalty blood nor any connection." She regretted her choice of words, for she did not sound like a human. She was hoping he would overlook it.

King Henric concluded that she was an educated woman, judging by her words. And the king was pleased again in that discovery.

Instead of answering her. King Henric stooped down, his hands he had placed on the headboard as though caging Adira between his arms. "Do you feel it?" he asked, his voice turning rough.

Adira gulped down at his sudden invasion of her personal space. For a moment, she lost the ability to speak until she felt the pain in her knuckles caused by her hands overly tightening together. "What are you saying," she again opted for sheer ignorance.

"This," he whispered huskily, inching closer to her in an exaggeratedly slow fashion.

Everything stilled in Adira-- her body rendering immobile, her breath getting caught, her mind becoming dysfunctional, and even her heart skipping a beat.

"That is irresistibly, insatiably drawing me into you," he stopped when their faces were a hair's breadth away. In the same slow manner, he was backing down, and Adira was unknowingly inching forward, an invisible force so strong pulling her toward him. "And so are you to me," he said, almost gasping each word as though running out of breath. The combination of thrill and frustration of having near her but being unable to touch her was causing his heart to uncontrollably pound faster and louder. His need for control and his desire to unloosen were like two opposing powerful forces, battling each other to take over.

His last words were like a bucket of cold water splashed on Adira, waking her up from the trance and instantly stilling her movement. What in the world was she doing was all she could think of.

Watching her stilled, King Henric took the rein for control without difficulty. He straightened his posture and remained silent. He waited for her to calm herself down and for him to catch his breath.

"Attraction, you mean," Adira said, looking up at him who appeared like a strained statue, too rigid and stiff. Clearly contrary to what she was feeling. Or maybe he was at best in restraining his emotions.

He only spoke when he was absolutely certain his voice was steady. "No, a bond... that soulmates shared," he explained in a fashion a human might understand.

She was caught tongue-tied once again. He was showing off his one trait that she didn't know how to counter-- his unpredictability. Maybe that was his plan. To tell her bits by bits the truth so that when he would reveal it all, she would be less shocked and not leave. That was one d*mn good plan, she must admit. But she would not surrender. It was too early to raise the white flag. The war had just begun.

"And if we were to marry, will your people not mind that I'm black and you're white," she pointed out an issue only in the human world was existing.

"We do not discriminate by color," he said, remaining stoic.

Indeed, they did not. Not by color, but by strength. The strong soared high and the weak trampled over. Added to that was the male domination embedded deeply into their culture. No woman can ever be an alpha, a leader of a pack. They can only be a luna, a child-bearer, a mere tool to ensure the alpha's lineage continued. And that sickened Adira that she could feel the bile rising from her stomach to her mouth and threw up. And she never dreamed of being a part of that sickeningly disgusting world, and if she unavoidably would be, she would make sure it would be the briefest moment of her life.

"There are conditions I would like to state before I will marry you, and I demand those be put on paper and legalized," Adira said, gathering her cool confidence with his head slightly tipped sideways while looking directly at him.

That was unexpected, King Henric thought. He was unsure whether he would be furious as no one had ever dared to demand something from him or he would be pleased the woman was cunningly smart. Still, he must not get ahead of himself as he had to hear her conditions if the woman was indeed as smart as she projected herself. "What are those?"