Possessed by the Rogue King

Chapter 2 : Killing My Mate

I lifted my nose in the air again and inhaled the heavenly scent. Yes, it was definitely there. It was my mate. He was here somewhere.

The moon beamed down on me as I felt Susan stir even more.

'Find him,' she urged me.

The scent was tantalizing. It was fresh and strong, like citrus.

I loved it.

With a new found hope filling my heart, I moved through the garden in search of the owner of the scent. If it would not be Prince Reagan then it would be another.

Only for mere seconds my heart had been broken and now I felt hopeful again. I felt as though there was light at the end of all of this darkness.

I moved in the garden following the trail. With each step I took the scent grew stronger and stronger and Susan stirred even more.

Mate, mate, mate. She kept chanting in my head. She was excited and overjoyed at the prospect of what was about to happen.

All those dreams of finding my Prince Charming as a little girl were finally going to come true.

I moved through the neatly pruned space until I came to a familiar door.

'Here', my wolf screamed at me. 'He is here'.

'No.' Confusion seeped into my mind. 'This cannot be where he is. This is not where our mate is Susan. This is the home of my father's little pet.'

Susan growled at me.

Fine, he was not my father's pet but more so his adoptive son. He had taken him in after finding him alone in the forest, and made him an Omega. I didn't know where he came from. All I knew was that he was was forced to remain down here in the basement, like the wild animal he was. I turned to leave, when Susan stopped me.

'No!' she screamed in my mind. 'He is down there and he needs our help.'

I walked slowly toward the wooden door.

'Go! He needs help!'

Susan was insisting but I didn't want to go down there. This must have been some kind of a mistake. He could not possibly be my mate. I was the daughter of a powerful Alpha. My mate had to be someone of rank and great authority. Like Prince Reagan.

My heart tightened.

Why could it not have been him? If it had been him then this would not even be an issue right now. I would be announcing my courtship to the pack and my father. I would be on my way to being a princess. But here I was at the door of a mere peasant who had creepy tendencies.

Just last night he had snuck into my room through the window. I was asleep in bed and woke up with him over me.

He was dirty with mud on his face and his clothes tattered. He reeked of sweat and his hair had been unruly.

There was no way that the same man I had to call the guards on last night was my mate today. Surely I would have felt something then. I would have felt some kind of pull.

It had happened less than 24 hours ago!

'Go to our mate,' Susan kept urging me but I was trying to resist.

She moved me and my hand pushed the door slightly ajar.

Concrete steps led down to the other basement door where Zander's room was located. I had never been down there before. I had always wanted to stay far far away from him.

I didn't understand why my father had such an affinity for him. It was strange. He would come down here frequently to bring Zander food and supplies, but never let him free. Maybe it had to do with his fear of the increasing rogue attacks. But it still left the question: why dote on someone you intentionally kept hidden away?

I peered down the dark staircase, my head and heart conflicted.

I closed my eyes and breathed in the scent even deeper. It sent my nerves into overdrive.

My eyes snapped open.

No. There was no way that I was feeling these things for this man. He was not my type at all.

The goddess had definitely made a mistake.

'The goddess makes no mistakes. Zander is our mate. Now go!'

My wolf and I had never been on opposite sides before. Usually we are in 100% agreement all the time. But now she was challenging me.

I felt the pressure in my head as she tried to push forward and take control.

“No Susan." I fought her. “We are not going there."

I turned to leave but I got caught on my skirt and I fell backward. I let out a little squeal as my body tumbled down the concrete steps.

I rolled and rolled until I came to a hard stop at the bottom of the staircase.

“D*mnit," that hurt like a b*tch. My dress was likely ruined and I didn't know if I could even go back to my birthday celebration.

'Mate, mate, mate!' Susan kept chanting in my head.

“Enough Susan."

'Just go see please,' she begged me, 'I can feel him. He's hurt and he's in pain.'

I mean that was to be expected after the beatdown Lola and I gave him last night for sneaking into my room. The guy was a major creep for just sneaking in the way that he did. I was not the one to play with.

“No Susan," I stood to my feet. My knee felt a little sore from the impact of the fall. This was not at all how I wanted my night to go.

