Chapter 8 Chapter 8
Their mouth dropped to the ground hearing King Thaddeus' revelation.
Confusion was written on their faces while Thaddeus was smiling at them proud of what he had done.
“What do you mean she’s your mate King Thaddeus? That is impossible. She was my mate,”
“Yeah. She WAS your mate,” he said emphasizing the word was.
“You abandoned her remember and replaced her with her sister? Now I will claim her as mine. That should not be a big deal to you right Magnus?”
Magnus fell silent and cleared his throat.
King Thaddeus was right he should not care if Thalina was mated to King Thaddeus because after all he already abandoned her but something inside him sank upon hearing the King’s revelation.
There is a subtle regret in his chest that weighs him down and whenever he looks at Thalina there is a pinch in his heart seeing how the woman coldly looks at him. She wasn’t like that before. She used to smile at him and look at him filled with love.
“Of course King Thaddeus. Magnus was just shocked. It was unexpected that the King would be mated to someone like her,” Selene butted in with an insulting smile plastered on her face.
She eyed Thalina from head to toe the same look that she always gave…an insulting gaze that made Thalina lose her confidence but it became different now.
Thalina who was used to letting her sister slide flashed a smile and looked at Selene directly in the eyes, no longer afraid to meet those insulting gazes.
“Like what, Selene?” she asked raising her right eyebrow anticipating her response.
Selene was caught off guard not expecting that Thalina who was used to taking in all the insults she threw was now talking back to her.
“Like…like that. I mean you have to admit Thalina you are just an average she-wolf. There is nothing special about you,”
Those words felt like a sharp dagger stabbing Thalina in her chest. She thought she could handle Selene already. She thought she could no longer feel small but hearing those words made her remember that she was already wolfless.
She felt a lump forming in her throat as she tried to suppress her tears from falling.
Out of embarrassment, she bowed and bit her lower lip to the point that it ended up bleeding and she tasted blood in her mouth.
They were enveloped by silence but after a while, King Thaddeus broke it.
“I think you forgot who you are talking to, Selene,” he uttered while looking at Selene directly in the eyes.
Fear slowly crept into Selene’s system but she hid it through smiling acting completely fine when her hands were already trembling.
“What do you mean King Thaddeus?” she asked acting all clueless which enraged King Thaddeus even more.
How dare she act innocently after ruining someone’s confidence? How dare she smile after insulting the future Queen of the Kingdom?
“Haven’t you heard what I said earlier Selene? Thalina is my mate and I am courting her to be my Queen,” he repeated then bent down to make their faces on the same level so his words would be tattooed in her mind. “She is above you in so many aspects so how dare you talk to her that way?”
Selene defensively shook her head with a nervous smile plastered on her face.
“I didn’t mean it that way, King Thaddeus. I was just concerned. Thalina doesn’t deserve to be-”
Before she could even finish her sentence a sharp sword was placed on her throat which made her gasp and Magnus tremble.
“Utter nonsense again and I will cut your throat open. No one dares to respect my mate, Selene, do you understand?”
Selene nervously nodded her head as she felt the cold and sharp metal placed on her neck.
She froze in place afraid that one wrong movement and her neck would be cut.
“Kneel and ask for Thalina’s forgiveness,” the king demanded not accepting a simple nod.
“King Thaddeus!” Thalina and Magnus called him in unison completely against his decision but he ignored them and focused all his attention on Thalina’s arrogant sister.
"You are running out of time Selene," he firmly uttered pressing the blade against Selene's skin even harder.
With trembling knees, Selene kneeled on the ground while tears were streaming down her face. Fear completely ate her up and the confidence she had carried earlier vanished into thin air.
With her eyes filled with fear, she looked at Thalina.
"I-I'm sorry Thalina if my words insulted you," she stuttered.
Thalina's mouth gapes. She can no longer fathom what was happening but seeing her sister kneel on the ground made her feel guilty for some reason so she nodded and helped her up.
"Leave. I want both of you out of my sight," King Thaddeus firmly uttered and without hesitation, Magnus pulled Selene and walked away.
The moment they were gone Thalina turned to King Thaddeus who looked satisfied with what he had done.
"Why did you do that? You don't have to threaten Selene like that,"
King Thaddeus took a deep breath and held both of her shoulders, looking at her directly in the eyes.
"I want to show you the power that I can offer Thalina. If you accept me as your mate and accept my offer to be the Queen of the kingdom no one will treat you that way again,"
Thalina fell silent unsure of what she should do.
She was aware that once she accepted his offer a great responsibility would be placed on her shoulders.
Being a Luna is hard. She needs to be cautious about everything she does and she should not commit any mistakes because the pack will notice everything that she does but being a Queen will be a lot harder. She needs to be utterly perfect which felt too impossible to achieve.
"Fine, I will give you an option, Thalina,"
King Thaddeus held her chin and made her look at him directly in the eyes.
"Will you accept me as your mate and become the Queen of the Kingdom or will you choose to decline my offer and go back to the man who abandoned you?"