The Two Queens- By: Lilly Taylor

Chapter 3: To Love Or To Burn- Fates Intertwined

I turned slowly, steadying myself on a nearby post as I do, my mind in overload and my senses burning. My body felt like it was on fire, my core igniting in ways I had never experienced before. I could smell honeyed mead and musk on a soft breeze. He was much closer than I anticipated, my gaze landed directly on his bare chest, chiseled and tanned.

A tiny gasp escaped me at his proximity, my cheeks burned brightly. I closed my eyes for a second, and found he had put just a bit of distance between us so he could peer down into my eyes. His searching blue gaze locked onto my forest green eyes, and before I could open my mouth, "Mate. " the man growled, his handsome features shadowed as the lantern lights flickered around us.

As puzzled as I was, his words seem to ring true. I burned for him, immediately feeling a spark as he closed the distance between us and pressed himself against me with a familiarity reserved for lovers. My body tingled everywhere his body heat combined with my own, a pleasurable experience compared to feeling like I was burning when I was just staring at him. As overwhelming as his presence was to my body, my mind had burning questions and the flames would not be quenched without answers.

With a shaky breath, I placed my palm on his chest, my skin tingling as I did so, and I gently pushed him back. The distance, even a small amount, helped me regain my train of thought as he stared at me, bewilderment written on his expression. I could see the desire behind his eyes, but his mouth remained firmly closed, giving me the brief opportunity to gain answers. I started small, simple, hopefully easy to answer. “Who are you?” I watched him carefully, trying to decipher any signs of deceit in his face.

“ I am your mate, as fated and dictated by the Moon Goddess, Nyx.” He stated simply.

“How are you sure I’m your mate?” I countered, feeling defensive in the moment.

“Our Goddess has dictated this union.” He answers shortly. Continuing, “How can you be so blissfully unaware of what you are? Your heritage?” His eyes were shining, glinting a bright amber as he struggled to contain his emotions. I was unsure what I said to upset the man, but I had more questions, and he had been the only actual person to give me any direct answers. “Surely you cannot be so blind to the world around you, Princess. Your kingdom suffers under a curse your family is responsible for. Either you do as the Goddess commands or you will share the same fate as your father. I will answer a few questions for you, but my time here is… limited.” His expression, once hard as steel, softened and I could see the sincerity in his expression. As wary as I was about what he said, of men in general, I needed answers. And I had someone willing to shed some light and clarity for me.

This made me trust him inherently. I sighed, looking around the room for somewhere for us to sit and talk, I had many questions and my knees felt weak. I nodded my head towards my bed, knowing full well he may take it as an invitation for more adult activities but trusting he would sense my overwhelming curiosity. He did.

“You have more questions for me?” He whispered, drawing closer to me when my knees became particularly weak. I stared into his eyes and nodded, feeling unable to speak lest I beg him to kiss me, the fire within reinvigorated by his proximity. “Yes,” I breathed out, knowing he would hear me even with my voice barely being above a whisper. I sank onto my bed, the fluffy blankets meeting me with their warmth as my mind felt the ebb and flow of the mate bond- and I could feel something deep within me, beginning to stir. I was afraid, but had to ask,” When you said…. My Wolf has been dormant…. You mean… I’m also a werewolf, don’t you? And my father?” my voice, starting out feeble, had grown with confidence as my brain slowly linked the pieces together fully.

“Yes. All other wolves are painfully aware of what has befallen our oldest pack.” His eyes softened, sympathy showing as plain as the stars in the night sky. “Every pack outside of the curse affecting this… kingdom… has sent wolves periodically for recon, and to see if there are any rumors about how to break it. So far, we haven’t had much luck. The closest we ever got were the maids you heard as a small child. We also know the king had them removed from the kingdom by force once you started asking questions,” he looked thoughtful, as if he were trying to discern how much to reveal to me, wondering if I could be trusted with this forbidden knowledge. I was pondering the very same about him, wondering if he was telling me the truth, if I could trust anything coming out of his incredibly handsome mouth. Instead, I felt something from deep within nod, almost as if it were saying, “what have you got to lose?” with a little hesitation, I leave the bed.

While the man stayed still, his eyes followed my every movement, twinkling in recognition of the book I retrieved. “This book,” I started, “Did you intend for me to find it? Or was this random chance?” He silently took the book from me, turning it over in his hands before holding it closely to his face and taking a deep inhale, his face softening further. “I may have said too much already. Just know this… What I am about to do, I do not take lightly.”

