Chapter Text
There were three unequivocal truths about northern omegas. First, as omegas, they weren’t allowed to show any signs of feeling besides pleasant and subtle happiness; they needed to be poised, cunning, and above any snide remark. Second, they had the obligation to marry the best bidder in order to keep the lineage. Marriages weren’t about love; they were about money and power. And last, to secure their possessions and future, they had to not only bond but get impregnated by their partners in the first year of their marriage.
The ideal outcome would be to find a nice beta or even omega from the south, where the grass was always greener, and the omegas were the ones who ruled the kingdoms. They were heroes and the ones people wrote stories about, with their perfect marriages and loyal followers. But how easy was it to be that, with power and the skills no one taught the omegas from his side of the world? Quick mouths and witty minds didn’t win wars, not without weapons or trained bodies. They didn’t kneel to alpha’s orders, but they couldn’t fight them equally in a battle. They were still considered an easy target and needed powerful alliances to survive, not only in society, but in general.
That was why, when Louis’ father gave him the news that the King Harry Styles of Keel—the ruler of the five northern realms—asked his hand in marriage to make the much sought fusion between their kingdoms happen, he didn’t cry, nor protest, he barely even blinked before he was saying yes to the deal. It was his fate, and he was clever enough to not mope about how he would never marry someone he actually loved. There was no point, and Louis frankly couldn’t care less. He had never been interested in anyone in his entire life, not even in his heats.
What Louis actually wanted was to be respected, to be heard, to have what omegas of the South and alphas from the North had. Louis wanted power, and if, to have that, he had to marry an old soulless and decrepit alpha he had never met, he would do it, no question asked.
“If we ought to be terrible, you have the security you will not marry an ogre. The portrait he sent you–”
“He did not send that to me. It was probably some member of his court who did.”
Louis interrupted Gala, looking out his carriage’s window. Usually he loved the optimistic way of viewing life that his friend had, but right now, when he had to read a tower of documents about the protocols of Keel, its court and king, the chirpy sound of her voice was a little less pleasant.
Granted, he already studied all that back at the palace for months, and before that, he knew everything about the hostile and few interactions between Keel and his own kingdom—the last independent northern realm—but one last reading before meeting all of them wouldn’t hurt anyone.
“It doesn’t matter who sent it. He looked handsome there.”
Louis snorted, unflattering and a little tired. “If he is into alphas, you can have him.”
“Sadly, I’m definitely not into alphas.”
“And that he cannot have a consort from our side. Minor detail you both are forgetting.” Mitra grumbled from his side of the carriage. “That’s the only reason Gala is coming with us.”
“Thought I was coming for my sense of style and my great diplomatic skills.”
“The only diplomatic event you have ever showed up to was Louis’ presentation, and you fell asleep during the ceremony.”
Gala played with her long, blonde, almost white hair, not sparing a single look at the guard. “I had a situation the night before. I was tired.”
Louis sighed, rolling his eyes. “She spent all night helping me to learn all the different and useless speeches I had to give that night.”
“But you had those memorized before.”
“Yes, then a day before, I cried for around four hours because father decided to dress me in light yellow, and I took that as a direct attack, not only to my person but my future. And then my mind proceeded to forget everything I had learned.”
Mitra blinked at him, not even trying to reply to the information Louis gave him. He didn’t need to. He knew the real reason Louis cried that day wasn’t because of the color of his attire, but because that day his father put a price over Louis’ head and began to sell him to the highest bidder.
He still could feel the bile in his taste buds, the twisting of his guts, the disgust swarming his body. He was flesh, bones, and a womb. That day, Louis ceased to be a human to become a product.
Gala gripped his hand, not recalling when he began to pinch his own arm lightly.
“We have arrived,” she whispered, low and warm. It was in moments like that one he remembered she was actually an alpha, full of nice pheromones that helped Louis to calm down any time he needed it.
By law and for their own security, every omega from the royalty had to have an alpha companion since the day they were born. Usually the pairs ended falling in love but following protocols, the only thing the alphas could aspire in the lives of their omegas was being their consorts. They weren’t allowed to bond, or bear children, living tortuous lives where their mates had to pair with other alphas.
Thankfully, Gala and Louis were best friends since they were children, never growing feelings for each other beyond fraternal. She was like the sister he already had, minus the jealousy and hatred.
“Come on, let’s meet this infamous king, so we can go to your chambers.” Gala squeezed his hand before gently pulling him out of the carriage.
“We aren’t meeting the King tonight.”
“No?” Louis knitted his eyebrows in confusion. “Why not?”
“Because the Curia Regis has to meet you first.”
ꕀ 𖦹 ꕀ
Louis’ heart constricted at the sight that received him. The Curia Regis was the name given to the king’s council, comprised a group of old alphas that his future husband most trusted. They all were seated behind a large podium, ready to assess every single detail about Louis, to see if the omega was fit for their king.
Louis was still on probation, and this was his final test.
“Don’t fret, child.” The oldest looking one spoke with a frail voice. Louis recognized him as Lord Paul Huxley, one of the king’s leading advisors. “This is a mere protocol, to formally meet each other before tonight’s ball. So you can find familiar faces in the crowd. Didn’t anyone inform you about it?”
Louis looked at Mitra, searching for answers, but the alpha was looking at everything but Louis.
“I was,” he lied, not wanting to give the alphas the pleasure of seeing him so at a loss in their first encounter. “But you must pardon me. As you might imagine, I am beyond exhausted and if I’m looking in this state it’s only because I am not used to traveling long distances to be gauged by members of — an albeit lovely — still foreign court as soon as I step off my carriage.” The omega smiled pleasantly. “Nevertheless, I am very pleased to meet each one of you. I cannot wait to get to know each one of you better. I want this union to be long-lasting and fruitful, and I am aware the only way to achieve that is if you trust me and see the potential I have. Be sure I am an excellent asset to this kingdom. After all, if you win, I win too.”
“Color me impressed,” said another one, whose name slipped from Louis’ mind. “I am sure you will be a blessing for this kingdom.”
“I don’t know if the king will agree with that — he likes vapid minds the most—but I can speak for a lot of us when I say, you are a refreshing surprise, and we are happy to have you here.”
