Ch. 11：Overnight Queen

“This – This ‘thing’ is your mate?” Scarlett was the first to break out of the shock that we all felt. I had to crane my neck to see the face of the prince standing in front of me.
“I’ve waited so long to meet you.” He took my dirty hands in his. A big smile tugged at his lips but his eyes remained cold and dangerous.
“Your Highness!” The man who he entered with shouted. “What is the meaning of this? How can she – How can this dirty thing be your mate?”
“Careful.” The voice filled with false happiness seconds ago turned to frost. “You’re speaking to your future queen.” I swallowed at those words.
Me?
What kind of madness was happening right in front of me? There was no way the prince was my mate. First, I already found my mate and even if by some twisted miracle he was my second mate, there was no way for me to know without breaking my bond with my first mate. Despite how much I hated it, I was still very much bonded to Noah. The prince was not my mate which meant he was – lying.
But why me?
“What is your name, little mate?” His thumb stroked my cheek in a falsely tender gesture. His tone carried warmth as he touched me but his eyes were nothing but a threat. Ruby coloured eyes dared me to say something contrary to the lies he was blatantly and brazenly spewing.
“A – Amethyst, your – your highness.” I wondered if he’d forgotten me but I dared not assume he would remember a random nutcase that crawled into his luggage compartment a few days ago.
“Call me Killian.” Someone gasped behind me and I almost did the same.
His lips which had been smiling before were now grinning. Even his cold eyes had a faint smear of amusement in them that completely transformed his face. It was not the right time considering the dangerous position this man just put me in, but I noticed his beauty. No – Not beauty. The Alpha Prince was handsome in the most breathtaking sense and his smile –
He kissed me.
“Killian!” Scarlett exclaimed.
Her father’s mouth fell open and mine did too. The prince took that opportunity to sneak his tongue into my mouth. My mind protested but my body responded. He pulled away as my eyes started to close.
“W – what the –“ I was about to cuss when ruby eyes cut my words short.
“I’ve waited my whole life to do that,” he breathed against my lips.
A foreign heat spread through the inside of my body. I was familiar with the cold, lifeless feeling I dragged around with me these days but this warmth was unfamiliar and scary. It made my whole body heat and I knew I looked redder than a tomato then.
“What kind of rubbish trick is this?” Scarlett’s eyes darkened as she exclaimed. “Do you take me for a fool? I know she is not your mate so stop lying!”
“Scarlett,” her father called her name in a meek voice sensing the danger oozing from my ‘mate.’ Really, what kind of show was this? “Maybe we should discuss this –“
“No, we will discuss this here since the prince is shameless!” She shouted. “I know she isn’t your mate! I’ve met her before, or haven’t we met before?” Her green eyes cut to me and I stepped back as the force of anger slammed into me. “Didn’t you bring her to Dark Moon with you? You were carrying her in your arms!” She shouted. Her dignified aura was fast fading as she yelled. It looked like she would also stomp her feet.
“What do you mean, dear?” Her father implored, his gaze cutting to me. He gave me a once over but from his gaze, it was clear that he did not regard me as anything so he turned to his daughter.
“She’s the one.” Scarlett pointed a threatening finger my way. “He brought her to Dark Moon after she fainted and they left together. I thought she was someone special to him but she is just a maid!” She bellowed, red in the face. “She is just a maid and now he wants to pretend they are mates to get out of mating with me.” I cringed at the last part. “If you are mates, you wouldn’t be discovering it now because you have met before!”
It seemed the prince’s lie had been unravelled before it went far. Scarlett was right though. As long as both parties were old enough, once mates meet for the first time, the recognition was always instantaneous.
“That’s why,” the prince muttered, touching my face again. If he wanted to act, he could at least try to look interested in me. His words and actions seemed interested in me but his face remained cold and blank with his jaw clenched.
“That’s why I felt that way when we first met.” He curled a strand of my hair around his finger. “I didn’t know you then but when you fainted, I had to rush to your aid and now I know why. It’s because we were fated.” He leaned into me and took a whiff of my smelly body. His body went rigid no doubt from the odour emanating from my overworked body, yet he breathed out a sigh of happiness as if my scent was special to him.
“What – This –“ Scarlett got even redder. “I don’t believe you!” She exclaimed.
“I’ve had enough of this,” the prince’s cold and quiet voice stole the heat from the room. He had a calm face as if talking to a child when he turned to the redhead. “Who do you think you are to question me?” I swallowed. His hand which had been stroking my face twitched. It was as if he wanted to draw a weapon or hit something.
“Killian –“ She started, despair filling her green eyes.
“Don’t call my name so carelessly,” he mumbled yet his words carried. “And don’t ever think of raising your voice in my presence or the presence of my Luna.” With that, he was done. He took my hand and tugged me with him. “Let’s go, my love.”
The door to the hall slammed shut in the faces of four confused people. He dragged me all the way from the hall to a strange room, ignoring the people greeting him and those openly staring at us.
I came here to live a discreet life before I got the resources to get my revenge on Red Lake pack but the Alpha Prince just raised a death flag on my behalf.
“Sit.” His hand dropped from mine as if he had been holding something hot and unpleasant all along.
“Your – Your Highness –“ I muttered with a red face as I sat. “We aren’t –“ I started, feeling feverish inside me. He dropped the act once the door closed behind us and now he was staring at me with blank eyes. “Why did you lie?” I blurted, curiosity eating at me.
“You dare accuse the prince of lying?” He asked with a raised eyebrow. It was a weird question since we both knew he definitely lied. We were not mates so why – “I need a Luna and I have chosen you.”
Why? Why!?
Prince Killian was a bastard prince born from the late king’s infidelity with a maid. He had no political support and the kingdom regarded him as a despot that killed his brother. If he needed a Luna, Scarlett would be the ideal woman since she came from the most powerful pack and family. Why would he choose a nobody maid like me over Scarlett who could secure a strong alliance for him?
“But – why me?” I tested the question with pursed lips. Speaking in the presence of this man was difficult. I feared I would say one wrong thing and then he would unsheathe his claws and end my life.
“Interesting,” he mused. “Any other woman would be jumping for joy to be the Luna Queen.” His brows raised. “Why not you?” He countered.
“W – Well, I don’t – I don’t have a family or anything like – I can’t be beneficial to you.”
“That’s why you are perfect.” I blinked at him. I’d been made to believe that in the political scene, people chose partners from what they could benefit from them and their families. “Don’t get me wrong,” he started. “I have zero interest in a woman like you but you’re lucky enough to be picked.” A woman like me? “You have no family, no pack and no supporters so you are perfect.” I nodded despite not understanding his reason. “A woman like you would not think of sharing my power.” I blinked as his words started to become clear to me.
Scarlet was powerful. She had a powerful family and the support of the dowager Luna Queen who was one of the people forcing him to mate with her. The queen and her father would become more powerful if they had their person as the Luna Queen. But me, I’d be a small fry tossed into this world and I’d have to depend on him. The Alpha King and Luna Queen were two parts of an absolute monarchical authority but with me –
“You’ll have full power,” I muttered.
“You catch on quick.” He gave a dry chuckle. “Yes, I’ll have full power but as I like to put it, I’ll be getting rid of the roaches who think they can make me a puppet king.”
A bastard king that needed to solidify his power and a Luna Queen who was the daughter of the wealthiest and most influential Alpha. Such a queen would certainly control the king.
“What if – What if I refuse?” There was nothing in for me in this deal except a seat with no power.
“When did I give you the option to refuse?” Soft words that made my heart pound.