Chapter 5
HopeMy lips parted as I tried to assimilate Darius' words. Consummate this marriage? My throat felt dry and a scary shiver ran down my spine.I watched as Darius took a step into the room and locked the door behind him. My heart dropped at the act. He ambulated towards me like a predator going for the kill. Once he got to me, he gripped my wrist, raising it to his chest, and I gasped at the sudden act."Strip." He commanded, my heartbeat race sped up."Your Majesty, I can't—""I will not repeat myself one more time. Strip." He boomed with a loud voice, and I flinched.My heart was racing. I couldn't do what he asked of me. My chastity was all I had. If I yielded, he would taint and destroy me. Moreover, I was not supposed to be his wife, Light was."King Darius, please. My innocence is all I have. I have never been with a man before." I explained, looking into his dead eyes, hoping to find some shred of sympathy in them but I couldn't find any.His eyes gave nothing of empathy to my situation. His expression remained indifferent as though my explanation held no water to him. My vision blurred as tears threatened to escape from my eyes."Your Majesty, please. What my Mother said, please pay her words no mind. Light will be found soon and you'll have no use for me. If you take me, I'll be tainted and I won't be able to get married to another. P-please." I choked on a sob at the end of my explanation before I broke down into tears.I couldn't contain myself any much longer. My tears must have irritated Darius because he immediately let go of my wrist, flinging it away. Though my eyes were blurry from my tears, I could still make out the displeased scowl that formed on my husband's face."Is that all you can do? Cry?" he questioned, and I drew back a sniffle, using the back of my palm to wipe my eyes."I'm sorry, Your Majesty. But I can't help myself." My words came out as blubber but I was sure that he understood me."Useless. Useless." He muttered to himself, and tears welled up from my eyes again as my lungs felt constricted.He was not the first person to refer to me as Useless, but that didn't make the blow of his words any less harsh. I hated how weak I was. He hadn't even known me for a long time and he could already tell that I was nothing but a weak Human."I can't believe that I'm temporarily chained down to a crybaby," Darius said to me in a spiteful tone, and I averted my gaze to the ground."I'm sorry." I croaked. He hissed through his teeth, pinching the bridge of his nose."And to think your Mother said you would make a good wife. I now have to go seek pleasure from whores over my wife."His words felt like a harsh slap to my face. My lips trembled, and heavy tears ran down from my eyes."I'm sorry," I repeated, hoping the words would do something to ease his anger but they didn't. Darius was still angry at me and I still felt pathetic."Save your apologies for someone who cares." He said, then left my room.In his absence, I fell to the bed with a heavy thud and I let the tears flow from my eyes in peace. I couldn't believe I angered him within only half a day of being married to him. I was so useless and stupid.I cried and cried until my eyes had no more tears left to cry and I drifted into a dreamless sleep.*****I woke up to someone prodding at my face. My eyes snapped wide open and I saw a pair of doe dark brown eyes staring down at me. I yelped in shock, pushing my body to the other side of the queen-sized bed. My reaction seemed to have amused the woman as she barked out a loud laugh."Silly Human," she remarked to herself, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye and I frowned."Who are you? And what are you doing here?" I asked her with a cautious tone and her features sobered up."I am Talia Daggers, the wife of the King's second-in-command, and the commander of the King's army. You will refer to me as Commander and nothing else, you got that?" she said, and my lips puckered into a pout.If she were such things then why was she in my chambers waking me up? As though she heard my thoughts, she leaned her head down."I'm here to give you a tour of the castle. Get dressed, Princess. You have a whole day ahead of you." She clapped her hands, and I pressed down my lips, then looked down at myself.I was still wearing my undergarments from yesterday. I forgot to take the bath that I sought after the previous night. My goodness, I did not like Moratia very much. I missed my home and my sister.Sounds of loud clapping pulled me out of my thoughts, and I turned to see that the Commander was glaring at me. I raised a brow in question and a scowl formed on her thin lips."I thought I told you to get dressed? Stop wasting my time and put on some clothes. I have other things to do!" she snapped at me and I felt like a fool.I cleared my throat and stood up from the bed, covering my feet with my slippers before I moved to the bathroom. It would be the first time that I would have a bath without my maids. It felt awkward and lonely but I thrived. Once I was finished, I left the bathroom wearing a silky robe.I saw Commander seated on my bed, flicking her nails. That was not the only thing I saw when I came out of the bathroom, I also saw some kind of clothing sprawled out on the bed.It was a buttoned, long, wine-colored tunic with dark blue trousers. My lips parted at the sight. Was I expected to wear that? I couldn't possibly. I had