Before I could ask any more of the questions that were bubbling up inside of me- his lips found mine. My willpower dissolved. Whoever this man was, he kissed me as if it were our last moments on earth, as if there were no oxygen and I contained the last remnants. The sensations I had been ignoring were now screaming protests of need and wanton lust- as much as my mind protested, my body was on an entirely different plane of existence. My senses exploded, I could hear more, smell more, FEEL more- all over. I could hear his heartbeat speed up as he pulled back slightly, I could see his pupils dilate as he drank in my flushed face, and I could smell my own arousal. “Princess,” He groans, lips hovering just above my own before he smashed back into me, demanding more. His kisses grew more fervent, filled with an unspoken need to have more of me. Any hesitation I once felt evaporated as his tongue danced at my lips, my own parting as he deepened the kiss. I can feel tingling in my head, my body alight with pleasure and pain in equal parts as his hands began roaming my body, unexplored territory for anyone aside from myself.

His hands were roaming, my face, my neck, steadily working down to my chest, taking his time feeling every crevice on my body. Something internally stirred, and I break apart from his embrace, a deep pain radiated from the base of my skull and spread, I could vaguely hear him saying something to me, but I could not make it out because the entire world around me was falling to black. There was a loud howling in my head, and I was fading in and out of awareness.

Darkness- then the sound of clothes being torn. A small blip of that deep voice, “Just stay still for me,”. Darkness. A shooting pain in my privates. Darkness was swimming around me, grunting and panting all around me as the pain increases. More darkness. The sensation of being rocked violently, my head bobbing as the voice moans above me, “I can’t stop now, Goddess forgive me,” Darkness. A sharp slap as I tried to close my legs. The groaning above me grew louder, my body being rocked rapidly as the pain overwhelms my senses once more. More darkness. Some time passed, and as I fought for consciousness, the blips of what happened between the darkness claiming me receded into the depths of my mind.

The last words I could hear and understand are, “I, Roland Highsteel, reject you, Lilith Wolfbane as my Goddess given-mate. Let our bonds burn so the Goddess may light your path from here.”

The rolling waves of pain that wracked my body subsided only when the darkness claimed me once more. When I awoke, I was in my chambers. The sun filtered through the thick curtains, sun streaks dancing around my room as my mind starts to piece together the puzzle I have been left with. All I could feel was pain, my body weak and frail feeling as I slowly sat up. My insides ache, my neck sore and stiff. A small bit of blood had stained the sheets underneath my frame, my mind reeled and quickly searched for anything else to push the memories deeper down.

My hand touched something hard and cold next to me, and as I turned my head I saw the worn blue cover with golden letters- with a letter sticking out of it. Feeling nauseous, I opened the book to where the letter was, laying the book on the bed on the same page I had opened it to, in case there was a reason that the letter was shoved there. The letter is plain by outer appearance, but smells of honeyed mead and musk. My heart twinges painfully as my mind registers who the scent belongs to.

“Mate.” A firm voice in my mind spat at me. It was firm, full of disdain and disgust, feminine and wise. I sighed, not knowing what the letter read, but knew it could only be more mind-boggling news or hidden truths coming to light at long last. All that was ripping through my mind was one burning question- “Are you inside my head? Am I going crazy?” I whispered, my voice rough and my throat begging for an end to the drought. “No. You are not crazy, dearest one. Just… not used to this. You have been living in a fog your entire life and that fog has finally lifted, allowing me to finally support you as I have always wished to.” A simple statement, but what the f**k did it actually mean?

My breathing hitched, surprise removing the ability to breathe from my known list of ‘bodily functions’. “Be calm. You are not unwell. Rather, you are finally well for the first time in your entire life. But, I have some news. News you may need a moment to process.” The voice was trying to be soothing, and I felt something in my head actively pacing, restless. “Princess. We have much to discuss. Please, take some deep breaths and calm yourself. I want to make sure you understand exactly what is happening in this kingdom- and within yourself.”

Instinctively, I listened. I inhaled slowly, deeply, and held it for a few moments before finally releasing it. I could feel the anxiety bubble in my lower stomach loosen its grip. “Tell me absolutely everything. I need to know. What I am. Who you are, what werewolves do, what the hell a mate is- I need to know everything that has been hidden from me that you can. No detail is too small or insignificant when you have been lied to your entire life.” My voice was deadpan, my expression serious. I focused on the feeling I had inside that was the most stable- the burning rage of being lied to my entire life, essentially I had been living a lie and I needed answers. Answers I knew my father had worked to keep from me. Answers that led to others being harmed instead of the truth emerging. Fury boiled within me, and there would be hell to pay.

I would swear my life on it. Just like I swore I would never, ever marry a man. My own father had betrayed my trust- I’d be damned if another attempted the same and lived to tell the tale. I had a choice in front of me- one of forgiveness and love- or one of burning hate. To love, or to burn, that is the question.

I would choose both. Loving myself while hating my father and doing everything possible to distance myself from him- and any other man. They couldn’t be trusted, any of them. There would be no changing my mind on the matter.