Chapter 2: Scarlett

My heart started beating funnily as the doors opened and Asher offered me his hand. I hesitated, feeling strangely scared for no reason at all.

Asher noticed this and his eyes morphed into the shade I was used to and then he smiled. "You worry too much, my wife." He chuckled, grabbing my hand before I could even make up my mind. "We are here now, and my people are waiting..."

I carried a smile and let him take me inside, where his people welcomed us. But the pleasantries were simply hurried greetings as I soon found myself surrounded by a number of women, pampering my skin.

They scrubbed every part of me, rubbing my skin with oils and creams. Everything happened so fast that I could barely keep track of time.

The buzz came to a stop as they brought me in front of a large set of doors and bowed.

"Have a good night, Luna," they chorused before the sounds of their shuffling feet filled the corridor and they left.

I only regained myself when silence returned to the corridor and my wolf stirred within me, pushing me gently to the door.

I knew that it was Asher's room from my visits to the kingdom, but I had never gone into it for Asher always thought he would defile the promise he made to my brother if he let me come to his room.

The thought brought a smile to my face as I realize that the moment was finally here. I was going to give myself to Asher.

I took a deep breath and raised my hand to the door, but even before my fingers could brush against the door, it opened and there he stood, watching me with those eyes of his.

"I was starting to think you left..." he whispered, as he stretched his hand to me.

His eyes fixed on me became the master of me. I became a puppet stuck under his intoxicating control. My legs moved from the door, walking into the large room with my heart racing in my chest.

"Why would I leave?" I managed to let out and his eyes narrowed, the strange shade of blue returning briefly before his hands brushed against my cheeks, wiping off whatever I thought I saw.

"You are an offspring of Talon Black... its only normal that I think that way..."

His words were strange, yet his fingers on my skin made it impossible for me to think pass them. He was doing something to me. He was breaking me without forcing his way through.

I melted under his touch like chocolate, my eyes fluttering close at the sweet sensation his caresses brought to me, until I felt his breath right in front of me.

Our eyes met and I let out a small gasp at the intensity of his, my mind jumbled through words as I tried to speak but before anything could escape my lips, he crashed his over mine, taking out whatever control I thought I had.

My toes curled and my wolf danced in my head, singing out our bond, defining it and pushing me to say it out loud, but I couldn't let out anything but the moans from the flames of desire he was starting within me.

His skilled hands loosened the ropes of the robe the maids had helped put on me, he tugged it off and pushed the material away from my skin, leaving me bare before him.

He stopped kissing me and took a step back, drinking me in like fresh milk.

"Woah," he whispered, his teeth sinking briefly into his bottom lips in a motion that sent my stomach into a tight knot. 

"You are perfect." He added and I forgot how to breath.

My cheeks burned yet a cold air washed over me, causing my naked nipples to stand erect before Asher's admiring gaze.

He closed the distance between us once more, crashing his lips over mine once again and this time, I kissed him back, giving back as much as he was giving me.

I felt a warmth wash over me as his hands moved over my waist, I thought he was going to stop there, but his hands reached over my butt and in one swift movement, he lifted me off the ground and I wrapped my legs around him, to keep from falling.

The kiss got intense as he moved me to the bed and dropped me, earning another gasp from me as we stared into our eyes, each impatient to quench the desire we felt.

His wolf flashed and he leaned into me, kissing my neck and collar bones, licking, and sucking till my toes curled and my back arched, hoping to get even more of his sweet torturing pleasures.

"Hmm." I cried out as two of his fingers went into my core, adding to the aching desire I was feeling.

His lips found mine, silencing my moans as he added a second finger.

It wasn't long before I felt his thick cock pumping over my cunt. I held my breath, preparing myself for what was about to happen.

He pumped himself faster, rubbing against my clit till my fingers buried themselves into his hair. He stopped for a minute and grinned before I felt him push inside of me. Hard.

"Ah-Asher." I cried out, grabbing his shoulders as hard as I could, hoping to get a break as the pain of my hymen breaking tore through me but Asher didn't wait.

