Word Count: 1988

My midnight snack run has become quite the common occurrence.

Padding down the stairwell, I let the thick rug beneath my feet soak up any sound. No one is awake at this hour, giving me the perfect amount of time to slip into the kitchen and steal some sweet pastries. Tonight, it may be the only thing that gets me to sleep.

Moving down the hallway, fingertips gliding along the walls as I guide myself toward the kitchen, I notice a buttery glow dousing the area right outside Taius's downstairs office. He's awake, or one of his men are working.

Regardless, I'm going to risk a glance.

Holding tightly onto the doorframe, I lean in. Taius is sitting behind his desk, elbows propped up against the surface as his hands delve into the depths of his ebony curls. He stares into nothing but the glassy surface, seeing himself and those green eyes swirling with turmoil.

"I'm glad the Noble's have left," I say quietly to avoid frightening him.

He glances upward, drinking in the sight of me as I do the same to him. His exhaustion is evident in the dark stains under his eyes, in the tired way they regard me. Gone is the powerful, controlled King who needed to appear that way for a few Noble's. Before me, is a man, stripped down to his barest, truest form.

"To gossip to my father, no less," he replies, swirling a red liquid around a crystal glass, transfixed by the way it leaves a glossy stain before vanishing. How much has he had to drink?

"It's your fault if they do," I whisper, stalking into the room. The door shutters closed behind me, caught on an icy wind from a window left open at the other side of his office. It's a small space, which explains why it's so deathly cold in here.

I hardly notice his reply as I pull the window shut. "I'm sorry. I truly am."

"Take it back then. You don't actually have to go along with this," I breathe, whirling around to face him with as much confidence as I can muster. Tai just stares at me blankly, lips parted as he breathes softly.

"What is done is done," he tells me slowly. "The Nobles will return with the news to my father. Angered about my choice to marry my mistress, he will come here, and I will kill him."

I nearly flinch at that word. Mistress.

Tai hasn't so much as looked at me sexually, let alone acted upon it.. Not once has he made it his intention to lure me into his room, either with seduction or with a King's irrefutable command. Thankfully I've been spared of the title so unceremoniously places upon me, however the alternative one I now carry is far more terrifying.

Being married to a King...A heavy, painful thought. What would it entail?

"And you decided to marry me on a whim, to kill your father on one?" I question. I'm not sure what would be worse; that, or he planned it in advance without consulting me...After knowing me less than a week.

He waves his hand around dismissively. "Yes. I suppose I've snapped."

"You could have snapped when Marek had a knife against my neck," I say with a far more vicious tone than I intended. He doesn't even blink.

"Indeed."

Loosening a breath in an attempt to calm myself, I wander toward the chair seated on the opposite side of his desk, sliding into its leather clutches. He's had too much to drink, and will likely be impossible to reason with, but it's worth all the energy I have.

"I can't stay here forever. You promised that at some point soon, I would be able to return home," I remind him.

He closes his eyes. "Things change."

"Taius...please." It slips from my mouth, a quiet plea. His eyes open again, now singed with darkness, a smouldering, relentless fire of pure emerald.

"Does marrying me really disgust you?"

The questions shifts the entire mood in the room in an instance. It's as if the cold never graced this place, as a new found heat creeps in, reaching the surface of my skin to the point it's painful. Does it? Yes, I cannot imagine delving deeper into the politics of his life, the role I would have to play. And if I let my mind wander even further...Sharing his bed, intimate moments that he no doubt has adept experience in.

"A forced marriage does, yes."

"Yet you know I could treat you well. Have I not done everything I can, that is within the realm of possibility, to give you the best life?" He asks, motioning around us as if it provides all the answers.

I have to fight to keep my voice low. "You keep me here against my will, you nearly have Marek kill me for your Noble's entertainment, and now you want me to marry you. All in a few weeks ."

