Chapter Forty

Celina

A sinking feeling spreads through my gut, already knowing that this man is serious-deranged but serious. I raise my brow as I lean against the wall. “And what, pray tell, are his plans?”

Leo starts cackling, “Now why would I tell you that, Princess? You’re not worthy of knowing his plans. You’re such a pathetic delusional bitch. Until your loyalty falls to my king, you are the enemy.”

I roll my eyes, letting his insults roll off me. He’s probably been dying to call me something worse before this. “So I’m not “worthy” of knowing what he plans to do, but I am “worthy” of being his mate?”

“You’re only destined to be his mate, because of the heir you can provide. If you hadn’t been so obstinant, and been more compliant, you would be more to him than a breeding toy.”

“And you wonder why I’d rather slit my own throat than be with him,” I tell him as I shake my head.

Unexpectedly, Leo tries to lunge toward me before the chain snaps him back. “You will be severely punished if you so much as try to take yourself away from my king.” I notice foam on the corner of his lips. “You are his, and his alone. He will not tolerate any harm that has come to you, even by you. Now save yourself some time and pain, and accept Andras as your King, and your mate.”

Possessive much? Still, the fact that Leo is trying so hard to shift into his beast is worrying. Now what happens if I poke the bear? I’m really going to have to put my faith in those chains. “Leo, your king isn’t here right now. Chris is still alive, and so is his father. Your king clearly failed in his takeover, and is nowhere near worthy enough of being my mate.”

I wasn’t expecting his reaction. He starts laughing as if I had just told him the funniest thing he’s ever heard in his life. “You-you really think what you say matters? This is one failed attempt out of many to come. Once your mate is no more, you will have no choice but to accept Andras as your mate. Your only option is death, and he certainly won’t allow this.”

I roll my eyes once more. “Honestly Leo, what is his obsession with me? If he wanted to be at his strongest, he should have accepted his true mate.”

“You don’t know?” Leo scoffs. “You’re the only one that’s defeated him Celina, or even stood up to him. His ex-mate was the one to find and save him. Andras tried to see if she was worthy and strong enough to be his mate, but she failed every test and refused to fight him. He beat her to death, and she still refused to fight back. She wasn’t worthy to be his mate, just like Christopher isn’t worthy to be yours. He’s too weak, and it’s shameful how Rajin claimed you. It’s the only reason Andras hasn’t punished you for accepting a weaker being. The sooner you accept the correct choice for your mate, the better it will be for all of us.”

I bark a laugh. “You think the better choice for me is to drop my true mate and go for the man that only sees me as his personal breeding bitch? You must be joking.” I shake my head. “No Leo, it’ll be much better for you and your family if you start talking.”

“Let’s put it this way, Celina. Your choices right now, are to spend your life either in a cell or a nice warm palace. Either way, you have no other options and it all depends on how compliant you are.”

I smirk, “I’d rather spend eternity in a dungeon than accept Andras as my mate. I’m never, or ever, going to think that piece of shit as mine, and it’s deplorable that you do. There are hundreds of deaths at his hands, all from his pride. He’s not a king, he is a tyrant. He wants power, and he doesn’t care about those he would rule; only of himself.”

Leo shakes his head as if I’m being a stubborn child. “You have not felt his full power. Only then will you truly know that he is the true king.”

“King of the dumbasses maybe,” I tell him while I watch him carefully; sensing he’s still trying to shift into his beast. “If he’s so insistent that he’s the rightful king, why on earth does he keep running away? Why didn’t he come to me before I met Chris; when I truly thought I had killed my only mate? Why is he killing all of these innocent wolves and beasts? It sounds like your king is a bully and I don’t like bullies.”

Leo tries to lunge at me once more but he’s slammed back against the wall due to the chains. “Nothing is as easy as it seems Princess, so remember your words when it comes time for you to submit to him.”

“Submit? Like you?” I tell him, pushing my aura and forcing him to submit. “I submit to no one, especially men like your supposed king. Only those with a weak spine give in to a tyrant.”

“He’s a leader and exactly what this pathetic, spineless, spoiled generation of lycans need,” he looks me over, “which is everything you represent.”

