Three: Marry a monster

Tatiana.

“No!” I blurt out before I can stop myself and the whole crowd looks at me. This is the first time I’m having all these eyes on me and I can’t help but cower. 

I feel nervous. 

“My love… don’t interfere. This is men’s business.” Benjamin says as he looks up at me with a frown and the words I wanted to say get stuck in my throat. 

Roy chuckles and crosses his arms. He raises a brow and looks at my father. “What do you say, Ernard?” 

The crowd murmurs at the obvious disrespect of their king but this man looks unphased. I have a feeling he doesn’t care much about the rules and that is not the type of man I want for a mate. 

I just hope my father puts an end to this but his next words make the knot in my stomach tighten. 

“Sure. A duel to the death it is. I have faith in Alpha Benjamin.” 

“A foolish choice. I can’t wait to see the look on your face when I take your precious daughter.” Roy mocks my father and I feel hatred brewing in my chest for him. What good is being handsome if he has a rotten attitude?

He looks at me as if he could read my mind. We glare at each other until the referee gives a go-ahead for the fight and my heart sinks. 

‘Papa, why did you agree to it? What if he wins?’ I ask him through the mindlink anxiously. 

‘Don’t worry. The royal warriors are already on their way. I won't let him take you.’ 

My heart is in my throat and I’m failing to breathe. I can feel sweat coating my palms and the nerves twisting in my stomach. 

The bad feeling I had earlier now makes sense. This day was not meant to end well. For the first time in my life, I am filled with regret. I regret agreeing to this stupid duel. We didn’t need to listen to them. I have a choice to get mated to whomever I want. 

An animalistic growl rips through the air and my heart drops when I see Benjamin on the floor. Roy stands next to his body with his heart in his hand while looking at my horrified expression. He squeezes his fist, crashing the heart that was still beating in his hand brutally. 

It takes a moment for everything to sink in and when it does, a blood-curdling scream tears through my throat. 

No!

I jump down to the arena as I run towards Benjamin and pull him into my lap, not minding the big bloody hole in his chest. 

Hot tears stream down my face as I cup his cheek and try to wake him up but he lays immobile with a blank look in his eyes. He’s dead! 

Oh my goddess! I feel like someone has just driven a dagger through my heart. 

“Seize him!” I hear my father’s commanding voice followed by roars from warriors but I tune them out, cradling Benjamin close to my chest.

“Ernard!! Why do you always play dirty?” Roy’s voice echoes around me and I feel anger bubbling in my chest. 

He has the nerve to ask such a question when he's just murdered the love of my life. 

I look up at him fiercely. We are separated by the warriors surrounding him with weapons made from silver but our fierce eyes seem to be throwing daggers at each other. 

The hatred in his eyes as he stares at me matches mine. 

Getting up to my feet, I ignore the blood on my gown, feeling my heart squeeze painfully. I only had my father and the man that I loved but he’s been taken away from me by this beast. 

“Leave this castle! The outcome of the duel is invalid. I can never marry a monster!” I say icily and I see his eyes flash a blazing red as his aura turns cold and suffocating. 

“You’re not going back on your word. Whoever wins the duel gets the princess. You’re coming with me, feisty bunny.” He utters coldly with a low growl as he pins me with a deadly glare and I take a step back. The confidence I had displayed earlier leaves me as fast as it came. 

He's so scary. 

I can’t go with him. Something tells me, I’ll be as good as dead in his grasp. 

‘Papa. Save me.’ I cry to my father through the mindlink as my heart races erratically. 

“Kill the intruder and protect the princess!” My father lets out an Alpha command and I breathe a sigh of relief. 

But my relief only lasts a few seconds because the warriors that were charging at Roy are now dead, splayed out around him in a bloody mess. 

I feel my heart jump to my throat as real fear now engulfs me. He’s really a monster. 

More warriors come into the arena and throw spears and knives at him. He lets out a menacing growl before I see him expanding. Right before my eyes, I watch in horror as he transforms. His muscles bulge out, becoming bigger as he grows taller and I see black fur sprout out of his body. His face elongates and contorts weirdly until a big wolf head replaces his human head and I gasp at what I’m looking at. 

Roy now stands at 9 feet. If I thought he was huge earlier, his hideous beast is gigantic. 

He now has a face and fur like a wolf but he’s not a wolf. He’s just a man with wolf features. An anomaly. 

A true definition of monstrosity.

He throws his head back and growls threateningly while the arrows hit his thick skin but instead of piercing through, they bounce and fall to the ground.  

I think we’ve just awakened a beast. 

Screams of terror echo around the hall as everyone scampers off to goddess knows where. The warriors are brave enough to try and fight but he kills them all as he stalks me slowly with a terrifying look in his red eyes. 

‘Mine! She’s mine and mine alone!’ I hear a deep voice in my head and I realize it’s coming from the monster that is approaching me. 

Is this the end? Will I die today? Goddess! I'm still a virgin. I don't want to die and become a vengeful spirit. 

My eyes trail to Benjamin’s corpse and I feel a pang of guilt ripple through me. 

How could I be selfish to want to live when Benjamin died unfairly?

I stop trying to scoot away from the beast and await my death. He snarls menacingly, his loud footsteps resonating in the hall. 

I'm about to close my eyes when a tall figure suddenly stands in front of me and my heart drops to my feet when I see my father pointing a sword at the Lycan that towered over him. 

“Step back, Lycan! I won’t let you take my daughter.” He threatens, his powerful aura swirling around us. 

I fear for my father because this beast doesn’t seem to see reason. He will only leave this place when he gets what he wants. 

Me.

‘Then die!’ 

He growls through the link and I’m wondering how he’s communicating with all of us when he’s not part of our pack.  

My eyes widen when his words register to me and I see him leap and grab my father’s throat before lifting him high up above his head. 

He raises his clawed-furry hand back, ready to plunge it into my father’s chest to rip his heart out but before he could do so, I leap forward and grab his huge leg tightly. 

“Stop, please. Take me with you.” I say as tears course down my cheeks. I can’t let him kill my father. He’s the only one I have left. 

“Tatiana… no.” My father chokes out but I hold onto the beast’s furry leg like my life depends on it. 

I can’t believe I’ve been reduced to this in just a few minutes. I’m a weak princess who can’t even protect her family or kingdom. All I can do is beg like a fool. If Gena were to see me right now, she would scold me for not being princess-like. 

But I’m not strong enough. In front of the enemy, I feel defeated. I hate the fact that all I can do is surrender without trying to fight back. 

Yes. I’m a coward. 

Royalty doesn't bow to others. We are not afraid of anything. But in front of this man, I feel so small. He’s too powerful. I can feel it in his aura. How are Lycans the outcasts when they have the strength to crush us all under their large feet?

More tears soak my cheeks, my heart clenching painfully as I tighten my arms around Roy’s beast’s furry leg, not caring that he could rip me to shreds right now if he wants. 

“I’ll come with you. I’m all yours.” I say in resignation, sealing my fate. Death would be better than tying my soul to a savage beast but I have no choice. I have a kingdom and a father to protect.