He began to move mercilessly within me, stretching and opening me further.

At first, all I felt was pain. My eyes closed as tears slipped from the corners, but the more thrusts he gave, the sweeter it became, and I found myself moaning to the rhythm of his penetration.

Asher raised my right leg, pushing himself even deeper, while I struggled through the pain and sweetness which continued interchanging till, he let out a groan. He slowed down his movements and pinned me down with his strong arms as I felt his warm juice spurt inside of me.

We remained like this until he became limp, and I knew he was done.

A small shy smile crept unto my face and with a racing heart, I raised my fingers and began to trace along the skin on his back but almost as soon as my fingers brushed his back, he turned to glare at me with eyes that burned like lava.

"What are you doing?" He growled and I froze, not knowing how I was even supposed to react.

Confusion settled into my head, and I blinked hard, trying to understand what just happened even if nothing came to me.

"I- I wanted-" The words died down from my throat as he briskly got off me and that same unsettling shade of blue from earlier returned to his eyes.

Panic flooded my insides and despite the pain I still felt between my legs, I tried to sit up and hold his hand, but he brushed me off, so hard, I almost landed off the bed.

"What?" He hissed and I thought I was having a nightmare.

My heart started shaking and my vision no longer stood clear as I struggled to balance myself.

"Asher, is everything okay?" I stuttered. "Why are you acting like this?" The first tear dropped, and I quickly wiped it off with the back of my hand, as I tried once again to reach him.

"Scarlett... Scarlett..." He muttered, running his fingers through his hair before those unsettling eyes met mine again.

One would think the confusion on my face would make him snap out of whatever had gotten into him but he smiled, a cold wicked grin that sent chills down my back.

"You have always been a good choice you know... but now the acting is over. You are already mine and there is nothing you can do about it. It's too late to cry now, dear Scarlett."

I unconsciously clutched the bedsheet around me, cocking my head to the side as I tried to get a hold of myself. Asher...

No. This was a joke.

"Very funny Asher." I breathed, hoping he could stop this immediately now that I found him out, but his cold grin only deepened.

"You think this is a joke?" he asked, and my heart dropped to my legs. "Well, let me break it down to you..."

He got off the bed and moved to the drawer. He pulled a file and threw it against my chest with a force that couldn't have been a joke. The aura that even moved around him, brought a cold that made it hard for me to breathe.

It was almost as if I was seeing an entirely different man. Yet, it was the same man, I had married. The same one, I had given myself to...

"Your grandfather took everything from my family. He turned us into paupers, stealing everything to his side of the realm... the fame, the power only belonged to the Talon Black but... that ended the moment you agreed to be mine, Scarlett."

"What are you saying?" I whispered in a broken voice as everything he said still didn't make any sense.

"Remember my vows to you, Scarlett... Everything I say now, was said in it, but you didn't listen."

Chapter 3:

Asher

I marched out of the room, utterly satisfied with myself.

My plan was finally in good motion. Scarlett Black, daughter of Talon Black was now mine. As soon as we got a child, everything would be perfect.

I would finally be able to regain my forefathers' wealth that had been unjustly stolen from them. I was going to restore that fallen glory.

My feet led me to my office and I poured myself a long glass of wine to celebrate. The victories were just about to start raining.

"You are too smart, Asher..." I whispered, reminiscing on how well I had played my part till now.

Poor Scarlett, she never saw it coming.

And to make it worse, even if she told her disgusting and pathetic family, none of them would believe her. To them, I was an angel sent to comfort them in their times of need, little did they know that I was their nemesis. The demon sent to reclaim their debt.

I gulped down the wine, letting the strong taste burn down my throat as I enjoyed myself.

I was already on my second bottle when the door creaked open and my beta, popped his head in.

"I thought you would still be asleep. Isn't it supposed to be your honeymoon still?"

The smile on my face dropped as his words hit me.

"Luciano, you expect me to have a good time with my enemy?" I hissed, slapping the wine glass on the table. "You expect me to feast over her while my people, my ancestors scream in pain in their graves?"

