THE ROYAL KNIGHT II

UNEDITED

'No this can't be. He's lying' I tried to convince myself. But I knew that what he was saying was true, my beast confirmed it. I was too occupied to notice it sooner. She purred at the back of my mind, pushing away the negative thoughts that filled it.

His presence alone was making me feel weird inside. His scent was almost choking me; it reminded me of something, but I couldn't place it. His eyes were as red as ever, making him appear sick but also breath-taking.

My beast rolled onto her back, showing her stomach in submission and accepting him as our mate. As if he could see her through my eyes, he smirked and pulled away, finally giving me space to breathe.

"So, what do you want then?" I asked. For as long as I could remember, previous kings treated their queens like slaves, far below humans in fact. They only accepted them to calm the people down; otherwise, the Queen was useless to them.

I heard that a long time ago, a king killed all of the Queen's relatives so she wouldn't have anyone to run to then locked her up in a dungeon after she gave him twins. She never saw her kids after she gave birth to them. She didn't know their names or who they looked like or their genders.

I don't want that. I don't want to be treated like a slave or a baby machine, I didn't want my siblings to suffer because of me. I looked him in the eye, showing my rage and he just stared at me back, his eyes filled with amusement.

"I want my mate" he replied then turned away from me. "Don't forget, your siblings are now under my care. They will pay for your mistakes" He began walking away. I gasped, tears filling my eyes.

"You monster" I yelled. My beast whimpered in sadness that our mate would threaten us like that. I heard him chuckle as he walked away from me and into the forest, leaving me with my thoughts.

That bastard.

'Should I just run?' I asked myself. I wanted to get away from this, from him. I always imagined my mate to be an amazing person, with loving parents that would take care of Emily and a kind pack that would take us in, but I got this. A monster mate who can destroy anything in his path with just his bare hands and is already threatening me.

I couldn't leave my siblings in his hands. I hope Aden finds his mate in another pack, away from all this nonsense and Emily learns to only trust herself and no one else. Even if I were to die now, knowing that they were in good hands would make it less painful.

After I decided what to do, a scent caught my nose. It smelt like roses, very relaxing actually. I looked in the direction of the scent to see a woman who looked like she was in her late thirties walking toward me. She had on a black and white maid's uniform and her blonde hair was packed up in a bun. She was beautiful, even with the slight wrinkles under her eyes.

When she arrived, she bowed, her back straight, as if she expected me to attack her.

"His Highness said I should bring you back to the palace," she said, still bowing. I didn't know what to do or what to say.

"Um.........o-okay," I said but she didn't get up. "Please can you get up" She rose and then began walking away I stared at her back confused before following behind her. She led me through the forest, to the palace...

As she led me, we walked in silence. I took in my surroundings and a gasp left my lips when my eyes landed on the palace.

'Wow,' I thought to myself. Even though it looked old, it was still beautiful.

We passed the guards outside, who were keeping a wary eye on me. She pushed the massive doors open, revealing the house's stunning interior. Inside was beautiful but empty as if no one lived here. She led me up the long stairs then through a hallway then up the stairs again.

I was panting and my legs were burning by the time we arrived at our destination. Those stairs were devilish. It wasn't possible for a tracker wolf to be tired of climbing or running unless they'd worked themselves too hard.

I cursed at myself for draining all my energy.

The woman opened the door, revealing a bedroom. It was very dull. The windows were closed, the colour was making the room look depressing, no picture whatsoever. I cringed internally.

I walked in and went straight to the window. I opened it and sighed when I felt the wind hit my face. I could see the whole forest from here. I smiled and then went to open the other one. The room was huge actually but there were boxes on the floor making it kind of stuffy.

"What are those?" I asked, pointing to the boxes. The woman walked towards one of them and opened it, revealing dresses of different kinds and colours.

"They're for you Milady," she said, pulling one out. It was a long black dress. Just by looking at it, you could tell it was going to be tight if I ever wore it. She returned it to the box and carried the box towards what I imagine is the walk-in closet.

I opened a box to see shirts of different kinds. I checked another and it had jeans, sweats, shorts, etc. Where did all this come from and how did he know my size? The woman who is yet to tell me her name picked up each box one by one and arranged them in the closet.

"You don't have to do that," I said, reaching for one box so I could help. She didn't say anything just smiled at me and kept going. Some boxes had some bathroom products so I went to the bathroom to arrange them the way I wanted.

"Milady" She called. I stepped out of the bathroom. She was staring at a particular box with shock and amusement in her eyes. I walked towards her and looked into the box. I gasped when my eyes landed on the lacy materials.

"Where would you like me to keep this?" She asked, covering her mouth to hold back her laughter. I leaped forwards and quickly closed the box, my face heating up.

"D-don't worry about this one. I'll take care of it later" She nodded and giggled before going back to work. By the time we were done arranging the boxes, the room looked extremely spacious and more alive.

We had changed the bed sheet to a red one with small white flowers on it, and we had added more pillows to the bed. There were new chairs and tables, so I chose the one I liked best and the maid said she'd tell them to take the rest back.

Now the room fit my taste. Even though I was here against my will, I needed a place where I can escape to, my cave and this was it. There was a mini library close to my bed and different books were already there.

I smiled and thanked the maid, glad that she let me do what I wanted.

"You're welcome, Milady"

"My name is Charlotte. I'm not comfortable with the whole Milady thing" I said, taking a seat on my bed. I patted the bed telling her to sit beside me. She looked hesitant at first but sat down.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. It's not right to call Royalty by their names"

"But I'm not royalty" She didn't look convinced "Okay fine, then call me Char. It's a nickname that was given to me by my father" I said, looking at my lap, remembering my parents.

"Okay C-char," she said. I looked up at her and smiled.

