Fabio has had another long day with meetings and official delegations to attend to but the day was not over yet.
It was barely noon when he left his meeting with the Guild of Elders, troubled and beyond exhausted. After Elder Theon had cornered him in his study to warn him about his harsh plans toward Giselle, he had been on edge. It wasn't illegal for the King himself to do whatever he wanted but the Elders were there like a form of higher council, to assist him even if he didn't think he needed assistance. This time, their demands were different. They advised him to try for an heir with Giselle.
"It will not only bring stability and happiness to the Kingdom, it would also tell our neighbors that we are strong." an Elder said.
"We have no troubles with our neighbors." Fabio had replied, his mind suddenly replaying the vampiric corpse Dorian had showed him the other day.
"Be that as it may, an heir is necessary for the sake of your dynasty's continuation."
Fabio didn't want to have an heir, not right now and certainly not with Giselle. He walked sullenly back to his chambers and shut the door, leaning against it. His head was aching fiercely but even worse was his heart. Genevieve has still not been found and any leads he had gotten about her whereabouts had vanished like smoke in the wind.
Everything seemed to be falling apart; all his plans, his dreams, everything.
He undid his suffocating outer shirt and flung it across the room in frustration. He sat on a chair, wringing his hands through wild hair. He could feel his wolf rearing his head at the slightest taste of distress, ready to defend him if necessary. It was then he remembered that in his haste to attend to his duties that morning, he'd forgotten to take his suppressants.
Fabio sighed again.
If he wasn't king, he imagined riding off into the sunset with Genevieve beside him after he'd managed to rescue her. Yet try as he might, his traitorous heart couldn't stop thinking of how Giselle would feel. Was she better now? Did she loathe his very existence just as he hoped she would? Why did it feel so…wrong then? It is nothing but the bond talking, Fabio reminded himself, it didn't matter if she hated him or not as long as Genevieve was found.
The door creaked open and a familiar, suffocating sweet scent filled the room.
"My King, I was hoping to find you alone." It was Countess Vivienne. She sauntered into his room without permission with a sly smirk on her face that Fabio wanted to wipe off.
"I'm not in the mood, Vivienne. Leave me." She sighed at his words but didn't leave.
"You haven't come to see me in a week, is there a problem, Fabio?" She crooned, drawing closer, "I missed you more than you know."
Fabio stood up abruptly, putting some distance between them. Her once alluring scent was now a pungent stench to him, one he wished to erase from his memory.
"You can't be seen here, Vivienne. Please leave and don't come here without my explicit permission."
He didn't feel anything for her, if anything she was merely a means to an end. Fabio didn't fancy himself a player or breaker of hearts although he was guilty of wrecking an omega or two before his heart was set on his betrothed. Even now, it pained him to sleep with another, whether it was his lawfully wedded wife or this wily Countess standing before him.
"I suppose my use has run out, then." said Vivienne with a wry smile, "Don't fret, my King, I knew very well that I mean nothing to you but simply a pastime. But even you can't deny that this…habit between us has shifted into something more."
Fabio sighed, pretending not to notice when she slid seductively across the room to wrap her slender hands around his neck. Omegas were said to be every Alphas greatest bane; even their scents were primed to bring them to their knees if they were crafty enough on how to wield their skills. "Nothing between us has changed, Vivenne. Whatever we had was simply for pleasure, nothing more." He growled, but didn't lean back. She was wasting her time, rubbing herself all over him. Perhaps she already saw herself as a concubine or at least an asset to him. If so, then she was more cunning than Fabio gave her credit for.
He has heard all about her—the once widowed Baroness who climbed the ranks by seducing an old Count, inheriting his estate and title when he passed. Now she had her eyes set on an even bigger catch, one that Fabio wouldn't let even his own mate inherit.
"Then why stop the pleasure, sire?" her soft hands crawled all over him, "I could give you far more than little Red can..."
His mouth soured at that moniker, one that he'd only called his wife once.