Again, I laugh, “I wish I was, then I’d just be complacent with the life you tried to assign to me. So much easier. Now here we are. Me, standing in a jail cell, with you in chains. So far, I’m pretty confident in my decisions here.” I look him over, matching the way he had just done. “Such a sad little ex-councilman.”

That did it. Leo tries to shift and lunges for me once more. The chains fail to yank him back, but his wildly angered face is inches from mine. “You’ll regret those words, Celina. I will make sure of it. Andras and Randaul will hear of the way you mock us, and you will be beaten to your last breath before you’re left to rot in chains. I will make sure you’re nothing more to Andras than a breeding bitch.”

I raise my eyebrow as I smirk. “So he is working with Randaul.”

Leo’s face suddenly pales and goes suddenly slack in his panic. “No. I didn’t say that. I didn’t betray my king. I didn’t!” He starts trying to pace, but it’s difficult with his chains. “He’s going to kill me.”

I watch as Leo increases his speed, beginning to claw at his face and begging for forgiveness. Soon, I start to see blood as he begins screaming that he didn’t mean it. To stop his self-mutilation, I push my aura on him quickly with as much force as I can. He stumbles onto the ground, unable to move but is crying for mercy.

“Andras, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it. It slipped out. Please forgive me, King Andras.” He starts screaming again; as if he’s in extreme agony. “You know how manipulative she is. I didn’t mean to tell her. Please!” He screams again before he starts convulsing. I already hear the guards running toward us as I wordlessly watch, unsure of what I’m even seeing at this point. I don’t even know if it’s safe to go near him.

Against my better judgment, I walk over to him and crouch near him. I see the foam on his mouth and that’s when it hits. Poison. “Medic!” I call out. “Check the others as well. Check for silver and bromine poisoning.” I grab Leo’s head to keep him from slamming it on the floor.

“Leo, what did you take,” I tell him, though I already have a feeling. It explains why I saw his beast trying to emerge so many times; it was trying to save him. It also explains his explosive behavior. I probably didn’t help though.

“Andras, he’s mad,” Leo whimpers.

“Why, why is he mad,” I calmly ask; trying my best to appear in control.

His eyes snap open; the whites of his eyes have turned red. That is not consistent with silver and bromine poisoning. “We’re supposed to keep Randaul safe. He’s no longer safe. Please, my Queen, please make him forgive me.”

“Leo, I already knew Randaul was a traitor. You did nothing wrong. Tell me, what did you take.”

“I took nothing,” he grabs my arm; his claws digging into my forearm and drawing blood. “It’s Andras. He’s doing this to me. I betrayed his confidence. Please Queen Celina, please tell him to spare me.”

“Tell me what he is doing,” I tell him while I push past the pain he’s causing me.

“His beast is killing mine. Please grant me mercy. Please!” He screams out while his back arches.

“Sephtis pull back,” I bark, trying desperately to understand what is happening. I’ve never heard of this happening in lycans. Wolves yes. Not lycans.

Leo screams out in pain. “He’s not listening. He’s just laughing.” His grip tightens while his knuckles turn white. “Celina, you must know that Andras will claim you. Don’t let him claim you. He’s evil. You fought him once. It was four years ago. It was in the Southern Woods. Randaul was with you-” He starts screaming as blood leaks out from the corner of his lips. “Don’t!” He screams while the guards finally enter his cell with a medic.

They push me away. “Break your oath to him,” I order. “Reject your Alpha. It’s the only way you’ll survive this.” I tell Leo while a guard tries to pull me away. The next thing I hear is silence coming from Leo while I watch the medic trying to perform CPR. His chains are removed from him, but at this point, it’s too late.

“Alpha Princess, please,” the guard tells me as he tries to pull me away from the horrifically gory scene. It’s too late to save Leo, and the blood pooling from his body is proof of that. His beast is dead. I lift my head as I hear pleading screams echo throughout the jail.

“Queen Celina, run!” I hear one by one while each and every traitorous council member meets the same fate as Leo.

The medic gets to his feet while the smell of vomit mixes in with the fear-soaked air. “What is happening,” the medic demands while getting to their feet.

“He’s cutting his losses,” I tell him as the jail cells turn eerily quiet.