-Darius-A thought had lingered in my mind for a while, and since I wasn’t planning another attack against the Dark Ones at the moment, I considered something else. It was a foolish plan, and I was likely to get killed because of it, but what choice did I have?In the dead of night, when my powers were heightened by the darkness, I snuck out to my horse, leading him between the tents instead of through the camp so that no one would see me leave. Once I was far enough from the camp, I mounted him and rode toward the forest. As a Dark One, I could see much better in the darkness, and I had no trouble guiding my horse through it. However, I dismounted before entering the trees, not wanting to take him with me. I removed my sword, knowing they would perceive it as a threat, and tied it to his saddle. I left him there and walked the final distance on foot.Standing before the forest, I felt a power awakening within me, but I knew others didn’t experience this feeling. As I walked deeper ins
-Darius-The Dark One in front of me, their leader, looked at me with a sinister smile spreading across his lips. So, you aren’t the real Dark Prince?” he questioned, pacing back and forth.“I am, but I’m not this time’s Dark Prince,” I explained. “I altered some things to ensure my wife wouldn’t die.”“But she wasn’t your wife in the other life, was she?” he asked.“No…”“But you still sacrificed everything for her?” he inquired.“I had to,” I admitted.“Why?”“Because I cannot live without her,” I explained.“And did she love you?” he asked.“Now she does.”“Now that she is your wife?”“She knows everything. She understands what happened. I changed the world, after all, but only we know,” I said.“And now I do as well,” he pointed out.“I think we might have a shared goal.”“Oh?”“You don’t want us here.”“Obviously,” he replied.“Many think you’re mindless beasts hungry for power.”“We do like power,” he chuckled darkly.“But you don’t leave your home much for a reason. I advised my
-Darius-I didn’t like where this was heading. I had hoped for more.“I don’t want blood on her hands,” I told him.“Who says she has to get them dirty? I’m sure she could find someone to pay,” he taunted.“I want to go home and help her. That’s why I’m offering this deal!”“What deal? You haven’t said anything,” he teased.“When I’m king—”“Oh, when you’re king, we can suddenly leave this place? We like it here.”“But no one would ever bother you again,” I insisted.“Trust me, we can protect ourselves. Your kind has always underestimated us.”“I’m nothing like them!” I snapped.“Then who the fuck are you, Dark Prince?” he spat.“Good question. What I know is that I love my wife,” I admitted.“And clearly, you are willing to change the whole world for her.”“Yes, I am.”“Are you willing to kill?”“I am,” I said without hesitation.“Very interesting. I didn’t know Dark Ones could love,” he mocked.“That’s because everyone crumbles under our love,” I countered.He seemed intrigued by thi
-Katherine-I sat in the library for a long time, unsure what to think or feel. I was overwhelmed by everything I had learned—not just about my powers but also about what Darius had done. I rubbed my temple, thinking it all through. I had to focus on getting Darius back. That had to be my number one priority.I grabbed the heavy book and took it with me as I walked back to my bedroom. I set it down and approached my desk to write. First, I wrote a letter to Darius, telling him to stay strong and that I believed in him. Our child was growing, and he or she would need Darius when he returned. He had to keep that in mind. I folded the letter and sealed it before writing a much more important one to my father.I explained how worried I was about Darius and expressed my desire to visit. I hoped he would accept. I needed someone on my side, and who better than my father? I grabbed the letters and went to find two ravens to carry them. Then I left to find Acan.I was surprised to find him in
-Darius-Quinn and I didn’t speak much after my revelation. We stood in the middle of the camp, clearly unable to find words, but what could we possibly say?“How about my powers?” Quinn asked.“Your powers are incredible, but I can tell you who falls into the cracks or not,” I replied. “You saw how many we lost by doing what you did.”He nodded, acknowledging my point.“What about you?” he inquired.“What about me?” I asked.“You’re like them,” he pointed out.“I’m nothing like them.”“I mean, your powers are.”“Quinn, where are you going with this?” I questioned.“What if you used yours?” he suggested. “You must have something hidden. I’ve seen you use fire.”“You do know that’s a stolen power, right?” I replied.“I know.”“I can’t do much else besides that. I’m a Dark One, raised among all the Light Ones. I’ve done my best to prove I’m different. I can’t risk all of that now.”“But maybe you should. Maybe it’s necessary to win this war!” he urged.“In order to gain those powers, I h
-Darius-“Do it,” Quinn urged me.“Quinn, I’m not taking your powers,” I replied.“You could probably use them better than me.”“No, I could not.”“Dark Ones rarely need time to learn. You could,” he insisted.“Quinn, I’m not doing it, and I won’t ask anyone else to either,” I informed him. “So lower your hand.” He sighed, but I reached out, placing my hand on his shoulder and offering a small smile. “But I admire your bravery.”Quinn smiled back, but then a realization hit me. This felt like a repeat of the past. I lowered my hand, staring at it as if it weren’t my own. Quinn noticed and looked at me quizzically.“What?” he asked.I focused on him and shook my head. “Nothing,” I whispered.As I glanced around, I marveled at my own ability. For a moment, I was unsure what to do with myself. I felt Quinn’s eyes on me again, and I turned to him, forcing a smile.“I have something we need to do.”“Oh?”“Come with me,” I ordered, waving him along. I had to stop the Dark Ones from killing t