From all the men in the room, Fyodor Orlov was the one Louis had the most information about. He was politically astute and a skilled soldier. His great-grandfather also lost his kingdom to Keel centuries ago, and his family no longer had the rights of the land anymore. The Orlovs were an example of what could happen if anyone went against the King of Keel’s wishes, while Fyodor and his father were an example of perseverance and resilience.
Vasyl Orlov started from zero, far away from the kingdom his grandfather had lost. He used all his contacts and influences to get to a meeting with the King — Ignat Styles, Harry’s grandfather — and his charm and brain got him into the king’s Curia Regis as one of his closest advisors. He made his only son Fyodor follow his same steps, making him befriend the then prince, Zigor Styles, since they were children. Fyodor also earned his place in the Curia Regis and pretended that his alpha heir would follow their steps, assuring the family’s new status. However, to his misfortune, none of his wives could give him that. Orlov was the father of four beautiful omegas, all useless to his plans.
“As I am happy to be here.” Louis replied, his tone as easy as his smile.
“Now that we have talked to you,” Lord Huxley said. “We don’t wish for you to waste more time with us. Please, go rest and prepare for the ball. Hope the assortments assembled in your chambers are of your pleasing.”
“I know they will be. It was a pleasure to meet you all.”
ꕀ 𖦹 ꕀ
The walk to his chamber was filled with a tense silence that only broke after they settled in Louis’ new bedroom, far away from privy eyes.
To everyone’s surprise, Gala was the first one who spoke. Cheeks angry red and jugular vein visible and thumping wildly. “Why didn’t you tell Louis they were going to ambush him as soon as he put a foot down here?” She almost snarled, hands turning into fists.
Mitra looked as exhausted as Louis felt, remaining unbothered by Gala’s outburst.
“Look at how you’re reacting right now. Do you think it would have been healthy for Louis if you acted this way the entire ride?”
“Are you blaming me for your ineptitude?” Gala’s top lip curled, raising a dark bushy brow.
They usually never fought like that. Gala loved Mitra as much as she loved her own father—and respected him a lot more. But the uncertainty of the situation made everything feel like they finally reached the end of the world. As if there was no more earth nor air for them, much less space.
“I’m blaming you for your immature attitude. You’re a grown alpha, always acting like a young pup adjusting to her hormones as if it was your first week presenting. I know you both as if you were my own children. I know your weaknesses and your strengths. You are too overprotective and hot headed, and Louis gets influenced by you easily.”
“I am not easily influenced.” Louis rebuked with no heat behind his statement.
“You are by her, and it’s normal. Those are your instincts reacting to the alpha that was assigned to you.”
Gala looked as if Mitra had just slapped her in the face. “You think I’m the issue?”
The guard sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Not an issue.” He said eventually. “Do not put words in my mouth, kid. Your temper is something you have to work on, and now even more so. You cannot get this upset in front of the king. He is a very cruel human. He is also a very smart one and could use your outbursts as a weapon.”
“Personally, I think it is all rubbish. You expect him to stay here in a castle filled with strangers that ought to get him with no type of support? Well, too bad, because I’m not letting that happen.”
“You have an outstanding ability to twist every little thing I say, even the ones that are impossible to twist.” Mitra’s voice was stern, but Louis could detect a hint of proudness running through it. “We will protect him. What we won’t do is make scenes in front of them or lose our temper, because that only shows our weakness. We should remain calm and united, at least in front of them.”
“Mitra is right. There’s no point in showing them more than we have to. We need to be smarter than them. This doesn’t mean we will put our guards down.” Louis let out a long exhale, dropping his exhausted and tense body on top of the bed. “At least his council seemed genuinely pleased with me.”
Mitra snorted, shaking his head while he rubbed his eyes with his gloved finger.
“Is that true?” Gala said, tone sounding a little incredulous.
“Indeed.” Mitra replied. “However, I daresay they would be pleased with anyone with an ounce of more decency than their future king.”
“Heavens,” Louis let out a hollow laugh. “I cannot believe by tomorrow, at this same hour, I will be married to that tyrant.”
The omega couldn’t help marveling at the cruel irony. Since he was old enough to understand that not everyone had to wake up with aching bones and intricate plans to make their mothers despise them a little less, Louis prayed for what his father had. Money wasn’t enough, a decaying kingdom neither. He knew he needed more. Mitra used to tell him, it was unbecoming to pray for such banal things, that God didn’t listen to those specific pleads, and Louis never had the heart to confess him that he thought God moved to the South and left all of them to rot, to plead for a little mercy, a little love. But Louis no longer prayed for mercy, neither love. Since he was fifteen, Louis prayed for power. And now he was finally going to get it all.
It felt so close Louis could almost taste its unique flavor; the oxide of all the bloodbaths, the salt of all the tears, the hunger of so many.
‘Better them than me,’ he used to think, as he cleaned his wounds after he ran through the forest, where no one could hear him, no one could hurt him.
‘Better them than me.’ As he picked his stained and torn journal, ears filled with ‘How could you?’s .
‘Better them than me.’ As he lied to Mitra every time, he asked if his mother had fed him. Just to avoid more troubles.
But guilt was a treacherous fiend, similar to a poisonous herb intoxicating your bloodstream. And now that it wasn’t him, that it was only them… power didn’t taste as good as he expected.
“And you have to meet him tonight.” Gala pulled him out from his troubling thoughts.
“Do you think we will have to dance in front of everyone?” Louis asked, trying to sound as casual as he could, despite knowing fully well both Mitra and Gala could easily see through his facade.
He wasn’t trying to remain calm for them; he was doing it for himself.
“Most probably.” The alpha smiled, soft and all-knowing. “Do you want to practice?”
“I’d love to.”
—
The future king was nowhere to be found at the ball. However, no one seemed surprised or worried by his absence, not until after almost three hours of waiting. It was only then when Lord Isaac—another member of the Curia Regis— gave him a poor excuse about the king still being trapped in an important meeting, promising his soon arrival. Louis knew Lord Isaac was lying through his teeth, but at least had the decency to look deeply mortified by the entire ordeal.
“He is not coming,” Louis drawled before sipping from his glass of champagne.
Gala snorted, gray eyes studying the room. “What made you come to that conclusion? The lingering looks of pity from random guests, or how desperate the members of his council look? Oh, here comes another one…” she said under her breath, tone full of glee. “What excuse do you think he’d use?”
“It’d be clever if he says something related to his late mother. I wouldn’t be able to be offended.”
“That would be beyond dark.”
