The Alpha Queen and Her Rogue Kingdom

CHAPTER FOUR

ELINA

I look at myself in the full-length mirror that was placed in the room, and it is difficult for me to recognize the person who is looking back at me, my eyes stopped being light brown for almost a year and now they glow permanently gold, especially if my temperament is triggered, and that is because my wolf is always on the surface waiting for the right moment to come out completely, since that day she has always been more present than ever, guiding every decision I make, and although sometimes it is difficult for me to control her, especially in those times when she just wants to go out and kill everything that comes her way, I have struck a balance between her fierceness and my reasoning in order to achieve the position of power that I have now.

However, the continuous battles and worries of being in a war against my former fated mate are clearly evident on my face and body, my features look much more stern, and I don't see in them a trace of the happy and carefree young woman that I was before, my body is leaner than before, but much more athletic, and there are quite a few wounds that left scars which never quite disappeared, especially those that were made with aconite or silver, the favorite items my contenders use in battle to try to defeat me, but they have not been able to, and from each one of those attacks, I have only left the experience and the marks on my body.

Speaking of marks, I run my fingers over the white lace fabric that covers my neck and hides the place where that mark is, his mark, and I feel my stomach turn with discomfort, because even after so much time has passed, and although the pain remains intact as if the bond had been broken just a couple of hours ago, it is impossible for me not to think about it without associating him with the death of my father, in my mind the memories of him with those of that day have been intermingled, and usually the images of his emotionless face stand out as he saw my father being killed by his order and in front of him, without flinching for a second.

After that, I have only seen him once and I felt again all the anger and pain of that fateful day, it was so strong that my wolf practically took total control of me, and if it weren't for the fact that instead of approaching me, he was paralyzed in the place seeing me as if I were a ghost that came to haunt him, at this moment he probably would not be alive, because although that day I managed to regain control long enough to leave the place, if he had gotten a little closer to me, it is likely that my wolf had attacked him mercilessly.

I get a little shocked every time I find myself thinking about it, I always thought that I could never even consider hurting him one bit, but it is clear that after the bond was broken, something inside of me was permanently broken as well, and I hope for his sake, that he doesn't try to get close to me again, especially if I am in my wolf form, or I really don't know if I might be able to control her as much as that one time.

A knock on the door snaps me out of my reverie, and I open it slightly to find myself face to face with the concerned faces of my mother and my brother Elijah, who after a couple of months of my departure, escaped from Vark territory and into what was considered enemy territory until they found some of our scouts, who brought them to the red castle, they were scared and dirty, asking for my help to free Marcus, who contrary to what I always thought until that moment, was never released, because after I left they were accusing him of having helped my father, and my mother and older brother were treated as social outcasts, so they had no choice but to come and find me.

I had not contacted them again because I stupidly believed that they would be safer that way, I thought that those people would not mess with the rest of my family because they were not guilty of anything, but clearly, I had been wrong again about that family, and now that they are here with me, I will do my best to free Marcus as well and reunite the rest of my family with me, although to be honest, none of my brothers seemed to have much intention of leaving the kingdom, and although I know Marcus's reasons , who probably prefers to be in a cell so as not to stray too far from Princess Isabella, I have yet to decipher the reasons behind Elijah's reluctance to leave that place and come to meet with me.

"It's about time, honey," my mother says softly, as she tries to put a lock of my hair in the low updo one of Zane's maids made for me.

"Are you sure you want to continue with this?" Elijah asks me very seriously, and when I just simply nod, he adds: "I still don't understand why you think you need to marry him, they already made you queen, and you have the Red Army, what more do you need?"

"My reign is not legitimate yet, so I need a strong kingdom to get the support I need, Elijah, you know it's a matter of time before they ask for support from their allies, and if that happened we would be at a disadvantage, we need to be prepared,” I reply, and he sighs in defeat as he shakes his head.

"There must be better ways to regain the throne and free Marcus," he tells me, and I give him a sad smile.

"I wish there were, but it is not as simple as that, if we try to rescue him they will probably kill him before we even manage to get to his side, not to mention that it would be a suicide mission," I reply.

"You can just order everyone to obey you and that's it," he tells me with a shrug.

“What kind of queen would she be if she ruled over subdued and fearful subjects? The reason why the Red Army was ordered to avoid killing the Vark guards, is so that people will not hold a grudge for their fallen once Elina is on the throne again, that prevents future rebellions, we have to be smart, son, force is not always the answer,” my mother tells him.

“So, are you okay with her marrying that man? You said yourself you don't like him very much,” Elijah tells her, and she purses her lips.

“Her fated mate failed her, if the man who is supposed to be attached to her by the universe, and should have avoided hurting her in any way, ended up doing so, why should she wait to find a love relationship? He may not be entirely to my liking, but he has all the qualities that a good husband for a queen should possess, sometimes it is necessary to listen to the head and not the heart,” she responds, and I feel a lump in my throat when listening to her words, especially since I know how supportive she was of love before my father died, and I guess I am not the only one whose heart hardened after that day.

"Okay, it's useless arguing with the two of you, so we better hurry or you will be late for your own wedding," Elijah tells me, and then offers his arm for me to take, and although I wish he was the one to take me to the altar, by rank it has to be my uncle Arthur who replaces the role that my father would have if he were alive.

I try to keep a firm grip on the arm of my uncle, who seems to be struggling not to let his slight limp be so evident, and I walk with him down the aisle that leads to the altar set out in the gardens of the Crimson Palace, where Zane is waiting for me, dressed in his most elegant suit, and looking more handsome than ever, and although his beauty does not have on me the effect that it has on most women, many of whom are looking at me with envy as I pass in front of them, I trust that I can put aside my doubts about this and achieve a marriage that suits us all, and that it will help me defeat the Varks once and for all.

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