Rejected By My Alpha, Claimed By The Dragon Commander

Chapter 9: Good Riddance To Dead Scum

I heard the sound of the door opening behind us. I didn’t turn in case it was the King. I kept my gaze on the approaching horses until they halted behind the car and both men climbed off.

The man with silver hair was watching me as he walked, his eyes hard and his jaw clenched. His gaze went to the top of my head where the small crown still stood. Then it came back to my face. His steps were so hard that I could hear every step as his boots hit the concrete. The one with him appeared younger and far more relaxed. It was impossible to miss Jaco’s resemblance on both men.

“My Queen,” Puncho’s creepy voice came from behind us.

I finally turned.

And there he was. The King. With Puncho standing right beside him.

He didn’t look pissed. In fact, he didn’t look anything. His expression gave nothing away as his gaze moved down the black dress and came back up to settle on my probably red face. I wasn’t blushing. No. I was terrified. My legs suddenly felt weak but I refused to buckle.

“My King,” a rough voice muttered behind me.

Shit. s**t. s**t.

Did he even know already? Maybe he didn’t. It didn’t happen too long ago after all. And I never saw a single person holding a phone. Were they even allowed to call the King? Did he even have a phone?

“Lord Aevric,” he grunted, his blue eyes never leaving mine.

Shit.

“Lady Mira,” he said. “Take the Queen to her chambers until she’s called upon.”

Mira finally remembered where she was and the trouble I was in. She quickly bowed.

“Greetings, my King. Yes, My King,” she whispered rapidly before leading me inside with her head still bowed.

It didn’t take long to get called upon. According to the clock above my bedroom door, it took approximately fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes spent pacing and panicking and Mira trying to screw my jumping heart back on track, using words of encouragement.

I walked into the room with Mira hot on my tail. Puncho was right behind her. We entered the large chamber with big windows that had cloth banners with dragons. The cloths were gray and made the room seem a little darker. There was a long wooden desk in the middle. The King was sitting at the head, Lord Aevric and the other man were sitting at the sides.

I expected there to be more people. Witnesses perhaps. But it was only the six of us. And the three men at the table were glaring at me.

“Sit,” the King commanded.

I blinked. Okay, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

I walked to the other end of the table. Mira pulled the chair out for me and I sank into it. The King frowned, clearly expecting me to sit closer. I didn’t move.

He leaned back into his chair. “You sentenced a warrior to death. The youngest son of a Lord.”

Really? Youngest? I’d have thought he was older. If the guy with Lord Aevric was his brother.

“Yes,” I whispered, my heart thundering inside my chest.

“Yes?” he raised his brow.

“My King,” I added, and swallowed.

He watched me for a second, as if trying to read my mind, or maybe waiting for me to say more. I couldn’t tell, so I didn’t say anything more. Words wouldn’t save me from this anyway. Even the Moon Goddess and my wolf had deserted me.

“Lord Aevric demands penance for his son,” he murmured.

Really? Well, that was f*****g rich coming from Lord Aevric. It just pissed me off.

“Penance?” I glared at Lord Aevric, who was watching me like he wanted to strangle me.

I ignored that. If I was going to die anyway, I was going to die having said my piece. “Your son was a piece of scum and a murderer.”

Mira and Puncho gasped. I didn’t stop.

“He murdered a woman because she wouldn’t sleep with him.” I clicked my tongue in disgust. “I’d have him hanged if I got the chance to redo everything.”

The King slapped his hand on the table, hard. I flinched, the sound vibrating through me as if he slapped me instead of the table.

“So you admit to your crime?” Lord Aevric asked, his voice hard.

“There were witnesses,” was all I said.

“You sentenced a man, a warrior, for following his tradition,” the King whispered.

I didn’t say anything. I just watched my hands on my lap. I wasn’t even aware I was fiddling with my fingers until I felt the urge to bite on my nails.

“Answer for yourself,” the King demanded, his voice harder.

I stopped playing with my hands and looked at him. “Your tradition is barbaric.”

“Gods,” Lord Aevric growled, throwing his hands in the air like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“It’s crazy,” I continued. “I know you are aware that it’s the twenty-first century because you have fancy cars and technology. Instead of partially transitioning from carriages to cars, you should’ve changed your traditions instead.”

They were all looking at me like I was crazy, Mira included.

“Women deserve the right to live and choose as much as men. You don’t own us,” I added. “You shouldn’t own us. You hunt us like you hunt your deer. You feel entitled to our bodies and our hands in marriage. How is that okay?”

I paused for a second. None of them said anything.

“I will accept my punishment, whatever it is. But I will never sit back and watch you madmen kill and violate more women.”

The King stayed silent for a long moment. His blue eyes stayed on me but something in his face changed. The anger was still there, but there was something else under it that I couldn't quite understand. His gaze moved over me slowly, almost like he was seeing me for the first time.

I wondered if it was admiration before his face hardened again.