KING ELIJAH

Chapter 24

"You should apologize to Mom," my brother mumbled as we both walked outside the beautiful rose garden. I sighed, nodding my head at what he said because he was right. I do need to apologize to Mother for shouting at her.

"You're right; I shouldn't have spoken to her the way I did," I said as we stopped next to a beach.

I watched as a green butterfly landed on one of the roses before moving to another.

"This garden is really beautiful, but strange as it is only filled with red roses, don't you think, shorty?" My brother asked, and I snorted at the nickname.

"I'm not short," I said, emphasizing the word short. "But I think the garden is beautiful as it is," I answered his question about the garden.

He nodded, sitting on the bench behind us, dusting it with his hand, either checking if there was any dirt on it or just doing it for the sake of it.

I followed, sitting next to him and crossing my leg over the other. "So," I started, and Simone's head turned towards me, waiting for me to continue.

"How did you become Alpha?" I asked, and he sighed, resting his back on the chair.

"Well, after, um, Andrew was... err..." He trailed off, scratched the back of his head, searching for the right word. "Well, after he was killed, the elders of the pack sent word to the palace to approve the beta being Alpha, but the King chose me instead," He finished in one breath.

"I guess being related to the soon-to-be queen has its perks," he added with a chuckle.

I stared at my brother, I mean really stared at him. "Do you want to be Alpha?" I blurted out, and he was taken aback by my question, not expecting me to ask him such.

"Why wouldn't I be?" He asked, adding a nervous laugh after his words.

"Well, you don't look happy about it," I asked, now resting my back on the bench and taking in a deep breath. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair, turning his head in my direction.

"I'm not. I don't want to be Alpha, but everyone seems so happy about it I just couldn't bring myself to tell them," he whispered sadly.

"You could have just rejected it," I mumbled with a frown, and my brother laughed at what I said, like it was the craziest thing he's ever heard.

"Celeste, you don't reject a direct order from the King. That's like treason or something," he murmured.

"I can help you talk to the King, I—" "-No, no, just drop it," He mumbled with a sigh. "I can manage," he added, giving me a smile.

"What about you... Are you happy?" Simone asked.

"Yes, I am," I replied with a big smile on my lips as I twirled the ring on my finger.

°°°°°°°

Simone and I talked for a while before he had to leave. I was now sitting on the bench alone with my eyes closed, listening to the birds sing when I heard footsteps approaching me. I opened my eyes to see the man from the library... What was his name again?

Ah, yes, Cedric.

His footsteps stopped in front of me, and I initially sighed. What does he want now? He sat in the same spot Simone had sat, not saying anything as he just stared ahead.

I never trusted this man the first time I saw him. He gave off this dark vibe like he's always planning something evil.

I was about to stand up and leave but halted when he spoke.

"This was her favorite flower," he started, looking at the flowers and smiling sadly.

"I know that. She was the king's mate," I mumbled with a shrug, as if that is what everybody already knows.

"She was also my love," He said, and his words shocked me.

"What do you mean?" I asked, now giving him my full attention.

"We were lovers, Celeste, before she was mated to Elijah," He mumbled, but all I could do was blink.

I shook my head, getting to my feet, not wanting to hear what he has to say again.

"He's using you, Celeste. Elijah is a manipulative man, and I wonder how you can't see that!" Cedric yelled, bringing his face close to mine.

"God damn it. Stop," I rasped, moving backward, but he gripped my arms, caging me against him.

I looked around, but there was no one except Cedric and me. I tried breaking free from his hold, but it was too strong.

"You ran away from him, Celeste," He said, his breath fanning my face, and his spit landing on my nose.

"No, I didn't, I was kidnapped by the rogue king," I argued, opposing what he said.

"Yes,... You were kidnapped, but you ran away from him before that, Celeste," he whispered, his eyes pleading with me to remember.

"I-I d-don't-" I stammered, shaking my head as I closed my eyes.

"He cast a spell on you; that's why you do not remember," he murmured with a sigh. "I'm sorry, but I have to do this to help you remember," He added, and I looked at him confused.

I watched as his right hand left my arm and went into his pants pocket. He pulled out a glowing yellow substance in a syringe, and my eyes widened when he stabbed it into my neck. He let go of me, and it felt like I was being pushed into the ocean, sinking and gasping for air.

Cedric's blurry silhouette knelt down next to my paralyzed body, and I could feel his cold hand on my cheek, rubbing away the dirt that was there.

"I pray to the Goddess you leave him when you recover your memories," he mumbled before getting up and leaving my weightless body on the ground.

My eyes soon closed, and I felt like I was being transported back to the time I woke up in Elijah's bed.

'What's happening?' I asked myself when I saw that I was in Elijah's bedroom. Then my eyes zoomed in on the sleeping figure of... Myself?

I watched myself get up from Elijah's bed and got out of the room, making my way down the hall in search of the king.

How is this possible? I initially thought when I followed the 'past me' out of the room. I literally walked through the door like a ghost but shook my head, still following 'myself' down the hall.

She (myself) was peeking through a door, and I frowned, standing next to (me) before putting my hand through the door. I was in the same study room that holds the magic mirror, and I listened as Elijah and the witch conversed amongst themselves.

"She's the perfect vessel, Elijah," The witch Evanora said.

"You can have your mate back, Elijah, you can have Samantha back."

What the hell is happening? His mate? Samantha?

The King rubbed his temple in frustration. Evanora placed her slender fingers on his shoulder from behind.

"You could have her forever; all you have to do is sacrifice Celeste after all, this was your plan to start with," The witch said.

I woke up gasping for air with my eyes wide open. Elijah was kneeling in front of me with a worried look.

"Celeste, are you okay? I was—" I cut him off with a slap on his cheek, and his head jerked to the side. He turned to look at me with disbelief in his eyes.

"You lied to me."

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