His carefree expression disappeared instantly and his eyes dropped to the ground.

"I apologize, my king." He bowed and maintained the position. "What do you plan to do, now that you have her here?"

Now that was the question to ask.

My brows furrowed and I sipped on my drink before I pointed a finger at him.

"Get the elders gathered for a council meeting as soon as the sun comes up. I need to let them know what we tend to lose or gain with this chance."

Luciano, nodded, even though I could see the questions clearly dancing in his eyes but somehow he managed to control them.

"Consider it done my king."

As he stepped out of the room, my thoughts singlehandedly went to Scarlett, the woman I had just deflowered and made mine.

My wolf hissed within me, pushing me to go to her. Comfort her in the very least but I was going to die first before I did that.

She deserved every ounce of pain that came her way-

Like a curse, her voice suddenly slipped through the underside of the door and my wolf jumped, suddenly turning hyper. "Asher."

I caged it down somewhere in my mind and glared at the door as it opened.

Her hair was no longer as messy as I had left it and her robe now covered that seductive body of hers that was making my wolf behave weakly.

To regain control, I slapped my hand on the desk and glared at her.

"What do you want? What do you want from me?"

Her face contorted into pain like my words had slapped her. Yet she kept coming, only stopping as she got in front of my table.

"I am your wife, Asher... If something... If you feel there is something wrong -please talk to me."

My wolf rolled inside of me and I knew that I had to remind not just her but the animal within me where this matter stood.

I moved away from my desk and came to stand before her. My eyes glared deeply at her.

"I have told you but it seems your ears aren't functioning Scarlett-"

"What did you tell me because till now, I do not understand what it is I have done wrong."

"You!" I screamed, grabbing her upper arms with rage. "You are wrong," I yelled.

"Your family is wrong and I want nothing to do with you except procreate. Do you get it now?"

Tears spilled down her face and she slowly shook her head, refusing to take what I was telling her -like she had a choice.

"Asher... You don't mean that-"

I didn't even let her finish.

"Fuck this." I hissed, grabbing her roughly by the arm and pulling her along with me till we got to the door where I dumped her.

"Now, listen and listen well," I growled, my hand pointing at her dumb head. "The next time you come to my space. Room or office or anywhere. I am going to throw you in the dungeon and you will remain there till I find what I want!"

With that, I slammed the door closed and returned inside, hating the way my wolf shifted within me like what I did wasn't right.

"It is right!" I yelled at myself.

Scarlett didn't deserve anything good from me or anyone. Her family brought this upon them.

"My king," Luciano's voice suddenly broke through the space and I turned to him.

"What?" I growled and he jumped, taking a few minutes to calm himself before replying.

"The council is ready. They are waiting."

I adjusted my shirt and moved out of the office, hoping for her sake, she wasn't there anymore.

Fortunately for her, she wasn't.

"Did something happen with Scarl-"

"Get the soldiers ready. I will be needing them," I cut him off, as I went on.

This was not the time to play catch up. Surely, he must have seen her. There was no point responding to him when he would be getting his answers in a couple of seconds.

The guards by the throne room opened the door as we got closer and I didn't bother acknowledging them as I went to my seat.

The elders all got to my feet, bowing as I settled in.

"You may take your seats too. We are going to have a quick session."

They all settled and as always their leader, Elder Micah got up and bowed.

"What can we do for you, our dear king?"

I took my time to study each of them before letting out what was going on in my head.

"I want each of you to send a division of men into the known lands, as rogues."

A deafening silence suddenly filled the room as they all turned to stare at one another in shock but as always, Micah was the one to speak up.

"But my king, you just married their princess and your cousin is down there with them, why this decision?"

"I want what they took from me. The known lands belonged to my ancestors. Not theirs. It was stolen from me. From us. And now, I am going to take it back."

A few faces started nodding, finally seeing the picture I was painting.

"And their princess?" Micah added.

My wolf shifted in annoyance, but I ignored it.

"She is just a pawn to my goal," I replied, getting to my feet.

"If I am going to take back the known lands, I will need to have a strong hold on it. I need an heir and she can give me that legitimate heir..." I watched their expressions change once again as they took it in.

