Capítulo 7: Chapter 7: First Night

“Are you here to deliver such old news?” I raised my eyebrows at Felicia, my voice laced with boredom as the court officials all spoke at once in an uproar.

But what bothered me the most was the intake of breath from Prince Ulysses next to me. I watched as his hands fisted to his side and his nose flared. For the first time, I saw a reaction from him and the cause of it was Felicia.

My beast stirred and rose in anger. ‘Why is she here? I don't like her scent.’

‘I am as surprised as you are,’ I responded through our mind link.

‘He smells nice,’ my beast stated. His meaning was clear.

Felicia’s voice interrupted my thoughts and conversation with my wolf. “My prince, don't tell me you are going ahead with the marriage?” she questioned, her eyes wide.

“Yes,” I responded, a one-word answer that had Randale, Vuk, and Uncle Marrok nodding.

“No one can go against Alyoysius’s edict,” Uncle Marrok said, his words directed at Oclan.

“Let's get this over with.” I turned to Faolan, having had enough of Oclan and Felicia’s antics.

He nodded and the marriage ceremony began. Vuk suppressed laughter and Randale's smirk gave me the comfort to proceed with the marriage ceremony. Prince Ulysses' firm voice during the vows made me turn to look at Queen Marama with a warning. The look did not go unnoticed by both King Astaroth and Faolan. She was shocked at first and after a while, she raised her chin at me.

Prince Ulysses' hand on my chin startled me, and I pulled my head back to face him. An action that had the whole hall swooning and gasping. He proceeded to finalize the vows. And now it was my turn.

“I, Prince Kloud Godric, take Prince Ulysses Ze'ev as my husband to unite the two kingdoms. I will protect him from anyone who tries to harm him, be it anyone from my kingdom or the West Kingdom. Anyone who attempts to sow discord in our marriage will face my wrath and I will mutilate their bodies into pieces. As of today, Prince Ulysses Ze’ve belongs to me.”

Prince Ulysses' shocked face did not hide the admiration in his eyes when I stated my vows. I did not care as to how orthodox the vows were, but the clarity of my threat was heard.

The whole West Kingdom was in shock. In seconds the hall erupted in celebrations as Faolan placed Prince Ulysses' hand in mine. I held his hand as King Astaroth and Prince Boris stood in a congratulatory mood. I could see that as soon as my words were out King Astaroth's warm demeanour was gone.

We left the hall for the banquet and all the while Prince Ulysses remained silent. He only conversed with his second in command, Armand, and Lowe. I hated that he was ignoring me even though I had shown little interest in him. I watched as Felicia and Oclan became interested in King Astaroth and Faolan. It was a first to watch Felicia blush as she spoke to King Astaroth. The Queen had feigned fatigue and left the banquet hall.

“Has she found a new host?” Randale whispered in my ear.

“So it seems,” I responded as we observed Felicia Relic.

“I need a favor,” Randale asked, his shoulder touching mine as he leaned in further.

“What is it?” I turned to him.

“I need information about your little husband's friend Armand.” Randale winked at me and I burst out laughing.

“Seriously?” I raised my eyebrows and he nodded.

Randale hummed.

“You do realize that I can hear your conversation.” Prince Ulysses’ voice reached my ears.

I turned my head sideways to stare at him. “You can? I thought you were ignoring me.”

“Tell your brute friend Armand is off limits.” Prince Ulysses was calm as usual.

“Unless you are interested in Armand, you better f*cking take those words back,” I seethed at him. His eyes widened and he looked away.

“What the f*ck is wrong with him?” I heard Armand whisper to Prince Ulysses.

I stood up and banged the table. “Ladies and gentlemen, I bid you farewell. I am eager to spend the night with my husband.” I grinned. I didn’t wait for a response as I turned to Prince Ulysses, picked him up, placed him over my shoulders, and walked out of the hall.

“You are a beast,” he seethed as he kicked and punched my back.