Louis licked his lips teasingly, as if he could savor the worry exuding from the man walking towards them. “There are rumors who say he urinated on his father’s tombstone,” he shrugged. “Alphas do very outrageous things to state their dominance, and I’m sure they would go to the same extent to justify their preposterous actions.”
“Your Majesty,” said the nervous beta as soon as he was in front of him, big brown eyes filled with fear. “I’m the prince’s personal butler, Milosh,” his voice was trembling, making a smile bloom on the omega’s face. He could use that fear in his favor. “I am deeply sorry for this situation. The prince has these deep headaches where he cannot even sometimes move from the pain—”
“Where is he, Milosh?” Louis asked soft yet firm. A thing that took him years to learn how to do. Because no one liked when omegas raised their voices, neither when they were too weak. Instead, they had to be everything at the same time.
“In his room, he—”
“Milosh…” He pushed a little more, tone now void of any sweetness, smile never leaving his face. “Where is he?”
“In the Red Room,” he said quickly. A little too quickly for Louis ’likeness. “It’s on the left side of the castle, the second-biggest door.”
Louis smiled sweetly at the beta, placing a delicate hand over his shoulder. “Thank you,” he squeezed him softly. “My guard will compensate you for your honesty. Mitra…”
“I have nothing to give him,” the guard grumbled, decidedly ignoring the current conversation.
Louis sighed, swiftly uncapping one of his earrings. “Here,” he grabbed the hand of the dumbfounded beta. “I am deeply grateful for trusting me with this information. And I’ll make sure you will always have a space in our staff, especially after tonight and what’s about to happen.”
The eyes of the beta widened in horror. “About to hap—”
“Louis…” Mitra warned him, while he turned to look at his best friend and his guard.
“One of you will have to stay, so we don’t make a scene.”
“I’ll go with you,” Gala said quickly.
“No one is moving from here,” Mitra hissed low and discreetly. “All eyes are on you, and you say so yourself; we shouldn’t be making scenes the day prior to your wedding.”
“So we are just letting the alpha ridicule him.”
Mitra took a deep breath, knowing fully well there was no time to entertain Gala’s jabs. “What are you even going to do there? What if he is actually in a meeting?”
“Milosh…”
The beta visibly swallowed, shifting uncomfortably in his place. “Yes, your Majesty.”
“Is the prince at a meeting?”
“No, your Majesty.” The beta said, eyes cast down, gloved fingers playing with Louis’ earring.
“There.” Louis gifted the alpha a bright smile, making Mitra’s eyes narrow. “Mystery solved. And I’ll just have a small chat, introduce myself, you know, what we were supposed to do today.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“Why am I the one who always has to stay with the strangers?” Gala mumbled, gloomy, more to herself than Louis and Mitra.
“Because you’re a better liar,” Louis said truthfully, knowing very well how much his friend would like to hear that. “You will know what to say when someone asks where Mitra and I went.”
“That is very true.” Gala puffed her chest, happy and proud, before turning to look at Mitra. “The student surpassed the master yet again.” She sniggered.
The guard shook his head but smiled fondly. “Not that you’re keeping tabs.”
“Course not.” She sniffed. “Now hurry. I have some lies to tell.”
ꕀ 𖦹 ꕀ
With Mitra on his right side and Milosh on his left guiding them through the large hallways of the palace, they arrived at the Red Room. As Milosh said, the door was visibly larger than the rest. The only detail he forgot to tell him was the two alphas guarding said large doors.
“Who are these people, Milosh?” The alpha growled, stinking the entire hall.
Instead of focusing on him, Louis tilted his head, slowly walking towards the other guard, who was staring at him with big, knowing eyes. “You know who I am…” he smiled. “Do you?”
The guard’s breath hitched. “Yes, your Majesty.”
Louis turned to look at the other guard, face morphing from annoyance to mortification. “I am very sorry, your majesty,” he quickly replied. “I didn’t know you arrived today, the prince is—”
“Inside, and I ought to meet him today, because we will marry tomorrow, so either you open that door, or you will not have a door to guard tomorrow.”
“I would love to, but—”
“Let him in, Isai.” The guard close to Louis ordered the other, voice stern and cold.
Isai looked at the other man, conflict written clear on his face before nodding. Isai could be a great asset. He was loyal. Louis liked loyal people.
“Thank you…” He said directly to the man in front of him. “What is your name?”
“Artem.” He made a small bow. “At your service, my lord.”
Louis walked to the giant door and, before twisting the doorknob to let himself in, he told them, “I’ll remember both your names and what you did today for me.”
The scene that received him upon his entrance to the room — besides the tacky red all over the walls, ceiling, and furniture — was the level of nudity of several people; omegas, betas and alphas, all equally desperate and hungry. The room reeked of slick, spunk and wine, and somehow, Louis knew he was meant to see it and be scandalized by it, and for a split of a second, he was. He let the control of this body become loose and embraced the heat on his probably red cheeks. For a split of a moment, he let the wave of embarrassment mingled with interest wash over him.
He didn’t doubt the prince spent his nights in situations like this one, but that specific moment, it was all for him. He suspected as much since the butler shared privileged information so easily to a newcomer and was only reinforced by the quickness of the guards to let him in.
He searched between the crowd until his eyes landed on his future husband, who was currently wearing only some leather trousers, chest naked and exposed, displaying his chiseled muscles as a naked woman cradled him and a man fed him grapes and wine. He looked sinful, with vivid, startling green eyes, a sharp jaw and dark red stained lips.
Louis tilted his head, a little amused by the scene displayed in front of him. If his dear husband wanted to give a spectacle, Louis could also play his game.
With quick and elegant steps, he strode to where the prince was seated, not before grabbing the first golden cup filled with red wine he found in his way.
“Louis, what are you going to do with that…” Mitra said carefully, following his step closely.
“I’m just going to say ‘hi’.” Louis said, slightly turning his face to give his guard his best demure smile right before throwing the content of his cup over the prince’s face.
Not the light screech from the omega on top of the future king nor the several gasps coming from the guests could drown the low and dangerous growl that was ripped from the alpha’s chest.
“Who the fuck do you think you are?” the prince snarled, eyes dark and nostrils flared.
Even as anger rushed through him at the alpha’s brutish display, Louis felt breathless at the intense gaze of the man that was going to be his future mate.
