The Lycan King's Substitute Wife

Chapter 10

HOPE

My jaw dropped.

The woman spoke with such confidence that I couldn't tell if she was joking or not. I glanced at Darius, and his full attention was still on his meal, as though he had no care for what the woman just said.

"Pardon?" I said. Maybe she misspoke. Maybe I didn't hear her properly.

She smiled. "I am Darius' mistress. He brought me here to keep him company since you are rather lacking in the aspects of that matter." She crossed her arms and relaxed back into her chair.

She was not joking. It took the ignorance of Darius to tell me that. He didn't even bother to correct her words because she was speaking the truth. She even called his name casually and he didn't correct her.

If he already had a mistress, then why did he marry me? Why didn't he wait till he found Light? Why did he trap me in this marriage? I couldn't tell if it was betrayal, sadness, or spite that made me ground my teeth.

"Oh, no need to be discomforted. I promise I'm not here to take the crown from you. I'm simply here to satisfy Darius' needs." Annalise spoke with a silvery tone, then went ahead to run her hand down a sleeve of Darius' tunic in a not-so-innocent manner.

I was angry. Why was I angry? I had nothing to do with the man, and he treated me like I was trash beneath his feet. But for some unknown reason, I didn't want Annalise touching him. And the problem was that he had no problem with it.

He didn't shove her away, nor did he tell her not to touch him. He was casually welcoming her touch, right in front of me. With humans, husbands had mistresses but they never brought them into the confines of their home.

Even my Father had a mistress, I knew that well. But he never dared to bring her into our castle out of respect for my mother. But Darius had no respect for me which was why he brought in Annalise and even let her introduce herself to me.

It showed how insignificant I was and would always be to him. But no matter, soon, Light would be found, and we would get a divorce. I would go back to my home and forget everything about the Lycans. Yes, I would do just that.

But for now, I had to be patient and endure whatever was thrown at me.

I pressed my lips into a firm line before I spoke. "Of course, I understand," I said with a composed voice, then dug into my food.

Annalise immediately turned her attention back to Darius and resumed her chatter and giggles. I sat, pretending not to be fazed by their actions because if I was, Darius might do something to harm me.

After I was finished with breakfast, I quietly excused myself and decided to go on a walk. Since I arrived at the palace, I've just been holed up inside my room.

Workers of the palace spoke in hushed whispers as I passed them. I made my way to the garden where Darius and I had dinner last night. Now with the sun, I could appreciate the beauty of the scenery.

It looked so peaceful compared to the battle of the Lycans all around it. I found myself plucking a rose and cherishing it in my hand. It felt so dainty and breakable, just like me. I placed it behind my ear and went ahead to settle on the bench in the middle of the garden.

Maybe I could come here every day to relax. I shut my eyelids and attempted to nap out for a while. A few seconds after I did that, I felt a shadow loom over me, blocking the sun. My eyes immediately flew open and I saw Orion with another Lycan standing before me.

I jerked into action, standing up to my feet. It didn't stop the two from glaring brazenly at me. The other guy seemed to be much younger than Orion, probably my age or younger but he still had that regal Lycan-like feature on his face.

"What are you doing here?" Orion asked me with a gruff tone.

I cleared my throat awkwardly. "Um… I came to check the garden, and I must've fallen asleep." I stammered while speaking.

His eyes shifted from my face to the side and he seemed to be burning a glare at my ear. It took me a second to realize that I had placed a rose behind the ear earlier. I took it out immediately and held it behind my back. I felt heat creep up from my neck to my cheeks as embarrassment flooded me.

They probably thought I was a stupid and silly girl who played with flowers. They weren't wrong. That was all I was.

"You shouldn't be out here. It's not safe." The other guy said.

It's not safe for me but safe for everyone else. I opened my mouth to say just that but clamped it shut after the first word came out. It would be disrespectful to say it out loud. The two waited to hear what I had to say. And in resolve, I said, "I'll go inside."

I swiftly turned away from them and trotted back into the palace before they got a chance to say any more words to me. I didn't know why I always felt cowardly in the face of the Lycans. It was my personality but at least, back at the Vitalis castle, I was never afraid that sharing my opinion would get me killed.

I knew that would be my fate if I ever spoke out of turn here. Everything was just so messed up. I walked around the palace, my fingers grazing through the walls as I did. I could never get over the beauty of this place. It always shocked me.

I strolled around the huge palace till I forgot where I was headed. It seemed like I was lost because there was no one around. I felt scared. If someone were to harm me right now, who would I scream out for help to?

I turned around and started to head the same way as I came. As I did, I found a door on the other side of the hallway that I hadn't noticed when I was walking down. I trudged over there and pushed the door open.

Inside were bookshelves as high as the ceilings. Every inch of the room was covered with books and the roof had a glass window that gave room for bright sunlight to peer through. It was so beautiful.

"My goodness," I said to myself as I walked deeper into the room, my hand touching everything and anything it could.

I looked at the books and saw that some were educational, some were folktales about humans and Lycans, while others were romantic tales. My cheeks grew hot as I read the name of one to be The King's captive.

I pulled out that one from the shelf and went ahead to settle on a chair backed up against one of the shelves. I opened the book and started to read. I read and read, my eyes widening at each page depicting the savagery of the Lycans in bed.

Along the line, I forgot where I was. Well, that was until I started hearing faint chiming noises.

There was someone here with me.