Chapter 4 NEGOTIATION.

I blink once, then twice, trying to process what King Sven has just revealed. His mother was a Fae? Does that mean as well as being a werewolf-Lycan hybrid he is also part Fae? If his mother is a Fae, why does he hate our kind so much? Where are his wings? Did he have them cut off? The more I think about it, the more confused I become.

"Don't overthink it," he laughs, tracing his finger over the spot where my wings once were.

Can he read minds? I doubt that. But how can he stand so close and feel nothing?

"I have an inkling that my Fae lineage is why you're my mate," he continues. "but I still can't understand why the moon goddess chose to give me a Fae for a mate."

"Reject me," I insist.

"And let you off so easily? No. I am your god now-whether you accept that or not is your burden to carry."

"You're not my god," I hiss.

He laughs, and one of his hands snakes around my stomach. It makes me stop breathing for a moment. His finger find my bellybutton and I can feel an energy around the room, one trying to connect with my Fae energy hidden within my core. "I can sense your Fae energy lying dormant inside you, untapped. I see how you've disguised yourself as an Omega in the pack- you've never awakened your power," he states.

"What use would awakening it be if it only leads to my death?" I ask, my voice low as my gaze drops to the floor.

Fae energy is what allows every Fae to harness the power within their core. The powers can be elemental, like fire, air, water, and earth; which is the most common power amongst Fae. The energy might also manifest as musical Allegra, or emotional amplification- where a Fae energy becomes sensitive to emotions.

Rarer still is the ancient energy, typically found only in powerful healers and magicians, linking them to powerful demons of the past.

Fae energy usually activates when one turns eighteen. However, Kyle and I are yet to activate ours, and we're both nineteen, soon to be twenty, with no signs of awakening it. Sometimes I wonder if it's a curse or a blessing from our goddess, Elysia. I think it's both. I consider it a blessing because it helped us blend in perfectly with the wolves, but it's also a curse-an abomination for a Fae to never activate their energy.

But if there's one thing I do know, it's that when Kyle and I eventually activate our energy, our powers will mirror those of our parents, both elemental. Nothing special.

"As a Fae, I'm bound to die anyways. So my Fae energy might as well be useless," I add.

"Don't be such a killjoy," King Sven says, his tone oddly light for someone holding my fate in his hands.

"I'm facing reality here."

"Tell me, little Fae," he murmurs. "if you had to lose either your dignity or your conscience... which one would you choose to live without?"

I ponder his question, curiosity piqued despite my circumstances. But then I realize it's a trick. A way for him to figure out how best to break me, and I'm not about to give him that. "What's with the riddles?" I retort instead. "Didn't you plan on rejecting and killing me? Just get it over with."

He laughs boisterously behind me and a gasp falls through my lips when I feel his breath against my nape. "I thought you were foolish, but it seems I underestimated you. You understand that some questions dig deeper than they might appear," he murmurs. "Some things are better left unspoken. If you had chosen to answer, I'd have known how to break you and which to use in order to get you to do what I want, my little Fae-"

"Olivia."

"I know your name. I just like little Fae better, what do you think?" He asks teasingly, leaving me confused by his carefree demeanor. Not long ago he revealed that his mother is a Fae-something I doubt anyone in the Kingdom of Māui or other kingdoms knows. Why did he tell me? Is he so confident that I won't reveal his secret?

King Sven hand trails from my back to the edge of my butt, leaving me breathless.

For a moment, I freeze, a whirlwind of confusion and fear spiraling within me as the mate bond stirs. How can I respond to his touch when he's the one who deprived me of my kingdom and holds me captive?

However, before his hand can go any further, something snaps within me and I take as big a step as the shackles holding down my legs would let me before turning to meet his gaze. "I might be your prisoner, but I won't be one of your women," I say sternly, fuming at his audacity to touch me that way. "Mate or Feo, prisoner or captor, I would rather die than to be sullied by a filthy hybrid who raised my Kingdom to the ground."

There's an unamused look on King Sven's face as he stares back at me. The look in his eyes is deadly quiet, like the calm before the storm and I can feel my heart racing loudly. I know he can hear it too, but I don't care.

Am I scared? Yes. But am I going to let myself be bullied? No. After all, there's no secret for me to protect anymore. What's the worst he's going to do to me anyway? Kill me? I already accepted that fate a week ago when my secret was revealed.

"Dignity it is, then," The teasing and playful tone is gone. He runs his penetrating green eyes through my body, a sadistic smile making its way on to his face. His gaze is predatory. It almost makes me cower, but I stand my ground.

I can't cower. If I'm to die by his hand, I have to die without showing fear. King Sven is sadistic, he derives pleasure from inflicting pain, suffering, or humiliating others. Cowering in front of him would only give him what he wants to see, my pain and suffering, and I won't give him that.

He's already humiliated me by stripping me of my clothes ever since I was taken prisoner.

"Why don't you just reject me? Tell me how I can reject the mate bond and I'll do it right now," I tell him, my tone akin to a plea.

"No-"

Before he can say any more, there's a knock at the door, and it opens. A towering woman with long wavy red hair, as tall as King Sven himself, steps inside. I recognize her, though we've never met - I've heard stories about her. She's Isadora, King Sven's beta, and one of the strongest warriors in the Kingdom of Māui. She gives me a once-over before shifting her gaze to the King and bowing slightly.

"King Sven," she says. "Lady Gwendolyn and Lord Emmett are in the Kingdom, they have demanded a meeting, and the council has approved for it to be held at the council chambers. More importantly, they want you to bring the Fae along."

Lady Gwendolyn and Lord Emmett? They're the King and Queen of the Kingdom of Nyxara, the land of the undead - vampires. What could they want with me?

King Sven turns to her. His face is expressionless as he makes his way to his bed and sits. "Are they trying to add her to their collections of sex toys?"

"It seems so. They came along with ten bags of 25 denarii, and all they want now is your cooperation," Isadora replies efficiently.

I, on the other hand, am dumbstruck. The vampires are willing to pay that much to use me as a sex toy?

"Don't sell me," I blurt out before I can even stop myself. I can't bear the thought of being subjected to the role of a sex toy, especially to the vampires. They are as ruthless as king Sven himself and they were the primary reason why the fall of Eris wall was even possible.

King Sven's gaze returns to me, a smug smile spreading across his face. "You don't want to be used as a vampire's toy?"

"I would rather be a victim of your 'million-ways-to-kill handbook,'" I say, matter-of-factly.

"A tempting offer," he says, as though discussing the life of a livestock, his eyes gleaming with cold amusement. "What do you think, little Fae? Shall I let the vampires have their fun with you?"

"I don't know...no," I reply, my voice dwindling.

"Talk. This is a negotiation, after all. If I choose not to sell you, what do I get in return?"

"I obviously can't offer you ten bags of denarii, but what do you want?"

He smirks at my question and stands up. He doesn't respond as he disappears into an adjacent room, returning a few minutes later dressed in the regalia befitting the king he is.

"Wait outside, Isadora. We'll be out in a minute," he dismisses his beta with a flick of his hand, leaving me alone with him.

He stands before me, hands crossed behind his back. "You haven't answered my question," I tell him. "What do you want, Sven?"

King Sven's smirk widens, a flicker of something dark and unreadable in his green eyes.

He steps closer, his lips inches away from my ear, forcing me to tilt my head back to hold his gaze, breathing in his dormant sandalwood scent as the air between us thickens with tension.

"What do I want?" he repeats, his breath warm against the skin of my ear, sending an involuntary shiver down my spine. "What I want is quite simple, really. Accept the mate bond between us, give me a child, and die, Olivia."