My steps faltered and I spanked his backside. “Shut up.”

His body froze and we walked the rest of the way in silence. The guard saw us approaching the room and he opened the door hurriedly. Kicking the door closed, I walked to the bedroom and then dumped him on the bed that was filled with rose petals.

The minute his back touched the bed, he moved swiftly and kicked my chest. I staggered back but recovered my footing. My beast stirred and he stood, admiring Prince Ulysses. Behind his cool demeanor hid a very powerful and calculative man.

He stood from the bed and widened his stance. “What do you gain by embarrassing me in front of my people?”

“Your people dumped you to the West Kingdom, my dear prince,” I answered cynically.

“That is my business and not yours,” he responded. There was no anger or emotions on his face.

I moved closer to him, towering over him, and whispered, “You are my business.”

His eyes widened and then he sidestepped me to walk to the door. I tackled him before he touched the doorknob and pushed him to the ground. He tried to push me off, but I positioned myself between his legs and pinned his hands above his head. His head was thrown back, exposing his neck. I could feel how his body trembled.

“You dare walk out the chambers?”

“Why would I keep staying in the company of a brute like you?”

I stared at the reflection of my eyes in his.

I leaned down to press our lips together and he turned away. What madness had driven me to want to kiss him? I let go of his hands and got up from the ground.

“If you don't want to see me go ballistic and overturn this kingdom, you better stay in this room for the next two days.” I left him at the door and opted to take a cold shower.

Twenty minutes later, dressed in silk pajama bottoms with no shirt, I walked to the living room. Prince Ulysses was asleep on the couch, and the cart of food and drinks had arrived.

I walked over to the cart, picking up the drink first knowing well Randale was the one who made sure to add it, and drank from the bottle. After several sips, I felt alive as the alcohol kicked in.

The hairs at the back of my neck rose indicating that my husband was awake.

“How long are you going to stare at me?” I retorted without glancing at him.

“I am off to take a shower,” he responded and disappeared from the living room.

I sat down and ate very little meat but enjoyed the fruits. I knew that I needed to feed well to maintain my strength but being close to Prince Ulysses made me anxious.

‘He smells nice,’ my beast repeated its earlier words through the mind link.

‘Will you stop?’

‘No. He smells nice. Let us keep him close.’

I remained silent after that. Two hours later, Ulysses had not appeared in the living room. I stood up ready to walk to the bedroom when he appeared. Dressed in white pajamas, his hair was no longer pushed back but formed tiny curls around his face. The last button of his pajama pulled open, making the trail of hair that led to his crotch more visible.

I looked away hurriedly, raised the hand that was not holding the bottle of whisky, and slurred, “Your hair.”

He shyly brushed it back with his hand. “Yeah.”

I sat down with a thud and took in his scent. The zesty scent of sandalwood, mint, and honey. I could also smell the scent of lavender.

“Why do I smell lavender?”

“It's the soap,” Ulysses said.

My eyes widened when I realized that I had voiced my thoughts. I stood up and walked toward the bedroom. “I am off to bed. You better join me in the bedroom. I am a paranoid man. More dangerous as a beast. So, you better get in bed with me. Don't worry, I have no intention of touching you. Unless you beg.” My shoulders shook with laughter.

“In your dreams,” Prince Ulysses declared.

That hurt. I had no idea why, but his words cut deep. I left the living room without a retort, placed the bottle on the floor, pulled the covers back, and got into bed. I closed my eyes and waited.

My ears picked up his footsteps as they slowly approached the bedroom. He walked over, picked up the bottle, and placed it on the table by the bed. He walked over to the other side of the bed and got in. The bed dipped and I heard his sigh as he pulled the covers.

I felt the satisfaction of being able to control him and murmured, “Don't even think about sneaking out. My beast is always on alert, and I have no control when he attacks. Be a good husband and sleep unless you want to see bloodshed on our first night.”

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