Tatiana.
“A duel? Why the sudden change of mind? I thought you already promised me your daughter’s hand, your majesty.” Benjamin’s irritated voice echoes around us as we sit in my father’s throne room.
My father, Ernard Thorison is the Alpha King of the Beipheton kingdom and he has many packs under his rule.
He had just told us the council of Alphas felt it wasn’t fair for me to be mated to Alpha Benjamin as he isn’t my fated mate. They demanded to be given a fair chance. A duel would be held in a week and the winner will get to be my betrothed and my husband in a day’s time.
“Papa, I'm in love with Alpha Benjamin. The duel is not necessary.” I say as I look up at him and he sighs. The crown on top of his greying dirty blond hair now looks heavy as he frowns at my words, deep in thought.
“We have to do this for peace’s sake, Tatiana. If I don’t appease these Alphas, they might rebel and plan a usurpation.”
I feel my heart thundering in my chest. My father’s throne was important to him so I understand why he agreed to the conditions. Looking at Benjamin, I smile and hold his hand.
“Well, let them come then. We all know Alpha Benjamin is the strongest Alpha in the kingdom. He will win the duel in a few minutes.” I say proudly.
“That’s right, your majesty. I won’t let you down.” Benjamin promises and bows his head. He stands up from his seat gracefully as my eyes follow his every movement. “May I be excused, my King? I would like to go and prepare for the duel.”
“You’re dismissed.” My father says calmly and when Benjamin turns to leave, I stand up and follow him behind.
He walks straight ahead with large strides and I fail to keep up, almost tripping on my long emerald gown. Doesn’t he sense me behind him? Or is he upset about the sudden upcoming duel?
I hold up my heavy dress and trot to his side while I look around to make sure Gena didn’t see me not acting like a princess.
“Wait… Benjamin. I agreed because I knew you would win anyway.” I say as I hold onto his jacket and stop him in his tracks.
He turns to face me and smiles warmly. A smile that warms my heart.
“I know. Don’t worry. I won’t let another man get what’s mine.”
When he says this, there's a strong edge to his tone and I can see determination dancing in his eyes like fiery flames. My heart swells knowing he was willing to do anything to claim me as his.
I smile as I look up at him dreamily, my heart skipping a beat. “Then I’ll see you in a week,” I say.
“Mmmmm, see you.” Is all he says before taking my hand and kissing it like always. He gives me a small smirk and turns to leave. I feel empty as I watch him get into his carriage and leave the castle grounds.
A sigh leaves my lips. I hope a week's time comes soon.
Little did I know, me agreeing to the duel was the very beginning of my doom.
…
The arena within the castle is buzzing with Alphas, their Betas and warriors. A week had passed and it was now the day of the duel. My father didn’t allow many to enter the premises apart from those taking part in the competition.
I am going to be married off soon but it seems he still wants to keep me hidden from prying eyes. My father is seated on his golden throne while I’m on his left and his concubine on his right.
The centre is left empty for the fight and I watch in awe as my man walks in, shirtless with only leather pants on. His hair is still as neat as ever and the confidence and dominance he's oozing make him look like he’s already won the fight.
I feel my heart race when he raises his head. My heart skips a beat when he blows me a kiss and I hold my chest, feeling utterly overwhelmed and I know my face is flushed right now.
“I told you, papa. He’s going to win this.” I say to my father confidently and he grunts his response.
Benjamin arrogantly walks to the centre and looks around the arena. “I’ve staked a claim on the princess. Who in here dares to challenge me? Come down here and fight!”
A gasp escapes my lips and I look at my father who has a frown on his face. Is this how it was supposed to be? I thought the fight was planned with pairs and all and then the champions would have to fight at the end.
My father doesn’t stop him though and I sigh, sitting back in my chair just as someone gets up and jumps onto the centre where Benjamin is standing.
The weather is warm outside but I suddenly feel a chill run down my spine and I crease my brows. What is this? Why do I feel like something bad is about to happen?
Benjamin and his opponent start their fight and the brutal way they keep going at each other has me cringing away in fear. I’ve never seen a real fight before. Neither have I seen Benjamin look so vicious before.
I turn to face my father who now has a smile on his face as if he’s enjoying this. Is this ok? They are snarling and clawing at each other dangerously. Shouldn’t it be a friendly match? Why is there blood permeating the air?
Looking around, I see many cheering happily like this is normal. They have no look of horror on their faces. It's like they are used to this kind of thing. This is when I realize, my father had kept me sheltered all my life.
I knew nothing of the real world.
A round of applause echoes in the air and I turn my attention back to the center and find Benjamin hovering over his opponent with his claws at his neck while the other bares his neck in submission.
He gets up and lets out a loud growl of victory but I’m scared witless. He has blood all over him and he did quite a number on his friend. As if he was aiming to kill him.
I hold my father’s hand. “Papa. Stop them, please. I have a bad feeling about this.” I say, my voice quivering.