never worn trousers in my entire life before. To think of it, the Commander was also wearing trousers but she was a soldier so it was expected."That attire is for me?" I asked cautiously and she slowly looked up."Who else would it be for? Get ready and stop being a brat." She said with a distasteful tone.Why was she so mean to me? Why were all the people that I had encountered in Moratia mean to me? They were supposed to be nice and welcoming. At least that was how Light said they had treated her.I swallowed up all my questions and uncertainty before I moved over to the attire. I was a bit shy to disrobe in front of the Commander but fortunately for me, she turned her attention away.I let out a soft sigh of relief before I put on the clothes and advanced to the dressing mirror. The attire was fitted on my body, too fitted even. It showed all the curves that I had which were often hidden by puffy gowns. A bit of my cleavage was on for show and the tunic was sleeveless. I felt so exposed.Was this the way I was supposed to dress every day from now on?The question was on the tip of my tongue but I refused to ask it. I braided my hair in a loose tail and threw it over my right shoulder. There was nothing available to adorn myself with so I wore my face pure.When I was finished, I called the attention of the Commander and with a sigh, she stood up and started to walk out of the room. I chased after her immediately. Now in broad daylight, I could see how beautiful the castle was."This is the hallway for the royal rooms. Down the hall is where Darius sleeps. My husband and I reside in the room that is to the left of him. Do not disturb us if it's not a life or death matter." Commander said with a bored tone as she walked.I noticed how casually she referred to the king as Darius. Perhaps they were close friends because she didn't correct herself afterward. And who was her husband? My lips formed into a small frown. Why would I ever seek her out when she was being so rude?She continued the tour, taking me downstairs and introducing me to a few workers in the castle. Inputting insults and sly comments now and then before she ended the tour at the dinner table.I saw Darius, the rude Lycan who led me to my room last night, along with some other large intimidating Lycans. I turned to Commander to see that she was already strolling to where her fellow Lycans were.I swallowed down a huge gulp of my saliva before I trailed after her and sat on the furthest chair away from Darius. It turned out to be a pain because I found myself in between Lycans who looked like they wanted to squash me."You're late." Darius' voice boomed all over the dining room and I flinched a little."I gave your little Human a tour of a castle," Commander spoke in a drag and I looked up to check the expression on the Lycan King's face. He was not pleased.He turned his gaze to me and scrutinized the half of my attire that he could see. His eyes gave nothing of appreciation before he said, "Let us eat."Everyone began eating immediately. I turned to my plate and saw lots of eggs with meat. Back home I was never allowed to eat such things. Mother said they would make me fat and that no man would ever want to marry me because of that.I didn't know why but that mean guy last night seemed to notice me. "Why aren't you eating?" he asked with his mouth full, and I pushed down the urge to tell him that eating with a full mouth was inappropriate."I don't eat eggs and meat," I said awkwardly, and I could see several pairs of eyes that cast their gaze on me."What?" Commander asked with an incredulous tone from the other side of the table."My mother said oil and fatty meats aren't good for me." It sounded so stupid saying out loud but I had to tell them."Overprivileged brat," Commander muttered aloud, and I bit my tongue.What was bratty about what I said?"I don't care whatever those slyish Human parents of yours told you. While you are under my roof, you eat what is provided for you and you do not complain. This is the first and last time that you will ever repeat those words ever again." Darius said and I felt my throat clog up.The other Lycans around the table added their opinions on the matter and started to badmouth my kind. Since I could say nothing, I just turned to my plate and forced the food down my throat. Not that it was bad or anything like that. It was the best thing that I had ever tasted in my life but I was scared what Mother would do to me if she found out I ate eggs and meat.The rest of the breakfast went by without any further drama. Once it was over, I waited for the Lycans to leave the table before I stood up since it was the polite thing to do.As I was about to navigate my way back to my room, I saw Darius standing right in front of me with his lips pressed into a firm line."You stupid Human…"Chapter 6HopeI was terrified. I felt myself shrink that instant as Darius glared at me. I wanted to ask what made him so upset but he spoke up before I could do that."It's like you don't know where you are. You are in Moratia. The Lycan King's castle. You will learn to behave yourself while you reside here." He said with a no-nonsense tone and I wetted my lips unconsciously.He was still agitated about the meal incident. I had no idea that telling them the truth would be such a huge thing. I wasn't supposed to eat eggs and meat, what was so disrespectful about that?"My Mother—" I started to speak, but the look he threw my way caused the rest of my words to die down inside my throat."I do not want to hear any of that; anything about those spineless parents of yours," my lips parted but words refused to come out to defend my parents. "Since finding your sister has proven to be a challenge, I don't want to keep wrapping myself up in all of your useless family drama." Darius contin
