Temperamental

AURELIA

Nightfall had come, and a sleek black nightgown was laid out at the foot of the bed, a command from the king himself.

She had chosen to protect her sister, and now, she was to pay the price she had promised the king: her innocence.

Her small hands traced the luxurious fabric before her. She had never owned anything so extravagant, making everything in the castle seem incredibly lavish.

She was ready to play her part tonight. She knew she would have to eventually. But she didn’t want to be forced.

She waited for the king, her wolf inside her buzzing with anticipation and nerves. But all she felt was a heavy sadness. Despite her extraordinary gift, she couldn’t change what was destined to happen. Nothing could.

As the hours ticked by, she barely noticed the sun rising, and there was no sign of her mate. The night was quiet.

Maybe he had forgotten about her. Maybe he was preoccupied.

What she didn’t know was that the king had changed his mind.

He wasn’t compassionate or merciful. It wasn’t to comfort his little mate. It was simply because he didn’t want to, he told himself.

His wolf yearned to touch her, to claim her, to fuck her. But the king had enough self-control to resist.

Assuring himself it was a show of strength, he retreated to his war room, his eyes scanning the reports over and over.

One threat. One threat to his rule. One insignificant threat, but it wasn’t easily dismissed.

If he could, he would have sent his armies across the borders and crushed them by dawn. But their defenses were formidable.

Fae magic was the king’s nemesis.

He despised the range of protections they could use. And they were cowards, hiding behind their barriers at the border that no one could cross.

They would choose when to lower the boundary. So, they would choose when the war would start. And he didn’t like losing control.

As he pondered his options, his thoughts drifted to the beautiful blonde enigma waiting for him in his chambers.

He knew if he caught even a glimpse of her, he wouldn’t be able to resist taking her.

Several nights passed where he didn’t return to his chambers. He didn’t have time for the naive girl sleeping in his bed. War was looming, and she was weak.

So the king devised a test—a cruel one, a rigged one—but he went ahead with it anyway.

At dawn, he ordered Aurelia’s personal servant to prepare her for training with the warrior wolves in the king’s battalion.

If she was to be his queen, she would need to be tested. And he knew he would satisfy his need to feel superior and humiliate her in front of his ruthless soldiers.

Kenna, the servant, once had eyes for the king, but he didn’t notice any such thing after she met his little mate. He wondered what she had said but decided it didn’t matter to him.

Kenna entered the queen’s chambers quickly, finding her still asleep, shivering like a leaf in winter. Soft cries for help could barely be heard, so Kenna tried to wake her.

She felt a loyalty to the young queen, even though she barely knew her. It was a strange compulsion Aurelia had put on her; Kenna couldn’t understand why she felt the need to protect the little wolf.

“My queen,” she said gently.

Aurelia woke up abruptly, drenched in sweat, the nightmares still fresh in her mind.

Those eyes. Every night. Those eyes.

They didn’t scare her during the day, but when sleep’s darkness took over, she saw them. A cruel red like the flames of a brutal war. The eyes of her destined mate.

“Kenna,” Aurelia acknowledged, collecting herself.

“My queen, the king has ordered that you train with the warrior wolves in the king’s battalion. They will start in a few hours. I’ve laid out a suitable outfit, my queen.”

Aurelia simply nodded and dismissed the servant.

After bathing, she quickly changed into the outfit on her dresser and mentally prepared herself. She wouldn’t disappoint the king, especially since he had shown her mercy the previous night.

Obediently, she left the king’s chambers to find Laurent waiting outside.

“What brings you here?” she asked politely.

“The king asked me to take you to the training grounds,” he replied with a hint of contempt.

Her powers hadn’t been used for a while, which was why the compulsion didn’t last as long as it should have, especially her earlier uses, like on the dear Beta.

“Why does he want me to train?”

“Fastest way to get you killed,” he said bluntly, a smug smirk barely hidden by his regal pride.

“If the king wanted me dead, I think I would be by now,” she replied.

She had complete faith in her mate’s abilities. She wouldn’t underestimate him, and even though she had power too, it didn’t compare to the king’s in this situation.

He was experienced in raiding, killing, fighting. That was his expertise.

In complete silence, the two made their way to the training grounds, one half the size of the other. Aurelia occasionally looked up to find the sun, only to be met with the Beta’s large shadow.

Every pair of eyes turned to Aurelia and the Beta, sneering slightly at the sight of their small future queen. The king loomed over them all like a giant beast among insects, all inferior to him.

