Chapter 4

ARIEL~~~~

Silence permeated the throne room and a thick fog of confusion clouded my mind. The words sound foreign to me.

"What exactly are they talking about?" I thought. "Who is marrying who?"

"Ariel?" my mom called. "This is for the future of the kingdom. This alliance would save the lives of a lot of people and secure the future of the next generation. Your marriage is the key to creating a better environment for werewolves in the North and South."

"What about me?" I asked. "What about my future? Who's gonna care about my happiness when even my parents don't? What about Asher?"

"Asher?" my father asked. "What about him?"

"Dad, you know quite well that I love Asher," I hissed. "You already blessed our union."

"Now, I don't," he retorted. "Asher is my subordinate and he will do as his Alpha orders."

"No!" I yelled, springing up from my seat. "Asher is my lover and I will only marry him!"

"Ariel!" my mother yelled. "He is your father and your Alpha! Show him some respect!"

"Why?" I asked as tears flowed down my cheeks. "He doesn't care about me. All his claims of love and affection were a ruse to make me seem valuable so that he can gain by using me for his stupid politics."

"This is an issue that involves the lives of millions of your kind. Your people," my father said. "This is in our favour because our combat power has reduced drastically as the newer generation is born. We've lost over fifty warriors in the skirmishes with the North. An all-out war would kill us even faster."

"Do you even know this guy?" I asked.

He shrugged. "He's a nice boy."

"You don't know that!" I shook my head violently. "You don't know anything about him. We've been at loggerheads for so long so I know you definitely haven't seen him."

He sighed. "He's a nice boy."

"You keep repeating that like a broken record when you know nothing about him!" I yelled and bolted out of the throne room before they could say another word. I've heard enough. I don't want to marry a guy I know nothing about. Especially when I already have Asher.

I swung the door to open my room open so violently that it almost broke off its hinges. The force even startled Roseline who already fell asleep on my bed.

"What was that for?" she asked with a confused frown which deepened as she saw my tears. "Why are you crying?"

"My parents," I sobbed as I plopped onto my face on the bed. "They're marrying me off to some random guy from the North."

Her bloodlust immediately rose at the mention of the North, and when I looked at her, her eyes were glowing orange.

"Did you just say North?" she hissed.

"My thoughts are the same as yours," I replied, looking away. "Apparently, he's the son of the Alpha of the Moon Pack in the North. The same pack that has caused us so much trouble throughout history. He wants to marry me off to them for the sake of his stupid alliance and pursuit of peace."

"We don't want peace!" she growled. "I'm gonna murder every one of those fucking North bastards before they even get to know the word, peace!"

"Dad doesn't want that," I sobbed. "He wants me to leave Asher. My Asher."

"What's going on today?" she let out a pained chuckle as she laid beside me and wrapped her hand around my back. "We are both going through heartbreaks on the same day. It's almost like the universe wants us to suffer for a sin we know nothing about."

Even in my sadness, I didn't think Roseline was right with that statement. I might have done nothing wrong, but she made Carl leave her with the abuse she subjected both him and everyone around him to. But of course, this isn't the right time to talk about something like that.

"What do we do now?" she asked. "If it's the words of the Alpha then you have no choice but to obey i-."

"I don't want to," I cut her off. "I will never marry anyone except Asher. I am only Asher's."

"He hasn't marked you though," she said. "Asher can only claim you as his after he marks you, and he hasn't. More like he can't."

"That's only because it is an offence punishable by death for the Alpha's daughter to be marked without his blessing."

"Exactly," she said. "Now, you see why you have no choice. You are single until you are marked and right now you aren't. Why do you think I was so protective of Carl? He refused to mark me."

"What do I do?" I sobbed even more. "I don't want to be marked by a guy I don't even know."

"Maybe you should try finding your mate," she suggested.

"What?!" I asked, springing up from my bed in anger.

"Sheesh, girl," she sighed. "Hear me out."

"I'm listening."

"I asked you to go find your mate to stop your marriage to this North guy," she explained. "He might not be Asher, but at least you would have some sort of emotional connection or whatever connection mates have. You can have that with him, and it would be a valid argument to counter your dad's decision to marry a Northerner. You would lose Asher either way, but I think it's a better deal losing Asher and having your mate, than losing him and having to marry a stranger and a Northerner for that matter."

"No?" I refused it immediately as I laid back down on my stomach. "If you don't have a suggestion that lets me keep Asher then I don't want to hear it."

"What if Asher leaves you instead?" she asked and again I sprang up in anger.

"Stop saying stupid stuff!"

"Do you think your parents are stupid?" She asked. "You think they don't know that Asher is the main reason why you are against this alliance?"

"So what if they know?" I retorted. "I and Asher haven't done anything wrong or out of the ordinary so there's nothing they can do to us."

"You think so?"

"What?"

"Asher is a warrior of the pack, isn't he?" she asked. "A subordinate of his Alpha, who would have no choice but to obey his Aloha if he is ordered to sever all ties with you, or if he is ordered to go to the front lines and die in the ongoing war or killed."

"What are you saying?" I asked. "My father would never do such a thing!"

"This is politics, Ariel."

"The Alpha is not a politician," Denise said as she opened the door and gave Roseline a death stare. Her anger was so evident that I suspect her wolf eyes were the green I saw right now. "Don't give the princess bad ideas about her father."

"I'm just saying," Roseline shrugged.

"One more word about that and I'm telling the King," she warned. "You know I would."

"You stupid maid!" Roseline hissed. "Mind your goddamn business!"

"And stay at your father's house for once in your life," Denise retorted.

"You-"

"Stop it! Both of you!" I yelled just in time before Roseline lunged at her. "Would you please stop fighting like cats and dogs for once in your life?"

I then turned my attention to Denise. "Not a word about this to father if you still consider yourself my attendant."

"Yes, ma'am," she bowed slightly.

"Why are you here?"

"I was sent by the king to deliver a message to you," she replied.

"What is it?"

"In his words," she cleared her throat. "You will be marrying the son of the Alpha of the Moon Pack and that is final. Asher has been made aware of it too. You are to adjust your habits and be on your best behaviour for the next few days. He would be visiting our kingdom soon to get to know you. Your dad and Alpha, Darrell Klaus."

"Am official message, also including the Alpha title," Roseline said. "Your marriage is sealed."

"That's impossible," I said. "My dad would never do something like this to me."

"There's nothing you can do about it," Roseline said. "Instead of sulking, I have a suggestion. I'll only tell you after this disrespectful bitch leaves."

"I'm already on my way," Demise said but gave me a look of sadness and pity before going. She mouthed the words to me like we usually did whenever I was doing something mischievous. "I'm sorry, Ari."

"What's your suggestion?" I asked once I confirmed that she had gone.

"The guy in question doesn't know you, right?" she asked.

"I believe so," I replied, my voice barely a whisper as my head was just a mass of confusion right now.

"What if I meet him in your place?" she asked and my head immediately perked up.

"What?"

"If I can get him to think of me as you then you won't have to marry him, right?"