The First Queen *Sample Only*

Chapter 14

"Now I'm here and I never expected to be here, I never even wanted to be here. One morning I was thrown on poor old Jester and that started this whole disaster. I've been selected by some werewolf creature to be his wife, though he claims he didn't pick me, someone called "the moon goddess" did. But he has given me everything I thought I could ever want which has to be a good sign. I have more dresses than I could possibly wear, a stunning room to lay my head at night, and the most amazing food. For a little while it was enough to keep me content and quiet, but it isn't any more. He is my husband, he married me and he selected me from hundreds of other eligible women, yet he is always displeased with me and he hardly knows me. And I'm afraid to let him in because I'm terrified that if he ever knows how unloved I was he will stop wanting me as well. I can't even fathom living in this palace for a year, much less have a child for him, or many should I not conceive a boy. I never thought I would be blessed enough to have a family of my own, but that that I've been given the opportunity I'm not sure I want it. It all seems to cold and harsh. I always imagined that a wedding would take place in a church filled with loved ones and a child would be born to a father that loved them no matter the gender. It doesn't seem that at all anymore, but it's too late. I've already made the decision and the king has it in writing. And the king is right. He now legally owns me, not only as a husband but also as my master."

James stayed silent through my ramblings for which I was thankful. I felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off my chest and I could breathe easier. And I was also happy that he didn't disappear because I had stopped sobbing. He was still patting me tenderly and I was still leaning against him, my face pressed against his chest despite the roughness of his uniform. It felt so lovely to be held, to have someone's strong arms wrapped around me and a listening ear for the first time ever. James wasn't expecting anything from me and he wasn't giving me this affection as a reward for a service. He was just with me because he wanted to be- because he was concerned with my wellbeing- and it made my heart feel so much warmer and lighter.

"That is a big difference." James breathed after a long silence, "And it must be an awful shock to see how different things are from what you thought. I understand your feelings; I was raised in a small house with barely enough to eat. Of course, I had my parents and siblings but life was not easy for us. I had to start working at a very young age just to help support my family, but when I became a guard and moved into the castle I was stunned as well. It's a different kind of life. Far more lavish than I ever thought, but so much more strict. So much less feeling. There's no love or happiness in the palace, just as there is no pain or sadness. At least not while in the eyes of anyone else. Every guard, maid, and servant is just as stone faced as the King. Strategy and control are the most important things in this building." He murmured, almost too himself.

With a heavy sigh, he looked at the moon's position in the sky through the window. "The guards will be changing soon. I must go."

I nodded my head against his chest before pulling away and wiping the last of my tears. He stood up quickly and began walking towards the door. The moment that we had shared floated away with his physical form, but the kindness from him still held me like a warm embrace.

"Thank you. You have no idea how much this meant to me." I whispered into the dark after him.

I heard a soft sigh, almost like he was content with himself. "Good night, Willow."

The next morning I was awakened by a heavy knock sounding on the door. I opened my eyes and watched my confused maids look at each other, than the door. Obviously they had not been expecting a guest any more than I had been. They all returned to their relative tasks like mending my clothes, cleaning my jewelry, and dusting as Lydia called out for the knocker to enter. It was unusual that someone should come so early in the morning, but we seemed to have all assumed it would be someone like my seamstress who had come early to measure me, or an extra maid to help with bathing me as nothing was scheduled for this hour.

So when the king entered instead we all stared in surprise. It was completely odd for the king to come seek me out for anything other than our sexual encounters and so far those were sparse and only happened at night. Once my surprise of merely his presence faded I was startled yet again when I noticed he was carrying a small tray filled with food, then I nearly gasped when I saw the gentlest of smiles on his lips. I could have sworn he even looked a little bashful. For a moment I was worried that this man was not actually my husband, but some kind of fraud instead.

My maids dropped into deep curtsies and scurried out of the way after they took a couple seconds to collect themselves, but the small blonde had a harder time masking her expression. She looked just as perplexed as I felt and I imagined the other maids shared the same feeling more privately.

The king turned to me as soon as the door shut, his brown eyes astonishingly warm and kind. There was something else, almost like regret, floating below the surface. It was still a far cry from James, but odd nonetheless. I couldn't help but frown at him. This was not like his at all.

But when he took a deep breath and began moving towards my bed his smile faded to a look of confusion, then it very quickly transformed as a look of pure rage took over.

And the rage was not all human. I watched in complete terror as his eyes shifted from their usual dark brown colour to one of complete blackness. He was gritting his teeth tightly and when his lips parted I was able to see long fangs extending from his canines.

I was horrified to see this. I knew that the king was partly werewolf, but I had never seen any werewolf in my life and the king had always done such a good job hiding it. Seeing elongated teeth and irises that changed colour made my heart pound at an alarming rate as my mind scrambled to think of what could've caused this reaction. Even those thoughts faded and my mind was only filled with the horror stories that the villagers shared about these creatures.

"Who was in here with you?" he demanded, his voice rough as he stalked towards me.

"No one! My maids!" I cried, leaping out of my bed.

I didn't care that I was only in my night gown, my sole purpose was to get away from him as quickly as possible. But I didn't want to start a chase or turn my back on him. I kept my hands up in an act of surrendering and took slow, calculated steps backwards to put distance between us.

"Liar! A man was here, tell me who it was!" he barked.

His voice wasn't human and the way he moved was more animalistic than ever. It was terrifying.

He was getting closer and I tried to move away but my back ended up against a beautifully wallpapered surface. I pressed back as hard as I could, hoping the wall would give out and I would somehow be able to make an escape, but no such thing happened. In a matter of seconds the king was before me, and he grabbed my thin arm in a tight grip. And just as I was about to shriek out for help he leaned down and something sharp pierced the delicate skin on my neck.

For an instant there was pleasure. My eyes rolled back. But then something shifted. It felt like the blood running in my veins was trying to fend off the creature that had torn into my flesh. My body felt like it was filled with the most toxic acid.

All I could do was scream as pain consumed my body.