CHAPTER 37: DON’T REJECT ME, ALPHA. AGAIN!

CHAPTER 37: DON’T REJECT ME, ALPHA. AGAIN!
Maya’s POV

“AAAHHHHH!”

“What happened?” Sebastian asked, worriedly, appearing in the kitchen like a genie materializing out of thin air. He shoved away his soup-drenched sister to get to me – the one who was standing clean and unharmed.

He pulled me in his arms and caressed my hair, soothing me as if I was the one burnt by the boiling soup.

“Brother!” Princess Hannah shrieked, aghast that she was not getting even a speck of attention from Sebastian.

“Are you okay?” Sebastian asked worriedly, his palm cupping my face.

I nodded. “I am fine. Princess Hannah got splashed though.”

“Hannah,” Sebastian sternly said. “Be careful around your sister-in-law. The Queen is pregnant,” he chided.

“But I am the one she hurt!” Hannah wailed.

Yes, because she was trying to poison me.

“I spilled the soup by mistake. My fingers are getting swollen day-by-day. I didn’t handle the soup bowl properly. I apologize to the princess,” I signed over to the lycans as the translator translated for Hannah.

“Lies! They are lies! I specially made a nourishing bowl of soup for you using my mother’s legendary recipe and this is how you dishonoured her?! You committed a crime against the Late Empress and it is punishable under imperial laws. Brother, you need to mete out justice. I implore you,” Princess Hannah begged, eyes brimming with tears as she fell on her knees and caught Sebastian’s leg.

My heart sank. I was trapped. Sebastian couldn’t go against royal protocols even if he wanted to defend me.

“Sure,” the lycan king easily agreed. “I will justly deal with this situation according to the imperial laws but first you need to do a bid of mine, sister dear,” Sebastian cooed.

I could almost see a victorious smile trying to peek its way on the Princess’ face.

“Can you please eat the soup from this spoon for me?” Sebastian gave her the untouched spoon that had fallen on the kitchen island before the soup bowl splashed on her toes.

“What?!” the Princess almost growled.

“C’mon, just a sip, sister,” Sebastian warmly urged.

“Eww. No,” the haughty woman replied, almost recoiling in disgust.

“Then you leave me with no choice,” the lycan king sighed.

“W-What d-do you mean?” Hannah stammered, shaking like a leaf.

“Guards! Force feed the remaining soup to the Princess,” he commanded.

“No! I might get sick! I wouldn’t have anything that fell on the ground or the dirty kitchen slab.”

“That is the least of your worries, Hannah. Your lycan can quickly heal you of those but how will she bring you back from the… dead?” Sebastian whispered in her ear and Hannah slithered back in fright.

“W-what nonsense a-are yo-you saying, Seb!”

“Oh, so now we have forgotten about imperial titles and laws,” Titan mocked, his eyes glowing gold. He was livid and no one could stop him now. “What are you all waiting for? A personal invitation?” He asked the imperial guards. “Feed it to her. NOW!” He ordered.

‘No!’ I desperately mouthed and grabbed the fuming lycan’s arm, shaking my head vigorously.

“Are you all deaf? Feed her,” Titan thundered, my touch unaffecting the lycan’s rage.

“Please no, My Lord,” I pled through the mate link. “This is murder.”

When the lycan king didn’t budge, I moved to swat away the spoon near Princess Hannah’s mouth, only to be hand cuffed by the lycan’s strong grip.

“Don’t test my patience or my authority right now, mate,” Titan gruffly said. “She invoked the imperial law. She will be dealt with accordingly. This is on her.”

“I am innocent! There is nothing in the soup! How dare you disrespect me and accuse me without evidence?” Hannah screamed.

“Are you all slow or just plain stupid? Why is the spoon not in her mouth yet?” Titan asked and before the Princess could blink her eyes, the spoon was resting over her tongue. Titan grabbed her chin and tilted back her head.

The wretched drink clearly trickled down her throat. She was doomed. There was no saving her now.

“Here is your evidence, dear sister.”

“You are – wi… wicked,” Hannah seethed, her breaths getting shorter and eyes turning red. “H-how di-d you know?”

“I didn’t. I heard mate say it through the mate link,” Titan replied. “And I trust the doctor’s word.”

“Ho-w?” Hannah gasped, looking at me, her face draining off colour.

I took her hand in mine. This was the least I could do for a dying lycan. Coco’s healing touch numbed the dying princess’ pain.

‘I have studied poisons extensively. I smelled it out,’ I said while the translator spoke to Princess Hannah.