Chapter 7HopeMy room wasn't locked the next day. I was scared about the fact of it not being locked from the outside after that day. Yes, the blond Lycan's words stuck to me, no matter how much I wanted them not to.Commander was the one who served me meals throughout the whole of yesterday, and I knew that she was not happy about it in the slightest manner. She ensured to sneer or indirectly insult me anytime she got a chance to.I wanted to call her out for being immature but I knew that I couldn't. She was the almighty commander of the Lycan army who was turned into a food server for the Lycan King's human wife. I somehow felt empathy for her situation. But that feeling didn't last long."You think being holed up in this room is going to change the fact that you're married to the most powerful person alive?" Commander asked me as I ate slowly, seated on my bed while she sat cross-legged on one of the chairs inside the room, watching me with her hawkish eyes.She and the blond Lyc
Chapter 8DariusI couldn't believe that I was married to someone who had no personality whatsoever. When I secretly went to the human lands to see who would be my bride at the age of ten, I found out that there were two princesses.The two had sat next to their grubby parents. They were both beautiful in their own way. One had an innocent beauty to her, everything about her seemed delicate and fragile. The other was feral. She had a regal and fierce beauty. They told me that the second one was whom I was going to get married to.I was pleased to know that my wife wouldn't be someone who shied away from the word 'lycan'. I came to regret that later on. Light was a sly thing. She knew what she wanted, and she took it with no care whatsoever.She had been to my palace countless times beforehand. She knew everyone and everything. She dictated my people in a queen-like manner. I hated her but she had what it took to rule. She was conniving, intelligent, and bold. She just decided to use
Chapter 9HopeI felt like crying. Why did Darius hate me so much? Why did he hate Light so much? It was like he had a personal vendetta against all humans but the one against the Vitalis' seemed doubled. I sat on my bed, hugging my knees. I didn't know if I could last in such a place for so long. He said they hadn't found any traces of Light yet. Did that mean that I would have to be married to him for long? And worse, none of my parents had contacted me since the wedding.How quick they were to just discard me to the den of monsters.A stray tear streamed down my eyes as that train of thought crossed my head. I was quick to wipe it away but that didn't stop it from falling. Gods, I hated crying so why did I do it all the time?Right on cue, the door to my room flew open, and that rude blond lycan stepped in. He vacuumed all the air his way with a small frown on his face. Suddenly feeling self-conscious, I wiped my tears away and stood up to my feet.Thankfully, I was still wearing
Chapter 10HopeMy jaw dropped. The woman spoke with such confidence that I couldn't tell if she was joking or not. I glanced at Darius, and his full attention was still on his meal, as though he had no care for what the woman just said."Pardon?" I said. Maybe she misspoke. Maybe I didn't hear her properly.She smiled. "I am Darius' mistress. He brought me here to keep him company since you are rather lacking in the aspects of that matter." She crossed her arms and relaxed back into her chair.She was not joking. It took the ignorance of Darius to tell me that. He didn't even bother to correct her words because she was speaking the truth. She even called his name casually and he didn't correct her.If he already had a mistress, then why did he marry me? Why didn't he wait till he found Light? Why did he trap me in this marriage? I couldn't tell if it was betrayal, sadness, or spite that made me ground my teeth. "Oh, no need to be discomforted. I promise I'm not here to take the cro
Chapter 11HopeI dropped the book on the chair and stood up. "Hello, is anyone there?" I called out, walking around the room. The chiming noises continued but I didn't hear any voices.Was I imagining things?"Hello?" I called out again, only to be met with silence this time. Maybe I was imagining things. There was no one around.I went back to my chair, picked up the book, and resumed reading. I didn't hear the chiming noises again after that till I finished the entire book. By the end of the reading, I had learned a whole lot of things that I never imagined before. A whole lot of vulgar things but who would know?Certainly not my mother who always chastised me about filling my head with romantic tales of nonsense. Here, there was no one to watch me and lock me in a room when I read such. Maybe staying in this palace wouldn't be such a bad thing after all.I decided to leave the place. The sun was almost down and the sky was darkened. Funny enough, finding my way back to my room wa