“Don’t worry sweetheart. This is normal. They will heal within seconds.” He says nonchalantly and I’m forced to watch as Benjamin fights 12 Alphas.
As much as I’m happy I get to be with the man I love, I don’t like the cruel violence he’s portraying. I just saw him rip an arm off one of his opponents.
The floor where he stands is now stained with blood while he grins happily at the strength he’s displayed. At this moment, I suddenly realize there’s more to the man I want to get mated to than he’s let me see.
He used to say he hates violence as much as I do. But looking at his happy face right now, it dawns on me that he actually enjoys it. He enjoys seeing his opponents bleed. He enjoys making them submit; for some reason, I feel like I’m looking at a stranger.
But all those thoughts get squashed away when he wipes away his blood and turns around to face me, his gaze softening before bowing.
“I won.” He says with a big grin. “Now I can claim you with no worries, my love.”
My heart does a backflip as the crowd applauds. He won… my heart leaps with joy and I feel guilty for judging him. Of course, they were fighting. They needed to shed a little blood. How would he win if he did it in a friendly way?
I stand to my feet without breaking our eye contact. A smile crosses my lips as I feel my heart swell. I’m about to curtsy to him, a sign of reverence to my future groom and king but before I could even lower myself, the doors open up with a loud terrifying bang.
A huge handsome man with a rugged look walks in majestically and I see my father stand to his feet just as the royal guards jump into the arena to surround him but he towers above them still.
While normal werewolf men stand at 6’ to 6’3 this man stands at 7’. He is shirtless too and has a body to die for.
I gulp as his eyes lock with mine. Grey eyes, short black hair on top of his head with trimmed sides, well-defined jaw… tattoos on his arms and chest… he keeps looking at me like I’m a prize to be won and he won’t leave this place until he gets me.
“Roy! What the fuck are you doing here?” I gasp, my eyes widening when I hear my father use a curse word for the first time. The anger he's exuding is suffocating and I wonder who this handsome Roy guy is and why my father looks scared of him.
Roy smirks. “I’m here to duel for the princess.” His voice is calm and low but it sounds dangerous and it sends a shiver down my spine. It sounds strong and it resonates in the arena so powerfully, making everyone want to submit to him.
Who is this man?
The way everyone is looking at him warily tells me he’s not to be trifled with and I suddenly feel afraid for Benjamin.
“Over my dead body! Roy, you know Lycans are prohibited from entering the kingdom!” My father’s words make my stomach knot.
Lycans? He’s the infamous Lycan king I hear the guards talking about? I frown at this. Why would a disfigured wolf want to be mated to a werewolf? I don’t know much about Lycans but my father said they are monsters and unhinged.
Wait… if he’s unhinged then Benjamin would be in danger. I’m about to ask him to leave the arena when he steps closer to Roy arrogantly.
“I accept your challenge, beast. I’ll rip your head off and offer it to the princess as a betrothal gift.”
My heart pounds erratically and I wonder what Benjamin is thinking. There’s no way he would win against a Lycan if the stories I’ve heard about them are true.
My heart drops to the pit of my stomach when Roy’s voice booms around the arena.
“A duel to the death then? Game on.”
Tatiana. “No!” I blurt out before I can stop myself and the whole crowd looks at me. This is the first time I’m having all these eyes on me and I can’t help but cower. I feel nervous. “My love… don’t interfere. This is men’s business.” Benjamin says as he looks up at me with a frown and the words I wanted to say get stuck in my throat. Roy chuckles and crosses his arms. He raises a brow and looks at my father. “What do you say, Ernard?” The crowd murmurs at the obvious disrespect of their king but this man looks unphased. I have a feeling he doesn’t care much about the rules and that is not the type of man I want for a mate. I just hope my father puts an end to this but his next words make the knot in my stomach tighten. “Sure. A duel to the death it is. I have faith in Alpha Benjamin.” “A foolish choice. I can’t wait to see the look on your face when I take your precious daughter.” Roy mocks my father and I feel hatred brewing in my chest for him. What good is being ha
Tatiana.I feel the taut muscles in the beast’s leg that I’m holding start to relax and his furry body suddenly transforms back to its human form. Although I refrain from letting go, I do not attempt to look up either. Even though I try to ignore it, I can see the huge appendage in between his legs through my peripheral vision and it terrifies me. I’ve never seen a man’s nudity before. Without all that fur he was completely exposed right now. “Fine then. Ernard, your daughter is smarter than you. We could have avoided all the bloodshed.” Roy’s deep voice echoes from above me and he roughly drops my father to the floor. I feel relief spread through my body and I get up to run to my father but a large hand wraps around the nape of my neck and pulls me back into a hard, naked chest before I could reach him. A squeak escapes my lips as my heart bangs violently against my ribcage. “Did I allow you to go?” He snarls viciously in my ears and I feel an eerie shiver run down my spine. My
