Return of the Ruined Mate

Chapter 1

They say the happiest day for a woman was the day of her wedding, but for Larissa Loveryk, it was the most awful. From the young age of ten, she had already prepared herself for this most awaited moment of her life. To be wed to her true love, Lycan King Tedros Fernore, and become the Queen to rule beside him.

This is what she had been waiting for, it was an honor to have this position, the bridge between humans and wolves…

But in an instant, like a blink of an eye, the festive aura disappeared, the bands stopped their playing, and every guest inside murmured and clung to one another, wondering why the kingdom’s oracle, who rarely goes out of the temple, suddenly barged in and claimed to have received a new prophecy from their beloved Moon Goddess.

“The divine Moon Goddess has spoken to me, and she is an impostor!” he pointed his wrinkly old finger at Larissa, who was all dressed up in her grandiose wedding dress. “When the mark is revealed, the true Queen shall arrive, and the chosen one shall bring an age of abundance and harmony. May I present our true Queen as spoken by the Moon Goddess, Lady Roisa Mondevelle.” They all know the empire’s oracle is a person who speaks for the Moon Goddess, relaying messages that will benefit the kingdom. They know as well that if they don’t obey what the oracle says, then the Moon Goddess will wreak havoc among them.

Larissa felt her heart sink when the oracle announced that and a few moments later an unknown woman entered the hall, with hair as luminous as the sun, even from a distance her jade-colored eyes seemed sparkling and captivated the entire room, including the groom, the Lycan King himself, Tedros Fernore. Larissa turned to look at him and saw how bewitched he looked, her entire body began to freeze and numb, and she didn’t know how to react when everyone began to look at her suspiciously. Her heart felt like it had shattered into a million tiny pieces, and she couldn’t even have the time to recollect herself when everyone had immediately turned their backs on her. Why wouldn’t they? She is a human, and the woman who just appeared is a wolf, a perfect mate for the Lycan King.

The things that happened that day began to feel like a distant memory as months passed by. Roisa Mondevelle, the woman who crashed the wedding along with the oracle, became the Queen instantaneously, while Larissa became a concubine despite devoting years of her life studying to be the Queen.

“Larissa,” a slightly high-pitched voice called out to her while she was staring out into the palace’s garden.

She didn’t need to turn around to know who was the owner of that distinct voice that she began to find annoying over the days.

“Your Majesty, Roisa, how may I help you?” she curtsied, still maintaining her manners and good etiquette.

“I heard from the gossiping servants by the hall that you and Tedros grew up together, is that right?”

After spending months with Roisa, Larissa knows that she is planning something sinister once again. Possibly to hurt her pride or hurt her physically and manage to get away with it every time by acting innocent and lovable to everyone.

“That is correct, we were engaged by the age of ten.” She tries to keep her answers short, since it wouldn’t do any good to reveal too much information to Roisa.

“Oh, that’s lovely! Then you’re the perfect person to ask this,” Roisa’s eyes glistened with a villainous glare as she stared down at Larissa who kept her head low, knowing the huge difference between the Queen and a lowly concubine like her.

“I was just wondering, since you know Tedros the most, what kind of position does he like?”

Larissa’s eyes widened, and she felt a squeezing sensation in her chest knowing what Roisa was referring to — something Larissa herself was longing for — but she was quick to recompose herself despite feeling like blacking out. “I do not know what you mean, Your Majesty.”

Roisa circled her like a predator, fanning her face with her feathered fan and speaking with a teasing voice. “Oh you know what I mean, I’m just so tired of doing the same position every night, so maybe you know something else, like a secret! Come on, from one woman to another, let’s share tips about that.” She suddenly clung her arms around Larissa’s shoulder, letting her voluptuous chest touch Larissa so she knew what Tedros liked. Curvy women like Roisa, compared to her who was slim.

Larissa knows Roisa isn’t interested in knowing whatever positions can be done during a passionate night, she just wanted to let her know that they’ve been going at it for several nights while she was alone in her cold room.

“My apologies, Your Majesty, but as you are already aware, I have never spent the night with the Lycan King. I was raised as the future queen – and I was told that I should remain chaste and only offer myself to the king—”

“But you’re not the queen, right? I am.” Roisa interjected, with the intent to slam that painful fact on Larissa’s face. “You are only a concubine, so you’re free to fool around with any men in the kingdom. I heard the Duke is a charming fellow shall I set you up? What was his name again? Al… Alastor?”

“Your Majesty.” Larissa had enough and firmly yanked Roisa’s arm away from her and stood straight, refusing to lower her head this time while she spoke. “I will remain loyal to King Tedros, even if I am just a concubine I will continue to give him my undying love and support.”

Roisa's usual innocent face distorted into an awful, upset expression. Her brows furrowed, eyes glistening as she grits her teeth. “You–“ she was about to raise her hand in an attempt to slap Larissa for talking back to her rudely but she immediately retreated her hands and became teary-eyed.

Her quick change of expressions was a puzzle for Larissa, but she soon understood why Roisa suddenly acted as if she was being mistreated.

“Larissa,” a deep, thunderous voice called out to her. It sent shivers into her spine and her hair stood on end, she quickly turned to face him to see his angered expression.

“Tedros, I–“

He didn’t let her explain and just walked past her, rushing towards Roisa instead. “Are you all right? What did she do?” his hands were placed firmly on Roisa’s delicately shoulders.