She tried to remove her hands from mine. “I-I don’t des-deserve this. Let m-me go. I hate yo-you. I hate Seb. H-he ki-lled my brother…”

And with that the Princess took her last breath and her head dropped in my lap. My tears fell over her while I cradled the dead lycan’s face.

“Remove the Queen from here and announce the Princess’ death to the kingdom. Prepare the funeral arrangements and let the world know what she tried to do to the Supreme Council and her unborn pup,” Sebastian ordered, some of his anger seemingly directed at me. “Make sure Dr. Carl checks the Queen,” he added, his voice softer but still stern.

He did not spare me another glance. Instead, he walked out of the kitchen with purpose, my teary eyes not leaving his receding figure even once. Only when the angry young king left did I notice the fallen roses at the corner and my favourite pastries on the ground.

I looked back at the fallen princess and closed her eyes.

May the Goddess give her a better life.

A week went by but the lycan king did not visit me even once. He only left more bodyguards in his wake.

“Your anger is unjustified, My Lord,” I said, sitting across the lycan on a huge black rock, only a small stream dividing us.

The lycan sat majestically over a higher and bigger boulder, his paws hanging off it with a careless but poised air.

Titan did not even stir.

Instead, Zane came running with a coat.

“My Queen, please wear your coat. You might get a chill,” he said. He tried to look alive but his voice gave him away. He was definitely dead beat to the world before his King ordered him here.

“Thank you, Zane. I am fine. You can give me the coat and go back to sleep,” I said through the mind link.

Zane nodded his head and took his leave.

Even exposed, the lycan did not spare me a glance. Instead, he rested his head over his paws and closed his eyes, almost dismissing me.

I sighed. I forgot how much he feared my death, just like his parents’.

For the first time in years, I shifted and let Coco take control. Only she could sway the mighty, stubborn and majestic beast. This time, I admit, I was wrong and needed to coddle the King.

Titan stirred. He watched Coco step into the cold inviting waters of the stream out of the corner of his eye.

A warning growl resounded lowly but Coco did not flinch. Their gazes remained steady, not wavering even once.

Another growl warned the bold she-wolf.

Coco smirked, almost amused.

Her silver ornaments tinkled around her paws, breaking the silence of the night with her sweet sounds.

Titan looked at her with rapt interest but it did not stop him from growling again.

The she-wolf walked slowly towards his rock and looked up at him. She tilted her head to one side.

“Play with me?”

I almost burst out laughing while Titan narrowed his eyes. The lycan looked bemused but somewhere in the depths, I could feel Sebastian amused by my bold wolf’s antics.

“You will catch a chill,” Titan gruffly replied.

Coco chuckled and leapt over his rock, shaking herself dry while splashing all over the lycan. Titan made a disgruntled sound but shook himself dry.

“You are on my private turf.”

“Then allow me to share it with you,” Coco smiled and licked the lycan king’s snout playfully.

Titan looked at the brazen she-wolf in shock. This was the last thing he expected from her.

“Why are you here instead of resting? You have a long journey tomorrow.”

Clearly, the lycan had another reason to be miffed. I had accepted the White Falls pack’s invitation to hold the first supreme council meeting at my pack according to tradition. The Supreme Council always started from their pack of origin and the lycan seemed to be worried.

Coco chuckled again and burrowed her snout in the lycan’s sensitive neck. The angry beast could trample her under his paws any time but Coco was the boldest wolf ever known. Even her omega status couldn’t hinder her ability to act atrociously and dangerously like giving up her life for her pups without even thinking about herself for even a second.

“Coco,” Titan warned, his voice bordering a moan.

“Yes, Your Highness? Do you not favour this spot? Should I give you attention elsewhere,” she purred, walking closer, her cool, moist paws sliding off the lycan’s hot chest.

Titan caught her next paw between his teeth before she could move it lower and deeper inside him. His tongue rolled across her sensitive paw’s bottom.

“You will burn. I am already like a lit match, mate.”

“Angry?”

“Dangerous. And you are my gasoline.”

“Hmm, not dangerous enough.”

Titan rose enough to let the white she-wolf bury herself under him, between his paws. Coco made her statement come true as she perched her face over the supreme royal’s paws and looked up in the stern king’s eyes – almost challenging him to remove her from his territory.

A small huff of amusement left Titan as his lips curved into a smirk.

The King had yielded to his Queen.

He lowered himself over his soulmate.