‘Tomorrow I’m going to be under all that. He will be inside me, all muscles and rage.’ Louis felt his cheeks heat again, but refused to be cowed. So he put his best smirk on display, the one alphas despised to see, the one that assured them all he had the upper hand.
“Thought you were expecting me, dear husband. I’m your future mate.”
ꕀ 𖦹 ꕀ
The tension in the room increased as the scent of the alpha turned sour and darker.
“You…” the prince said through his teeth.
The smirk on Louis’ face turned into a full, brilliant grin. He hated to admit this but, standing him in front of a furious alpha, probably ready to rip his throat apart, was the most entertained he had been in years.
“Yes, me.” He took a step closer to the alpha. “I don’t know how things were handled before, and honestly, I do not care. I’m not trying to mess with how you rule your crooked kingdom or your future…” he looked around the room, judgment clear and even amped in his features, “endeavors. But I’ll kindly ask you to not ridicule me in front of what will be our people, or else I’ll ridicule you back.”
A new glint appeared in his eyes, somehow even more intimidating than the pure fury that showcased before. Louis refused to allow the alpha or anyone in that room to see how much that almost imperceptible change was affecting him.
“Is this how you talk to alphas?” The prince arched a brow, voice deep, rough and thickly accented.
“Only the ones to disrespect me.” Louis considered batting his eyelashes, but couldn’t risk looking like nothing less than iron made at that moment.
“You aren’t in your little kingdom anymore.”
Louis narrowed his eyes, very close to losing his temper. “I am not afraid of you. Your little grunting and puffing do nothing to me. Unless you wish to lose the little kingdom your family has tried to conquer for decades, we will have to compromise. I’m not asking for you to stop whatever this is. I’m asking you to be present for at least five minutes during our future galas and pretend we do not disgust each other.”
The prince’s eyes hardened as he looked around the room, finally remembering they weren’t alone and that he was being scolded in front of a room full of people. “Do you have to talk about all this here and now?”
“Well, yes.” He flashed a devilish grin at Harry. “You brought me here, after all. Besides, I don’t think your little friends have the permission to talk about what happens in here. So,” he said in a fake cheerful tone, “are we clear?”
The alpha traced his tongue over his bottom lip. “Yes.”
“Perfect. It was a really nice display.” Louis waved aimlessly around the room. “I am actually honored you put so much effort into the fake debauchery.” He ran a finger over the alpha’s wine-wet cheek before tasting the liquid in it. “Would have been more believable if you had brought some good wine.” Then, he bowed, because after all, he was in front of a high-ranking alpha who was about to become a king. “Have a splendid night, dear.”
The prince’s eyes darkened, but one corner of his mouth quirked up. “Night, lisichka.”
Outside the room, Milosh was waiting for him with an apologetic look on his face.
“Your Majesty,” the beta said, red-rimmed eyes filled with tears. “I am deeply sorry.” He walked close to Louis, trying to give the omega his earring back.
Louis shook his head, gently closing the beta’s hand with his.
“I will not take it back, Milosh, I wanted to give it to you, you can do whatever you want with it. I am still very disappointed in you. The same goes for you.” He looked at Artem, who also looked apologetic and mortified, as a very confused Isai watched the scene unfold. “Said this, I hope we better our relationship in the future.”
There was something heartbreaking in the way the duo lit up with his last words — including the alpha. It almost made Louis feel bad for manipulating them into feeling in debt to him.
Almost.
“We need to be more careful,” he told Mitra as they walked back to the ballroom. “Trust none of the staff. They all are on his side, despite him being a disaster. Maybe because he is one.” Almost as an afterthought, he added, “we also need to learn his native tongue. If that bastard is going to insult me to my face, I have to know at least what he is saying to me.”
ꕀ 𖦹 ꕀ
Northern weddings were a practical affair. The couples met a day before at a ball and the next day they were married in the eyes of society and God. These political unions brought some small mercies, like not being pressured to bond on the first night. In fact, they gave the couples a grace period of a year to do it and another to bear a child.
However, if the omega wasn’t able to give the alpha an heir or they failed to bond, the alpha had the right to look for another mate, stripping their current omegas from most of their rights. Louis knew this because it was exactly what happened to his mother.
Naïve and young Juniper Tomlinson thought she was safe from that fate when she conceived Louis, certain that after her husband saw how perfect their child was, they would bond, to then live a perfect and happy life. Louis did not know where the prayers of believers went, but he was sure none of his mother’s were heard because she gave birth to an omega, making her unfit and undeserving of the king’s bond mark.
“Would you explain to me why two of my guards are outside your door?” A deep voice asked close to his changing room door.
The sound stilled him, making his breathing hitch, as his senses flared to an acute awareness of how empty and small the room they were in was. He was trapped with an alpha he disrespected the night prior, an alpha everyone feared.
Louis faked a sigh to hide the fact he forgot how to breathe as soon as he saw the alpha. Somehow, he looked even more appealing with all his muscles covered. Perhaps it was the lack of omega attached to his lap or unknowing fluids covering his skin. “What are you doing here?” he asked in a bored tone. “Don’t you know it’s bad luck to see your bride the day of the wedding?”
The prince snorted. “Don’t tell me you believe in that type of rubbish.” He still turned around, back now facing Louis. “Thought you were smarter than that, lisichka.”
“We don’t know each other that well. Either way,” Louis sniffed, crossing his arms, “you don’t mess with luck. It’s not a question of intelligence, but mere prevention.”
“Is it also a mere prevention to have two of my guards guarding your door?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, looking at his nails, pointedly ignoring the slow steps the alpha was taking towards him. “What are you doing here, anyway?” He adds dryly, looking at him defiantly.
“I wanted to talk to you about the wedding.”
Louis’ heart dropped. This was it… he was sure the king was going to cancel the wedding. And some might think it was a well deserved ending for Louis’ short-lived visit. The omega crossed several lines the night prior, and this was the consequence.
He cleared his throat. “Do you plan to postpone it?”
“No, we are still marrying today.”
Louis’ eyebrows draw together in genuine confusion. “Then this conversation can wait...”
“But it’s better if we talk now, it’s—”
“The peonies will arrive at five, the will—” Gala stopped in her tracks, looking directly at the alpha. “My Lord.”
They were almost the same height, both with imposing presences, but oddly enough, Louis only could detect Gala’s scent floating inside the room. Calming and grounding, overpowering the prince’s with ease.