Before he could respond, the door swung open once again and a familiar scent of roses filled the room.
At the sight of Giselle's bewildered face, his instincts screamed at him to break away from Vivienne but the woman's arms caged tighter around him. He didn't have to look at her to know she was grinning gleefully, as though it was her plan all along. Giselle was dressed casually in an off-white dress and camisole. It wasn't her dressing that caught the King's attention however but her face; she looked like she hadn't slept in days or rather like she had been sleeping for far too long with tired bags around her eyes and dry lips. Fabio couldn't help but think how delicate her features were in their bare, natural state.
"How nice of you to join us, Giselle. I was just telling the King here how much fun I had dancing with him at the ball…"
"...Was it you?" Giselle interrupted, with a cold voice Fabio had never heard from her lips before. She held up a piece of paper with a trembling hand. "I found this letter in my room. It was you, wasn't it, Vivienne?"
"Isn't it a bit childish to assume it was I who placed it there? You may be new to being Queen, but you haven't done a good job in making many friends in Court." Vivienne drawled, her red lips dragging upward.
Without saying a word, Fabio untangled himself from Vivienne's arms but the woman didn't seem to mind, using the opportunity to cross the room until she and Giselle were face to face. He had half a mind to leave the room and just let the two posturing omegas continue whatever argument it was they had, instincts be damned. He couldn't pretend that he wasn't amused at their spat though, so he leaned back to enjoy the show.
Giselle was furious.
The blonde woman smirking at her seemed extremely confident in her abilities to rile her, to make her cause a scene or make a fool of herself but Giselle wouldn't give her the opportunity. Fabio on his part just sat there like a pile of nothing but it was more than enough to give the wily Countess the audacity to speak untowardly to her. Giselle was not one for confrontation, with her personality being more on the reserved side, unlike her sister who was open, lively and outspoken, like a flower drawing all sorts of insects to itself. She'd always seen it as a weakness, being withdrawn and awkward in the face of conversation however it was a very much coveted quality for an omega to be silent as well as well-spoken when necessary, at least that was what she was taught. But even she knew that the time for staying silent and watching from the sidelines was long gone.
"Contrary to what you or the King believe, I do have many friends in Court many of whom care for me deeply, friends who share my pain while you rendezvous with another's mate shamelessly."
Vivienne scoffed, rolling her eyes. "It's not shameless if the King doesn't desire his own mate, is it? If he wasn't so dissatisfied with you, Giselle, I assure you he wouldn't have sought me out. An omega incapable of holding down an alpha doesn't deserve one."
"Your letter calls me an 'imposter queen' not an incapable omega, thus you contradict yourself. Whether you choose to believe it or not, you are nothing special, Vivienne, not to me and not even to Fabio." Giselle said, tucking the letter into her pocket. The other woman reeled at her words and was, for once, speechless, "Now, if you would excuse us, I would like to have a private word with my husband."
"You–"
"Leave. Now—or I will have the guards escort you out. Be grateful that I'm not exposing your shamelessness to everyone and having you tried for threats against your Queen."
The Countess' mouth hung wide open, as though she wanted to say something but changed her mind. She was afraid, Giselle could see, probably not expecting to be lashed back at so coldly with words. With one last glance at Fabio (who was very conveniently looking at the painting on the wall), she left the room, slamming the door behind her. Giselle thought she heard a low chuckle coming from the corner of the bed where Fabio perched but there was nothing amusing about it. Not even one bit.
Now they were alone in his room. Giselle had her own share memories in this room, a lot of firsts and a handful of terrible ones too. Her stomach churned at the thought of being alone with him, out of trepidation or anger, she couldn't place the feeling yet. Fabio was a shroud of darkness, both literally and figuratively, his hair covered his eyes but she could still see their twinkling shock of blue blinking back at her. Each waited for the other to break the terse silence but neither wanted to take the first step. Giselle couldn't marry the thought of this vengeful alpha being the same lanky teen all those years ago that hung off her sister's every word.