This was supposed to be the best night of my life. I was to be the one who had it all. But instead I stood here in a dingy dungeon. The foul smell of low rank wafting in the air.

I scrunched my nose up in disdain.

'Please!' Susan pushed.

I could feel her desperation.

“Fine, we will check if he is alright and then we will leave."

She didn't answer me but she kept quiet nonetheless.

I turned to face another wooden door with a similar light attached to the wall near the door. The lighting was dim but I could see enough.

I pushed the wooden door open and peered inside.

I had expected the scent of rotting something to hit me hard but instead it was just his scent that wafted into my nose. I had to keep myself from closing my eyes and indulging in it even more.

This needed to be a quick thing. In and out and then we were done.

I didn't want to stay here long.

I took a step into the unfamiliar room.

It was completely dark.

“This is a bad idea," I hissed to my wolf, “I can't see a damn thing down here. I think we better go."

'No!' she screamed at me.

This had to be the most rebellious she had ever been since the moment we formed our bond. It was strange for her to behave in such a manner. She was not normally like this.

I walked further into the dark room. The light from the door dwindling and my own heightened eyesight not doing much for me.

I held my arms out trying to feel my way around.

I took about three more steps until I fell face first on the ground. But this time the ground wasn't cold or dirty. In fact, it smelt like citrus and it was warm.

It took me a moment to realize that the ground was moving beneath me. It rose and fell almost like it was breathing... I froze.

I didn't dare to move a muscle.

The moonlight peeked in from the small air window of the basement casting a blue hue into the room.

I dared to look at Zander, his eyes closed and his body completely relaxed.

How had he not woken from that? Was he that sound of a sleeper?

I had seen Zander on multiple occasions but right now, laying on top of him like this I felt like I was seeing him for the very first time.

His lashes kissed the top of his cheekbones. His jawline was sharp and angled showing off his perfectly constructed face. He had a little stubble growing due to him not having access to a shave regularly.

His hair was a little long falling over his forehead in a little shaggy manor. But unlike yesterday it wasn't unruly or unkept.

I also noticed how his wounds had healed overnight. You would not expect an Omega to heal quickly. It was actually impressive.

Had he always looked like this? He looked…handsome.

I never would dare to admit it out loud of course. I was the Alphas daughter of course. I could not be heard making such remarks of a man so low in rank to me.

I stared at him once more. There was something that had me wanting to reach out and move the hair on his face. I wanted to feel more of him, to see more of him.

Sh*t. No. No. No.

I quickly hurried off of him, needing to put space between us.

I stared down at the man and felt my stomach twist.

Me, the daughter of an Alpha linked to someone like him? There was no way that it could be him.

'It is him. I know it.'

'No, it is not Susan. I cannot be with him. I am a Luna by birth. I could not demote myself. And what of my pack? I cannot have a man like him lead with me. We would be a laughing stock to everyone. They would never take us seriously again.'

I needed to reject him.

'Don't you dare! He is our mate. You will regret rejecting him.'

What can he offer us, Susan?

'Love. He can grant us the kind of love that is supernatural. A love that is ordained by the high goddess herself or have you forgotten what you have longed for since you were but a mere pup.'

I had not forgotten. I still yearned for that kind of love but I knew with great certainty that I would not find it with this man.

How could I?

I looked around.

It was just the two of us here. Everyone was at the party and no one would care about him until morning when it was time for him to get his breakfast.

If he somehow woke up dead then maybe people would blame it on a sickness or something. They would never suspect that someone would have come in here and killed him.

'Don't you dare!'

I saw no other way out. This was how it had to be.

I had resolved myself. This was what I had to do.

I leaned over him, my hands already moving toward his neck.

I would make it quick and easy. I would make it as painless as possible.

I was even doing him a kindness. What kind of life would he be living? He was trapped under here, rotting away. He would find peace and go to be with the goddess.

As I neared him, my wolf screaming at me in my mind I was able to wind my hands around his neck.

But just as I was about to squeeze his eyes snapped open and he grabbed my wrist.

“What are you doing?"

Oh sh*t! But before I could react, a voice entered my mind that wasn't Susan's; one I had never heard before. It was dark and gruff, and sounded like it was on the precipice of something sinister.

“We will kill them all."