Chapter 11
“Who is he?” Marissa‘ s voice trembled as she asked, the curiosity now woven with
unease.
Her mother’s smile grew, her eyes gleaming with an excitement that Marissa couldn’t quite understand. “Alpha King Idris,” she answered softly. “You are going to mate with the Alpha King.”
The words struck Marissa like a thunderclap. She felt the ground tilt beneath her, her thoughts scattering in all. directions. The Alpha King? She opened her mouth to speak, to protest, but nothing came out. Instead, she sat there, dumbfounded, the weight of her mother’s revelation sinking in like stones in a pond, rippling through her, shaking the foundation of everything she thought she
knew.
The Alpha King. Idris. She’d heard the stories, the rumors that drifted through
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every pack like a whispered legend. He was ruthless, a conqueror. It was said he ruled with an iron fist, a killer who left nothing but fear and blood in his wake. And her parents wanted to bind her to him? She had pictured her mate as someone strong, but she had never imagined this.
Her mouth went dry, and she finally managed to stammer, “I… the Alpha King?”
“Yes,” her mother replied, almost dreamily, as if she had just given Marissa news of an honor she’d only ever dreamed of. “The King himself, Marissa. He’s the only one who can match your bloodline. The only one powerful enough
to stabilize it.”
Before Marissa could ask any of the thousand questions running through her mind, her mother‘ s expression shifted, her face tightening slightly as if she had just received a message only she could hear. “Your father just mind–linked me,”
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Chapter 11
she murmured, her tone distracted. “I
need to go.
Marissa reached out, her hand just missing her mother’s arm as she stood. “Wait! Mom, I-”
Her mother only gave her a reassuring smile, her hand resting briefly on Marissa’s shoulder. “Everything will be fine, darling. You’ll see. Trust me.” And before Marissa could even gather her thoughts, her mother was gone, leaving her alone in the room, her words hanging in the air like a storm cloud.
The Alpha King. The rumors about him flooded her mind, each one worse than the last. They said he was merciless, that he had waged war against packs who opposed him without a second thought, that he had killed countless enemies with his own claws. She had grown up hearing tales of his cruelty, stories whispered by those who dared not even speak his name. And this was the man her parents wanted her to
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marry?
A sudden, chilling thought struck her, and she almost laughed at the absurdity of it. Is this how they keep my bloodline stable? By handing me over to a killer? She could barely believe it. Her parents had spoken of strength and safety, of stability and protection, yet they had chosen a mate for her who was feared by all.
Marissa paced the room, her mind racing. The stories she had heard felt more real than ever, now that they were woven into her own fate. It was said that the Alpha King wore a mask at gatherings, that his face was something he hid from the world. A murmur had always surrounded him, that he was cursed or hideously disfigured. She had heard it said that his looks were so frightful that even his closest allies avoided meeting his eyes. The thought of it sent a shiver down her spine. Was she truly to be bound to a man who hid behind a mask, whose very face was shrouded in darkness?
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