NARA
By the end of the week Kaedyr had kept to his side of the bargain and my people had been moved from the camp outside the forest to a dormitory that looked like it had been built not too long ago. If I didn't know better, I would've said he built the dormitory with my people in mind or he had planned to give it to us all along, but I knew better and that Lycan Alpha doesn't do anything unless it benefits him. With the way he hastened with the transition of leaving the camp and moving everyone here, I almost thought he was doing it because of his eagerness to get things going and have the ceremony as quickly as possible.
But then again, this is Kaedyr we are talking about. I am but a thorn in his side and I know there's no way in hell he is excited about this entire situation. "How did you convince them to do this?" Jodi asked, walking up behind me.
I had asked her to come with me so we could inspect the dormitory together and see if everyone had a little bit of everything to at least make them comfortable.
"I told them I won't proceed with anything until they do this."
Jodi stared dumbfounded. "And they agreed, just like that?"
I shrugged. "They need an heir. The Queen Dowager said something about appearances and the importance of showing the outside world that the throne and royal family had stability."
"So you're going to be his queen? They'll crown you?"
Shaking my head as we turned another hallway. "No, the big oaf says I am not worthy to sit as his queen. Apparently I'll have the title of royal consort, and I'll have the west end of the palace to myself."
"Oh, I see," Jodi mumbled in a quiet voice.
"What's wrong? Why do you look so sullen?"
"It's just—" she sighed. "I just realised you'll be gone soon, and I don't know what to do without you here."
I couldn't help the chuckle that escaped me.
"It's not funny," Jodi grumbled and I nodded.
"I know it's not. But you do realise that you're coming with me, right?" She stopped walking abruptly, turning to me with glossy eyes.
"What?!"
"Did you really think I'd leave you here all by yourself? Come on, you know me better than that."
"I… I wasn't sure if they would let you bring anyone else into the palace."
"If I had to move heaven and earth to bring you with me, I would've done so in a heartbeat," I told her. Tears clouded her eyes as she pulled me into a bone-crushing hug.
"I love you. I love you," she chanted over and over again.
"I love you too," I whispered, patting her back gently. She eventually pulled apart from the hug and I leaned over to kiss her temple.
"Hmmm, how come I wasn't privy to the knowledge of you having a lover?" Kaedyr's grating voice came out of nowhere, and his pheromones bounced off the air in angry waves.
~~
KAEDYR
Well, this was a development I never saw coming. To see my soon-to-be consort being intimate with a woman and doing so out in the public where anyone could see.
"A lover?" She pulled away from the female beta who had Imah's scent all over her.
"Hmmm, is there a reason you were kissing her out here in the open?"
Imah stared at me dumbfounded. "Kissing her? I gave her a peck on her temple, not a kiss. Besides, what is it to you what I do with anyone?"
"What is it to me? Do you need a reminder that you're mine?" I asked.
"I am not yours. I'll never be yours," she sneered.
"You believe that? I owned you from the minute I put that collar around your neck," she snarled, stepping away from her lover as she bared her teeth against me. "You became mine the minute I took your virginity and gave you that mark. The ceremony in a few days will only make what we both know official. You are MINE, Nara. Deny it all you want but you belong to me."
Her face turned red and she growled angrily at me. I could see it in her eyes how badly she wanted to shift. And I knew she wouldn't hesitate to lunge for my throat if she were able to shift right now. The hunger for vengeance was raw and unyielding in her eyes and something about seeing that raw emotion had me hot for her. I was minutes away from taking her out here in the open where all could see. Her hate for me and the anger in her eyes did nothing but made my cock hard for her
"All you have a claim on is my body, Kaedyr, and that's all you'll ever get, my body. I am not yours. You know in your heart that there's a piece of me you will never have, no matter how much you crave it. Go ahead and boast about having my body. You will never have my respect nor my heart—I can assure you of that. So gloat all you want… You're just a miserable, heartless monster who has never been loved by anyone, not even by his own mother. And he takes out his anger on everyone because Mama refused to give little Kaedyr love. You are so fucking pathetic you make it a mission to shit on any type of love you come across. You cannot stand it that I care for someone enough to treat them like they're precious. Something you will never have. Or maybe it reminded you of something you almost had and you threw away because you can't even fathom being happy."
She jabbed my chest with her finger as she spoke and every word, as stupid as they sounded, cut through me like a knife.
I tried to bite back a growl, to keep my emotions under wraps and not let her see how much her words affected me.But this was the second time her words had gotten to me and I hated it. I hated how right she was.
"Believe what you want." I shrugged, because I had no other defence against everything she just said. "The next time I see you being intimate or tender with anyone. I don't care who the fuck they are… I'll hang their head out in front of your door for you to wake up to and be reminded of the innocent lives you'll be putting in danger."
"You…" she tried to retort but I cut her off.
"Try me and see, princess."
"I hate you so fucking much," she sneered
"I know," I muttered, snatching her hand and pressing it against my erection. "And it makes me hard. Your anger and that fire in your eyes turn me on, princess, so bring it on." She struggled to pull her hand out of my hold. "Keep hating me the way you do, with that vengeance and fire in your eyes. The thought of you plotting my death makes me so hard my cock aches for the chance to fuck your tight cunt. The more you hate me, the harder I get and the more reason I have to fuck you every night. Don't ever stop. I hope you don't," I whispered, leaning down to kiss the mark on her shoulder.
Her body vibrated with raw anger as I let go of her hand and she stumbled away from me. The grin on my face widened as my attention shifted to the Beta behind her. "If you behave, I might change my mind and let you keep your lover or who knows, I might just decide to fuck her too. I bet she'll be a good fuck, probably more responsive than you." I remarked before turning to leave.