The Weird Request

EMMA'S POV

Why on earth am I still breathing if I am dead? Why do I still feel pain? I thought death was supposed to be a peaceful, endless rest. This feels nothing like it.

I hesitantly force my eyes open expecting to find myself in a dark, harrowing world of the dead. But my eyes are greeted by beauty and splendour.

My shocked eyes look around the magnificent room with amazing art on the walls and expensive furniture spread across the room. The pillows beneath my head feels soothingly soft like they are made of feather. I have never been allowed into a room so refined before.

I literally jump in alarm when I notice the girl seated next to the bed, her dark, steely eyes watching me. She smiles kindly and I hesitantly relax again.

"Where am I?" I ask.

"This is the palace of Goldenheart Kingdom. Our powerful king saved you, otherwise you would be dead." The girl answers, her sweet smile fading.

Her words sends a cold chill through my veins. My whole body goes stiff with shock.

Goldenheart?!

I look around the room again, confused. My chest no longer feels like it has been ripped up and my shoulder feels as good as it was before I was attacked. I wonder if all that pain and blood was an hallucination.

"He healed your wounds with his blood before he brought you here." She adds.

I shake my head as my brain struggles to process what she just said.

So my life was saved by that ruthless stranger that burned three men alive while they screamed and begged for his mercy? He is the famous Alpha King of Goldenheart Kingdom?! I wonder what is stopping me from having a heart attack.

Now I am in the palace of the Kingdom that I was most scared of entering. Everything seems even stranger than the stories I have heard. How is their king even able to possess that much power?

His scent was incredibly beguiling and more profound than anything I have ever smelled before. I remember feeling like it was lulling my fear and pain away even as I watched him set my attackers on fire.

Wait! Can it be that their powerful King is. . . my mate?!

Once again I am convinced that this is all a dream. How can such a person be my mate?

I never believed the rumours I heard about the powerful Alpha king because I thought they were embellished to make him seem like a small god.

With such powers no alpha would need an army. His voice oozed of confidence when he spoke, like he knew exactly what a formidable force he is.

He cannot be my mate. I am not even crazy enough to hope. Because such a thing would only happen in a dream.

"Does your King always smell like devine perfume?" I ask the girl seated beside the bed, her eyes still staring awkwardly at my face.

"He has a great scent. Aren't you proud that he is your mate?" She answers with a forced smile.

I am astounded and remain quiet for a long time, trying to work out whether this moment is truly real.

"You don't look happy." The girl observes.

How was she expecting me to react? I have no doubt that their king is physically stunning and his voice is more soothing than music when he isn't enraged. But he is clearly too perfect to be my mate.

"Any girl would be exhilarated to find out that King Ethan is her mate. It's a Devine honour. You should love him enough to die for him, after all he used his blood to heal your wounds." She says in a serious tone like she is chastising me for looking confused.

Die for him? Any girl may want to love such a man but being ready to die for someone is a heavy demand. God knows I feel grateful that he saved me, but I also feel unqualified to be the mate of the most feared Alpha King across all lands. I am wolfless, everyone including him will see that I am unfit.

I sit up on the bed and look straight at the girl. "How comes your King's blood is able to heal wounds?"

She leans back on her seat and smiles proudly like she is about to reveal the origin of God. "He is the only member of this Kingdom born with a special a connection with the great Goddess Israel. She is the Goddess of life. His powers are a gift from her, just like our wolves are gifts from the moon goddess. His blood can cure heal every disease or injury." She explains with a proud smile.

If I didn't see him use his powers I would think that she is making up things to astonish me. But the fact that I am alive after that attack is evidence enough that that blood of his can indeed do miracles.

What I don't understand is, why am I his mate? I am too weak and useless compared to him.

"He sounds way above my league." I admit with a shrug of my shoulders.

"Would you like him to reject you?" The girl questions in a curious voice.

"No of course." I answer and see a look of disappointment take over her face.

I am not sure of what I want yet. But didn't she just say that it's a Devine honour to be mated to him? I need time to take in everything and make a decision.

"You should know that you have a huge responsibility if you choose to remain his mate." She states in a serious tone.

I think it's common knowledge that being mated to an Alpha King comes with great responsibilities. I am not sure I can handle them, but I will think about it first.

"What huge responsibility are we talking about exactly?" I ask just to confirm that she is speaking of the obvious.

She stands from her seat and paces around the bed before speaking again.

"You must sacrifice your life to lift the curse that has been killing our people for decades. Only the death of our powerful king or his mate can lift it. We were hoping that you would feel honored to die in his place and save hundreds of lives. You wouldn't be alive if it were not for him after all." She says and I freeze with shock.

I have dealt with all sorts of inappropriate requests, but no one has ever asked me to end my life.

I once heard my parents talking about the deadly curse of Goldenheart Kingdom and how it would only end when the famous alpha king willingly sacrifices his own life or that of his mate. I dismissed it as another embellished tale about the way too famous Alpha King.

Who would have thought that I would turn out to be his mate? I don't know whether to feel lucky or cursed.

"Are you not willing to die for him?" The girl asks as she observes my reaction with a stern gaze.

Does she seriously expect me to agree to end my life?

I am sure that the powerful Alpha King won't feel any loss if he loses a weak, wolfless mate. He will just move on and choose another girl to become his Queen.

I ran away from Silver moon pack and ended up in a palace where I am expected to sacrifice my life to lift a curse I have only heard of in gossip. I think my life is cursed.

