The Dragon King's Substitute Bride [ON HIATUS]

Evaluated By The King Of Wyndora

[Roanna’s Pov]

I accepted a position as a junior rider. I did it. I feel so relieved. I’m making something of myself. I’m choosing something that doesn’t involve my family. It’s weird. Weird to do something for me, and it’s all thanks to that book. The story is moving, it somehow clears the mind and you get so involved in the character.... and it suddenly feels like it’s you instead of the character. It made me forget that I have never made a choice for myself.

I had my second pre-test today. There’s a pre-test before each test. I don’t even know why. But I’m not about to complain. I want to focus on the positives. Like what’s happening tomorrow... I get to pick my dragon. Not a fully grown one. Mona suggested one of the many preserved eggs that draconians keep and protect with their lives.

I can’t wait. I’m nervous. Why wouldn’t I be nervous? I’m going to be with actual dragon riders. And Mona directly. I’ll need to learn about Solerian dragons. As someone who never went to school, I don’t think this will end well for me.

Funny thing, I taught myself how to read. That’s really all I know book related, or smart related. My parents gambled with whatever cash they earned, they earned money by using me as a meat shield. They’d challenge people into fights, then lead them to me. I was the shield, the punching bag. They’d earn money because I always won, that’s what made me useful.

They wouldn’t send me to school because dogs don’t go to school. Jessica got everything, but she wasn’t special either. My parents treated her the same way they treated my brothers. They sent them to school, loved them, cared for them, but they loved money more than anything.

I was kept in a dog house, my siblings made friends, and they fought with my parents, but in the end, they loved each other. They were a happy family if you removed me.

I was their money maker and protector. After years I thought they would never get rid of me until it happened. Now I’m trying to give myself the life they stole from me. I’m twenty-seven. Just imagine how long I’ve been stuck as their animal.

They ditched me. The book Rylan wrote suggested I murmur a mantra to myself every day so I soon believed it. I’m willing to try it.

They’re in the wrong. They treated me poorly. I should make a life for myself. I winced, not sure how to feel about saying those things to myself.

I exhaled, tugging on my robe as I stepped out of my room. Rylan should be here, he told Zane that he would come over to say hi to me. And I was glad for it. I didn’t want to be evaluated like there was something wrong with me. Even though I know that there is.

I’m not sure what’s holding me back. And after the creepy doctor’s test today, I had a feeling I needed some positives. I’m still reading the book. It doesn’t just contain one scenario. The character is put into many situations, and the outcome is always good.

Which isn’t realistic, but it’s probably what Rylan used to make Zane the cheerful person that he is right now.

I found the king of Wyndora seated on a long red sofa out on the large balcony on this floor. The sky at night here in Soleria is something else. For some reason, it looks almost like there are two moons, and the sky is a mix of darkness and a frightening red. It entrances me each time I see it.

When I first came here, I couldn’t see soleria for what it is. My mind was preoccupied, with dealing with Zane’s wrath, the betrayal from a family that didn’t love me, and my own internal voice shouting profanities against me.

I linked up my fingers, walking further out until the king turned his head to face me. Zane wasn’t here.... I hadn’t seen him since this morning when I told him I would be accepting Mona’s offer. He’d been proud.

I’ve never had someone be proud of me. It made me wonder if that was why I never bothered to escape or stand up against them because I somehow hoped they would show me some sort of affection.

I hoped they would smile at me, and suddenly say that they love me. And that I’m their daughter. Not someone to stand as their doormat.

I stopped beside the smaller chair, taking a moment to fill my lungs with the oxygen they needed.

Rylan didn’t have a scowl on his face, his expression was empty as he stared at me. With eyes that seemed to dig deep into my soul as if searching for something.

I wait for a minute longer, and he finally speaks up.

“Tell me what you did today. And for the record, I am not your therapist. I just happen to have two people who think you’re worth something.”

I smiled, despite the snap in his tone. He’s not hiding his distaste, and it doesn’t bother me as much as I thought it would.

“Um, I took my meds, wrote a letter to the dragons guild of Soleria, and I came back an hour ago from the pre-test... uh for my second test. I don’t know how to explain it.”

He nods. “How are you feeling so far?”

“Not so great. My stomach feels off, and it seems like the tests aren’t working. I still feel like an alpha.”

“The test changes your DNA, not your personality.”

I tilt my head and stare at him in confusion.

“Do you think you’re tough simply because you’re an alpha? That’s.... my knowledge of wolves might not be as great as some might think, but I know that those stereotypes are straight BS. But the designation of each wolf only affects things like their bodies, their metabolism, and how they handle certain things. Personality, and whether the alpha becomes strong or not has nothing to do with that. I’ve seen omegas knock out alphas.”

I knit my brows together, that’s not what I was raised to believe. It’s also not what my pack believes.

