Mutiny

AURELIA

“Are you going to training today, my king?” Aurelia asked, watching as the king pulled on his shirt and prepared to leave their shared bed.

“Alastair,” he corrected her.

She frowned, not understanding why he was saying his own name. Seeing her confusion, he clarified, “That’s what you should call me when we’re alone. And yes, I’m going to training today.” And with that, he was gone. Alastair was gone.

His name felt strange on her tongue, but when she said it out loud, it felt like she’d known it her whole life. Like it should have been the first word she ever spoke.

The mate bond was a strange thing. Sometimes she wondered how much of their connection was due to the bond.

Alastair was still cold and distant, showing her no love. But she’d grown used to it, and to his unique ways of showing affection.

Letting her call him by his first name was one of those ways, in his own masculine style.

Aurelia had a busy day ahead. There was a lot to get ready for. The future was looking bright, and she was feeling hopeful.

She was glad to hear that Alastair was going to training. His attention would be elsewhere, focused on his army. They worshipped him, saw him as a god, especially after what had happened.

They’d all seen him stop the rebel wolves with just a look. Aurelia didn’t mind her mate getting all the credit. She had more important things to focus on.

Because today was the day the king would find out. And she had to be ready.

It had been a few weeks since she’d gone to the underworld and made the deal. She could have put her plan into action sooner, but Alastair had a way of distracting her with his presence.

And he’d been around more often than before.

As the sun began to set and everything was in place, she gave the signal to drop the barriers.

The barriers between the fae kingdom and the wolf kingdom were down. The fae council and armies entered cautiously.

They were all guaranteed safe passage, as Aurelia had promised. Her powers were stronger now, having fully embraced them.

She’d stolen the fastest horse she could find and ridden all day to compel the wolves at the border. Soon, most of the warrior wolves were under her control.

Aurelia entered the throne room to wait for the council.

She found Alastair, Laurent, Henri, and Vidarr discussing recent events in the kingdom and their plans for dealing with the fae.

When they saw Aurelia, Laurent growled in annoyance, while Vidarr and Henri didn’t react.

“Leave, Aurelia,” Alastair ordered in his commanding tone.

“No,” she replied simply, smiling innocently.

The room fell silent, as if the word “no” was a terrible crime. She was sure it wasn’t. Vidarr looked shocked, clearly confused by the queen’s refusal.

Maybe he didn’t understand the word “no,” Aurelia thought.

Alastair stormed over to her, a furious scowl on his face, and grabbed her chin.

“Leave,” he growled. “We’re discussing important matters. We’re meeting with the high priests. You need to leave. That’s an order. If you disobey me, you’ll be punished.”

He let go and pushed her towards the door, then turned his back to return to the discussion.

“No,” she said again, louder and more firmly. His head whipped around instantly, and the room fell silent again. He took a step towards her, but she raised her hand as if to stop him.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

He had no idea what was going on, why she was acting this way over nothing.

She’d been completely obedient recently, and he’d been pleased with her. Now, she was refusing to leave. It didn’t make sense. It was pointless.

“I’m waiting for my guests,” she announced.

Right on cue, the high priests didn’t enter the room. Instead, the fae council walked in, dressed in their finest clothes and looking smug.

They were back in the wolf kingdom after centuries.

Alastair growled, ready to fight, but a hand on his chest stopped him. A delicate hand. His mate’s hand. The hand of his betrayer.

His advisors were on guard, snarling at the council. But they were as shocked as the king. They all wondered how the council could be here.

How had they gotten in without the wolves stopping them? Even if the barrier had been dropped?

They knew Aurelia was involved, but they saw her as just a pawn, a rat in the wolf kingdom. They were so wrong.

“Be smart, my king. Violence here won’t end well for you,” she advised. She sounded like the wisest person in the room, even though she was the youngest and least experienced.

“You,” he breathed out. He’d almost trusted her completely. Almost.

Now he felt betrayed by her. He was filled with rage, which was to be expected. But he also felt other emotions, ones he hadn’t felt in centuries. They threatened to tear him apart.

“So clueless, Alastair,” Ella said, smirking triumphantly as Aurelia left his side. “Your own little queen was your downfall.”

“Downfall?” Vidarr laughed without humor. “Hardly. You found a way into the castle. What’s the plan? Try to kill the king? That’s ridiculous and won’t work. And Aurelia means nothing to the king.”