“You aren’t Mitra.” Harry’s voice sounded odd.
Louis was caught a little off guard when he realized the alpha knew his guard by name. He was aware they had met before, but couldn’t believe a person like him could remember someone—anyone—of a lower status.
Gala indiscreetly assessed the short distance that separated Harry from Louis. “No, my lord.”
“Ah…” The prince smirked. “You must be my husband’s consort.”
“Future husband… my lord.”
Harry turned slowly at Louis, making the omega’s pulse quicken. “Your consort is a woman.” His tone was void of any emotion. Still, Louis couldn’t help but feel judged by it.
“Are you scandalized by that?” Louis drawled, arching a brow. “If I remember correctly, you were impaling one last night.”
“Not the same.”
Gala growled, low and dangerous, ready to attack.
The king made a face. “Is she growling at me?”
“You can ask her, or you can leave.”
Harry took another step towards Louis, making the calming scent Gala was trying to emanate shift into something denser, darker. “Are you sleeping with her tonight?”
“No,” Louis said, as calm and composed as he could. “I’m sleeping with you.”
And oddly enough, those words made him step back.
“We need to talk.”
“And we will. Tonight.”
The king was ready to protest when Milosh walked in with a tray of tea and pastries.
“Here’s your tea, your Majesty,” Milosh said, flustered, adding a quiet, “my Lord,” as soon as he spotted Harry.
“Milosh?… Since when do you use jewelry?” the prince furrowed his brows, before giving Louis an accusatory look. “Did you steal my butler?”
The omega rolled his eyes, walking over to where Milosh placed the tray. “Don’t be ridiculous. Humans cannot be stolen, they are their own beings. I would suggest that you leave before you say something you might regret.”
“I’m sure I could say anything and I wouldn’t regret a single word that comes from my mouth. Anyhow, there are too many people in this small room, and your… alpha is close to drowning us all with her pheromones.” The alpha scowled at Gala. “We still need to talk either today or tomorrow. It’s urgent,” he said with that low, resonant voice. Louis suppressed the shiver that tried to run down his spine at seeing his burning gaze directed at him. It scared him, it enthralled him.
Before leaving, he stood close to Milosh and touched the pearl earring Louis gave to him softly. “This looks delightful on you.”
“Milosh…” Gala drawled, making the beta jolt. “Behave or leave to be a flustering mess elsewhere.”
“Let him be as flattered as he wants,” Louis said, sipping his still warm tea, savoring the notes of rose petals, corn flowers and chamomile in it. “You do look exquisite, Milosh,” he reassured the abashed beta.
“Thank you, your majesty,” Milosh whispered, flushed. “If you don’t need anything else, I’ll begin to prepare your bath.”
“Thank you, Milosh. That is all.”
The beta gave a small bow and quickly exited the room.
“I cannot believe you said you were sleeping with him tonight.”
Louis sighed. “You know we have to bond, the sooner, the better.”
“Louis…” Her voice sounded worried. Lately, that was how she and Mitra sounded, all the time.
“No, Gala.” The response was sharp, automatic. “We have talked about this. I’m going to give that pig whatever he needs. I will not end up like my mother. I would die first before becoming her.”
ꕀ 𖦹 ꕀ
Alphas would never understand the curse omegas ran in their blood. The bond often laced with hatred toward the person who passed it to them. To prefer to be a vile snake who drops venom and chose gold over bleeding hearts than to be the blood that drips from the snake’s fangs. To touch finger marks around your legs and arms that no longer exist. The need to pick peonies instead of hellebore, so you can erase every bit of them from you, only to realize you are already them, that you share the same smile, the same pain. The weight of finally understanding they also didn’t want the curse and did everything to erase you from them.
Louis’ mother attended to his wedding because she had to, maybe because she needed to. She was seated back where the commoners were placed, as a spectator more than anything. He tried to not look at her or the rest of his family through the entire ceremony; he would not give them easy access to his dread. He stood strong and poised and recited what the archbishop told him to, only looking at Mitra for reassurance seconds before the silver dagger cut the flesh of his palm.
It was a rite of passage, something they couldn’t avoid. Their blood must merge to form a temporal bond, a year of pure bliss before the storm.
“The ceremony was beautiful,” a handsome man told him later that night, as everyone danced and laughed around them. Happy that another fructiferous union was complete.
Louis liked his smile. It seemed almost genuine. He made a mental note to practice it until he could also make his own look as sincere as his.
“Thank you. The palace planned it all.”
“I’m Zayn Malik.” The man offered his hand. “I was at the Red Room last night.”
“Were you?” The muscles on Louis’ face hurt at the effort he was putting on maintaining the grin on his face. “My most earnest apologies. I wasn’t paying much attention to the people inside the room. A kind gesture of mine for your privacy. Were you perhaps the one cradling my husband or the one feeding him?”
Louis knew the man was neither of those people, but his thin, pin-stitched skin felt like crumbling in pieces and had no time for pleasantries.
“Neither. I was merely playing spectator number five.”
“I’m sure you played your part flawlessly.”
An odd light danced in the man’s eyes. “You’re funny.”
“I’d call myself many things, smart, beautiful, cunning… Funny? I don’t think ‘funny’ is one of them. Trying to be very serious here.”
The smile on his face grew wider, turned softer. Louis did not like that, not even a bit. “I bet you do. I hope you are aware that what you saw last night is not always a charade,” he said cautiously, as if Louis could break with that information. “He might not have scheduled weekly orgies on his agenda, but he does like them a little too much”
“Should I gasp and flush with this information?”
“I’m not really sure that you are able to blush. You look colder than the snow outside.”
“Thank you.” He leaned close to the man’s ear. “And I couldn’t care less about his little rendezvous. I didn’t come here to play family. I came here to pretend to rule this kingdom, just for the sake of my legacy. The title will look stunning in my tombstone.”
“So you’ve met Zayn,” The new king said behind him, sounding all types of wrong and incredibly close to him.
Curiosity stronger than his self-preservation, he turned to study the alpha’s shrewd and suspicious eyes as they raked over Louis and his friend.
“So you aren’t blind.” He cleaned the red mark of lipstick smeared over the alpha’s jaw with his thumb.
The alpha wrapped his hand around Louis’ wrist. “I think it’s time we leave the party to talk, lisichka .”
