Chapter 5: _Little Witch
I stood there in front of the dining table; my hands balled beside me in silence as the Alpha King stared at me with distant eyes, scrutinizing my dress.
He held a knife which he used to dig into a huge roasted pig in front of him.
I gulped, saying a silent prayer before I stepped forward.
"Thank you for the dinner, Alpha King." I bowed slightly before drawing out a chair and sitting.
However, the Alpha king stabbed the knife into the pig, leaving it sticking there as he focused all his attention on me.
I felt like I was suffocating under the scrutiny of his intense gaze, his silver eyes glinting with an unknown light even from this distance.
"Is it custom among you witches to address your spouse by their titles after marriage?" He asked with sincere curiosity, relaxing comfortably on his chair while a maid poured him a glass of wine.
I fiddled with my fingers, struggling to even maintain eye contact with him as I coughed awkwardly before responding.
"N– No, sir. I was just trying to be–"
"Kaelos." He blurted, grabbing the glass of wine after the maid had poured it to his satisfaction and stepped back. "It's Kaelos. You're my wife, are you not?" He queried with an arched eyebrow.
My face heated up with a blush but deep down, I was seething with a mixture of rage and confusion.
Wasn't he the same jerk who told me not to disturb him except he 'seeks' me?
Drawing in a deep breath, I nodded with a smile. "Y– Yes. I am your wife, sir..." I paused, realizing my blunder.
His expression remained stoic but there was this curious light in his eyes that I couldn't ignore no matter how hard I tried.
Lowering my head slightly, I muttered. "Yes, I am, Kaelos."
I could've sworn I noticed a slight smirk at the corner of his lips when I raised my head, but I didn't see it before I could get a closer look.
He went back to digging into his food, not paying me any more attention.
Just when I was about to take a bite from the chicken drumstick in front of me, I heard the approaching sound of high heels clicking against the ground.
I swerved my head around only to spot Celine, the bitchy false Luna, walking toward the dining table with a sly smirk on her face.
She had her gaze fixed on me as she waltzed to a chair close to Kaelos.
"I wasn't aware we've reached the stage of dining with the enemy, my Lord." She commented, brushing aside some strands of her hair as she sat.
What the fuck was she doing there?
Aren't the two of them divorced?
Anyway, Kaelos ignored her entirely, taking a sip from his wine glass instead.
Celine stared at him with clenched jaws, harrumphing before she fixed her gaze on me.
"Look who's already trying to dress up like a Luna." She sniggered, drumming the fingers of her left hand on the table. "I'm curious, in what world would the werewolves of North America accept you as their queen? Your coven didn't even accept you, from what I've heard."
I clenched my hands into fists, glaring at her.
Yes, her words stung, but not as much as the realization that Kaelos just sat there and let her say such things to me.
He's supposed to be my husband. I thought we had a 'connection', even though I couldn't understand what it was for the life of me.
Could it be love? Hell no, that didn't make any sense.
All I knew was that I felt this unexplainable pull each time I was close to him.
"Oh, no words again?" Celine asked with a scoff, snapping her fingers to signal a maid to pour her a drink. "I wonder how you hope to survive with–"
"What's your problem with me?" I couldn't take it anymore and asked, tilting my head and staring directly at her.
At first, I didn't want to do or say anything to her in my room because she's a werewolf and I was afraid she'd rip me to shreds.
On top of that, I thought she was someone important in the pack and beyond, but apparently, I was wrong.
Anyway, Celine gawked at me speechlessly at first, obviously surprised that I could talk back to her.
But she soon regained composure, her fists clenched as she glared at me. "What the fuck did you just say?" She asked with a dangerous tone in her voice.
Meanwhile, Kaelos just sat there without glancing at either of us, as if we were just background noise that couldn't even distract him from his meal.
Well, fuck him!
I wouldn't sit here and allow this bitch to treat me like trash.
"You heard me, ma'am," I said with sarcasm in my voice. "You knew very well that the Alpha King, Kaelos, was going to my coven to pick a bride. If you felt so threatened, why didn't you stop him from going? Why am I the object of your pent-up frustration?"
With each word I uttered, Celine's facial expression deformed more and more until she looked like her makeup was going to melt away due to her anger.
Some of the maids who stood a good distance around us murmured to themselves as the tension in the dining room increased.
"You little witch!" Celine snapped, standing from her chair and causing it to scrape on the tiles. "I'll make sure I–"
"Enough!" Kaelos banged on the table all of a sudden and roared, causing the chandelier above us to shake while some drinks spilled.
All the staff present in the dining room scurried away for safety as Kaelos rose from the chair with a menacing look in his eyes as he glared at me.
"Any more words from either of you and I promise I'll rip your tongue out of your head!" He warned coldly, causing my body to shiver with dread.
I felt like damning everything, including my coven's dignity, and fleeing the dining room and then the pack.
But there was something inside me that convinced me, telling me Kaelos wouldn't dare such a thing.
"So, you want me to remain silent while your bitter ex sits there and treats me like trash?" I queried, not bothering to put a filter on my words until it was too late.
Without any warning, and with a speed too fast for my eyes to follow, Kaelos rushed to my chair and grabbed my right wrist, causing me to gasp in pain.
"You dare defy me?!" He said with a beastly growl, his silver eyes staring into mine.
Before I could find any words to defend myself, he yanked me out of the dining table and toward the stairs, dragging me along with him despite my pained whimpers.