“No, Queen Freya. He’s simply requested your presence,” she replied. I chewed the inside of my cheek. Why would he be here? And why now?
I’d had important visitors come from time to time, but they usually wanted something. This, however, was the first member of the ruling class who had come to me and it was slightly unnerving to know that he’d come himself rather than sending someone to do his bidding.
“Prepare the room adjacent to my throne room for the two of us. Have the kitchen provide a variety of meats and cheeses fit for a king. Prepare only the best. Send someone to open one of the aged barrels of wine from the special royal stocks and have that served to him right away. I will be down to meet with him in a very short while,” I commanded, and she nodded.
“I understand,” she answered, bowing her head just slightly.
“After you take care of that, send someone here to tend to my quarters. Make sure a fresh meal is sent up to my bedroom for my guest,” I added, and her eyes lifted in curiosity. I was sure my people wanted to know more about the alpha in my bed and they would eventually, but I would tell them about him when I was good and ready.
I wasn’t prepared to announce that an alpha had taken control of their queen and I was still grappling with the fact that I wasn’t just an alpha female, I was an omega too.
My people were going to have to trust me. I hadn’t led them astray yet. I had only been their queen for a handful of months now, yet I had brought much honor and wealth to the citizens of Valgertha as a result of my leadership.
“Yes, my queen,” she said carefully. I could see by the look on her face that she wanted to know more, but I wasn’t going to say anything else.
“Thank you, Ariana,” I added with a smile. She nodded her head once more before turning away to go carry out her duties. I closed the door and ventured back upstairs, where I took a moment to wash myself of the events of the past few days. I cleansed my thighs and my face, and then I pulled on a pair of dark pants and laced up my dark green corset-style vest. I brushed out all the knots in my hair and prepared myself for what was to come. I stared into the mirror, seeing the remains of the pink blush on my cheeks and I absentmindedly wondered if it would be permanent. My dark blue eyes still appeared to be slightly dilated, giving me a slightly animalistic appearance. I pressed my fingers to the long scar that bisected my right eye, remembering the painful battle wound that had caused it. It had healed well, but it was still quite apparent across my face.
I liked it though. It made me appear tough. It spoke to my experience in battle and that I’d earned my way to the crown.
I closed my eyes and allowed the memory of the day I’d gotten it to wash over me. King Vageir had ordered us long ago to seize a grain mill along the banks of the Suna Kava river in the surrounding territory of Kaldar. The battle had started out in our favor and it quickly looked like we were gaining ground, but we had been betrayed. One of our own was bribed and gave up the information on our planned attack and it resulted in a defeat that blemished Vageir’s reign for years. Because of that treachery, our forces had been caught off guard by a secondary defensive maneuver. We were attacked from behind and our forces were decimated from the unexpected tactic. Our army had been unable to recover, and we lost that day. In time, King Vageir had led us to victory over Kaldar, but that had only occurred within the last year and since I’d taken the crown, I’d expanded our territory quite a bit since then.
The vivid memory of the scent of burning wheat and flesh tore through
me and I shivered hard, remembering the screams of my comrades at my side. I had fought hard and had been rushing to fight by one of our best shield maiden’s side when my attacker had come out of nowhere. He caught me off guard with the edge of his blade across my face and I had slammed down onto the ground. My scalp had bounced off a large rock and everything had gone black.
I’d woken up some time later under the light of the stars, bloody and alone in a battlefield of the dead and dying. Once I was able to gather myself, I’d escaped under the cover of nightfall, returning to Valgertha as the only survivor. No one else had made it out alive.
Our enemy that day was King Thranar. We’d been fighting his army.
He was a vicious ruler. His people feared him, but he had a ferocious reputation in battle, and he kept the city of Ravenrath obedient under his iron fist. No one dared defy him because they would end up dead if they did.
I was different though. I didn’t answer to his rule.
I lifted my chin, calling on the remnants of my inner alpha and even the recent emergence of my inner omega. I took a deep breath and as I stared into the mirror, I felt the two halves of me weave together into something far stronger than I ever felt before.
I was alpha. I was omega.
I was both.
I reached for my crown and placed the thin woven gold band atop my head. It wasn’t decorated with jewels or anything ostentatious. Its design was simple and elegant, previously only worn by the kings of Valgertha, only to be worn by me now, as their queen.
I growled, the sound low and vicious, even to me.
I wasn’t afraid of King Thranar. He should be afraid of me.
“That’s the look of a queen if I ever saw one,” Aric said, and I turned to face him.
“My city has need of me. I shall return later this evening,” I replied. I didn’t ask him if he wanted to come with me, because I had no intentions of letting him.
He smirked, just gazing back at me.
“Do you think I will just sit back and wait for you here in your chambers?” he asked, his voice darkening with warning.
“Yes,” I answered brazenly.
He grinned and the ringing sound of his laughter surrounded me. I cocked my head to the side, staring back at him quizzically after he said it.
“Don’t worry, my little queen. I’ll make you pay for that later with my cock,” he threatened, his eyes sparkling at my open defiance.