Zayn arched a well-defined brow. “Lisichka?”
Harry cleared his throat. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he told his friend. “Tell Yelena I’ll be waiting for her tonight.”
Louis bit the inside of his cheek until he tasted oxide. The implication in his words clung heavy in the pitch of his stomach. Mating sessions required two days to be completed and if he was thinking of meeting another person that same night, it only meant one thing.
He wasn’t planning to bond Louis.
—
“This isn’t your chamber…” Louis said upon entering a dimly lit office. Large windows, green dragon hand-painted walls, dark mahogany furniture, and a large empty frame where a painting was meant to be hung in the middle of it all.
“Brilliant observation. We don’t need to be there to have this conversation. It’s more… practical here,” the alpha replied as he sat down behind his desk.
Louis blinked, heart and mind racing, trying to find a way to fulfill his plan. “Practical… I was hoping for you to take me to our room and finish our night properly,” he said, shy and low, eyelashes fluttering slowly.
“You were?” The alpha narrowed his eyes. “Thought you would be relieved you didn’t have to do it, at least not tonight.”
“No I…” Louis swallowed, trying his best to control every part of his body that was telling him to run. “I was craving it, actually.”
“Craving it…” the king said, deadpan look aimed at him.
“Indeed.”
Harry stared at him. Louis could feel his intense gaze studying every inch of his face. “So… if I asked you to…” he played with his wedding ring. “I don’t know… sit on my lap and let me touch you. Would you come? Because… you’re craving for me, right?”
There was a clear challenge in his voice, one that ignited a fire Louis swore had been extinguished many years ago. The omega wanted to give him a reaction.
However, it wasn’t the right moment, nor the right person to do that. Instead of that, he smiled placidly and stretched his hand over the large mahogany desk, palm open and extended for Harry to do whatever he wanted with it.
“I am not thinking of any other thing than to be one with you.”
The alpha looked at his hand and then at Louis as the corner of his mouth twitched up, giving him the smallest of the smirks. “Then come here, lisichka.”
The smile on Louis’ face dropped for a split of a second before he could recover himself. But based on how the alpha’s small smirk widened as he patted his thick thigh, it was one second too long.
Without saying any other word, Louis withdrew his hand. There was no time to ponder options. There was only one available; do as the alpha said. Slowly, he stood up and walked around the desk, confident and tempting.
He was dressed for the part, to seduce and entice his husband, just like any other omega on their wedding day. However, there was no visible hint of desire in the alpha’s face.
Louis sat on his lap and adjusted himself until he was comfortable enough. It was only then Harry placed his left hand on his hip and the right on his waist.
“This is… nice,” he said, oddly enough, sincere. Harry was big and broad, his unmoving hands, instead of making feel trapped, gave him a sense of security.
“Is that so?”
“Yes…” Louis dared to place his hand on the alpha’s chest, to feel his muscles. “Why don’t you take me to your room, so we can be more comfortable?”
“Why don’t we first…” he said, grabbing Louis’ hand, moving it towards his lower belly. “Start here.”
The king didn’t move his hand, but the suggestion was clear. He wanted Louis to touch him and, to his rueful surprise, the omega wanted to touch him too.
So he did.
With trembling hands, he played with the hem of his buttoned trousers, only hesitating for a moment before sliding his hand on top of his crotch. The alpha let Louis explore as he pleased, never hurrying him or asking for more.
“Vot tak, lisichka.” The king rumbled in a low voice.
Louis was in a trance, going from fascinated to a little intimidated by how the tent in his pants kept growing under his touch. He knew he was going to be bigger than him—that was how alphas were built—what he didn’t expect was how much so, nor his thickness. The smallest of the whimpers escaped from his throat, head still hidden in the crook of the alpha’s neck.
“What’s wrong, lapochka? You smell worried.”
Louis licked his lips, tongue unintentionally flickering over the king’s skin, earning him a warning growl. A growl that finally made him snap from his trance.
The omega quickly removed his hand from the king’s crotch and straightened up, eyes focusing on the desk in front of him instead of the burning stare from the man holding him. Him getting flustered and wet wasn’t part of the plan, though it was distracting, deliciously so.
“Of course, I’m worried,” he finally said with a shrill voice. “That thing feels like it could reach my belly button. I do not wish to feel like a stuffed toy.”
The king scrunched his face in the oddest of looks, as if he was trying to suppress a sneeze, Louis was close to ask him if he needed a tissue when he took a deep breath and made his face regain an expressionless look.
“Well,” he said at last. “What if I told you that if you agree with the offer I have for you, you wouldn’t have to worry about that?”
Louis closed and opened his mouth, eyebrows knitting together. “But we have to do it if we want to bond.”
The king chuckled. “What makes you think I would want to do that? At least so soon.”
Louis tried to remain once again calm and collected. He should sell himself as the alpha’s solution. The person he needed to continue his life of debauchery without having to go through another tedious marriage.
“To get it over with. Because I’m not looking for love and I see this as it is, a political alliance. You can do whatever you want, with whomever you want. I’ll never bat an eye or make a scene. If you wish, you will only see me when it’s necessary.”
“You know I could do that, no matter who I marry, right?”
“You could, yes.” He played with the alpha’s cravat. “However, my father has married four omegas so far, and I bet he can attest how much easier it is when you can have someone who understands their place and doesn’t have any childish expectation from an arranged marriage.”
Harry blinked at him, a blank expression on his face. “I don’t think you are aware of what you are offering.” He withdrew his hand from Louis’ body.
“I have been aware since I was off age. I have thought and thoroughly researched my options.”
“Not all of them. I have another one,” the king insisted. “One that could benefit both of us.”
Louis sighed, suspecting the king would only persist until he heard his idea. “What is it?”
“We should get divorced.”
Louis frowned as he shook his head. “What on loving earth is that?”
“It’s a new thing non-fitting mates in the South are doing. Like an annulment, but you will conserve all your rights. You can go back home, stay here or find a new place, it will be your choice. You won’t be deprived of anything. You just have to ask, and I shall provide.”
“So you will not bond me?”
“No. You seem like a nice and docile omega, but I tend to not mingle or corrupt your kind. And I really doubt you would want to sleep with an alpha who was knotting another omega hours before our wedding.”
“I guess not…” Louis mused, actually considering Harry’s proposition. If he wasn’t lying, that could change everything for the omega. It could open a sea of possibilities. A small chance for hope. “How many northerners have divorced?”