Chapter 12HopeThere was not a man in the world that was as confusing as my husband. He did things that I couldn't understand at all. For example, he invited me to a private dinner with himself and Annalise.It wouldn't be the first time in the past week that he had invited me for something that had to do with Annalise. I couldn't tell if he was doing it to spite me or if it was because of Annalise herself who seemed fond of me.And not in a friendly manner. She liked to show off the fact that Darius was married to me but preferred her. She kissed him in front of me countless times, touched him for no reason, and made indirect insulting comments to me about being too naive to cater to his needs.I wished I could decline coming to their dinners, but I couldn't. Maybe I could, but I was too scared to try. I was afraid that Darius would do something horrible to me if I decided to go against him, so I did as he commanded. Every. Single. Time.I walked over to the garden where some maids
Chapter 13HopeI was in the library for the fifth time this week. And every time I came in here, I always heard that chiming noise. It sounded distant sometimes. Other times, I felt like the source was closer, and if I could just take a few steps further, I would get to it. I didn't do that though. Only the heavens knew what waited for me if I ever followed my curiosity to find out the source of the chiming noise. As I read about a human girl who was sold to a Lycan mercenary group and fell in love with the head, the chiming noise resumed.It was one of those days when the noise was loud and near. Putting away my fear, I shut the binds of my book and stood up."Hello?" I called out, walking to the west of the library where the noise was louder. "Is anyone there?" I asked as I got closer to the shelf.What I got in response was more chiming noises. I knocked on the shelf of books but I was met with no reply. I tilted my head to one side, then trudged to one end of the shelf. With all
An excerpt from the diary of the last Vitalis Princess to ever marry a Lycan King:My name is Hope Vitalis-Moratis. I am the last Vitalis princess to get married to a Lycan King. Hundreds of years ago, humans were the only superior species on Earth. However, Lycans suddenly invaded the earth and dominated humans—this is what is written in the history books.The truth is that, more than thousands of years ago, humans and Lycans lived in peace. But humans grew afraid and envious of Lycans who were more talented, stronger, and powerful than them. They all put out their hands to drive away Lycans and surpress them within a hidden kingdom known as Moratia. Many years after, a Lycan King decided to change history by coming out of the shadows and breaking out from the hidden Kingdom, making it known to everyone.The king did this with the help of a powerful witch who only appeared when the situation suited her. Thus, this particular Lycan King and his descendants punished humans for drivin
HopeI could sense everything and nothing at the same time. I could hear everything and nothing. I could feel everything and nothing. All this without opening my eyes.As I finally pried my eyes open, I saw a little crack on the ceiling above my head. I have been living in this chamber for months, but this was my first time seeing this crack. Every single morning when I woke up and looked at this ceiling, I have never seen the crack before. Where did it come from?I turned my head around. I could hear thousands of footsteps from outside. I felt like I could hear the footsteps of people outside the castle as well.My entire body felt light, as I thought I could rise up and fly. At the same it was hard for me to lift my body up. But once I managed to do just that, I realized something."I should be dead." I said out loud.I looked down to my stomach. I was wearing a blue night dress. I rolled it up to check my stomach, and there was no mark of the stab wound that Light had designed on
Hope "What are you doing?" I asked Light, trying my best to keep my voice leveled and hide the fear I felt in my chest."You are not ready to join me. Without you being with me, I can't let other people have you and use you against me." Light explained with a detached tone."Are you crazy?! You want to kill me just because I don't believe in your nonsense and cruel actions!? Light, what is wrong with you?!" I exploded at her, but she wasn't fazed by my words."You are a disappointment to all Vitalis princesses." With that said, Light lunged for me. The angle she used was well thought out, and I wouldn't have enough time to dodge the knife even if I attempted to move.I closed my eyes and waited for the impact. However, it did not come. But I heard a clank and a thud sound. I opened my eyes to see that Light was on the floor, and that the Morati knife was at the far corner of the kitchen. This scene was not as surprising as seeing Thaddeus in front of me, standing like a shield."Wh-w
Hope "A way to redeem myself?" I asked Light slowly.Light nodded, the light in her eyes brightening even further. "Your child... The child you have with that monster. It could guarantee peace forever. After you give birth to it, we will work to permanently separate his human and beast side, killing the latter off. Then follow through to do the same with every other surviving Lycan to exterminate all beasts."My eyes widened in surprise as I didn't bother to hide the shock in my expression whilst staring at Light."Light, are you listening to yourself? What do you think you're talking about? Even without the child and this lunatic idea of yours, there would have been peace forever! That was what the treaty was for! You-""Oh, stop that! Don't talk as though that nonsense treaty was fair to humans. We basically became a different type of slaves to these monsters because of that treaty!" Light exclaimed."A treaty that we, humans, came up with!" I fired at Light.If she wanted to prete
