Elena's heart skipped a beat the moment her eyes fluttered open and met a pair of beautiful ocean-blue eyes.
She should be shocked, perhaps jumping up in confusion and fear after realizing an intruder was in her room. But, she remained still, her gaze fixed on the eyes that seemed like they could take away her pains.
Ironic, considering that the very man wanted nothing but to cause her pain.
"N-No." The handsome man suddenly muttered, bringing Elena back to reality. She wasn't supposed to be admiring the intruder!
A small whimper left Elena's mouth as she pulled the bed sheet over her chest, trying to protect herself from the stranger. Her heart was still racing from both shock and fear. She tried to speak but got trapped in the man's eyes again. She studied him, admiring his gorgeous face.
Xavier was the definition of a perfect handsome romance book character. He had this curly, long, dark hair that scattered around his eyes, almost hiding those great orbs. His nose, chin, in fact, his entire look was just perfect. He resembled an angel, yet looked like a demon at the same time. He had this soft appeal, but something dark lurked around him.
Elena was so busy admiring how handsome Xavier looked that she didn't notice the anger and hatred burning through his eyes as he stared at her.
Just as she was about to acknowledge his unique scent, he suddenly lunged at her, wrapping his hand around her neck.
Elena yelped in pain as she wrapped her small hands around Xavier's huge wrist, trying to free herself. She was failing. He was strangling her. Like he wanted to actually kill her.
Tears brimmed at the corner of Elena's widened eyes as she struggled to form words. "P-please you're hurting me." She tried to plead but Xavier's hold around her neck only increased further.
"Confess! You are a witch aren't you?!" Xavier's eyes burned with rage as he declared, rather than ask a question. He was so far gone in his fury that he didn't notice he was actually hurting Elena and might even snap her neck.
"N-no. I'm not a witch." Elena managed to choke out, tears rolling down her eyes. Her face had already turned red like a ball of tomato as she struggled to breathe.
"Don't harm mate!" Zuko, Xavier's wolf yelled angrily at the back of Xavier's head, instantly pulling Xavier out from the depths of his rage. He scoffed in annoyance before releasing her.
As soon as Xavier let go, Elena started coughing uncontrollably. Her body vibrated from the heavy cough that tore out of her throat as she rubbed her aching neck. "I-I am not a witch, I promise. P-please, don't harm me." She managed to mutter, fixing her teary face on Xavier's.
Regret and pity instantly crossed Xavier's eyes as he studied the weak girl but it disappeared as quickly as it came, replaced with anger and resentment.
Goosebumps prickled on Elena's skin as her pulse surged like a storm inside her. She was scared. Scared of what the stranger might do to her. She tried to avoid staring directly at Xavier as she curled herself into a ball, hands wrapped around her knees and face buried within.
"Look at me." Xavier suddenly commanded.
Hearing this, Elena slowly raised her head, meeting the gaze of the handsome stranger. Heck! The man had almost the same suffocating aura as King Killian that she thought she'd pee herself. Meeting someone as scary as King Killian should last for an entire century; she was not supposed to meet another one.
Wait!
Elena's face paled as a certain realization struck her hard. The man before her was Prince Xavier! The ruthless, stubborn prince!
Rumors had it that he was just as cruel as his brother, the King, but while his brother killed for sport, Xavier preferred having a good kill. Some even said he had no soul and was just a demon walking the surface of the earth.
"Wipe those things off your face, I don't want to ever see them," Xavier commanded in a dark tone, his expression mirroring the irritation he felt inside.
Upon hearing the command, Elena immediately used the back of her palm to wipe off the tears rolling down her face. "P-please don't harm me, I am the King's wife."
Yes, what Elena just said sounded very stupid to her, but she thought Xavier would stop harming her if he knew she was already married to his brother. She had no idea that her marriage with King Killian was the exact reason why Xavier wanted to harm her.
"Oh, you're my brother's wife?" Xavier asked, his tone dripping with sarcasm as he allowed a small smirk to form on his face.
"Y-yes." Elena nodded naively.
Xavier scoffed again, annoyed by Elena's silly reply. He leaned closer, his eyes darkening as he muttered, "You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, Elena. If you do, you'd never want to introduce yourself as Killian's bride."
