I wanted to roll my eyes at him but I managed to restrain myself.
Keep your cool, Clark.
“They can come in,” Griffin addressed the guard on the other side of the door. O
As soon as he said it, the door opened and I watched Sebastian and Lily cautiously walk in. They both looked guarded and nervous. They took a quick glance at me but mostly kept their eyes on Griffin – perhaps waiting to see what he’d do or say next.
He’s not going to stand there and supervise this whole visit, is he?
“Your Majesty,” Sebastian was the first to speak, “Thank you for allowing us to see our sister.”
Griffin smiled but there was nothing kind about it. “It’s been a long day, I understand you want to make sure she’s alright. I remember you you’re the one who stood in front of her trying to defend her from me.”
Sebastian blanched and I felt my own heart speed up. Surely Griffin wasn’t upset. about Sebastian defending me at the meeting? It’s not like he attacked him. Seb was only trying to make sure I didn’t meet the same fate as the king.
Former king now, I suppose.
“I apologize, Your Majesty,” Sebastian said, “What happened at the meeting…it all happened so fast. I just wanted to make sure my sister didn’t get hurt. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
Griffin hummed thoughtfully. “Oh, it’s alright. I respect the way that you stood up for your sister. That kind of loyalty is admirable. Well, I won’t intrude on your little reunion.”
Griffin strided across the room, stopping until he was standing in front of me. I was still sitting on the b*d, so he had to crouch down to make eye-contact with me. Once again, I met his intense gaze and it felt like we were the only two people on the earth. Everyone, even my own siblings that were standing just a few feet away, seemed to vanish when I looked into Griffin’s eyes.
He smiled at me but this time, I could tell it was real and soft. “I’ll leave you to catch up with your siblings, little fox,” he said, “I’ll be back in a little bit to collect you and we can have dinner together. Be good for me.’”
He leaned forward and k*ssed my forehead. His l*ps were soft and gentle, and just for a second, I wondered what it would feel like if he was k*ssing my l*ps instead.
God, what is wrong with me? I need to pull it together. O
When he pulled back, Griffin gave me one last smile before departing the room. The door thudded shut behind him and the air seemed to change immediately it’s like the tension and awkwardness seemed to evaporate with him.
Lily let out a long sigh, flopping down on the b*d beside me. “Well, I never thought I’d see the day I’d be in the King’s bedroom,” she said, “Or former bedroom, I’m sure. Now that he’s King, I’m sure he’ll be getting an upgrade.”
More accurately, now that he’s killed his father, he’ll be upgrading his rooms.
“Certainly can’t complain about this b*d though,” Lily chirped, bouncing lightly on the mattress. It caught me off-guard but Lily seemed to be in a great mood, especially considering the day we had all had. Sure, I was the only one who met my mate but everyone saw the king get beheaded. O
“You sound…chipper,” I said, eyeing her.
“Well,” Lily said, smiling, “I don’t want to make this whole thing about me, your mate being the Alpha King? This is great news for me.”
“Oh, how so?”
but
“Remember that conversation we had earlier today?” she asked, “About how I was worried mom and dad would be disappointed if I didn’t end up with some strong Alpha mate?” O
I nodded. I did remember, but truthfully, that conversation felt like a million years.
ago.
Where is she going with this?
“Well, it doesn’t matter anymore!” she said, smiling widely at both Sebastian and could understand why.
“What do you mean?”
“Me having to worry about finding some strong Alpha? That’s a thing of the past now – I don’t have to worry anymore,” she said, “Now that you’ve literally found your mate in the Alpha King and good job snagging that one, sis it really doesn’t matter who I end up mated to. Our pack has already made the strongest long-term alliance they could possibly ever make.”
Lily looked positively gleeful, and while I was glad someone could benefit from my mate bond, the last thing I wanted to think about was “long-term alliances” with
Griffin.
“Well, I’m glad this has worked out for you,” I replied dryly.
“Clark, are you okay?” Sebastian piped up from where he was leaning against the wall. “What happened today that was intense. This whole thing is going to be intense…and I know it wasn’t exactly your plan.”
He didn’t say it but I knew Sebastian was referring to my plan to move away after college. Being mated to the Alpha King and stuck at the castle was going to put a major wrench in that especially since I’d already tried to talk Griffin out of this. whole thing.
Now that I was alone with my siblings, I felt a wave of emotions rise to the surface. Everything I had been hoping for college, a human life, a normal human.
boyfriend seemed like it was vanishing before my eyes.
___
My fate was completely controlled by Griffin now.
As he had been so willing to tell me earlier, he could lock me up and throw away the key if he wanted to.
God, why didn’t I just stay home? I could’ve faked being sick or come up with some excuse and this never would’ve happened.
This cannot be my life. I cannot be stuck with some possessive Alpha who treats me like an object there has got to be a way out of this for me!
“Am I okay?” I repeated, “No, I’m not okay. My entire life has been turned upside down. This is not how I want to live my life. I don’t want to be mated to some possessive Alpha or rule over a group of people that aren’t even mine. Please, Sebastian, Lily – you guys have got to help me get out of this.”
“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.”
Abraham Lincoln
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