Chapter 13
[ 1,066 words ]
Lucien Volkov:
My Beta went completely still. I could see confusion on his face, but this was not the time to explain to him my situation.
A second later, his voice echoed inside my head, “She’s living here ? In your bedroom? I thought it was only the quarters. But bedroom ? Seriously, Lucien?”
I ignored him and tried to keep my face blank. The girl placed her hand against the doorframe as she watched us in confusion.
“For Goddess sake, Lucien. She is not some random fucking girl. She’s our mate!” My beast reminded me aggressively.
“Your Highness,” Bradley again sent me a mindlink, “Care to explain what exactly is going on? I think the Queen is mad for a reason.”
“Mind your business, Beta.”
In my head, I was doing my best to silence two voices. My beta and my lycan.
While my mate… I mean the girl…the weak girl was standing there staring at us with lost doe eyes… she shifted awkwardly beneath our silence… waiting for…
Shit!
She was here for water.
“I’m sorry… I think I should go back and …” she trailed off, while swaying a little. Her hand reached for the wall as I noticed the sudden loss of color from her face.
For a second, she looked confused, then her knees buckled a little. I was already on my feet and caught her before she hit the floor.
She gasped softly as I scooped her up in my arms. The realization that she was too weak and weighed nothing in my arms made me uneasy again.
“I’m sorry, your highness… I…” She swiped her tongue over her parched lips.
“Quiet!” I told her softly and turned towards my room.
“Don’t just stand there, Beta,” I mindlinked Bradley, “Send water and ask the healer to get here ASAP.”
“Roger,” he said quietly.
By the time I carried her inside and placed her on my bed, her eyes were already drifting closed again.
“You fool!” I whispered, moving back her hair, “You exhausted yourself just by walking to get a glass of water.”
When the healer arrived, I didn’t want to let her go. My arms tightened around her before I left her on the bed. A maid helped her up and made her drink some water.
“Lucien!” I got irritated when I received my Beta’s mindlink, “I just got the news that Victor has gained consciousness. We have to release him within two days. How about we ask him about the girl who was with him to kill Aniya?”
I clenched my jaw when Bradley reminded me of the evil man who was imprisoned in the palace dungeons.
He was right. Once the Victor was out, we wouldn’t be able to do anything.
“Let’s go,” I said, closing the mindlink and throwing a glance at the girl who was chosen for me by the Moon Goddess.
My fated mate.
She smelled like a fucking bakery. A walking sugar trap.
I tried not to smile when I was walking beside Bradley, but he did notice it. His eyes gleamed with mischief. He was about to tease me when I passed him a warning glare.
“Don’t!” I hissed under my breath, and he clamped his lips tightly to keep himself from laughing.
***
Arabella Toussaint:
In my sleep, I could feel someone staring at me. Was it the king?
When I opened my eyes, I found the healer standing there with Helena.
“You are too weak,” he remarked as he held my wrist to check my pulse, “You need a good diet and rest as much as possible.”
I nodded and looked around. The room was huge, and the king-sized bed was too soft. The healer pulled out a tab from his bag and started dictating to me, “Ma’am. I’ve got strict instructions from the king. You need proper meals, three times a day. No skipping.”
Ma’am?
Did he just call me ma’am?
I blinked. And three meals?
They brought me here as a slave, and now they were treating me like…
Oh Goddess— like a queen.
They were treating me like a queen.
But why? Lucien Volkov was sinfully handsome. A powerful king. Yet he marked a girl who was about to be his slave.
Didn’t it happen only in books?
What was the reason that he chose to mark me?
Oh, Goddess. I wished Maya were here. The king carried me here, and now his employees were fussing over me.
They were telling me about my diet, my meds, my sleeping, and wake timings. I didn’t know how to react.
Was it all a dream?
Nobody had ever cared for me. Eventually, I cut them mid-conversation and asked the question that was on my mind, “Which guest house is this?”
They both stopped talking and exchanged a look. Helena cleared her throat and tried to smile, “This isn’t a guest room. It’s the master bedroom of his highness.”
My mouth fell open. The king brought me to his room? To his bed?
Holy…
Heat immediately rushed to my face.
I was still trying to recover from the shock when the bedroom door slammed open, making all of us jump.
King Lucien stormed inside, and the expression on his face was terrifying. Taking long strides, he reached me and stopped beside the bed.
Reaching over, he held my necklace hidden under the gown. The next moment, he grabbed it violently and yanked it from beneath the gown, tossing it at his Beta.
I gasped at the pain it caused me.
His Beta examined it closely and then nodded at him while pursing his lips.
What was this all about? What was going on?
“You bitch!” King Lucien growled, and the words struck me like a slap, “I thought you were an innocent girl… just collateral damage.”
I watched his face in confusion. His golden eyes were blazing with fury, “Never knew you were involved too.”
Nobody could move… including me. The next second, his hand closed around my throat, making me choke.
He dragged me out of bed, and the pain shot through my injured body. Fear slammed into my chest.
A terrified cry escaped my lips as he dragged me out of his chambers and into the palace hallways.
Servants, guards… everyone stopped in their tracks, turning to stare at me, being hauled by the king himself through the corridors like a criminal.
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