The King's Queen

♔Eustacia (P.O.V)

Tristen hugged me tightly, almost as if he was afraid to let go.

"Alright, little wolf, open your mind as you would for a pack link. You do know what a pack link is, don't you?" The woman Tristen referred to as Evelyn asks, her eyes narrowed in concern.

I nod my head yes, confirming the answer to her question.

Tristen flinches slightly under me, loosening his grip and holding tighter instantly, once I said I knew what they were. Guilt swells in my chest for not being able to tell him everything in person.

I know it's not my fault we can't communicate, but I can't help but feel some of my predicament is my fault.

Maybe, just maybe, if I wasn't so eager for my mate and didn't attempt to accept him... This wouldn't have happened.

"Dear, I need you to open your mind for me," the witch states, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I listen to her words and open my mind. Slowly, I allow all of my thoughts to drift away into sweet nothings. A small annoying twitch, itches at the back of my brain, almost like something was tickling it.

"Darling, can you hear me?" A voice speaks into my mind, its sweetness cutting through the empty void of my mind.

"I can hear you perfectly fine," I reply carefully.

"Good, now darling, they didn't tell me your name. What is it?"

"My name is Eustacia Van," I answer softly.

"Well, I'm Evelyn, as you already know. I need to know what he did to you to get you to stay like this," she states calmly.

I look at her and shake my head softly. "I had been badly beaten and had no chance of healing, I was on the verge of dying. So he offered help and injected something called Foxglove. He promised it would help by forcing me to shift and heal my wounds, but he lied."

Evelyn's face turns a ghostly white as the color drains from her face. She steps backward a few beats into Felix's arms. "You shouldn't be here talking to me right now. You should be a crazed beast, no low ranking wolf can survive that," fear spreads through her voice.

"Low ranking?" I question confusion swirls in my mind.

Oh! Right... everyone thinks I'm a rogue.

"I'm an alpha," I state, the words feel foreign coming out of my mouth.

"An alpha? You're a female alpha?" She questions, bewilderment clear in her voice.

"Yes~?" I tilt my head in confusion.

"You don't realize how rare that is, do you?"

"Not really. I've been treated like trash for the last few years, so I didn't get out much," I state coldly.

"Well, it's barely heard of. That's a story for another time. Do you know how much he gave you?"

I try to remember how much was in it, a faint memory of a small needle crosses my mind and quickly fades.

"I can't remember, but I know the needle was small. Like smaller than a human pinky finger," I say, shaking my head no.

"Shh, I have to think," she holds her pointer finger up at Tristen.

I giggle at her words, which sounds like a weird growl noise coming from my wolf body.

Tristen softly boops my nose, "shut it, you."

"Asshole," I tease, nipping at his finger. I can't wait for him to understand me... That is if she has a cure for it.

"Okay, you two get a room," Evelyn says jokingly as she softly laughs. Quietly, she continues, "I have two ideas on how to get her back into her human form."

"Let's hear it then!" Tristen shouts with excitement. "Oops," he whispers, hiding his face as I catch a glimpse of red cheeks.

Evelyn snickers at Tristen's reaction with Felix laughing hard behind her.

"She was injected with Foxglove, a poison to werewolves that sends them into a mad state. She said she wasn't injected with a lot, so there's a possibility that it will wear off in time.

I don't have an idea of how long that is, though... Then there's a serum, a few special flowers ground down into a liquid and injected into the body. I have the ingredients I need, but I don't know if it will work. It takes a talented herbalist or experienced witch to create it. I'm neither."

Tristen flinched beneath me, every muscle clenched in his body. Almost as quick as he flinched, my heart dropped. There's a chance I don't need the serum, a possibility he lied to me. I don't know what I expected. Maybe I hoped he would tell the truth and actually do something helpful for once in our fucked up relationship.

As if. I knew better than that.

Tristen softly picks me up as someone would a large dog, plopping me gently on the carpeted floor. Shock rushes through me as my ass hits the fuzzy flooring, much different than the comfort of his lap.

I flatten my ears against my head, perking them back up as I watch him with bewilderment.

Smoothly his elbows meet the wooden desk where he rests them, his left hand running up through his hair as the right one casually scratches his freshly shaved chin. Confusion clearly is biting at his mind.

"Hold on, you said it sends them into a mad state... Why isn't she like those we've seen?" He asks, looking from Evelyn to me repeatedly.

"She's not a rogue, Tristen," she says, sadness hints at her voice.

"Then what is she?" Concern and anger flash across his well-toned features.

"She's an alpha, a female alpha."

Tristen's eyes grow wide at her words, he looks directly at me. "Then who was her pack before she met that shit head?" He asks the room, knowing he can't hear my answer.

"Tell him that his pack was my pack," I say to Evelyn through our link, staring at Tristen I flatten my ears against my head.

"She said to tell you his pack was her pack," she relays to him, confusion evident in her voice.

Anger flashes across his face as it turns a tomato red. "I'm going to kill that mother fucker!" Tristen howls loudly, the fierceness bounces off the walls surrounding us.

My heart aches in pain as I hang my head low. I wish I could tell him in person.

I wish this was over.

"How long?" Tristen whispers.

"How long what?" Evelyn inquires trying to understand.

"How long that fuck has been doing shit to her!" He shouts.

"Almost five years," I say almost in a whisper to Evelyn in our link.

"She says it's been five years."

The answer made Tristen even more furious, inhaling deeply he sits back down in the chair and rubs his hands down his face. "Was it just him? Why is she a rogue if she had a pack?"

"No, it wasn't just him. It was anyone that got their hands on me. Tell him- tell him that Flynn exiled me from the pack for the entertainment."

"She says it was anyone that could get their hands on her, and that she was exiled from the pack for the entertainment? Whatever that means," she states quietly.

Thud! A loud splintering noise rings through the air, looking up I see Tristen's desk splintered in half. The bottom of his right hand is a splintery bloody mess.

Pain rushes through my heart seeing him hurt. I prop my front paws on his right thigh and lick his cheek, trying to calm him down.

Without warming big burly arms are wrapped around my body, nearly crushing me. "I'm so sorry. He used you for my entertainment. You lost your pack because I showed up." His body begins to shake as silent sobs leave his body, "it's my fault."

"Tell him it's not his fault!" I shout to Evelyn.

"Tristen, she says it's not your fault, and I agree with her," she states calmly.

"It is. I understand if you don't want to stay with me," he whispers into my ear.

"Evelyn, go fix this serum. I want to try it because I want to hold my mate and smack some sense into him," I tell her, anger and sadness swirling in my heart.

"She has decided for herself what she wants to do. I'll be back with the serum, King Tristen. Excuse us," she bows politely. Quickly Felix opens the door and leaves, Evelyn following quickly behind.

"What did you decide?" He pushes me back gently so he can look in my eyes. Tears stained his red eyes, he was softly sniffling through his nose.

My heart swells with a fluttering feeling. My mate is a big teddy bear, and I think I love it.

"I'm staying," I whisper, although I know he can't understand me.

I lick his cheek softly and burrow my head into his firm chest, hoping that will give him all he needs to know.