She took a deep breath to steady her pounding heart, not once looking away from him.
The bond was barely pulsing these days, with maybe a faint rush of emotion at an odd hour. She could barely feel him and she hoped he couldn't feel her at all.
"When will you stop this?" her voice was barely a whisper but it felt like thunder in her ears.
Fabio was silent for what felt like ages.
"I already have, I told you." He said simply, averting his eyes.
Giselle's breathing hitched. She recalled the 'dream' this morning, how real his silhouette was against the cloudy sky, how real the wind felt. "Y-you have? It wasn't a dream?"
Fabio cocked his head, visibly confused. "You dream about me, little red?"
Blood rushed furiously to her cheeks, coloring them red in an instant.
"W-what, no! D-don't call me that, just—answer my question–"
"–I already have." Fabio said, rising suddenly and taking wide steps toward her. Giselle stepped back just as quickly but it didn't stop how close their proximity had become in a blink of an eye. His gaze on her was chilling. It was frightening how quickly he evolved from playful to completely devilish. "Try as I might to drive you out of this place, you have proved to be more stubborn than I thought. But don't mistake my retreat for cowardice or mercy, I am twice as stubborn as you are, Giselle. You will bend to my will and when the time is right and I have found your sister, she will replace you so don't get too comfortable. And as much as it amuses me to watch you bicker with Vivienne, don't make it a habit. You must remember the terms of our marriage for the sake of your family."
His words sank in her heart like a stone.
"I have tried to understand you, Fabio, but truthfully I do not. You hate me, you punish me for taking my sister's place and you want me to leave of my own volition. Yet you continue to threaten my family! If you despise me so much why not simply divorce me, let me go a-and explain the truth to your Court, that it was a mistake? A King can do no wrong after all! Why punish me to the brink of doing it myself?"
"This is why you can never be my Queen! You're so simple-minded Giselle, it is almost laughable. Do you really think your simple 'mistake' wouldn't cause backlash and distrust in the kingdom?"
Giselle's wolf whimpered at his booming voice.
She tried to step away but his firm hands grabbed hold of her arms, holding her in place. His breath was hot against her cheeks, his gaze even hotter. Calloused fingers traced her cheeks and the soft expanse of her face.
"Wh- what are you doing?"
"It's very disconcerting how similar you look yet nothing similar at all." Fabio drooned on, his pupils were glazed over as if he wasn't present. "Almost like a cheap copy of her."
Giselle ripped her face free of his grasp, staggering back with a gasp. "What you feel for my sister is not love, it's obsession. I don't blame her for leaving you for another, if I wasn't doing this for my family's sake I would run for the hills too."
The silence after her words was deadly.
Fabio looked downright murderous, lips downturned and fists curled in a ball. Giselle knew he hadn't physically struck her yet but in that moment she couldn't help but fear for her life. His pupils were no longer blue but a shockingly bright gold. It was then that she realized that she was face to face with his wolf, one that was rumored to be the most dangerous in the entire three kingdoms. If she didn't run now, she would be dead or worse. It was clear that neither he nor his wolf recognized her as their mate.
Another step, then another and another. Soon she was close to the exit but it was still too far away.
"What are you waiting for then?" He snarled, rumbling like a brewing storm. "Run for the hills, Giselle. But make sure I don't catch you or you'll regret it."
Giselle scrambled toward the door but not before something sharp and long ripped into her leg.
She screamed at the sudden pain but didn't stop moving, slamming the door firmly behind her.
The halls were empty save one or two unconcerned nobles and some concerned servants yet she didn't stop running.
Down the stairs and out the grand door she ran until she made it to the gardens. The palace grounds were eerily quiet except for the chirping of birds and neighing of horses.
Horses.
A beautiful white horse stood near a fountain, as if waiting for her.
Giselle didn't stop to think, ignoring the searing pain in her leg to mount the horse. She rode swiftly, past bewildered guards until the palace was no longer behind her.