Roisa then began to cry and buried her face on Tedros’ chest, which made him more furious at Larissa, instantly taking Roisa’s side even without hearing what happened.

“What is your problem? Why do you keep pestering the queen?” Tedros’ eyes were once kind and gentle when they laid on Larissa, but at this moment, as he clung to Roisa, he was blazing with anger.

Larissa wanted to speak, she opened her mouth but no words came out. She wanted to say that she never harmed the queen, and she was the one being constantly abused by Roisa. She wanted to defend herself but decided not to say anything, knowing full well that Tedros would only claim that she was lying.

Larissa tried to tell him before, but he never believed her.

She stood there frozen while she listened to the next thing Tedros said to her face.

“The empress is with child, so stay away from her if you don’t want me escorting you out of this palace.”

Roisa is already carrying the heir to the throne, the child that Tedros would love with all his life, his cub. The same wound in the same place kept adding and Larissa felt something in her breaking and writhing in pain.

“It should have been me instead…” In a daze, Larissa didn’t notice that she spoke that out loud. Only realized it when Tedros already had his arm up high and slapped her so hard that she fell to the muddy ground of the garden, soaking her dress.

“How dare you say that! The Moon Goddess was the one who decided that Roisa is my fated mate and you saying that is a blasphemous act.” Tedros towered over her as she lay sprawled on the ground, his tall shadow cast over her.

“Tedros!” Roisa reached his arm. At first, it looked like she was trying to stop him from further hurting Larissa but she took his attention only to suggest something more sinister. “Her faith is dwindling, you should have her locked up in the temple and pray for the entire night, beg forgiveness from our beloved Moon Goddess.”

Moon Goddess this, Moon Goddess that. Since she is a human and not a wolf, Larissa wasn’t a firm believer in a goddess she had never heard of nor seen, actually no one in the kingdom except for the oracle has made contact with the goddess.

“No, I am sorry for saying that, I didn’t know what came to me. Please–“ Larissa repositioned herself on the ground and was now kneeling in front of Tedros and Roisa, a situation she didn’t expect would ever happen. Even though she’s human, she is of nobility and part of the wealthiest family in the kingdom, and even the former queen candidate.

But no matter how much she begged the Lycan King for forgiveness, Larissa still ended up locked inside the prayer room of the temple. A circular room with a glass dome above that showed the eerie night sky. A tremendously huge statue of the Moon Goddess stood at the far end but Larissa couldn’t see the statue very well with all the candlelights blown out, all she relied on was the moonlight beaming through the glass dome above.

With tears streaming down her cheeks, she approached the statue and kneeled in front of it. It has been hell living in the palace knowing that she was set aside by the man he loves, and watching him spend time with Roisa every day was a cruel torture for her.

Clasping her hands together, Larissa hoped that being inside the prayer room would amplify her voice and that it would reach the goddess, “Please, moon goddess. All I want is to be loved, to feel its empowerment. I want to love life because I am loved, I am not asking for too much, I hope it will find me soon.”

“You heard her boys… give her lots of love!”

For a moment, she thought she heard a woman’s voice, specifically Roisa’s, her high-pitched voice was the only one in the kingdom but before she could dwell on it, the double doors suddenly slammed open and a group of armed men came barging in.

Larissa turned around and felt her heart beating against her chest when the door closed and the sound of numerous locks echoed out, she was trapped here with them.

“What do you want?!” Larissa tried to show dominance by standing straight but it was no use against four men carrying daggers that were aimed directly at her.

“We heard you need love, so we are here to give it to you all night~” the man in the middle spoke in a rough voice, all the while unbuttoning his shirt.

(Trigger warning: From this part on there will be mentions of r*pe, s*xual abuse, etc. Please continue with caution)

Larissa could only take a step back until her back was pressed against the statue of the goddess that she sought after, it dawned upon her what was about to happen and it was painful to know that she had no chance of escaping this horrible situation.

All at once, they grabbed each of her arms and slammed her against the floor. They easily tore off her clothes exposing her delicate body, while she screamed for help that never arrived.

“Please! Please stop!” she begged and cried while the men forced her legs open. She planned to be a virgin until Tedros visits her room, to show that her love for him is pure and innocent, but if he finds out that she won’t be a virgin after this night…

Her pleas for help were drowned out by the sound of their laughter and moans of pleasure as they enjoyed the body of a noble, while she just cried and screamed staring at the statue of the moon goddess that loomed over them the entire time. In Larissa’s eyes, it seemed like the statue of the moon goddess was smiling at the sight of her being tortured and defiled.

‘Why are you doing this to me?’ She asked in her mind, a question directed to the goddess above. She has been saving herself for Tedros, she planned to remain pure unless it was Tedros, but now she's...

***

It felt like an eternity for Larissa, she cried so much that all the veins in her body stung. Her muscles tore and her bones bowed and cracked under the weight of her grief.

“What should we do if she gets pregnant?” one of the men asked while they prepared to leave her all sprawled on the ground.

His question wasn’t answered by the other man, he just quietly walked towards Larissa and kicked her lower stomach with enough force that she vomited blood out.

“There, no way in hell would she get pregnant ever after this. She’s now a useless concubine who can’t bear children for the Lycan King. It won’t be long until she is discarded by him if he finds out.”