Bound by Duty

[13] A Defensive, Insurmountable Wall

They found themselves in Sean's office an hour later. Alex, Danielle, Sean, Grace and McCall were present in the room. Grace, who had little experience with this sort of thing, asked timidly, "Can I get you something, Your Majesty? Something to drink, perhaps? Juice? Or maybe... champagne?"

Alex's sat down on the couch fluidly and pulled Danielle to sit next to him. "Sure, some champagne would be great," he replied to Grace. He pulled her towards him and breathed in her scent, his entire being relaxing. Grace turned around and left the room.

Danielle, who was feeling awkward, went along with his wishes not wanting to offend him after the little incident earlier.

She suddenly realised that she was already thinking about her mate and his desires. But mainly, only one thing was running on her mind. She was mated to the king. She was mated to the king. She was mated to the king.

Didn't this mean that her own mate would put her on trial? And with all the false, incriminating evidence the other side was sure to produce, wasn't he going to personally prosecute her? Then he would have to punish her accordingly. Wouldn't he become a laughingstock then, with his mate being a criminal? She wasn't. She wasn't. But they would make her out to be.

Although she was only twenty-one, she would rather run her entire life than bring him shame.

She didn't know much about him, the man. She did know a lot about him, the king. She knew that he was wise and just, but terrifying when he wanted to be. She had heard legends about him growing up and stories about how he ruthlessly cleansed the royal court from the moment he was coronated. He seemed to have grasped the perfect balance between being feared and loved. There were always going to be exceptions, but by far, he had done a great job.

He seemed to be up on a pedestal. She didn't want to be the one to taint his image. There were going to be complications arising because of this.

She sat quietly next to him, thinking about her prospects from then on. Strangely enough, her wolf and her mind had accepted rather quickly about being queen. She was ready, even looking forward to the responsibilities that came with it. She knew she was enough and more for that role.

This wasn't her being arrogant, but her instincts demanded this confidence of her. Certainly, she was contradicting herself with being nervous and anxious about being the king's mate. Her main concern, though, was would he be nice? As naive as the wish sounded, it was a young girl's hope. For her mate to love her as she was ready to love him.

She shook her head as if trying to get that idea out of her head.

"Something wrong, love?" Alex was looking at her with guarded curiosity.

She managed a small smile. "No, it's nothing."

McCall cleared his throat then, interrupting the second conversation his king and queen were having. "Miss, I need your full name, please."

Alex frowned, annoyed. "McCall, you will address her by her title."

"It's okay, really," Danielle murmured, placing her hand on his thigh.

He turned to look at her. "No, it's not," he said, angered at the slight shown towards his mate.

McCall began delicately, "Your Majesty, she cannot be called so until the coronation. It's royal protocol."

Alex gave him a hard glare. "Who makes the protocol, McCall?"

"You, sire," he submitted quickly. "Ma'am," he changed his address towards his queen. "May I have your full name, please?"

Danielle cast Alex an amused look. But when she thought about the consequences of telling her name, she sobered. She looked at Sean who nodded reassuringly.

"Danielle Fiona Arabella Ward." Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Before McCall could even pull up data about her, Alex swung to her side and frowned severely. "You are Danielle Ward?"

Danielle blinked, knowing this would come. She was ready for it. "Yes," she replied.

"You were the heir-apparent of the Jade Pack?"

"Yes."

"You were the one exiled about seven months ago from the pack?"

"... Yes."

"By your own father?" He appeared incredulous.

"Are you done with the interrogation?" She said, exasperated. He looked taken aback with the outburst. He was used to people obeying his commands unquestioningly.

"Sire," McCall interrupted in a low voice. "Shall I give you the information?"

Alex glanced at him and nodded.

"Danielle Ward, daughter to Jacob and Raelynn Ward. Has the alpha line inherited from both parents and royal blood from her mother's side," McCall's eyes widened at the news. Sean jumped, not aware of this heritage she carried. Only the pair of them remained calm. Alex had known she would carry royal blood. It was customary. "She shifted when she was five years old. Her mother died when she was seven from a Wanderer attack. She left the pack when she was seven, it is unknown where she went. She returned to the pack when she turned eighteen. From then till she was expelled, she was alpha heir-apparent to the Jade Pack. Since she ran from the pack, her location has remained unknown."

Alex raised his brows. Evading the trail of royalty was a feat in itself. He found that his mate was rather special.

"Well? Go ahead! Get done with it." Danielle snapped, looking at Alex. She half-hoped that he would reject her so she would at least be free of obligations and duty.

Alex looked at her oddly. "Get done with what?"

She rolled her eyes. "You know what. Go on, reject me. I have better things to do than sitting around and waiting for some kind of judgement."

Alex's heart skipped a beat. He had known this was coming - she wanted to run away from him. He had to, somehow, convince her to stay. Give her no room to refuse.

Alex tilted his head, his face inscrutable. "Do you want to get away so badly?"

She was taken aback. She didn't know how to answer that. She opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out.

"Do you want me to reject you?" he asked, sounding genuinely puzzled. And a little bit glad that she didn't express her wish to run away.

"That is up to you," she said casually.

His heart was racing. He had to handle this properly. "Danielle," he began. "I have waited for you for over a hundred and seventy years. Now that I've found you, I don't intend to let you go no matter what you've done, no matter who you are."

Danielle turned to look at him, scrutinising his face. He welcomed her inspection. Seeing this very intimate act, Sean and McCall turned away. Finally, Danielle nodded. "Alright," she said at last. "You should remember what you've said today."

"Of course I will," Alex said, affronted. "I never take back my promises."

Danielle settled back down, looking relieved.

Alex was finally able to calm down. Having seen her unperturbed look, he realised two things - first, she was a flight risk and hadn't given him the promise that she wouldn't leave. Second, any woman who could talk back to him and face it head-on was either his mother or the woman made for him.

He understood these facts very well. And so, from then on, his moves had to be so cautious that she wouldn't find any excuses to let go of all that he desired.