My Most Precious Human

Bewildered, I stared into Sariel's eyes, hoping that those three words weren't something I had imagined. I felt real, but the confusion that had taken over my mind before wasn't something I could easily chase away. He kept his eyes on me without even blinking. He seemed confident and strong-willed. No. My mind sent me a warning that I couldn't get fooled again. I couldn't be swayed so easily. I looked away, but he instantly grabbed my chin and turned my head to face him.

"I love you," he repeated calmly.

The warm tone of his voice was like a balm put on my wounded heart. The sound felt like a blanket he wrapped over my shivering body. He placed his strong arms around my waist and pulled me close to him. I didn't want to resist him. My mind was perfectly ready to buy any story he wanted to sell. I just needed one semi-reasonable argument to stay with him.

"A-are you married now?" I asked, almost choking on my words.

"Yes." His reply felt like a kick in the stomach.

"So... Who am I in this mess?" I don't know where I found the strength to voice that question.

"You are the only woman I love," he murmured, leaning over my ear.

His breath on my nape sent shudders to my skin. His lips landed on my neck, then quickly found their way to my lips. I was already halfway melted, but my mind encouraged me not to surrender. I forced mysel to ignore the throbbing sensation between my legs and pushed him away.

"She is your Queen. Who am I?" Saying those words out loud was more painful than I thought it would be.

Sariel sighed heavily. His reluctant grimace already told me I wasn't going to like his answer.

"You are my concubine..." he squeezed through his throat. "For now," he added quickly.

I hysteric chuckle escaped my lips, "Do you even hear what you are saying? You got married, and in legal terms, that makes me "the other woman". Besides, you are the King, and you are expected to produce an heir... with the Queen..." The bitterness of those words almost burned my tastebuds.

He hugged me tighter. "I will make things right. You know, there is nothing between Elora and me. She doesn't even want to be my wife. She wanted power and she is desperate to keep it."

I put my arms around him, my heart refusing to let him go, no matter how pathetic it felt. "How? What can you do? Kill her?" I sighed at the ridiculousness of that idea.

In a serious tone, he said, "I would, but I cannot do it without a reason."

I leaned back to stare into his eyes, and I knew he meant it. I could feel that he was furious that he couldn't keep his promise to me. I also knew how uncertain my life was going to be from now on. There was no logic in staying in that castle. The last thing I wanted was to engage myself in some kind of women's catfight over a guy, especially when I was the one in the loser's position from the start.

"I know I am asking for too much, but I beg you to trust me. I will protect you as much as I can. I will send Patrick as your personal bodyguard, and I will give you anything you ask for. Just... stay." He sank his fingers into the hair on the back of my head, pulling me to lean against his chest.

I wanted to believe him. I badly wanted to believe him. Believing him was the only thing that kept me from falling apart.

"I'm sorry... I missed your coronation," I muttered, hiding my face in his shirt.

"It wasn't something I wished you would see... Not in the way it all happened, and especially along with marrying a woman that wasn't you," he said, his arms hungrily tightening his grip around me. "That marriage came fast..." I certainly had some other image of a royal marriage in my head.

"Elora wanted it to be grand, but I explained to her that I barely accepted her as a queen in the name. In the end, she was forced to shorten the whole ceremony to signing papers," he coldly chuckled. He certainly did the best he could to take my mind off of the disaster that had happened during the coronation by proving that I was the one he chose. At one moment, he took me in his hands and carried me onto the bed. He laid me down gently and then lied beside me, smiling seductively.

"So... what will happen now, my King?" I asked, smirking at him.

"I will do everything I can to gain King Mael's army's full devotion and loyalty. I can only strike against Elora once I am sure those soldiers are solely by my side," he stated decisively.

"Is Elora truly this powerful?" I inquired hesitantly.

"I know that she has powerful backers. I don't know who they are, but I have my suspicions. Fortunately, it will be harder for her to hide her actions while we live together in the same palace. I am going to crush her dreams of glory and greatness." The corners of his lips formed a malicious smile.

"What about me then?" I asked nervously.

"You will be called Lady Lilith. You will be granted servants and money to basically do whatever you want." He grinned and kissed me.

I leaned back, escaping his lustful lips, "And what's the bad news?"

He sighed heavily, "Elora will probably try to hurt you... and other nobles and those who support her as well."

"Great!" I snorted sarcastically. "I made a lot of new enemies. Is there anything else I should be worried about?" Only the fact that I was wrapped in his arms prevented me from going all frantic. "Not much..." I knew that his sweet smile was meant to hide something.

"Liar." I pouted.

"Fine... There will be an official ball in about a week. It's a traditional way of meeting the new king, and you will have to show up there as well," he replied evasively.

I frowned, locking my eyes on him. The fact of an official ball where I would have to show up didn't sound good already, yet I could sense it was just a tiny bit of the bad news surrounding this upcoming event. "So... will there be anyone ready to kill me as well, or do I merely have to be worried that I have no dress for this occasion?" I felt as if my dark, sarcastic sense of humor wasn't going to leave any time soon. "You will be given the best protection there is, so you shouldn't worry. Nothing will happen at the ball. I promise." He kissed my forehead.

He said I shouldn't worry, but the tone of his voice sounded entirely different.

"Sariel..." I muttered, begging him to tell me.

His lips stretched into a bitter smile. "First of all, you cannot enter the ballroom with me. You will be escorted by Gabriel or someone who can be trusted..." he paused.

"Tell me. Tell me all of it," I demanded, staring at him with my pleading eyes.

I couldn't bear more surprises like that one that had happened today. If the ball was going to take place in a week, I had seven days to prepare myself mentally for whatever was going to happen. "The ball is organized as a pretext to uphold all truces, and that means the werewolves will be present there as well," he stated.

"W-what wolves?" I shivered at the answer I would hear.

"Since there is no king of wolves currently, the most powerful leaders will receive the invitation. The northern pack's Alpha is certainly one of them..." He grabbed my hands and looked straight into my eyes. "Another invitation will certainly go to the southern Alpha Randall D'Apolito... your father."