Aziel
Alexander stares at me, dumbfounded, his lips moving up and down but making no sounds. I honestly feel the same way.
Coming here with the expectations of a bright, annoyingly obnoxious rainbow of chaos as a mate made finding the girl behind me feel like waking up and realizing the amazing dream you just had wasn't a dream at all.
I came here knowing that if I found a mate, I would reject her on the spot, but then her eyes looked into mine. I saw the pain that swirled in her gaze as she kneeled in front of a poll, and I couldn't do anything but declare that she was mine. One look at her shaking frame in the sand and I knew that I would protect this girl with my life.
She's not an anomaly, and for some, that might be a con. A lot of people in this kingdom consider the anomalies to be superior and higher up in the ranks, but I think the opposite. Having hair the colour of oranges and eyes to match only makes them stand out in a crowd that needs more attention than they do. It makes them distracting and hard to hold eye contact.
My mate is normal, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
"She's- you can't- I mean-" Alexander sputters, his face turning a deep shade of red. "She's a maid! She can't possibly be mated to you!"
I can physically feel the way his words hit the girl behind me, every letter making her shrink a little more into herself.
"Why is everyone so concerned with what she can't do?" I ask, my voice void of anything friendly or warm. "Is she not capable of speaking for herself?"
Alexander sighs as he shakes his head.
"I'm sorry, Aziel, but I won't let you leave here with some worthless servant," he says in disgust. "Have you looked around the room? There's plenty-"
His words drop off with a choke as my hand locks around his throat, my face right in front of his as I say, "You may be a king, but I won't hesitate to rip your vocal cords out if you so much as look at her again. That girl you call worthless will be coming home with me, and I will smirk at your awed face as you witness her being crowned my queen."
I release him with a shove, the crowd that had gathered backing up with gasps of horror.
I lock eyes with Levi from across the room, his hand holding a glass of champagne as he lazily watches all of this unfold.
I make the signal we created to get me out of countless board meetings, and without a word he sets his glass down and heads for the door.
If we don't leave soon, this will end in a bloodbath, my wolf growls. I can already smell the tolls of danger.
"Thank you for the party, Alexander," I say coolly. "It was grand to finally meet you, although I hope the pleasure evades us in the future."
I turn around, but the Sun king obviously has different ideas of how this ends.
"You cannot have her!" He shouts right before I dodge his attempt at tackling me.
He stumbles before righting his feet and getting in a fighting stance, his eyes full of unrestrained fury.
"You can't take what I'm not willing to give you! This is my kingdom, and I will not be disrespected in my own home!" He shouts.
He really went from zero to a hundred within a second, my wolf says. "Would you like me to handle this one?
No. I got it.
Pain flares up my cheek, and I swipe my thumb across my lip to find blood staining the tip.
So that's how he wants to play.
"You won't like how this ends," I warn. "Just let us go in peace."
His fangs flash right before he says, "You ditched peace the moment your hand wrapped around my neck."
I guess he kinda has a point, but I'm known for striking first and talking second. I wasn't about to let him talk my mate down when she was right there.
Right there...
Shit.
I look over to find her huddled in the corner, hands tightly clasped around her mouth and eyes screwed shut.
Why didn't she run? Is natural instinct not a thing anymore?
A fist comes into view, and I duck right before the blow meets my nose.
I throw one of my own, catching him in the stomach and watching as he doubles over.
"Enough," I growl. "Is this really the behaviour you want your people seeing? You are scaring your subjects."
He looks around with a frown, as if just realizing we aren't alone. Both of our guards stand close by, ready to intervene when told to, and all of his people watch the fight with wide, terrified eyes.
"This isn't over," he says lowly, just for my ears. "But for the sake of my people, you take that rag of filth and get out of my kingdom."
My wolf snarls, but I just turn around.
I have no idea how to deal with the trembling mess of my mate in the corner, but I don't have time to figure it out in here.
I slowly slip my arms under her knees and back, lifting her off the ground and into my arms.
Her eyes shoot open with a gasp, gaze flitting everywhere as her breathing turns more and more ragged.
"Shh," I try to soothe. "You're ok now. I promise you're safe."
It does nothing to calm her, but I fear if we linger here any longer, Alexander will change his mind and kill us both, so I hurry out the doors and towards the carriage, my guards following close behind.
Levi opens the wooden doors, and I carefully set my mate inside before taking the seat across from her.
The door shuts with a click, and a minute later we're moving, starting the long journey back home.
•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•
Silence.
Usually I love the sound of nothing. I love the noise that disappears once I'm alone, but staring at my mate as she looks out the tiny window silent and still unnerves me in a way I'm not used to.
Talk to her, my wolf demands. You're acting like a teenager in high school, waiting for her to make the first move.
Awesome. I love being demoted to a lovesick teenager.
I clear my throat before asking, "What's your name?"
She flinches, and something inside of me stretches tight. I guess I deserve that. My little display of violence wasn't exactly admirable mate material.
"Inara Graham," she whispers without looking at me.
"Inara," I repeat, testing it out.
I don't miss the deep breath and flutter of her lashes as the words leave my lips, and I barely keep a smirk from rising.
"Are you aware of what's happening, Inara?" I ask, making sure we're on the same page. "You know how the festival works?"
I would hope everyone in both kingdoms would be educated on this subject, but I'm so desperate for a topic that I'm grasping at used straws.
She doesn't answer, her eyes moving to her lap as she gnaws on her lips.
"Inara?"
She sucks in a giant breath before muttering, "I can't be your mate."
I run a hand through my hair, mumbling, "Not this bullshit again." I slide closer to the edge of the seat and rest my elbows on my knees as I ask, "Do you doubt my wolf's ability to scent his own mate?"
Her eyes widen and shoot to mine, panic radiating from every inch of her.
"No, your majesty! I didn't mean that! I just meant that I-"
"You will never use that title with me," I interrupt.
She blinks rapidly, head nodding in jerky movements.
"Of course! Your highness, I just meant that-"
"No," I interrupt again.
Her breathing becomes laborious, eyes so wide I'm surprised they're still inside her head.
"I- umm.... Your kinglyness...?"
I scoff and shake my head.
"You are my equal," I state, eyes holding her terrified ones. "Not my subject, and definitely not my servant. You will address me by my name, as I will address you by yours."
She's terrified. Trembling head to toe with the notion that I'm scolding her for forgetting my preferred title. Are they really so callous in the Sun kingdom? Would she have been punished for addressing someone with the wrong name?
I will murder them all, my wolf snarls, his fangs nipping the air.
What other foolish mishaps has she been beaten for?
She looks so scared and fragile, like one more crack will shatter her entire being.
My jaw works, fury rippling in my veins like waves in the ocean, every lap making my blood boil.
"I don't care how the Sun kingdom did things," I say, my voice chilled. "Things will be different in my kingdom."
She nods stiffly, eyes back on the window.
Fine.
Silence it is.