Mated: An Enemy King

Bitter And Sweet

Gods Eugan! Why are you ever in a foul mood? Is there perhaps no food in the kingdom of Leif?

"Ever in a foul mood?! No food in Leif?!" I growled at princess Aryn’s words. Of all the things she'd uttered while she fought back during the council meeting, those two had struck chords I never even knew existed inside of me. She hadn't even sounded petty and yet I wished to be just that, so bad it did not even matter that the conversation had been over and done with. I wished to boast that even though Leif was not as mighty as Xatis, it was doing perfectly alright. I was doing alright.

“We should be getting back.” Reaching for my cloak and draping it over my guard’s uniform, I headed for the doors of the guest bed chambers allotted to us while we attended the council meeting in Xatis. Not hearing a second pair of footsteps following, however, brought me to a stop and glacing behind me at Koberic. The man still stood on his spot and was staring at me as though I’d just grown a second head. “What?” I arched a brow at him and as usual, he considered his words carefully before opening his mouth.

“You wish to go back after what just transpired?”

“I’ve handled worse annoying maidens. So if you are worried about what the little princess might do next, she doesn’t faze me.”

“Eugan, you know very well that that is not it.” I stiffened, knowing full well what Koberic meant. It was a wonder it’d taken him this long to address the matter too. “Shouldn’t your discovery be having us ride for the kingdom of Leif instead of indulging in the delicacies of your enemy?”

“You mean run like cowards?!” I growled at the older man.

“I woudn’t exactly call it running, but things have changed.”

Koberic was right, everything had changed, but I refused to even entertain the thought of abandoning my plans of revenge that had been years in the making.

So what if princess Aryn was my mate? So what if each time I saw her I wished for nothing but to claim her. To bed her. To devour that smart mouth I had never been able to forget since the first time I saw her as a boy. It wouldn't bring them back. It wouldn’t restore what I had lost. There was still hell to pay for those responsible for my misfortune. That was the reason I’d endured this wretched breath of life from a tender age. The whole reason I was here.

Aryn was my mate. The moment she’d opened her mouth and addressed me in the great hall was the moment of truth. Bitter and sweet. But coming to Xatis, I’d been ready for flaws in my plans, even if finding my mate had not been anywhere near the ones I’d anticipated. And it had taken me longer than I would have liked to compose myself, but I’d done it because she was merely the moon goddess' mistake of binding me to my enemy. Nothing more.

“It is precisely because things have changed that I wish to get back in there.”

“And you are most certainly curious.” My mind retorted, but I swatted those thoughts away. I wouldn't allow myself to be distracted. Not when I was so close to my life’s goal.

“Your majesty…”

“Don't you dare address me as such here. Did you forget your place?” I glared and the man merely sighed.

“You are even more stubborn than your father.” Koberic grumbled, but I was no longer listening.

“Do I need to drag you out of here?”

Koberic sighed yet again, but got his feet moving. “Perhaps I was wrong. You take after your mother after all. So demanding!” I knew he always meant for those comparisons to soften my heart and the only reason I would never bite his head off for bringing up the matter of my dead parents was because every memory of them served to spur me on in my path.

“We proceed as plan–” I ground my feet to a halt when that alluring scent hit me once I opened the chamber’s doors. She was here! Without giving it much thought, I searched for Aryn. Albeit frantically. Okay, perhaps this was going to be harder than I realized. With my initial shock of finding my mate gone, my wolf had suddenly become unreasonable, pushing to have our mate near. Although, even that was not entirely true. It wasn’t just my wolf. Damn it!

“Lord Eugan.” She called, choosing my title for the first time tonight and I felt my heart war within itself. My name had never sounded so perfect. Not even from my Darla.

Darla…for the first time ever, my wolf snarled at my lover’s name and threatened to take over if I even spent another moment thinking of her.

Traitor! I glared at my wolf, but our internal fight was short lived as that angelic face drew near, flooding our world with her beauty.

“Is there something you needed…princess.” I was glad that my annoyance at my wolf trickled to my tone when I addressed my mate. If she made a note of it, however, her delicate features showed no displeasure. She merely eyed me curiously and as I watched her, something hit me. While me and my wolf recognized her as our mate, she didn’t. She had no wolf either and while my own wolf sulked at that, I pondered on the possible reasons why. It was either she had not yet celebrated her eighteenth moon birthday or she had and her wretched parents had been the ones to keep her from doing so. One would argue that the perfect king and queen of Xatis where not capable of such a despicable thing, but I knew better.

Either truth, I realized, would serve me and my plans well. With my mate unable to recognize me, I had only myself and wolf to tame over this bond.

“Princess! I did not see you there.” Koberic appeared from behind me, his charming self shining like the sun and I knew I was about to regret ever placing him in the position he held as king of Leif.

“Your majesty.” My mate greeted with the grace of a true princess, the vision sending me clutching my swords tightly when what I terribly wished for was to reach out and touch her now that she was this close. Something that would send Leif to war earlier than planned and me drowning in the bosom of my enemy.

I stood back with the intent of letting her exchange with Koberic go on, but she was distracted. With me, apparently. I couldn't have that. Not when her gaze woke me in torturous ways.

“If there is nothing…" I nodded at the princess before turning to Koberic. "We shouldn't keep his majesty waiting at this banquet.” I barely kept from growling at the man. It was not that I was thrilled about the banquet thrown in the honour of Xatis' allies, I simply needed us to get moving or I would go crazy. It wasn't just her scent. It was everything about her. Even that silly flower that drew my attention to her hair that was so luscious it made me long to run my hands through it.

“May I invite you for tea? Tomorrow?”

Tea? It had to be tea and even when I knew he could decline, Koberic wouldn’t. A nice conversation over a cup of tea was always welcome. That was one of his ludicrous personal mottos.

“Decline the invitation.” I linked him.

“Decline? I cannot do that!”

“Of course you can. Your king just commanded you.”

“It is my king who refused to ride for Leif in the first place. And not only would turning down such a lovely maiden and your mate be rude, but have you met her father? I have no doubt that when word gets around to his majesty, he'll have our heads for not honouring his precious treasure.” Koberic linked back while he donned his most charming smile and I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Of course he would decide to be diplomatic now.

“I would like to hear more about Leif. It sounds like a lovely kingdom.”

At that I couldn’t help but arch my brow at my mate. Now she wanted to hear about Leif? The poor kingdom that could not even afford to feed its guard? I almost scoffed at the thought, but I remembered that I had plans to fulfill and her invitation just created an impossible opportunity I could not ignore.

“Say yes.”

“Tea would be lovely.” Koberic didn’t need to be told twice and even though the question was directed at him, the princess smiled my way. And it was the most beautiful thing. Another wretched obstacle I did not need distracting me.