Hope After receiving the report from Orion, everything happened so fast that I didn't get a chance to understand anything. One second, Darius and I were sitting next together, the next, he was locking me inside my room for protection and leaving the castle with a large army of soldiers.My heart was in my mouth, I couldn't breathe. Badum. Badum. Badum. Badum.I could feel my heartbeat in every part of my body. Why was I so afraid? Why did I feel there was something terrible waiting for me? I managed to get myself a glass of water but it did not calm me down a single bit. I looked out the window. The army who had been waiting around the castle on standby were no longer there.They had been moved to the scene of action. As for the few soldiers remaining to protect the castle's gates, I couldn't make them out as they were too far away from my line of vision.I knew that this castle was safe, but I still felt like there was trouble lurking around. "Darius isn't here anymore." I told m
HopeToday was the day of the Blood Moon. But everything was weird. Things were too peaceful. It was like the calm before the storm. From morning till this very evening, there have been no reports of rebels, attacks, riots, or anything.However, that didn't mean that things were fine. Light might as well be bidding her time until the Blood Moon was fully out. From the room's window, I stared at the red moon hanging on the dark night sky that was shrouded with dark clouds.It was seriously ominous, to the point where I got chills just by looking at it. However, if things went according to plan, I would be fine. And I would also carry out a personal plan of mine.Soldiers and guards were stationed all round the kingdom and this very castle. We were prepared for anything. Yet, I still felt like we were missing something.I couldn't place my finger on what exactly it was, but I knew that something was wrong somewhere. If I could bring this to Darius' attention, maybe he would do something
Kyle "This is all your fault!" I accused Thomas, cutting off his air supply.To this, he smiled maniacally, but there was a hint of regret and guilt in his eyes. He didn't hide them well."You're a fool. Did you expect me to blindly follow your commands and help that queen of yours?" Thomas spat.I tightened my grip on his throat. "Don't you dare!"Thomas coughed and said, "I did my best. She wanted to be stabbed. So I stabbed her. What are you getting so worked up about?" I wanted to kill the fool right now. But I couldn't. At the end of the day, it was all my fault. I flung him away and turned my back to him.I shouldn't have asked him to be the one to fake stab the queen. I should've done so myself. I should've obeyed and sealed my feelings to myself. Instead, I'd done something stupid—placed my trust on a fool and betrayed the trust of someone dear to me.Fuck!I kicked the air, not knowing what to vent on. I heard a mocking scoff from behind me. I was forced to turn around and
Hope The baby was fine? How could the baby be fine? I had taken an abortion tonic. I had also gotten stabbed in the stomach. How could the baby still be fine after all of that??"The baby's fine? Did a physician check me and-" "Don't worry, Hope." Darius said with soothing tone, placing a hand on my shoulder to comfort me. "The physician checked. I even had other renowned physicians check as well. The baby is fine. Everything is in order. You shouldn't worry so much."This child is a royal Lycan. Nothing can harm him. Everything will be fine." A royal Lycan. The kid growing inside of me was a royal Lycan. I had forgotten about that. How could that important fact slip from my mind?This child was not a regular child. It had the Moratis blood. The only thing that could end its life was the Morati knife.And that was in Light's hands! Shit!"What happened? What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Darius quickly came closer, questioning me with a worried tone.I must have worn my disappointment an
Hope I was still alive. Barely. Surprisingly. But still alive. As soon as I opened my eyes, I let out a sigh of relief. Pain was not fun at all."Your Majesty, you're awake!" I heard someone say.I didn't have the strength to sit up from the bed yet and look at the person. I could only shift my eyes. I saw Kyle already down on his knees on the side of my bed. I instantly managed to find a way to frown."Did you plan to kill me?" I asked, my voice was void of anger and sadness. My intent was to show annoyance and anger, but I didn't have the strength to portray those emotions. "Of course not, your Majesty. The person I hired to... do it, did more than I instructed. But I've disciplined him very well and ensured never to-" "Are you mad?" I cut Kyle off.His throat bobbed, he didn't respond."I ask again, are you mad, Kyle Arsen?!" "... No, your Majesty." Kyle said after a beat."Then why did you let another person in on the plan!? Weren't you supposed to be the one to stab me?! Why