-Darius-I walked through the camp early in the morning, observing everyone preparing for battle. They nodded at me as I passed, but I could see the nervousness etched on many faces. We had lost so many in our last encounter with the Dark Ones, and sending more men into the forest had only heightened the tension. The air was thick with apprehension, almost suffocating.I made my way toward the large meeting tent, where the other generals were already gathered. I checked to see if they were ready. Today, we would all fight. I had made that clear.“Ready?” I asked, forcing a smile.Some of them took a swig of wine before nodding stiffly, which only made me smile more. We all exited our tents, forming a line in front of the forest. I positioned the light witches further back to help create illumination should the rain start again. As expected, it did. I thought we would have to wait hours for anything to happen, enduring their taunts, but soon the sky darkened, and I noticed a massive sha
-Katherine-“Katherine!” My father, no longer the young man he once was, still hurried down the grand stone staircase, my mother yelling after him not to run. It was a comical sight. Yet my mother laughed, shaking her head in amusement as my father approached, helping me down from my horse. Maybe I should have taken the carriage. I wasn’t as small anymore, and my growing belly made it harder to move around.The moment my feet hit the ground, my father hugged me tightly. I had guards around me who also dismounted, waiting for us to move.“You’re home!” he exclaimed, his happiness clear as he embraced me even harder.“And pregnant. Don’t break me,” I teased.He stepped back, his eyes filled with pride and love as he glanced down at my rounded stomach.“I can’t wait to meet them,” he said.“We both can’t.”At that moment, my mother joined us, hugging me more gently. I had inherited her red hair, although hers was a darker shade. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, and I knew
Thank you so much for reading my story, His Unbeloved Queen. If you're looking for something else, you can go to my profile and check out my other work! I truly hope you enjoyed Darius's and Katherine's story. Please do follow and vote for this story if you did or leave a comment to let me know what you thought about it! Have a great day! You can see the order of my books right here: The Lycan King's Scarred Mate and The Alpha's Forbidden Lycan His Unbeloved Queen You can also, via my profile, figure out where else to follow me on Social Media.
-Darius-My beautiful queen came over to me, kissing me before sitting down beside me. Years had passed since we ascended the thrones and began ruling together, although my wife did most of the governing. The way she spoke to the people and connected with them was something I could never replicate. But over time, they had grown less afraid of me and more accepting.Therefore, we often ventured into the city together, walking among the people and ensuring they saw us. We brought all the kids with us as well, but they were nearly filling the entire table at our meals now. Silver’s and Acan’s boys had initially been sad about their parents, but we never fully disclosed our involvement in their fate, only that their parents had died due to the mob. They moved on quickly, and when the line of succession changed, I noticed a sense of relief in the eldest boy. He didn’t want to be king, and now he could enjoy his life as a prince.Katherine and I loved them as if they were our own sons, provi
Darius and I had traveled quite a distance with our prisoners. We knew exactly who to hand them over to, and now we stood in the middle of the night with a single torch, a few guards, and Silver and Acan before us, tied up and shivering uncontrollably. Their clothes were filthy, their bodies dirty after days spent in the dungeon. We had waited until things calmed down a bit before bringing them here, and now we were simply biding our time.“It’s been a while, prince,” the leader of the Dark Ones said as he emerged from the forest.He seemed to be alone, but I sensed he was not. His dark eyes focused on me, filled with joy.“I finally meet her,” he said.I smiled at him, and he returned the gesture before his eyes shifted to the king and queen before us, tied up and gagged.“Oh, a present. I didn’t bring anything for you,” he mocked.“Better work quickly,” Darius informed him. “We’ve given them something calming so they can’t use their powers, but it won’t be long.”“Don’t worry. We’ll