Those golden eyes met dazzling blue ones, but Aurelia looked away first.

His dominance, especially in front of his warriors, the men who would die a thousand deaths for their king, was incredibly overwhelming.

The warriors continued their savage training, tearing skin from each other with the clear threat of death.

The king stormed over to his mate, anger swirling in his eyes that Aurelia couldn’t understand.

How had she upset him already? She had been obedient since their trip to the silver cells to visit Olympia.

“My king,” Laurent started with a bow before leaving.

“Your grace,” Aurelia muttered, bowing her head. “You wanted me to join training?”

“Defying me already?” he hissed. Aurelia’s eyes widened as she felt the grip he had on her wrist tighten.

He pulled her close, his nose brushing against her neck. It should have been a tender gesture, but he managed to make it feel harsh.

“Not a chance, your grace,” she said quickly, avoiding his gaze. He wanted her submission, and she’d give it to him—for now. He still had her sister, after all.

“Good. You’ll train with the warriors every day until you’re strong enough to be a queen. Or until you die. Either works for me,” he said, a wicked grin on his face.

“Henri, Vidarr, and Nero will each test your strength.”

He fully expected her to lose.

Henri was his gamma, a formidable warrior, no doubt about it.

Vidarr was the general of the king’s army, a ruthless strategist with a single-minded focus on victory.

Nero was a hulking brute; his hands could easily snap a body in two.

She was bound to lose. But would she fight? Could she even survive?

Alastair didn’t like the prophecy he’d been given. That she would become queen, regardless of his decisions, as if she held all the power.

She was his; she belonged to her mate. But he didn’t belong to her.

“My king, we might break the young wolf,” Henri said. The king shot him a glare, and Henri quickly backed down.

Maybe he’d been going easy on her, Aurelia thought, remembering what he’d told her yesterday.

She’d spoken out against him several times, but her punishment had been relatively mild. No one defied the Alpha King, she’d learned.

The more she understood the dynamics of the castle, the wiser she became.

Nero was her first opponent. She guessed he was the weakest of the three, which seemed laughable given his size.

Despite her fear, she had a weapon that even the beast before her couldn’t deny.

Only one could. Her mate.

Knowing her powers could protect her, she stopped shaking and focused on Nero’s movements, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Nero circled her, looking for weaknesses as he would any opponent. But this young wolf was a weakness in and of itself. How could the king expect a fight? It would be over in seconds.

She had no upper body strength, and her small frame didn’t suggest any muscle. She looked as delicate as a flower, completely out of place in the castle.

He lunged at her, but she dodged him gracefully, using her small size to her advantage. She wasn’t a skilled fighter, but she was a fast learner.

The moment he swung at her, she grabbed his wrist, locked eyes with him, and whispered, “Let me win.”

She pulled away from him quickly. They were all werewolves with sharp hearing, and she couldn’t let the king find out about her power. He’d surely use it for his own benefit.

Nero let her win, of course. He couldn’t resist her compelling command. She threw a few punches and soon had him gasping for breath on the ground.

She looked at her mate. He seemed confused, his eyebrows furrowed as he took in the scene.

Maybe she could get stronger if she tried, but right now, she was more interested in proving the king wrong.

He’d wanted to humiliate her in front of his soldiers, to show them she wasn’t fit to be queen.

“Who’s next?” she asked innocently.

The king growled, and the warriors scattered like bugs when the lights come on. Suddenly, it was just Aurelia and the king.

“Is something wrong, your grace?” Aurelia asked softly, finally meeting his gaze.

He growled again, sounding more like a wild animal than a man. His golden eyes darkened to black, then to red.

Aurelia swallowed hard but held her ground. His fiery gaze was both terrifying and strangely attractive.

Caught in his intense stare, she felt like she was trapped in a nightmare.

He grabbed her neck, squeezing so hard she could feel her life slipping away. He lifted her off the ground until she was eye level with his demonic gaze.

“What d-did I d-do?” she choked out, struggling for breath.

He let her go suddenly, and she fell to the hard floor, her body aching from the impact. She fought back tears, clenching her jaw against the pain.

“Don’t disrespect me,” he bellowed before storming off, the ground shaking with each step.

Her mate was a control freak. She knew that much. And a sadist.

But she’d never been truly terrified until now. What she hadn’t realized was just how volatile the king could be.