“I’m not sure what to make of that.”

“I’m guessing it goes back to how you were raised?” Rylan c***s an eyebrow, but I think he already knows the answer to his question.

“Yes.”

“Zane tells me you’re having more trouble with your physique and with saying no to your family.... may I ask you a question on the latter.” I nod. “Good, why can’t you say no? Is it a compelled feeling that you would be disappointing them?”

“I don’t know. Maybe both. I just can’t say no. Then this voice in my head reminds me over and over that I’m useless. It doesn’t even sound like me. It just sounds like.... I don’t know how to explain it.”

Rylan drops his elbows to his knees, leaning forward. His eyes were deep. “It sounds like a separate person, yelling at you. Bringing you down?”

“Yeah.” I laugh a little bit. “My friend LoLa said the voice in my head is real, and that it feeds off my misery. It’s crazy-”

“It's a curse,” he says flatly.

“W-what?”

“A curse. Aspen grew up in a similar situation as you, although quite different in some aspects. When she was kicked out, she didn’t feel compelled to say yes to them. I think your family had to ensure you never go against them. I mean look at you, you killed some of my soldiers when they first attacked. I’d be impressed if the situation were different.”

A curse? They cursed me? Oh f**k.

It was coming back to me. Those dier nights when I’d be left in that poorly built dog house while it rained. My body was barely able to fit in. I snap the chain off in anger and look around. No one could see me if I escaped. I thought to myself, do it, do it. Escape.

But I never followed through. I never left them.

“I...”

“Breathe Roanna.”

“They cursed me?! What- how do I get rid of it?”

“I think it’s a light curse. Mainly you have to fight hard enough to break out of it. Or it could be something else. I will speak to the witches that work for me. They know more about curses than I do.”

“Why would they do such a thing?”

Rylan eyes me like I’ve lost my f*****g mind. Like it should be obvious but it isn’t. “Alright, let me explain it to you. As you know, the first descendants were a bunch of pricks with god complexes. Every wolf is aware that a descendant spells trouble. They have so much power from being half-god. They fear that if they treat one right, that one will turn into the same bastards that haunted them in the past. I know, you’re paying for a crime you didn’t commit. But you are tall, you are fierce, you are naturally strong and capable of destroying what werewolves have come to love. If your family wanted to treat you poorly, they needed to ensure that you don’t turn on them. As an alpha, you have the makings to be very aggressive. Now they know that aggression can turn to them. And they cannot let that happen. A curse would suffice. It would chain you to them. It would continue to make you feel like they’re better than you when in reality they aren’t. When I found out people called Aspen ugly, I was stomped.”

“I’m sorry what?”

He shows me a smile for the first time in... well for the first time since we’ve met. “I know. Strange. She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever set eyes on, and the mother of my children. She is everything yet her pack made her feel ugly and unwanted. That is what they do. They are jealous. You and other descendants will always be better, and shine brighter than they do. And they hate that. If you hate the way you look because of something they said, I can promise it’s done out of envy. I know many people who would kill to look like this. To be this tall, to be an alpha female even. It’s rare, it strikes fear. Here in Draconia, we have alot of alpha females. They are still as wanted as the omegas and betas. You have to understand your own worth. If this curse feeds off your misery, then you need to try harder to be happy. Don’t think things like- I can’t say no blah blah blah. Keep battling the voice. Surely, you must have done something that warranted this worry. Find what scared your family, besides the obvious, and work on that. The next time you meet, and they demand something, you should be able to say no.”

He expels a breath. “Or you’d have failed the people who believed in you, especially yourself.”

I would have failed myself. There’s alot to that. I keep letting this voice insult me, I keep looking at the mirror and hating what I see because that’s what I’ve been raised to think. That my body type is rejected by men.

And women find it gross.

Here in Soleria, that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

“Even if there is no curse, your mind feels a certain way towards your family. Look into your past, and make yourself accept it. If you’d been born an omega they’d have sold you to cannibals, or whored you out.” I flinched. “It’s the truth. They used you for your strength. Imagine if what you had was omega pheromones or the versatility of a beta, they would have used you for something else. Your physique, the girl that you were born as saved you from a much worse fate. You should be thanking her. Not rejecting the way she is.”

No wonder Zane loves his older brother. No wonder Aspen fell in love. Rylan Valtero can truly draw out everything you think you’ve hidden so well, and throw it back in your face.

I think he unloaded alot of truths to me. My brain is struggling. Could they have really stooped so low as to curse me?

Then after all that, they left me to die in the hands of a ruthless king. My life is meaningless to those people. So how do I shake this need to say yes to their cruel demands? By finally getting myself a life? Something else to fight for?

Or by taking Rylan’s advice to find out what scared them so much. Aspen’s family never cursed her.... had i done something that scared them badly? And if so, how can I do it again?