The Bastard Princess

34.

-HIM-

"You knew Cleopatra was sending her after my mate?" The king growled at the goddess. The goddess watched him silently before she muttered, "Yes. Definitely,"

"Are you slowly turning into your sister Ishtar?" The king questioned and instantly the goddess' eyes blazed with anger.

She tipped her head high before she declared, "I have always wanted good for the wolves. You're well aware of this,"

"Then why did you pair that mortal with my son?" The king demanded. I could see where this was heading and I wanted it to stop.

"Your Majesty," I spoke but I was being interrupted by the goddess, "You're questioning my abilities too?" The tension in the room rose tremendously before the queen interrupted, "Inanna, we highly respect you. It's the situation that had been created by her which-"

"You can take her away. Ares has made his decision," The king interrupted but the queen spoke anyway, "The girl has saved me and I am quite impressed by her endeavours. I believe that she has true potential. All we need to do is give her a chance to prove herself,"

"Ares," The goddess roared, "Do you want her or not?" The question hung over my head like a guillotine. I knew whatever my answer would be, it would cut either way. Torn between conflict, I let my wolf take over me.

"I accept her as my mate," My words were followed by a thundering growl from the king and several murmurs from the people.

"Ares, remember that you chose your people!" The king bellowed at me, "Don't break your promises for a mere mortal," He spoke in a degrading manner. It made my wolf mad. He wanted to challenge the king but at the same time, he was trapped in the shackles of promises and the relationship we shared.

"I still choose my people but they need a queen as much as they need me," I told the king calmly, "I need my mate as much as you need yours,"

"The prince has some wisdom," The goddess commented but the king was soon to add, "I acknowledge that he'd need a queen but a queen should be such to think of the wellbeing of her people, not their ill,"

"I am sure that she is hardly aware that she has been paired with the wolf prince and that she is fated to be the future queen of Zaeris," The goddess debated.

"She'll never be the queen," The king growled. I was finding it harder to control myself as the debate continued.

"There's always one match. If she's gone then Zaeris would never have a queen and neither would it have any future," With that, the goddess spun on her heels and walked towards the gate of the courtroom.

She stopped just at the door and turned partially. The goddess' red eyes stabbed me with a mean look as she spoke, "I will remember this and I will make sure that you regret this," With that, she left.

"You..." The king turned to me, "will not go anywhere near that mortal," He commanded. Silver eyes familiar to mine glared at me. I clenched my jaw and fists as my wolf fought me.

"She is my mate," I muttered.

"And she tried to hurt my mate," The king growled back at me. I was now aware of the crack that had started to separate us, "And remember, Ares, my mate is your mother too," He added, taking a step closer to me.

"Why do you keep forgetting that she saved me!" The queen shouted.

"That is not enough for me to forgive that mortal," The king growled lowly, "She will be put in the trial,"

"You cannot do as you please," The queen gritted.

"Fine, then we have the whole council here. Let them vote," With that, the king turned to the people, "You want that mortal to be the next queen of Zaeris. Yes, or Nay!" The king roared.

My heart shattered when the courtroom walls shook as all the wolves shouted 'Nay'. The same look of dismay that decorated my face till then, climbed on the queen's face as well.

"No one wants her, Ares. You shouldn't too," The king gritted with his silver eyes piercing me. His words were a strong blow to my guts because they were true. So very true. I lost all my words at this point.

"The people of Zaeris, wouldn't you give her a chance to prove herself? I was frowned upon by many in my initial days too. I have earned respect and trust from the wolves over time because I was given a chance. I want you to give her a chance too," The queen spoke to the people.

Everyone listened to her silently before the royal advisor rose from his seat and bowed, "Your majesty, provided by the situation, she is first the state's enemy. According to the law, she has to go through a trial for an attempt of assassination against a royal, that too, on the queen. After that only, the fate of the subject would be considered," He explained.

"So, you want to put a mortal on trial who's fighting for her life?" The queen questioned. Meanwhile, I felt like a coward and powerless. I couldn't decide what to do or say. I couldn't stop myself questioning again and again if I had done the right thing by accepting her as my mate. I was aware that I may have to pay a huge price for that.

My mind raced, trying to think of all possibilities until a headache crept on my forehead. I was sure if this continued then I'd soon lose my sanity. This was all because of my mate.

That mortal.

"No, your majesty. We'll wait till she is in her senses and healthy to be present in the trial. After all, it's her who'd have to face the consequence of the judgment brought upon herself due to her own actions,"

"Fair enough," The king's silver eyes remained on me as he spoke, "We all know what's going to happen to her eventually," Pure loathing dripped off from each word that rolled out of his mouth. For a moment, I was finding it hard to believe that my won father had said that.

She was already driving me away from my family and I was already starting to hate her. The regret of accepting her was slowly sinking in and my wolf was trying hard to swim us to a safe harbour where we could find the reason to keep her. So far, he was failing.

I should've rejected her.

...

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