“We would be the first ones.”
Louis huffed a silent chuckle. “Do you think they would let us?”
“Of course they will,” Harry said, the corner of his mouth twitching up. “I’m their King. I make the rules.”
“That’s not how it…” An almost hysterical laugh escaped from his mouth before he could cover his mouth with his trembling hand, because that was exactly how things worked. He was right, he was the king, he made the rules. “Okay, let’s do it.”
“That was easy. Too easy,” Harry said, a dangerous glint in his eyes.
“I guess you got lucky with your first spouse.”
“First and only one, lisichka . I got my title, I don’t need to marry again. There will be no more spouses after you, only me and my dreadful kingdom.”
ꕀ 𖦹 ꕀ
“A what?”
Gala’s eyes were wary and confused. And granted, Louis’ explanation about the situation might not be the best due to his happiness and excitement, but he thought he made the most important points very clear.
“Divorce!” Louis climbed to his bed and crawled close to her. “Harry and I will separate legally!”
The features of the alpha morphed into a mix of horror and fury. “Are we talking about an annulment? Louis that’s—”
“No, that’s the wonderful part! I’m keeping all my rights!”
Gala blinked at him as she sat down. “Is that even possible?”
“It is! Apparently, couples from the South are already doing it.”
Instead of relaxing, it seemed each word that came from Louis’ mouth worried Gala more and more. Her fingers ran through her hair, intense gaze focused on everything and nothing at the same time.
“And what does he gain from this?” She asked eventually.
“I don’t know? Freedom? I don’t really care. But Gala, this is all I ever wanted. We could go somewhere warm and far away. We could go live in the South! Don’t you want that?”
“Not really.” She stood up from the bed, grabbing the black robe beside Louis’ bed, wrapping her body with it. “Southerners are extremely sensitive and vain. You agreed with me about that.”
“And they also are free to choose whoever they want to marry!”
“You know that isn’t true.” Gala signaled him to turn around. “Omegas still have to go to the season.” she unclasped the first buttons of Louis’ satin blouse. “It’s the same process, the only difference is they pretend it is a fashion and social event while we are more frank about it.”
“But unlike here, they can say no.”
“That is also incorre—”
“Gala…” Louis turned around. “Please, be happy for me. We don’t even have to go there. Is just… this is the first good thing in my life in forever.”
Her shoulders slumped.
“I am happy for you, darling.” She cupped his face, delicately. “So very happy. But my duty is to worry and right now, I am extremely worried about you. You are my most beloved friend.”
“Don’t you worry,” Louis said, feeling how her worry began to finally crept through his spine. Nothing was set in stone, and he was smart enough to realize until he didn’t have the documents in front of him stating he will be free, everything was up in the air. “Everything will be okay.”
“I still do not trust him, you heard the rumors about him… the things he has done, the people he had betrayed and even killed.”
“And he must have heard plenty of rumors about me. But what if he is only being misjudged?”
Gala parted her lips before quickly closing them. It was the faintest of the movements, and it could have meant a thousand things for other people who didn’t know his friend. However, Louis could practically see what she was thinking.
‘You are acting like your mother.’
Trusting an alpha he barely knew and who was known for being ruthless was something she would do. She would trust her alpha over anyone, including her own son.
“I know I’m acting desperate but… I want to cling to this sliver of hope as long as I can, or else, I don’t think I’ll make it.”
Gala simply nodded, and silently helped him to change into his nightgown.
“Did you see Juniper?” she whispered as both laid in the large bed and the moon soaked them in her light, softening the question like a knife wrapped in grace and sweetness.
“I did. I’m a little surprised she didn’t tell me how I was bound to ruin this partnership, as I ruined her life.”
Gala held his hand under the covers. “Guess even she has rest days.”
Louis hummed and smiled. Because that was what he was supposed to do, what they always did. His mother hurt Louis, and they laughed and covered the blood and scars with silly little jokes. That was how he got to have the upper hand. How he became the bigger person. She could hurt him as much as she wanted, Louis would never hurt her back.
ꕀ 𖦹 ꕀ
Breakfast the next day was a tedious event. His father and sister were seated close to him, pretending for no one’s sake they were actually a family, that they cared for him and were joyous to spend a more time with him.
Truth was, he barely knew his father beyond the cold and uninterested conversations they had during his short stay at the castle while it was decided who he ought to marry. And his sister… she was as cruel as any other person who was born solely to compete against their sibling..
Louis and his sister had to share the same governess, and life was an endless competition where his head was never truly where it should be. Where he was often last to reach the finish line. He had trouble focusing, but that wasn’t enough excuse for his mediocrity, and they all made it very clear, never letting him forget that. That was why, when his father sent his portrait to the king instead of his older and wickedly smart sister, it caused an uproar inside the family.
‘She has too much spirit in her. A brilliant mind, but a useless omega.’ His father told him once. ‘You, on the contrary, you are just like your mother. That is what the king needs; an omega he can mold.’
That same day, Louis ran through the forest, like he hadn’t done in many years, reopening old scars and creating new ones as the branches hit his skin while he aimlessly ran. Feet hurting until he no longer felt a thing, numb of all pain, all rage. He screamed and thrashed because a tree could not fall if there was no one to hear it.
“Family!” The alpha entered the room, elegant and confident, oddly graceful for someone of his stature. It wasn’t a show, but a mere allowance. Like the true apex predator, he was. “Hope you are enjoying your breakfast and had a well-rested night.”
“Your castle is beautiful, my Lord,” Alexandria said, a sultry and obvious smile on her face.
The king studied his sister’s face, a hint of interest colored his eyes before he echoed her smile and sat on the table.
“Doubt it compares to your beauty…”
Alexandria flushed but held her gaze, defiant, tempting. “Hope you invite me back soon.”
It was an extremely improper thing to say to a king, even more in front of his husband. But Alexandria had never cared about being proper or sparing her brother mercy.
“We don’t want to distract you from your duties…” Louis said with a serene smile. “The next season is coming, and you need to get ready for that.”
“I am ready… It is not my first season.”
“Well, all the more reason,” Louis mused, pouring some honey in his tea. “You should concentrate on having a fructiferous one.”