“Is that so, my Queen?” Titan purred, licking behind her ear and tracing a sensuous trail towards my neck. “You have not seen my dangerous side yet.”

“And I would like to keep it that way,” Coco sassed. “I hate your angry side enough.”

Sebastian laughed and shifted, careful to not let his weight come over me or our unborn pup. I shifted beneath him too, neck arching to reach for his lips.

It was a silent plea.

I need you to tell me without saying that we are alright.

However, my King was still angry. My lips landed on his cheek instead. I gulped.

We were not alright.

“I missed you,” I whispered through the mate link. “You didn’t come,” my vision turned blurry, my eyes trying to withhold the emotions of the past week. A traitorous tear escaped on remembering the empty bed and lonely nights. I realized that facing the wrath of the king was worse than death.

Sebastian looked back at me, his eyes turning colder.

I shook. He seemed mad. Really mad and this time, it seemed I had hit his raw nerve right, left and centre.

“Your High- …”

“Maya.” He cut me off. “Do you even love me?” He asked, his voice hoarse and betraying vulnerability.

“I do,” I confidently replied. Not a doubt or tremor in my tone. “I love you, My Lord. Too much.”

“Then why do you keep hurting me? No. Why do you keep hurting yourself?” He asked, fury barely contained in his words.

“I-I do-don’t understand.”

Sebastian laughed. Laughed like a maniac, until his laughs turned into a violent growl.

For the first time, I was truly frightened by the man I loved. The man I adored.

“Of course, you don’t understand. You are just the kindest queen in history,” he mocked. “Fancy letting all your enemies go till they kill you. You have more kindness than sense.”

The moment the words escaped his mouth, he knew the damage was beyond repair.

Were all men like this?

I gasped, tears flowing incessantly down my cheeks.

I hurriedly sat up, feeling humiliated and ashamed all of a sudden.

“I-I ne-need to leave,” I whispered. “I-I am sorry. This was a mistake,” I tried to cover my embarrassment by pulling up my robes and making a dash away from my mate, or whoever this was right now.

Sebastian growled, caging me back in.

“Sorry? You are sorry?” He growled, frustration clear in his voice. “Goddess above,” he gritted through his teeth, almost cursing. “Why are you sorry? Gods, can just stop this. For once? You are sorry for my fault?”

“Sebastian, let me go.”

“No, not till you understand what is wrong,” he growled. “…because I am – so done with you,” he resignedly admitted. “I am just done, Maya,” he repeated.

Was I going to get rejected again? Was history repeating itself? It was going to be two out of two times, that too when pregnant!

“Done? As in reject-me-done?” I asked, trembling like a withering leaf.

Sebastian’s eyes turned colder if possible.

“Rejection? Never in this lifetime. But let me be clearer. I want a dangerous, selfish and mean as fvck Queen, Maya. That enormous bloom of kindness that you wield like a weapon is what killed my mom. You don’t understand how much it breaks me to watch you get hurt time and again, and then forgive those rscals. What did you think Hannah would have done if you let her go? Hmm? Bring you flowers and chocolates? I hate to say it but bless that evil woman. That woman brought her death upon herself when she invoked the imperial laws but what if you had the power to let her go? Huh? Would you wait for her to attack you again? Harm you? Take you away from me? Hmm? Do you realize how devastated I would be? This is your last warning, Maya. Act like a just Queen. Not a kind one. History proves that kindness gets you killed.”

“Last warning?”

“Yes. After this I will kill every creature who hurts you even a bit, right in front of your eyes. Even if I have to turn into a rogue and die a ghastly deat- …”

My hand contacted his cheek before I could even process what I had done.

My hand shook. What had I done?

Sebastian, however, seemed unperturbed. He simply turned back his head as if nothing had happened, my fingers’ imprint on his cheek glowing red even in the dark.

“Slap me all you want, Maya. But the fact remains. My love and possessiveness when it comes to you, knows no bounds. If I feel even a bit threatened by another man, woman, animal or anything out there trying to harm you or take you away from me? I will crush it till it feels like why did it even come to live on this planet. You hear me?” The beast said, nay, commanded.

“You are mad.”

“Mad? No. Madly in love? Yes. And I apologize for my mean comments but truth is harsh. You need to know this the hard way. I love you, Maya Thunderstorm but you need to answer me if you love me enough to come back to my side as a stronger Queen or not. Kindness was my mother's weakness. I will NOT make it yours. Suit yourself as you want to. I have said my piece.”

With that, he left me alone in the middle of the night, sobbing and reflecting on myself, our relationship and future – all alone.