The Demon King's Bride

The Dark Throne

Xanathal

Present Day

"Absolutely Not!" Xanathal yelled. Moving to stand up out of his throne he glared at the man standing before him. Anger radiated from every pore, causing the temperature in the throne room to increase several degrees.

"You don't have a choice, Your Majesty. It is the ruling of the Council that in order to avoid the coming war, you will be married to one of the Alpha Female's of the Shifter Kingdom." The elder stood quietly before him, seemingly unmoved by the display of temper.

"Why should I even entertain this?" Xanathal snarled, "The Council is not an actual governing body, they are meant to guide the Kingdom's, not rule them."

"You will do this because like the other leaders of the Supernatural world, you want to avoid conflict. The Veil between our realm and the mortals is growing thinner, we cannot afford to be discovered, so an actual battle now that the human's have advanced, would mean decimation." The Elder moved to shift his weight before continuing, "More than that, you are the oldest King among the Royals and have sat on the throne for centuries without taking a bride. All the others, even the Shifter King, has mated."

"I do not have a mate. I likely never will. My kind rarely get so lucky." Xanathal snapped his black eyes starting to shift, so that the outer iris glowed crimson. "I have no need of a Bride. I've done just fine thus far."

"Just fine?" The Dark Celestial snorted, and shook his head, "You are not, 'just fine'. "

"What would you know about it?" Xan snapped.

"More than you would like, son." Sighing, the elder moved to ascend the steps towards the throne. Despite his title, Duranthal Blackshadow, did not appear a day over thirty. It made it hard for many to believe he was eons old, so much so, that he could not even remember his exact age. "You are my son, one of my greatest achievements. But also, my greatest pain. So long you have spent on this throne and at odds with the realms, that you have hardened yourself to the idea of anything that would bring comfort."

"I don't need comfort, Father." Xanathal scowled, "Did you put the Elder's up to this? You have been saying I should find a Queen for the last several centuries. Is this your way of forcing me to do so?"

"Much as I believe this will be for the best, no, it was not my hand in it." Duranthal frowned, "It was actually brought up by the Shifter and Light Celestial Elders. They are creating a stink about an unmated ruler being in power for so long. That it makes you a danger because you do not have a counterpart to share your throne with, which makes you opposed to any kind of peace talks that will be had."

"You did not see fit to argue against that?" Xanathal sneered at his father.

"I did, citing the fact you have had a long standing truce with the Fae, the Dragons, and the Reapers." His father shrugged, "That was not enough to sway them this time. Seeing as you rejected any invitation to the mating balls in the last five hundred years, they felt an arranged marriage would be of better purpose."

"And the female? What about her fated mate?" Grimacing, Xanathal paced the length of the dias. His throne, if one could actually call it that, had morphed over the years, so that now, it was a simple chair, cast out of pure mithril and topped with blood rubies that glinted in the light of the hall.

"The female they have chosen, doesn't appear to have a mate among their kind. Which is unheard of." His father frowned and shook his head.

"That doesn't make you the least bit suspicious?"

"I never said that, Xan. Don't put words in my mouth." Duranthal snarled. He may have no longer been the king of their kind, but he was still formiddable and someone Xanathal would have never wanted to cross, "However, I have worried about you for too long. I was lucky I found your mother, the fact she was one of our own kind was a bonus. She made me see the world differently and I held out hope you would find your mate as well."

"Dad..." Letting out a huff of air, he shook his head, "I'm glad you found, Mom. Truly. Most of our kind have not found mates. Hell, even the Light Celestial's are having issues finding their mates. It's not the do all, end all. Why are they pushing this now?"

"You're powerful, son. In truth, you are still growing and all that power, especially when you rule over the whole of our kingdom, is something that they fear. You know anything that flourishes unchecked, can explode and harm the world around it. At least if you have a chosen mate, there is some kind of anchor to keep you grounded. In that, I agree with the council. You're the first of the Dark Celestial's to gain magic gifts. The rest of our kind, deal in specific influences and powers, dealing with the darker side of reality. But you were given an ability to leash them and impart punishment. Not even I had that ability and it was why I passed you the mantle as ruler.

"But there comes a time when you have to see that there is more to life than ruling our kingdom. More than training our people. Humans believe us to be demons, hell they even call us that. The Light Celestial's are angels to them, but the mortals do not understand that we are ruled by those impulses and traits that they have more than they can ever be. It's how we use them and what we do that sets us apart. The mantle you carry is a heavy one. No other supernatural will understand that. We are influenced by the darker natures of life and people. It takes its toll. You need someone to help you carry that weight before it crushes you completely." Duranthal finished softly.

Giving a sigh, Xanathal shook his head, stilling in his pacing as he turned to look at his father, "The girl they have chosen, if I refuse her, what will happen while they look for another candidate?"

"She would be given to Alucard's son, Vlad as a courtesan." Duranthal frowned.

"They will make her a blood doll? Do they have any clue what allowing that brat a shifter doll will bring about?" Xan snarled and spun to face his father.

"They do, but they want the girl out of the shifter kingdom and are trying to make use of her. I doubt that Vlad will get much from her if he were to take her." Duranthal shrugged.

"What do you mean?" He arched a brow as he peered over at his father, crimson eyes glowing in the low light of the room.

"From what I understand, the girl is wolfless." Duranthal answered, "She's of highborne blood. One of the Alpha's of their tribes, but she never got a wolf at her coming of age. She does not participate in their pack activities and few people interact with her because she is flawed. It is why they believe she has no mate."

Xanathal laughed, "So not only are they trying to force an Alliance and my marriage, but they want to give me defective goods? Oh, this is priceless."

"That's cruel, Xan. And beneath you." Duranthal frowned.

"But it's true none the less. You realize if she's wolfless, it also means she likely will die on a human timeline."Xan frowned.

"Which is why I think it may be for the best." Duranthal spoke softly, "She will only live to be maybe a little over a hundred. Marrying her and bringing her here, will give you some leeway with the council and the other kingdoms. More than that, for a time you have someone you can at least speak to on matters outside of progress and punishment." Duranthal shrugged. "Besides, your mother could use the touch of another female around here. Perhaps one without the issues of our kind will be good company for her."

"You just had to bring Mom into it. That's low, even for you, Dad." Xan frowned.

"Hey, I gotta use whatever I can to make you see sense. It's a small bit of your life, Xan. And if you find your mate at a later date once she's gone, you will be better prepared for what sharing your life with another person is like." Duranthal continued softly, "In the end, right now, we know war is brewing. Having fewer enemies means we are better prepared to intercept and stop a full scale battle from occuring and ripping the veil between our world and the mortal world."

"So all of this comes down to a girl who is an abomination to her own kind, being given to a demon or the sworn enemy of her people as a blood doll." Xan frowned a little, "Yeah, this seems so on the up and up."

"No one ever said life was fair, son. For this girl, that is more true than most." Duranthal shrugged, "The choice however, is yours."

"Like its really a choice. I hate when they use the weak as fodder." Xan snarled, missing the smirk on his father's face. Dark Celestial, Demon, whatever he was, Xan could not stand to see people use the weak for their own advanatge, "Fine, contact the council and arrange the ceremony. I want to meet the girl before the ceremony. I at least want to get a feel for her before I swear her to my side for the next hundred years."

"I will let them know." Duranthal bowed, turning on his heel to walk out of the throne room, doing nothing to hide the smile on his face.