Alexandria’s mouth curled, face morphing and distorting, fury and indignation clear as day. Louis didn’t think his sister was as smart as his father thought she was, otherwise she wouldn’t have stood up and stomped out of the dining room, leaving a pathetic and weak impression of her character.
Maybe his father was right, maybe Louis was, in fact, like his mother. But what his father didn’t know was how cruel his mother could get and how Louis absorbed that cruelty like a sponge, like a sunflower seeking sun. And how he used all he learnt for his own benefit. Alexandria might be smart on paper, but Louis was smart in life.
“You ought to excuse my daughter, my Lord.” His father cleared his throat. “You know how omegas can get about the Season.”
“She is a feisty one,” the king said, gaze still focused on where Louis’ sister walked away. “There’s not many like them anymore.”
Louis frowned. “Like what? Spoiled brats who cannot handle cordial conversations and storm off as they please?”
The alpha shrugged. “Maybe I have a soft stop for spoiled brats. I do love the chase, after all.”
“My Lord, if only I had been aware of this first, I'd have sent the portrait of Alexandria.”
Harry focused his intense gaze on Louis, lifting a brow, as if he was waiting for Louis to have the same reaction as his sister.
“Is there more lavender tea there, Marie?” he asked a maid instead. Completely ignoring the conversation happening in front of him, like any good omega would.
“Yes, there is, my Lord,” the girl smiled at him, bright and big, as he served him more of the fragrant beverage.
“Thank you. It tastes wonderful.”
“When did you meet the kitchen staff?” Harry asked, stabbing the fruit in front of him.
“Since my first day. It is my duty to know the people that help us in the castle.”
“You know everyone?” he said, food still in his mouth, watermelon dripping from the corner of his lips. Louis made a gesture with his napkin. In response, the king cleaned his mouth with the back of his hand and shoved an even bigger slice of fruit in his mouth.
Louis rolled his eyes, discreetly. “Don’t be silly. This is my third day here. Just give me two weeks and I will know everyone.”
“As amiable as always,” the king replied with disinterest.
Louis imagined keeping a spouse as meek and subservient as Louis, was an incredibly tedious and boring task. And if there was something everyone knew, it was that the king abhorred boring things.
“Well, not everyone can have the privilege of being an annoying brat.”
“Louis…” his father snarled.
The omega laughed, a brief and light thing he didn’t feel at all. “I’m just having a little laugh with my husband, father. Please, do not worry. Right, darling?”
The king leaned back in his chair and after a few seconds of his eyes lingering on his face and completely avoiding his eyes, he said, “Indeed, lisichka. I am lucky I found someone I can just … agree with.”
“Good, that is good.” The king reassured himself. “I’m glad my son wasn’t a letdown. This will make our treaty more fair.”
Harry stared at Louis again, lips pressed together, grimacing. He thrummed his fingers on the table, notably displeased with the omega’s placid smile. He imagined the king expected yet again an outburst from him at his father’s blatant disrespect. Not aware, Louis was more than used to being treated like a mere asset, a product he had for sale. There was no point in wasting his energy in feeling offended, not when there were bigger things to focus on, books to read, things to learn.
So no, Louis didn’t have time to seek respect, validation or any type of positive reinforcement from his father, much less for a reaction. If the alpha wanted that, he could well sit and wait, because it wasn’t coming anytime soon.
Reactions were earned, and his father deserved none of his.
ꕀ 𖦹 ꕀ
Louis could be in any place of the world and would have felt the same way as he was feeling now. That mild numbness filled with blurry memories; a dark, deep ocean filled with the unknown, ready to surface at the proximity of a storm. Since he was born, he only had Mitra and Gala, and sometimes—when his mother put on her cruelest clothes, disguising it with tough love—he couldn’t help but wonder if they would stay if it wasn’t an order.
“She left the same day of the wedding.”
Mitra didn’t have to say her name for Louis to know who he was talking about.
“I know,” he said, looking as the almond flowers dropped to his feet. “She wasn’t allowed to stay in the castle.”
“Did you have time to talk to her?”
They almost never talk about his mother. It wasn’t an order, but merely an unspoken rule. Mitra pushing him to speak, made something prickle in his skin. It felt final, just like everything they did lately.
“No, I had other stuff to do.”
“Louis, you—”
“Do you know what the last thing she said to me before coming here was?” he said, picking a pink flower from the ground, already withering in his hands.
Silence. The guard was frozen beside him.
“She told me I was finally going to pay for my sins, including the ones I brought into her life.” The omega caressed the fragile petals of the flower. “That she hoped one day I'd be cursed with a child like me, and when that day arrived, and I was surrounded by sorrow, I would understand how it probably wasn’t half of what she had to suffer because of me. That she couldn’t wait to see life tear me apart.” He closed his fist, crushing the flower inside it. “There was nothing else to talk about.”
“You know I’ll never ask you to do something that could hurt you, but I think it’s important if you could forgive her words,” Mitra said, quiet and gentle. “Juniper wasn’t like you when she was your age. She was naïve, unwary, full of dreams and hopes. You now know things her mother didn’t want to tell her to spare her pain, to keep her innocence alive as much as she could. What happened with your mother was a tragedy, your father killed her innocence and soul.”
“And she killed mine as her revenge. I know this. You don’t have to tell me the story because she made sure I will never forget. I cannot forgive her because I have nothing left in me to do so. My father and her stripped that away from me a long time ago. I am sorry for what happened to her, because that’s what I was raised to feel; sorry, regret, shame. I am what I am, and I should feel disgusted by it. I was raised to forgive her and to punish myself in the process, to understand and love her despite everything, because that was my duty as her son, but as a king…” Louis turned to see Mitra. “That is not my duty anymore.”
He saw the heartbreak in Mitra’s eyes at finally confirming there was nothing to save from the little kid that cried in his arms with invisible marks all over his body. Who wanted love and to be loved; purely, unconditionally. Louis was dying to hold his hand and tell the closest thing he had to a father that he was going to be okay, that he finally could run away from his past like the princesses of the books he used to read him when no one was watching.
Louis would finally have power and as his father and sister left the castle by the end of the week, a weight that he had been carrying since before he could remember, lifted from his shoulders. It felt odd to feel so free and to know that after his divorce, he’d be freer. His options were endless now; he could open a place for pets or a drugstore, he could gorge on sweets and cakes, or he could buy all the hellebores in the world and watch them all burn.
He would have the money and all the time in the world. His future was finally his.