"But while we wait for the child to come, we need to destabilize them. Axel needs to get pushed to the wall so hard, he would remember never to mess with us."

Chorused of agreement filled the room and a grin graced my face as I watched them.

"Our tactic would be chaos and peace. They must never know we are the enemies. We hit and then we act like we never did it. That's why the men you send must act like rogues. Men who are thirsty for blood. Hit them where they couldn't imagine and then when they are broken, they would beg me to become their king because they would see how incompetent Axel is."

"Yes!" They chorused once again, excitement rising in the room.

For most of them, I knew that the drive was greed but it didn't matter to me. I didn't need anything more than to prove to Axel that I owned the lands. They belonged to us and not them.

"Go now and get started," I ordered, watching as they all filed out of the room, planning how they were going to bring the Known lands into my arms in the most sinister twist game ever played in history.

"My king," a voice called, and turned my head, only to find Elder Micah, still hovering in the room.

My brows raised and I narrowed them at him. "Is there something you want?"

"Yes, my king," he said, taking a low bow, "is she aware of this?"

He didn't have to say the name. As our eyes met, I knew who he spoke of and somehow, this increased my anger.

"That shouldn't be your concern, Elder Micah. Focus on your task."

Chapter 4:

Scarlett

I could not believe what was happening to Asher.

People said when your husband or partner started acting up, it was always a character trait they had long before you met them.

Yet, Asher... He never had any of these traits. He was perfect. He was the carefree guy in the room who made loving him so easy.

Even as the thoughts filled my head, I couldn't take out the part where his words rang out in my head.

He only wanted a child from me. He had only married me to take what belonged to his family...

"No..." I whispered, unable to believe it. Asher was too perfect for this. There had to be something else bugging him.

And if I couldn't talk to him, there was one person who could know. And that was Luciano, his beta, and my friend.

Long before Uncle Greg found me in the unknown lands, Luciano had been my friend. Back when I roamed around the streets after escaping the humans who had bought me as a maid.

Luciano was there for me. Though not to a hundred percent but he did take care of me whenever he had free time from his busy schedule. I considered him my friend and surely, he would help me.

I wiped away my tears and put on another dress, making sure to hide whatever trace of pain or worry I had with makeup. When I was done, I paused in the mirror, practicing my forced smile. But not even my eyes could reflect their usual light.

I could see the crack in my heart on the mirror and my throat tightened as Asher's cruel words replayed in my head once again.

The air became hot and I was starting to hyperventilate when I sniffled and got a hold of myself.

"You are a queen now Scarlett. You have to stay strong." I whispered over the mirror before fisting my hands and heading out in search of Luciano.

I had no idea where I could find him but I hoped to find a guard who could point me out to his quarters in the palace. Before now, we usually only met in the market space where he slipped me food or a blanket.

The memories warmed me up, adding to the confidence I had managed to summon up.

"My Queen," someone suddenly said behind me and I quickly turned to find a very striking woman -one I had never seen before until now.

She had long blonde hair and eyes that moved between silver and gray. Then a face that was too pretty for anyone to forget.

"I am Stella. I am sorry I am coming to you late... I am supposed to be your assistant." She smiled and bowed.

My eyes blinked for a few seconds as I paused, trying to make out what I was going to do with her. Surely I didn't need an assistant and the words were going to leave my lips as they were when I suddenly remembered why I was out in the first place.

"Oh, yeah... Hi." I mumbled, letting my practiced smile linger on my face. "I was going to meet up with Luciano. The beta. Do you know where his quarter is?"

She raised her head and her strange eyes flashed before she nodded subtly. "I know where it is. I will take you." She stretched her hand down in the opposite direction of where I was headed. "It is this way."

She started moving ahead of me and I followed slowly, watching the way she moved carefully like she could suddenly do something strange.

Why didn't Asher tell me about her? I thought but as soon as the idea was birthed in my head, I gave myself an answer. He couldn't tell me because he was still angry with me and my family.

