Mated To The Barbarian King Who Is My Ex-husband's Father.

​Kane sat on the rock, watching the omegas train. He could see how much his cousin hated being out there and it brought him a grim satisfaction knowing she wouldn’t dare behave so poorly in front of him again.

​"Samantha is furious," Cassius chuckled, handing the sword over to him. He picked the scabbard up from the ground and set it on the rock beside the king. Nearby, another werewolf—a Gamma—was busy leading the omegas through their drills.

​"Let her be. The punishment was never meant to make her happy," Kane replied. "When will Ragnar return? I miss him and his mischief."

​"Soon, Your Highness. We expect him by dawn tomorrow," Cassius said, looking at the king. He hesitated, wondering if he should speak his mind or keep his thoughts to himself.

​No, it was better to stay silent. But just then, the king looked up, and their eyes met.

​"Say what is on your mind, Cassius. Who knows? I might be in a forgiving mood."

​Cassius swallowed the lump in his throat, taking a step back before asking, "What if he brings bad news?"

​"There will be no bad news, Cassius." Kane took the scabbard and sheathed his sword. Then, he tossed it to Cassius, who caught it cleanly. "I already had a conversation with my wife, and she told me everything there is to hear."

​"Really?" Cassius was surprised, but a wave of relief washed over him. "I was worried that the happiness you’ve found lately would be cut short."

​"It won’t, Cassius," Kane told him. He crossed his arms and leaned back against the rock. He was trying his best not to think about his wife, but her face kept appearing behind his closed eyelids anyway. "The princess has fallen in love with me."

​"L-love?" Cassius’s eyes widened in shock. He hadn’t expected things to progress this quickly. A slow smile crept onto his face as the words sank in.

​"Sounds amusing, doesn’t it?" The king sighed, his left brow arching.

​"No, Your Highness. This is actually wonderful," Cassius said, nodding.

​"It happened sooner than I thought."

​"Aren’t you happy, Your Highness?"

​"I am supposed to be, but I am not sure she truly meant it."

​"How?"

Kane was tempted to tell him about his suspicion—that his wife had spoken with the High Priest and was hiding something—but he stopped himself. It was better to keep it to himself until she came clean. But what if she never did?

​If the priest wouldn’t speak, Kane had no other way of knowing what the secret was, but the targeted questions his wife had asked about the wise old man made her deception obvious.

​"Forget about it, Cassius. I am retiring to my tent and unless it is an emergency, do not come looking for me. I am exhausted from everything happening," he said, standing up from the rock. Just then, his eyes caught a group approaching in the distance.

​As soon as he saw who they were, he knew there was trouble.

​"I married only one woman, yet it feels like I already have a harem," Kane chuckled bitterly, wondering what conflict had broken out between them now.

​"I guess your rest will have to wait, Your Highness."

​Kane clicked his tongue, nodding slowly. He clasped his hands behind his back as the women drew near.

​"Your Highness," Aunt Freya greeted him, bowing.

​"Greetings, Your Highness," his wife, Arianna, murmured, offering a tense curtsy.

​She looked deeply upset. Kane felt a sudden, fierce urge to reach out, pull her against his chest and demand to know who dared trouble her but he restrained himself. Keeping his hands firmly behind his back, he asked, "What is going on? I can feel the tension radiating off you both. What has made my queen frown so deeply?"

​Arianna opened her mouth to answer, but Aunt Freya jumped in first. "The queen is opposing my decision and since I did not want us dragging this out in front of everyone, I thought it best to bring the matter directly to you."

​Arianna could hardly believe her ears. Had the old woman really just lied and turned the entire situation against her?

​"And what is this decision all about?" Kane asked, his eyes fixing on Aunt Freya since she was the one who had spoken.

​"It is regarding the laws for non-pack members," Freya explained. "We established these rules because of the merchants who come to trade here. We must ensure that what they sell is not a banned or contraband item."

​"Yes, I am well aware of the law," Kane nodded, wondering what the actual issue could be. Had Arianna found some sort of flaw in their pack’s legal system?

​"But your queen sees everything wrong with it," Freya accused.

​"That is not true," Arianna spoke up quickly, rushing to defend herself. "I have no problem with your laws. However, I do have a problem when they are applied unfairly to a single person. No one should receive such biased treatment... that is outright discrimination."

​"Which person?" the king asked, his gaze darting between his wife and his aunt for an answer. It seemed a great deal had occurred in the short time they had been left together.

​"It is Astrid," Aunt Freya said. Tears began to well up rapidly in her eyes as she spoke. "The very same woman who disrespected me and this entire royal family."

Arianna did not like the way Aunt Freya had twisted the situation, but she held her tongue and chose not to interrupt. If she spoke out of turn, she feared the king might think there was a personal grudge brewing between them.

​"I told you before, Your Highness," Aunt Freya pressed on. "We should banish them from here. Look at how that evil witch has already managed to sow discord between your wife and me."

​"That is not true, Aunt," Arianna countered calmly. "You stopped her from selling in the market even though she fulfilled all the requirements." Arianna remembered what Eira had told her on their way here: Astrid had been forced to give up far too much, and even after she complied, Aunt Freya had still refused to accept her.

​"Is that true?" the king asked, his brow furrowing with a volatile mix of surprise and annoyance.

​Aunt Freya swallowed hard, nervously rubbing the back of her neck. "I... I only wanted to protect—"

​"You refused to register her simply because of your personal grudge?" Kane’s voice grew dangerously quiet, laced with anger. "Did I not explicitly tell you to drop it?"

​"That is not all, Your Highness," Arianna pleaded, stepping forward. "I also saw the guards mistreating her. With your permission and that of Aunt Freya, I would be deeply grateful if they stopped harassing Astrid and her family." She stole a quick glance at Aunt Freya, who clearly had not expected the queen to heap more fuel onto her burning wounds.

​The king looked deeply displeased as he stared down at his aunt. "I think it is high time you hand over your position to the queen. What do you think, Aunt?"

​Aunt Freya froze, utterly shocked by the king’s sudden proposal. Was he really going to humiliate her just to favor his new wife? She had never expected him to turn against her so quickly.

​Her mind raced, desperately searching for a way to change his mind. If she couldn’t find a way out of this, the entire tribe would soon hear of her public humiliation and how the king had ruled in favor of Arianna.

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