Chapter 0338

“I’ll believe that when we both make it back to Gilliards, unscathed and undiscovered.” He nodded sighing in exasperation and looking at his boot cladded feet. I was making it very obvious that I didn’t yet trust him.

“You have my word, even if it doesn’t mean much to you.” I still couldn’t believe that Lewis thought this pairing was a good idea… I was actually starting to think that maybe he chose Oliver simply because he had found his mate himself and wasn’t jealous of us being alone together. I rolled my eyes with a small smile at the thought of Lewis, but my thoughts were cut short, when Oliver continued to speak. “May I ask you something, your gra… Dylan?”

I turned to him in surprise at him actually addressing me with my name, it almost felt foreign on my ears, I actually think that was the first time he had ever called me by my name alone, so I sat next to him copying his seated position in alpha Daltons garden.

“Well, For once, I’m not busy. So I’ll answer your questions if you answer mine.” He nodded and glanced at me, swallowing thickly before asking me his question nervously.

“You have a plan set in place for if you win, but what about if your loose?” Huh? My head shot to him, fear now taking over my eyes as I looked at the beta. He had a point, I hadn’t thought about what would happen if the king won. If he got me back, he’d make my life a living hell, more so than it already had been.

“I don’t know.” I stated, a slight shake wracking through my body at the mere thought of loosing, at this point that wasn’t an option.

“King Josh is ins.stent on marking you, regardless of whether that’s what you want. I guess I just, think it’ll help having a contingency plan in place.” He had a point, it was naive to have a plan for success but not one for failure. I guess I never thought about it properly because, for me at least, failure wasn’t an option.

“I have no intention of becoming the official mate to the king.” I stated, wrapping my arms around my body as goosebumps began to form on my skin. “I’m not saying it lightly. If the king wins then I will die before he’s able to lay his hands on me again.”

“Do you truly prefer death over being his mate?” I nodded and thought about Lewis instead. I met the eyes of the royal beta and nodded my head. “But, even still, you’re apprehensive to take the throne? Even when that is possibly the only option for victory?” He was questioning me well, even Lewis hadn’t fully asked me why I didn’t want the throne. I guess it was because he thought it was simply due to my wish for freedom.

“Despite the outcome of the battle, I’m never going to escape the king. “My voice sounding deflated as I realized my worst fear. “The reason, I don’t want to rule…” I gulped trying to find the words that were on the top of my tongue, the ones that I wish would just explain themselves instead of me being so weak as to not be able to speak them. “It isn’t simply because I don’t want people to rely on me, and it’s not that I’m afraid to be the voice of reason in a crowd full of noise.”

“Is it because you don’t want to be the one to make the new laws? You don’t want to draw up new punishments?” He asked trying to get to the bottom of why I was so against being the leader that I was getting forced to be.

“No… the new laws will be easy to put into action, once fully fleshed out…” I had no worries about that one. “…It’s because, every single time there is a moment that requires a firm hand and a tough decision, all that my mind will think about is ‘what would king josh do‘. “I admitted, my words floating through the damp air and traveling on the warm breeze. I felt my energy drain from my body, and I slumped were I sat, finally taking my eyes off the moon and resting them on the royal beta. “Every file of paper work, every document needing to be signed, every mild trepidation someone may come to me with, will elicit thoughts of The kings previous actions. Not to mention if I so much as step foot in the palace again…” I shuddered, thinking about everything that went on within the confines of those doors.

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