Bound To You

|Chapter 41|

||Revenge: the action of hurting or harming someone in return for an injury or wrong suffered at their hands; to avenge (oneself or another) usually by retaliating in kind or degree.||

Arabella had returned to the room after that. She stayed in the room and wallowed, she cried and bathed in her tears and self pity that she believed she deserved. She cried for wasting half her life. She cried for her family that abandoned her. She cried for not becoming alpha. She cried for having the king as a mate. But as she cried, the bond strengthened and began to repair and heal. It was loosening and untangling the knots in their link. Her mind was opening up to the idea of a mate. But she quickly shut down the idea, crying harder and feeling ashamed of thinking such thoughts.

The king didn't come back and she was grateful he took the hint from the curses that she threw at him before she left his office. He was going to pay, he was going to pay expensively. He marked her, so this meant that the deal and damage was done, this couldn't be undone. The bond was finalized. And being marked four times made her feel cheap, cheaper than a savager. If he made her felt this way, like nothing and left her in a vat of embarrassment, then she had no other choice than to do the same to him. She knew she had to accept the bond. There was no other alternative. Bonds were permanent and unbreakable. Something that she would be using to her advantage.

Manipulation seemed to be the King's most potent weapon that he used to control people. If not people, then Arabella was not happy to say she was the only victim from his ways. Manipulation was a useful and dangerous tool that could either be used to avoid conflict or to cause conflict. The King had been using it to avoid conflict from himself but the consequences of his actions had caused conflict for Arabella. But it was Arabella's turn to play, she would even put the playing field and she vowed to get the check mate first. The King was about to learn how it felt to be manipulated and the consequences that came with it.

As she formulated a battle strategy to get revenge on the King, the thought calmed her down, placating her and even got a smirk to make itself present on her face. She knew what she was about to do was pure evil and was a sin. But wasn't the monarchy about following in footsteps of the King? If so, then the sinful path was the correct one. She calmed herself down and tried her best to dissipate the excitement in her veins so the king could not sense it. Beside that, she wanted it to disappear because it had been there for inappropriate reasons too.

Arabella calculated and plotted that evening, realizing she only had four days to complete the plan for it to be the most effective. At the end she was so tired from keeping her beast at bay and controlling the mate bond. Apart from this, her lack of energy from before had decreased her overall concentration and energy abilities now. Nevertheless, the plan gave her an excitement rush when she realised she needed to begin it today.

She was a newly mated werewolf, marked to the fourth degree, almost illegal and sinful. She would need her mate as a support system and for comfort. It was almost too easy. He would have the urge to come to her. Before she went to bed, unsure if he was coming, she slipped out of her T-shirt and threw on one of his long sleeved shirt over her pajama shorts. At this point she was unsure if she was doing this to stick with the plan or if she was acting on pure instinct. She lay on the bed for a moment before shifting to the side of the bed that was his. She inhaled deeply, his scent was faint but it was still potent enough for her to recognize.

She placed herself on his pillow and looked at the door, and allowed herself, the wolf, to call out for her mate. Her gaze was fixated on the door expectantly. The wolf in her was draining her energy and she couldn't stay awake any longer as she turned away and was about to go to sleep. She drowsily closed her eyes, blinking slowly every now and then to check for the presence of the king. Maybe it was best to start calling him by his name; Vincent. She had to admit, she liked it, or maybe it was just the mate bond again.