He leaned out.
"Fortunately for you, my plans to make your life miserable will be postponed just for a little while. Until I figure out what to do with this bond and the sudden appearance of my wolf," Xavier explained in a stern tone, his expression now unreadable.
Xavier noticed the confusion and fear on Elena's face, but he couldn't care less. He knew something was wrong with her wolf because he couldn't feel it, so he wasn't surprised that she couldn't tell he was her second mate and didn't understand what he meant by 'finding out what to do with the bond.'
Well, this was good for Xavier anyway as he wasn't going to acknowledge the bond anyway. He would have easily rejected her at that moment, but the rejection wouldn't be completed without her wolf. Plus, Elena was the reason his wolf suddenly emerged. He needed to think about everything carefully before making a decision. However, one thing was for certain, he was going to ruin Elena. He was going to make her regret crossing paths with Killian.
Elena opened her mouth to speak but decided it was best to stay quiet as she did not want to annoy the King's brother again. She had wanted to know what bond he was talking about, but then she figured he was talking about the family bond they now shared. It made sense right? What other bond could they possibly share?
"In the meantime, I would like for us not to ever cross paths. If we do, I might get tempted to end your pathetic life." Xavier warned, and with that, he stomped out of the room.
Elena released a shaky breath the moment Xavier left the room. Her heart was still racing loudly and violently, and she feared it would explode. Fortunately, the darkness in the room went along with Xavier and the air was no longer suffocating.
"W-what was the meaning of that?" Elena thought aloud. "W-why would be want to kill me?" Her voice cracked, the pain slowly crawling in. She did not know why, but the thought of him wanting to kill her hurt her. It broke her heart.
A large number of people wanted Elena dead back in her former pack, so she shouldn't be offended that one more person wanted her dead. But why did Xavier's hurt? It should not hurt but it did.
"Ivy, I wish you were here. I don't think my stay here will be any better than rotting in a dungeon," Elena muttered to herself, clutching her chest as she tried to control the pain within.
Elena just got married to the Death God, a man she knew nothing about. She wasn't even over it. Yet, his brother, for some unknown reason, wanted to make her life miserable. How was she ever going to get used to this?
Should she report this to King Killian? Would he even care? What if Xavier kills her before she gets the chance to even report it?
So Many thoughts ran through Elena's head as she rubbed her aching neck. It still felt like Xavier's hand was wrapped around it.
****
A few hours later, just as Elena was about to get a proper night's sleep, a gentle knock came in, startling her. Dread formed at the depth of her stomach as she wondered who it could be. "C-come in." She said softly, and almost immediately, a beautiful young girl walked into the room.
"Hi ma'am, I'm Irene, your royal maid." Irene introduced herself excitedly as she curtsied before Elena. It was such an honor for her to be promoted from a mere Omega to the queen's royal servant.
"H-hi." Elena greeted shyly. Her face was now red with shame and her palm felt clammy. Why was she getting a personal maid? Did she even deserve one? What if the Royal maid starts treating her poorly after discovering her real background?
"I-Irene, it's nice to meet you, but I do not need a maid," Elena said politely.
Hearing this, all the lights and sparkles dimmed from Irene's face.
My Queen, please you can't reject me! Please! If the King finds out you rejected me, my fate would be worse than death! Please!" Irene suddenly began crying, startling Elena. "P-please, my Queen, I promise to serve you well." she pleaded, her body shaking violently as she clasped her hands above her head, begging not to be rejected.
If Elena rejected Irene, the King might think she was unworthy to work in the palace, then he might do something cruel to her. Something she wasn't ready to discover. Everyone knew how much the King hated incompetent and unworthy people.
As much as Elena did not want a servant, she could not stand seeing Irene cry, so she said. "Please, stop crying. I'm not going to reject you. Y-you can be my royal servant."
"Thank you, my Queen, thank you so much."
"Queen?" Elena felt like she didn't deserve the title. She wanted to tell Irene to refer to her as just 'Elena' but she was scared Irene might start crying again. Instead of addressing Irene, Elena asked. "W-why are you here Irene?"
Irene straightened her back and bowed respectfully before reporting, "My Queen, the King has called for you to join him in his chambers. He wants you to spend the night with him."
"What?!