Dark Alpha: A Fated Mates Novel

35: WE KILL THE KING II

~VANNIE~

We kill the King tonight.

We kill the King tonight.

We kill the King tonight?

She looked up at Crom, feeling disoriented as every part of her began to tremble like a leaf caught in the rain.

"We can't kill the King," she croaked absently, not aware of what she was saying. She only knew that her mouth was open and that words were coming from it. "Of course, we can't kill the King. He-he's much more stronger than all of us combined. If we try to touch him, he'll destroy us. He'll roast us to death."

He wasn't listening. He handed her a vial of liquid. The scent was cloaked, but she could still smell the deadly poison housed by the innocuous packaging.

"I don't want to kill him. I was going to tell you that the next time I saw you. I don't want to kill anyone."

Crom's eyes hardened. "I had a feeling you were going to do something other than what we agreed upon. So let me just remind you that you took a magick vow to kill the King. You cannot renege now."

"I'll cast a dissolution spell. I'm no longer interested in carrying along with this foolhardy plan."

"The vow you took is unbreakable."

"I didn't vow with my blood, so of course, it's not unbreakable."

Crom's smirk looked sinister. For the first time, she didn't feel in control of their interaction. She felt played. "You didn't need to use your blood."

Her heart felt like it could pound clear out of her chest to the floor in a wriggly mess. "Why did we think it would be a good idea to do this? We were clearly misinformed. It was very stupid of us to even try."

"Is that the issue, Queen Vannie? Or are you just in love with the King?"

She froze. "Wha - of course not! How preposterous! How dare you suggest something of that magnitude?" Her heart hadn't stopped racing.

"You let the wolf rule you."

"Never," she cried.

There was no backing out of it. She was bound by magick, and it would compel her to do what she'd promised to do whether she still wanted it or not.

"This - This is a fool's bargain. What if the King doesn't die? What if he survives it and throws me back into the dungeons?"

She had thought about all of these before agreeing, of course. She just hadn't thought she'd care when the time finally came. She thought she'd be fearless and d*mn all the consequences because of her great revenge. Now, she knew for certain that she wouldn't survive Sin's betrayed look after he found out about her involvement.

She was confused and filled with crushing sadness and so tired, she slumped into the seat behind her, uncaring that the Sorcerer now saw her in her full harried form. "Give me a minute." She needed a year.

He didn't. "This is your test. You have proven beyond every reasonable doubt that you have the greatest grievance against the King. Now is time to show us that you meant every word you said to us."

She made sure her next words carried all the flinty disregard she felt. "Why should I give a f*ck about proving anything to you?"

He slowly, very slowly lowered himself into a crouch so that they were eye-to-eye. "Because that's the only way you'll be able to see Enoch Alba again."

***

It was fairly easy to create a herbal drink for Sin. All she needed to do was find the palace kitchens and tell the Omega servers that she wanted to help with cooking dinner.

They left her alone as she'd made as fruity smoothie, and remained unaware as she slipped in the poison. When the food was ready, she helped them lay the table and gave them leave of the rest of the night so she could "be alone with with the King."

Alone with her thoughts till he came up to meet her, memory upon memory began to plague her. Was it bad that she was only now realizing how truly generous Sin was? He didn't need to, but he'd given her a gift everyday throughout the period of her recuperation. He'd brought her a pup and a mount. He paid attention to the kinds of food she enjoyed and made sure they were provided at the dining table everyday without fail.

He'd given up his chambers for her when he knew she'd be uncomfortable with his presence. He'd given her his apothecary when she said she wanted it. He'd chosen not to mark or mate with her till she said so and truly wanted it. He smiled when she smiled and left her alone when she needed it, even though she knew his daemon must be making him miserable without her near.

Vannie closed her eyes. And she was going to kill him for something he'd had no choice about, because they were doomed from the start. That was why he'd hurt her in the first place. And that was why she was going to hurt him now in return, to satisfy Fate.

Yes, it was too late now. But she was beginning to see that the King had only her best interests at heart - was physically incapable of wanting otherwise. And if that was so, then he had a good reason for not telling her about Enoch.

She'd been too hasty. She knew that now. She'd been too emotionally scarred and hurt, and she'd wanted to hurt someone in return. She didn't blame herself. It wasn't her fault, either. But it hurt.

The King came in at this moment, smiling with barely-restrained excitement at her. She could see the genuineness behind his eyes, but now she could also see how vulnerable he really was for her. And she remembered again how she'd taken pleasure again and again from him, then pushed him away like he was nothing more than a meaningless toy.

She wanted to fall to her knees and beg his forgiveness, and thank him for everything she'd been too blind to realize he'd been doing for her. The agony she'd held on to just hours ago felt meaningless now. Instead, she smiled back at him and urged him to take a seat.

"The Omega servers said you supervised the cooking?" he asked, like he scarcely believed it. "You didn't have to. I've never done something like that for you before."

Dear Goddess. She was going to cry. "That's exactly why I did it. You have been. . .so kind to me throughout my stay here and I just wanted to give you something in return."

His smile fell off his face slowly, but in that really intense way that told her he wanted to kiss the living daylights out of her. "Thank you, my Queen."

"You're welcome," she replied hoarsely. And as the fates would have it, it was her cup of poison he reached out to take first.
Her eyes stung. Was she really going to let him drink it? She couldn't. She refused to. She had to stop him somehow.

But he was already bringing it to his lips.

And there was a moment where everything froze - his movement, her barely-muffled gasp of despair, her fucking heartbeat. His eyes turned razor sharp in that moment, like something important just occurred to him, and he looked right at her. And then, just as fast as the moment came, it passed, and there was Sin, smiling at her.

He knew. Sin knew she was poisoning him. He held her eyes, smiling, but she knew it deep down in her soul that she was made. And that maybe she'd been made long before this moment. He was the King of all Beasts, the Alpha of all Alphas. He was the dark one, a reincarnated god.

Of course, he knows.

There was this moment of clarity when she realized what this failure meant. He was going to punish her. She was going to be returned to the dungeons, and shown punishments like she'd never seen before.

And that would serve her right. The part of her which was now controlled by the mate bond had been hoping that he'd find out. At least, his death wouldn't be on her hands anymore. At least, this sham of a matehood would come to an end.

But then the King's smile widened, putting pretty dimples on display. "It smells delicious, my Queen."

And he drank the entire cup.

A/n:
We have about 10 to 15 chapters left. Thank you all for 12k reads. 💖 And. . .see you next week, I guess.