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

​Samantha slipped quietly into Ethan’s tent. He had departed for the borders earlier that morning and was not expected back until dusk.

His bride-to-be had remained holed up inside all day, offering the pathetic excuse that she was suffering from mild cramps.

​Samantha sneered, wondering if it was merely a pathetic ploy to win the king’s sympathy. "Even if the entire camp burned to the ground, I doubt you would notice in here."

​"As long as my tent stays standing, I couldn’t care less, Samantha," Selena replied casually from the bed. She had just finished her meal when the intolerable woman barged in.

​"If the whole tribe burned and your tent survived, it would be dark magic."

​Selena rolled her eyes, letting out a weary sigh. She truly lacked the patience to entertain another lunatic from this family today—first Ethan, then Arianna with her ridiculous marriage proposal, Kane backing it without a second thought and now his insufferable cousin showing up to provoke her.

​"It seems this betrothal has given you the delusion that you are already royalty," Samantha snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.

​"What do you actually want, Princess?" Selena sat up, her face twisted in an annoyed frown at having her peace disturbed.

​"You claimed you had leverage on Arianna," Samantha said, dropping her voice into a sharp command. "I want it. Now."

​Selena reclined back against her pillows, a sly smirk touching her lips. Information was her currency to deal as she saw fit and she certainly had no intention of handing it over to a woman barking orders at her.

​Without uttering another word, she closed her eyes and settled back into the bed, openly pretending to fall asleep.

​"Are you out of your mind?" Samantha gasped, stunned by the sheer audacity. "I am speaking to you! Do you even realize who stands before you?"

​"Ethan is not going to become king anytime soon, so you had better not let that foolish brain of yours think you hold any real power here," Samantha sneered.

​Selena’s eyes snapped open, a sharp glare cutting through the room as she stared at the hysterical woman before her. "You would do well to learn a proper tone especially when you are the one begging for favors. If you want me to even entertain your demand, speak to me as an equal, not like I am one of your servants."

​"Is that so?"

​"That is beside the point, anyway," Selena added, adjusting her posture against the pillows. "Do you remember the terms I set when I promised to help you destroy Arianna?"

​She raised an eyebrow, her gaze cool and calculating. "If you cannot fulfill your end of the bargain, then you can forget about getting a single piece of information out of me."

​Samantha stood frozen, stunned that Selena was still clinging to those absurd conditions. A knot of frustration tightened in her chest.

How on earth was she supposed to grant those demands?

*****

Alara knew precisely who the tiger fur belonged to the second the king handed it over to her. Stunned into disbelief, she had kept her mouth shut, burying the truth deep inside until this very moment.

​Night had fallen and the last embers of the sun had kissed the horizon goodbye. A soft crescent moon emerged, painting the night sky in a smooth, youthful glow.

Throughout the territory, pack members were retiring for the evening and the stores adjacent to hers had already closed for the day.

​Alara had intended to close early herself, but her hands had hesitated—delayed by the heavy anticipation of her upcoming meeting with the fur’s rightful owner.

​Once the last of her wares were safely packed away inside, she slipped quietly into the dark woods toward the clearing where they had agreed to meet.

For a low-ranking omega, venturing alone into the wild after dark was sheer madness. But for him, she was willing to risk everything.

​Alara had loved him for years...for as long as her memory served. People had warned her repeatedly that she lacked noble blood, held no special rank among the pack’s female wolves and that pursuing a relationship so far above her station would only end in heartbreak.

​She had known the risks, yet he had held her hands and sworn it would be alright. He promised they would fight through the pack’s traditions together.

​It was under the full moon, right beneath the ancient oak tree, that he had dropped to one knee and proposed to her. He had promised her the world and every grand thing within it.

Yet as time wore on, those beautiful promises had proven to be nothing more than hollow words, entirely unsupported by action.

​A week later, his parents had officially severed the engagement. They refused to let their son marry what they so cruelly termed a "lifeless omega."

​Yet their harsh insults hadn’t cut half as deeply as his silence. He had stopped meeting her altogether, turning his attention to other women and frequenting the pack brothels instead.

​Alara let out a soft, bitter chuckle as the agony of that heartbreak resurfaced. Back then, she had sworn never to love another man and to lock her heart away from him forever.

​"Why did you summon me out here?" his deep voice cut through the dark, snapping her out of her thoughts. She hadn’t reached the oak tree yet and certainly hadn’t expected him to appear so soon.

​Alara spun around, nearly colliding with his broad chest, but she caught herself and stood her ground firmly. "I didn’t hear you approach, Cassius."

​"You wouldn’t... not when your mind is clearly elsewhere," he replied, crossing his arms over his chest. "Now, tell me

...why did you ask me out to the woods at this hour?"

​"I have something important to ask you," she said, taking a cautious step back. The tension between them hung thick in the night air, but she forced herself to ignore it.

​"A question? Seriously, Alara?" Cassius scoffed, looking thoroughly annoyed. "Why haven’t you moved on yet? I’m not going back and forth with you over a dead relationship."

​The words stung, but she masked the pain instantly. His arrogance was insufferable, but she was going to make it clear that the naive girl who once swooned over him no longer existed.

​Alara swallowed hard, locking her eyes onto his. "I don’t recall you and I having anything between us anymore. Frankly, Cassius, you fall far below the standard of men I seek."

​"W-what?" he stammered, caught off guard.

​"You heard me. I called you out here to ask why you tried to assassinate Queen Arianna," Alara said, relishing the sheer panic flashing across his face. "Give me two hundred reasons why I shouldn’t walk straight to the king and hand you over right now, Cassius."

*****

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