Tatiana. His words echo in my head and it takes a while for them to sink in. He wants me, the Princess of this kingdom to be his slave… Is he crazy? I want so much to spit on his devilishly handsome face and slap him hard but I’m scared of what he would do to my father so I keep quiet and only glare at him with hatred. He chuckles and runs a thumb on my lips. “I own you now, Princess. You saw how I killed that man with my bare hands.” He taunts me with a smirk and I feel anger surge within me as I’m reminded about how this man ripped Benjamin’s heart out like it was nothing. I realize I’m still in his arms and disgust settles within me. How could I let a monster lay his filthy hands on me? Just as I’m about to struggle, I hear my father’s voice. He's trying to negotiate with Roy. “Roy, marrying my daughter will make us families. I think this will be good for the both of us.” Is he serious? He would probably mark me while he gets other women on the side. That is not what I
Tatiana. I quickly step out of the weird-looking tub and grab a towel that was on a rack, wiping myself dry. My clothes are sticking to my skin and I’m practically naked but I don’t have time to start looking for clothes. I have to leave this place. I have to protect my virginity. There’s no way I’m giving it to that beast. Putting the towel back, I walk towards the window and stand on my tiptoes to look around. My heart drops when I see three men standing guard outside. Did Roy know I would try to run? What a sly man he is. How am I supposed to escape now? Should I just sit and let him devour me? I shake my head, biting my lip as I step away from the window, pacing. I’ll say I’m on my period. Yes, that’s a good excuse. Since I can’t escape, I return to the tub and get into it. It’s not like my tub back home but it’s comfortable. I don’t get completely naked, afraid that Roy would walk in on me and I don’t want him to see my body. It’s better not to tempt the beast in any wa
Roy. The only time I wanted to face that bastard Ernard is when I take back the throne and rip his heart out to avenge my parents. But the pack has been having problems lately. The water in the well is drying out and the small stream is drying out because the dam was blocked by mages. Since we are outcasts, we don't have unlimited access to supplies. If I don't sneak into town myself, then my people would starve because they would be shunned by the werewolves. In this kingdom, if one shifts for the first time and ends up being a Lycan, they are deemed as monsters. Freaks of nature. They are immediately banished and banned from entering the kingdom. It was the same with me too. When I turned into a Lycan, my father, who was the Alpha King, confided in his Beta, Ernard Thorison. Little did he know he would stab him in the back and grab his throne. No one would accept a Lycan Prince, so I fled before Ernard could kill me. That was after enduring years of torture in one of
Tatiana. My eyes hurt. I can hardly open them. It seems I had cried myself to sleep last night. The loud growl of my stomach indicates how I had slept on an empty stomach too. It seems no one thought to bring me anything to eat. Not that it surprises me, I’m just a slave here. The pain in my sides tells me I had slept on the cold, hard ground and I'm still clad in my inner garments that are now dry. Looking around, I find the place empty with Roy's bed still as neat as it was yesterday. So he didn't come back… I frown as I force myself to get up. Why would that bother me? As I adjust to the brightness seeping through from the sun outside, memories of what happened yesterday flow through my mind with so much force that I almost have a splitting headache. I reach up my hand to touch my face, and my heart sinks when I feel the ridges from the scars given to me by that strange woman. So it wasn't a dream. I had hoped it was. How do I go on with this face? How do I even
Roy. I didn't go back to my tent last night. Timber kept growling in my head and I didn't have full confidence that he wouldn't take over while I was asleep and claim Tatiana as his. It seems the big bad Lycan was tired of fucking around and finally wanted to settle down. But with the wrong person. The Princess… as tempting as she is… she's off limits. So I took over guard duty and stayed awake the whole night, trying to prevent my Lycan from taking over. Simone wanted me to stay in her room but I declined. I wasn't a fool. I knew she wanted us to be more than friends. But… my Lycan wouldn't mark just anyone. If I force it he might end up ripping her head off. I knew she had an unhinged beast due to her terrible past so I understood that she lost control but I knew she had also purposefully gone to see Tatiana. Otherwise, how would she explain the wolfsbane she had in her claws? Tatiana was now scarred and I know I brought her here to make her suffer but not that kind of suff
Tatiana. "Then rest in peace in advance." His words keep swirling in my mind and I can't help the anger bubbling up within my chest. I should have said more. When he insulted me and called me a slut, I should have stood up to him and told him off. He may be a King out here but I'm the future Queen of the whole kingdom. He has no right to treat me with so much contempt. It's not like I had planned to seduce him. If not for my wolf, I wouldn't have made a fool out of myself like that. The question I have is why is she behaving like this? Before now, she hadn't made herself known to me apart from yesterday and I don't even know her name. I feel like she's not even the one. It feels like there is something else inside me. Something that doesn't care about the rules and I'm afraid of what it may make me do. A thought flashes through my mind and I frown. I hope I'm not possessed by something because I'm sure the next time I behave like that in front of Roy, he will take what