"If my death is what will lift your curse, why did your King heal me instead of leaving me to die?" I question.

The girl dramatically returns to the seat she had left and leans forward like she wants to whisper a massive secret.

"He saved you because he is selfless. He once said that he will never sacrifice an innocent stranger to lift the curse. He is an ideal King, that's why everyone adores him."

She sits back and sighs deeply. "We all want Ethan to stay as our King. His brother is too young and irresponsible to take over the throne." She informs with a thoughtful expression. "But the curse needs to end soon before it kills way too many people. A Kingdom this huge shouldn't lose it's King." She says and stares straight at me as if she is waiting for me to confirm that I am willing to die in his place.

"He saved your life when you could have been torn into pieces. I think it's your turn to return the favour." She mutters in a stern voice.

"I thought you said he doesn't want an innocent stranger to die in his place?" I counter.

"He would allow it if you willingly accept to give up your life." She corrects.

I lay back on the bed feeling both afraid and rueful. My stream of bad luck doesn't seem to end.

What happens if I refuse to be the one to die? I doubt they would kill me without my mate's approval.

"I would feel honoured if my death could lift such a curse or even stop King Ethan from sacrificing his life. Don't you see how special you are to have the chance to-"

She suddenly pauses when the door clicks opens and a man with a face of an angel walks in, a cup of steaming coffee in his right hand. 

I openly gawk at his gorgeous face, spellbound. His stunning physique resembles that of the silhouette of the man that burnt my three attackers alive. He is obviously the powerful Alpha King. 

I see why the girl thinks he is worth dying for. His impeccable body and face alone can do things to a woman's sanity. I could stare at him for eternity.

The girl smiles sweetly as she rises from her seat and walks back to meet him.

"Your mate is feeling absolutely fine, you didn't need to come back here." She says in comforting voice while looking up at his gorgeous face. I imagine she too can't resist the urge to stare.

If I remember correctly she didn't ask me how I am feeling. She only went on and on about what a perfect being he is and why I need to die in his place. Why is she pretending she cares about how I feel now?

She stands so close to him and watches him like a lover. He smioes back at her and it becomes clear that they are more than friends.

She is elegant and strong just like the Queen he needs. I now see the real reason she was pushing me to give up my life to lift the curse. He won't need to search for a girl to become his Queen after I am dead. He already has her waiting eagerly to be that. And he seems to like her just as much as she likes him.

He may look like my next mistake, but I won't accept to sacrifice my life when he already has someone to replace me. I would be a first class fool.

"I just need to ask a few questions. You may now go since she is already awake." He says to her while striding forward. He takes her seat and gazes straight at me. I suddenly become aware of my dirty, unattractive state.

But should I care when he is already with someone else. He may however be more willing to sacrifice me if he learns that I am a weak, despised being.

His lover waits near the door even after he said she can leave. She watches us with keen eyes.

"What is your name?" He asks.

"Emma Abrams." I answer.

He doesn't look at me with the same amount of admiration he showers the girl with. Aren't mates supposed to be super excited when meeting each other for the first time? He doesn't seem thrilled to see my face or hear my name.

"Is there a reason you decided to sneak into my kingdom with three wolves chasing after you?" He questions.

There is no hint of concern in his voice. So I am assuming he is looking for reasons to declare me unworthy of being his mate. Then my only value will be to die in his place and lift their curse.

"I was headed out of our pack to visit my aunt in Black Mountain pack when I met the soldiers. They mistook me for a rogue and tried to hunt me down. They get rewarded by the new Alpha if they kill a rogue." I lie for the sake of keeping my bad reputation a secret. He nods his head but looks a bit skeptical.

"Why did you choose to travel at night if you were indeed on a trip to visit your aunt?" He questions.

I fight hard to come up with a convincing reason. Turns out the man isn't as easy to cheat as I had thought.

"I group of my friends caused me to delay and it ended up getting dark while I was still on the way." I lie again and he seems to magically detect it.

"You still chose to use the longest and most insecure path." He argues then sighs in what looks like disappointment. "Seems to me like all you're giving us are lies." He concludes with pursed lips.

Is there anything else I can say to make him believe my lies? I can't think, it's like my brain has jammed.

"I will give you one last chance to tell the truth." He leans back and casts me a cold glare. His voice has become stern with impatience. "What is the real reason those men were chasing you?"

Truth is they mistook me for a rogue. But he already ruled that out as a lie. They could have still chased me for attempting to leave the pack illegally if they saw my face and knew who I am. But I am not going to let this Alpha King and his lover know that I am a loser that was going to get banished by her sister's mate.

I stay silent for a long time and he finally runs out of patience. He stands up from the seat and once again sighs with disappointment.

"You act nothing like the mate expected." He states in an angry voice and I see his beautiful lover grin. "You have one day to rethink your answers or I will have you thrown out of my palace." He adds and the girl's smirk fades away instantly.

At least he didn't say that he would have me killed to lift their curse. Maybe he isn't such a bad person after all. But I am sure he would still find me unworthy of being his mate even if I told the truth. I don't really care much about being thrown out of his palace. All I am afraid of is death.

The girl hugs and kisses his arm in a fake show of concern. "I will go get you all the information you need. You should take a rest from all this." She comforts before gently pulling him out of the room with a tight grip on his wrist.

I am left feeling dazed. This is not the way my escape was supposed to end. I would rather have ended up a servant in a peasant's home than the mate of that man.