-Katherine-I gathered some guards and went upstairs to locate Silver’s room. Two guards stood there, blocking the door, but with four of my own, I confidently told them to move aside. They exchanged a glance and stepped back, clearly not wanting to engage in a fight with me. I smiled, feeling a surge of satisfaction, and pushed the door open.Inside, I heard Silver’s voice, “Acan?”I saw her standing up from the bed, a cup of wine in her hand, with blood smeared across her face. It was clear she had taken some hits.“Katherine…” she whispered.“Hello, Silver.”“W-Why are you here? What happened? Are they gone?” she asked.“No, there are still some left. I’m here to remove the wrong rulers and replace them with the right ones.”“The right… ones?” Silver began piecing it together, then let out a hollow laugh. “You…”“Yes.”“All this time?” she inquired.“That’s what you get for cheating with my husband and killing me,” I snapped.“What?” she inquired, looking confused. “I never touched
-Darius-I looked at my beautiful wife, dressed in our colors, her hair elegantly styled and adorned with a silver crown. She looked incredible, and all I wanted was to forget the party and enjoy her company alone. But I knew tonight was special. So instead, I settled for watching her from afar, taking in the wonderful woman before me.Katherine noticed me in the mirror and smiled. “How are you feeling?” she asked me.“Me? You’re the one who’s pregnant,” I replied with a chuckle.She smiled and nodded, then turned to face me, and I could feel my heart racing. It always did with her, swelling far beyond its normal size. I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her.She looked up at me, her arms encircling my neck. “Yes, but this is a big night.”“It is,” I agreed.“So much will happen. Henry is protected, right?”“He is,” I assured her.“Good, because our entire world will soon change,” she whispered.“I know.”“So how are you feeling?”“Nervous, but determined. If the mob fails,
-Katherine-The next morning, I knew I had to do something I really didn’t want to do, but sometimes we had to sacrifice a little dignity to get what we wanted. I anticipated finding Silver with her ladies, so I headed to the room where they were drinking, eating, and laughing early in the morning. However, as soon as I entered, the room fell silent, and Silver glared at me as I approached. I plastered on a fake smile and walked closer, undeterred by their predatory gazes. I stopped in front of them and bowed my head slightly to show some respect, even though I felt none.“Morning,” I greeted.They didn’t respond, and I understood why.“Can we help you?” Silver spat.“Actually, I wanted to ask you a question,” I admitted, noticing her interest as I feigned vulnerability.“Oh?” she said, sipping her wine.“Well, Acan said I could throw that party, as you remember,” I reminded her.“Yes?”“But as I began planning, I became uncertain about a few things.”“Not surprising. It’s not that eas
-Katherine-Later, Darius and I retreated to our room after spending some time with Acan. I was already in bed when he joined me, pulling me close and kissing the top of my head.“I was a bit worried about being away from you today. I saw you went to the city. How did it go?” he asked.“Perfect.”“Perfect?” He raised an eyebrow.“You have no idea how angry the people are, Darius. They want Acan gone. I can feel it. They just need an opening, a chance, and I’m trying to find one,” I informed him.“Any ideas?”“No, what about you?”We both thought for a long moment as Darius ran his fingers along my arm, caressing me and making me feel calmer.“It was hard,” I finally admitted when neither of us had come up with a plan.“What was?” he inquired.“Listening to all that pain they were experiencing from not having enough money. I can’t believe Acan has been pushing them this hard or hurting them as much as he has. It’s just awful.”“Yes, I noticed how they glared at him as we rode through th
-Katherine-Many people were angry with Acan and Silver. I had brought guards with me to the city, but I spent the day listening to their complaints. I wanted them to feel that they had someone to confide in about their struggles.“We can barely scrape by,” a woman told me, clutching a basket. She looked exhausted and a bit too thin. “After the taxes were raised, all my money went to feeding my kids, and I have nothing left. My husband is dead, so we survive on what I earn washing other people’s clothes.”I knew she didn’t earn much from that work. She lived in a poorer part of the city, and those in higher positions would likely view her as “too dirty” to associate with. So I found a small bag of coins that could sustain her family for weeks. When I offered it, her eyes widened in disbelief.“Take it,” I urged gently.She glanced around to ensure no one noticed her receiving extra money. When she took the bag, she thanked me repeatedly for my kindness.“Your king and queen aren’t taki
-Darius-As Acan and I continued to talk, I noticed that the longer we spoke and the more he drank, the more his guard began to drop. He was slowly letting me back in, and I tried to hide the wicked smile that tugged at my lips.Eventually, though, he grew too tired and announced that he was going to rest but that we would be riding together tomorrow. I told him I couldn’t wait, even though the idea didn’t thrill me at all. Then I finished my drink and walked back to my room, where I found my wife sleeping peacefully. I briefly checked on Henry, who was heavily guarded but also fast asleep.Then I returned to our room, undressed, and joined Katherine in bed. She stirred slightly, moving closer to me before falling back asleep. I held her close and kissed the top of her head, savoring the moment. It reminded me of when we first arrived here. I remembered how we had gotten lost in each other, and the next morning, we realized what had happened—we had become a younger version of ourselves