"And you are?" I asked when I realized she wasn't going to say it without me asking.

"Aurora," she said.

"Wow that's a beautiful name," I said. She smiled at me and nodded. We sat on the bed, getting to know each other. She was 37 years old. Her husband and her son died when the old king was still alive. He was part of the people that were against the king and for that, the king killed their son and him and was about to kill her but the 'he' saved her.

"I'm so sorry," I said. She just shrugged it off.

"So, what about your parents?" She asked.

"They died a year ago," I said, looking down at my fingers.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," She said, rubbing my back "How did they die, plague, rogues, old age?" I shook my head.

"The fog," I said. I felt her tense beside me, causing me to look at her. She appeared terrified and was about to say something when the door opened and cut her off. He walked into my room, making it appear small and draining the room of its comfortable atmosphere. Aurora jumped off the bed and bowed before running out the door, leaving the two of us alone.

I glared at him, his presence making me both happy and irritated. His eyes scanned my room and he looked satisfied.

"I see you like your presents," he said. I rolled my eyes but nodded my head. He smiled at me, his pearly white teeth making an appearance.

"I'm glad you like it Charlotte" Goosebumps erupted as a shiver ran down my spine. My heart skipped a beat before returning to its normal rhythm.

Just the sound of him calling my name can make me feel so many things. I growled internally. I hate this bond.

"Since you know my name it's only fair, I know yours," I said, folding my arms against my chest, trying to look tough but this only caused his eyes to drop down to my chest.

"True," He said "My name is Salvatore Knight"

"Salvatore" I repeated. His eyes shot back to mine and his smile widened.

"Hm that's right princess" I continued to glare at him.

"What do you want?" I asked, wanting him out of my room as soon as possible. His scent was turning my brain to mush and mush brain Char can't say no.

"I came to check up on my princess," he said, walking towards me. I got off the bed and moved away from him.

"Cut the crap" He chuckled and placed his hands into his pocket.

"I'm serious" he stopped walking "Well it seems you're not done arranging yet so I'll leave you to it," he said and winked at me before he left my room. I stared at the closed door, perplexed until it clicked. The box containing lacy underwear was open, and I'm certain he could see it from where he was standing right now.

I cursed under my breath and went to arrange the underwear in a drawer in the closet.

Aurora later returned and informed me that dinner was approaching and that I needed to get dressed. I had already showered and washed my hair, so I was still dressed in my robe. I reached into my closet for a hoodie, but she stopped me. She looked at me with surprise before pushing me out of the closet.

"Have you ever been to a Royal dinner before?" She asked after she closed the door. I shook my head and then realized she couldn't see me.

"No," I said. She opened the door and walked out with a red dress in her hands. "No no" I pleaded but she just ignored me and placed the dress on my bed.

"Char you need to be well dressed when you're eating with the King and other beasts," she said.

"Can't I just eat in my room?" I asked, not wanting to stress myself. She shook her head and pulled out my chair and motioned for me to sit.

"No. This is your first meal and news has already spread the Queen is here so a lot of people will come" I groaned before walking towards the chair. I sat down on the chair and pouted.

"It won't be that bad. Just sit, eat, chat a little then leave" She did my hair which looked bad by the way.

"Then why all this" I motioned to my hair and the dress. She just shrugged and continued preparing me for the dinner. I put on the dress after she was done with my hair. The dress wasn't bad.

"Smile," Aurora said. I glared at her and walked towards the door, wanting to get this over with. "So, no jewelry or makeup"

"No," I said. Aurora didn't say anything more and just led me to the dining room which was on the last floor. The palace was the same as earlier, empty but voices could be heard from a room with two doors.

I came to a halt, causing Aurora to come to a halt and turn to face me. She was staring at me, waiting.

"I'm not sure I can do this," I said, my palms feeling sweaty. She smiled at me before reaching for my hand.

"Yes, you can. It's just dinner" She said "No one will do or say anything and if they do His highness will surely deal with them." She encouraged me. I nodded feeling better now, I mean I do look amazing.

"And there I no turning back, they know you're here." My eyes widened and embarrassment washed over me. I cursed internally before taking a deep breath. Aurora asked if I was ready and I said I was. She opened the doors and my jaw almost dropped to the ground.

Is this normal?

Oh my God.

All the confidence I had gathered drained from my body as I stared at the people in the room. There were more beasts than I imagined and more dressed up. All eyes were on me, and whispers flew around.

I walked in, feeling very self-conscious and insecure, hoping that something else would happen and divert their attention elsewhere.

'Just dinner she said' I thought to myself as I walked towards the long table that I assumed was where we would be eating. Suddenly everyone started walking towards the table, filling the seats until there were only two left, one at the head of the table and one at the right side of the head chair.

I gulped.

Why is this happening?

I just want food

'Let's just head back into our cave' I stopped walking. My beast growled inside my head, then my stomach followed. Crap. I hadn't eaten anything for...I don't even remember how long.

I need food in my stomach or I was going to pass out. I sighed and continued walking to the table. The person that was sitting at the left side of the head chair, came out and pulled out the chair for me.

I sat down on it and the person pushed the chair in and then walked away. My eyes were still on me but now more intense than before. With shaky hands, I reached for the napkin and placed it on my lap, and waited for the food.

While I was waiting, the door I came in through opened and Salvatore walked in, causing everyone in the room to get up. I took off my napkin and followed their lead. I could feel his power radiating from him as he took each step.

His presence was doing things to me and my beast. By the time he got to the table and sat down, everyone followed. I placed my napkin back on my lap and decided to stare at my fingers throughout the evening.

"You look beautiful" I heard Salvatore say. I looked up and glared at him which caused him to smile at me.

This was going to be a long dinner.

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