Which still didn't make sense and I hoped, Luciano would be able to answer all of my questions.

"We are here, my queen."

Her voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I saw that she had stopped in front of a door.

"Thank you," I said and took a step closer to the door but before I could knock, she knocked instead.

Then it occurred to me that she might want to stick around me like some bodyguard, so I quickly turned to her.

"Stella, right?"

She smiled and nodded. "Yes, my queen."

"Please, you don't have to stay. I need to speak to Luciano in private. Please."

"Oh that's not a problem, I will just wait in the reception." She gave me another bow and turned away from the door just as it was opening.

Luciano's face appeared before me and his tight expression softened.

"Scarlett... Or should I say, my queen," he said with a slight bow.

I waved my hand dismissively at his comment and offered him a small smile. "Oh Luciano please, call me Scarlett."

"Okay..." He replied and I could feel the awkwardness in his voice as he remained before me, not knowing what tondo.

I couldn't blame him. I could feel the awkwardness myself. Ever since Asher showed interest in me, we both developed an unspoken rule not to speak or even act like we knew each other. But the situation had changed. I was legally mated to Asher now and he was his beta, we had to talk.

My eyes made a quick sweep of the corridor and when I was sure no one was around, I returned my eyes to him.

"Can we talk... please?"

Luciano bit down on his teeth and also checked the corridors before pulling the door wide enough for me to get in, and then locked it as soon as I stepped in.

"You shouldn't be here." He mumbled and I turned around to face him, watching the emotions that moved over him. He knew.

"Why is Asher doing this to me?" I began, my voice barely above a whisper. "What is it my ancestors-" I paused as I remembered what he said they did to him and decided to rephrase my statement.

"Even if it is true that my ancestors took the lands from his, isn't there a way we can talk about this? A way we can make amends. I mean, I can give him my share of the lands, if he wants and I am certain not even Axel would have a problem with it."

But Luciano shook his head slowly and I could already feel the negative response he was about to give but I refused to accept it.

"I can convince my family. We can have a merger done. Anything... He just doesn't have to be like this. I can even give him the-"

"Scarlett," Luciano called, stopping me from the line of babbles I was spitting. "You know I will never lie to you. Before all of these even happened, you have been very dear to me... I can only tell you the truth."

His words were like the seconds of a bomb that was about to go off and destroy my life. And all I could do was wait for the seconds to tick-tock away as he spoke.

"Asher doesn't want just your shares..." He whispered. "He wants everything and he is not going to stop until he gets them."

My eyes blinked as it suddenly felt bitter in my throat. I couldn't fathom where all the hatred came from.

"Why?" I croaked as tears reached the surface of my eyes.

Luciano shook his head again and his hands held my upper arms. 

"Asher has lived with the guilt of failing his people and himself for so long... He has a twisted notion to rule everyone. It's almost like the curse of the old lycans'. Greed. A dark, need to rule over everyone... Nothing can stop him."

My legs suddenly felt like jelly as my world began to move over me like a rollercoaster. My heart was racing, and my wolf was screaming.

Asher couldn't be what Luciano just explained.

"But he loves me..." I said, looking up at Luciano. "He told me this himself. He is in love with me." -and if I was being sincere to myself, I loved him too.

"I am sorry, Scarlett. But Asher never loved you. You have always been a pawn. Something for him to play with so he could get his goal."

A gasp escaped my lips and the spinning of the world around me grew stronger. If Luciano wasn't holding onto me, I would have passed out.

He slowly let me to a seat and as I sat, my body trembled with denial.

"No," I mumbled like saying it over and over would make it better.

Asher had been the one to save my brother's marriage. He stood by Violet. He stood by me.

"No. Luciano," I whispered, raising my eyes to him. "I am sure that you are wrong. This must just be a condition."

Luciano left my side and moved to a table that was by the window. He pulled out something from it.

"The goddess wanted you to find me first... But if you hadn't come, I would have come to you." He took my hand and placed a phone in it. "As I said earlier, you are very dear to me, Scarlett. I can't lie to you. Neither can I sit and watch all of these happen to you."