If only that were true. Because deep down, Alastair knew there was a place for her in his heart.

“How does it feel, Alastair?” Cathan asked, grinning slyly. “Aurelia working with the fae.”

This was his revenge. Maybe Cathan hadn’t realized it at first, but the king’s reaction to what was happening was justice enough.

“Why?” the king asked his queen, his voice rough. Her eyes met his, and they softened. He couldn’t read her expression. He didn’t know what was real anymore.

“I’m a hybrid,” she confessed. Every wolf in the room tensed, their attention focused solely on the queen.

“I discovered I could cross the boundary without a spell or breaking the spell. That’s why I can’t shift.”

The king was stunned, for the first time in his life.

Before Aurelia came into his life, the king’s existence was pretty ordinary, monotonous. He yearned for more, and he got it: a treacherous hybrid queen. Half fae. His adversary.

“Don’t be upset, my king. You would have killed me if you knew I was your mate. I was just looking out for myself. You can’t feel betrayed,” she said.

“All this time,” Laurent mumbled, still in shock.

She smirked at him. She sat on Alastair’s throne and held her head high.

“Fits me well, don’t you think? A sturdy throne for a strong fae wolf? Do you disagree, my king?” she asked, full of arrogance.

She was pushing her boundaries. The king tried to retaliate, but she held out her hand again.

“Hurt me, and the hundred warrior wolves outside this room will come in and restrain you.” That was enough to stop him in his tracks.

“They are loyal to the king,” Vidarr declared passionately.

“Perhaps. But they can’t resist the compulsion I’m using on them,” she responded.

Compulsion? What if none of his feelings were real? His mind was racing at her confession.

“No, my king. I’ve never compelled you. Actually, I can’t. Must be because you’re my mate.” She answered his unspoken question as if she could read his thoughts.

“All this time, Alastair, and you were clueless,” Ella said. “The whole act when she came back from the dungeons, the kidnapping, the negotiation. They were all tricks.”

The act from the dungeon. He scoffed inwardly. His jaw clenched at the memory. How she acted, how she clung to him, how she trembled at his sight. How he catered to her.

It was all manipulation. If it weren’t for his anger clouding his judgment, he would have been impressed. How meticulous she was. Well, almost. He should have trusted his suspicions.

A wolf so small could be so destructive. She had let the fae into the court, and she had no idea how manipulative they could be. They were controlling her, and then they would discard her.

“I’m immortal. You haven’t won,” the king told Ellathoria.

“But that’s changed,” she replied. “Cirillo made a deal. You remember him, don’t you?”

The man who took him to the underworld. The man who helped his father steal his soul. The last fae in the kingdom before he was hunted.

“He’s Aurelia’s father.”

The king’s stomach churned. All this new information was too much, and what was even more nauseating was that he truly knew none of it. He had known she was hiding something, but all of this?

“He made another deal with Hades. Aurelia’s soul in exchange for the ability to kill you.”

Aurelia had given up her soul. That explained the malice. She was as empty as he was now. She had given it up as he had, through someone else’s manipulation.

What a price to pay. Ella knew that as long as he was alive, the fae couldn’t take control. So, here he was, at their mercy.

This was it. Because of his mate’s foolishness. She couldn’t handle the power given to her. She didn’t know what to do with it.

“Actually, that wasn’t the deal I made with Hades,” Aurelia announced, her tone playful.

All eyes were on her again as she stood. She stepped down from the throne and walked toward Ellathoria and the council.

“I know you all see me as young and naive and fickle. I’m none of those.” ~What is happening,~ the king wondered. “Guards!”

Manacles were immediately fastened around Cirillo’s and Ellathoria’s wrists, so quickly that they couldn’t escape.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Ella demanded.

“I made a different deal with Hades for my soul...”

~“I’m sure,” she said. “But I’m not here to fulfill my father’s deal with you. I’m here to make my own.”~

~A smirk spread across Hades’ lips. Maybe she really was the formidable queen her destiny suggested. He had heard the gods’ whispers.~

~The king and queen of the wolves were quite the talk of the town, though he was puzzled at how two wolves could stir up and confuse the gods. Now, he almost understood why.~

~“And what deal would that be?”~

~“I’ll still trade my soul to you, but in return…”~

“Immortality,” she declared.