"Your friend killed my men. Being that you ran, my people would expect a sentence, which I have provided you with the best option. Marek's situation was unfortunate, but the Noble's needed to know I have everything here under control. And marrying you...I need to kill my father," he explains.

My hands painfully clench the armrests is the chair as we stare each other down, completely unmatched in strength, in power, but utterly the same in will.

"I'm not here to talk to you about your daddy issues, Taius," I seethe. "I'm not sorry for being resentful for what you have done to me. I don't want to marry you."

Tai closes his eyes once again, a quiver to it as he loosens a breath. I will calm into my own body, knowing that arguing with him will not give me what I want. I must be smart about this, know everything before I decide my next play of moves.

"You would rather marry the Hunter?" He questions, tapping his full lower lips with a fingertip. I find myself watching that movement, full of unspoken words and restraint. He's levelling himself for my sake, even if he allows a slip, a moment of burning curiosity.

Words defensively stumble from my mouth. "No...that's not what-"

"What does he have, that I don't? Mystery, power, what is it?" He pushes, relentless. My cheeks burn, my palms sweat and I feel as though I'm about to be sick all over his well-polished desk and important documents.

"Marek doesn't have anything I want. He kidnapped me. That's the only reason I'm here right now," I say, regretting it the moment it passes my lips.

Tai's entire demeanour changes in an instance. On his feet, he rounds his desk, hardly giving me a chance to stand also.

"He what?"

The anger couldn't possibly be more evident. His shoulders are tense, fists clenched by his sides as he closes the gap between us even further. Suddenly the passion for our fight has vanished, leaving behind a vacant space for Tai to fill with anger toward Marek. He already despised the Hunter, and now I've fuelled that..

"He kidnapped me, and not for the reason you think," I say carefully, knowing it's too late to fall back upon my admission. Tai's eyes narrow slightly, brow furrowing. "He...needed information from me, which I was about to give him, before your men intercepted us."

Tai takes a hand back through his hair, each curl resuming its perfect form. "I should have killed him."

I let my eyes shudder closes for a moment, composing myself. Tai is inches away from me, almost sharing a breath with me, his evocative scent mingling with the wine he just drank. If he snaps right now, that King's wrath will not be for used upon me, but upon Marek. I'm sure the Hunter can look after himself.

"No. Despite everything, I know he's good, and he has done nothing but protect me," I say slowly, letting him soak up each other.

Defeated he rests back against his desk, discarding the idea of protecting or hiding whatever documents lay around the surface.

"I know things between us have been odd," he breathes, voice far more composed than moments earlier. "But I think we would have gotten along, if this situation never happened, and we met in another way."

The words are tentative, asking. He risks a glance up at me again, fingertips tapping rhythmically against his desk. Could that be true? Had Tai been just a man in my village who my mother wanted me to marry and have children with, would we have gotten along? Perhaps he wouldn't have that hot-headed arrogance from being raised to be King.

"You probably have plenty of women falling at your feet," I say, biting anxiously on my nail. I'm not foolish enough to not notice his obvious beauty. It's not exotic in a way like Marek, however, it's regal, refined. His eyes appear in their brightest form of green at all times due to the thick sooty lashes that surround them. The contours of his face are graceful and sweeping, his skin always glowing and warm.

"Not quite. Too many of them feared my father to even consider coming near me," he admits, his shoulders loose as he shrugs. There's a vacant look in his eyes as he allows himself to get swept away in thought for a moment, before he shakes his head.

I angle my head. "Do you have friends?"

"A few. Most I rarely see."

"I would like to meet them," I say honestly. "But not at a wedding."

Tai smiles. Suddenly the harsh tension between us has vanished, and I don't feel angry anymore. Maybe it's partly because this engagement will be called off once Tai has dealt with his father, and everything can return to normal. Or maybe it's because I know that Marek and I are still trying our best to escape this place.

"Surely you have someone waiting for you back home? Considering your reluctance..." he tests, angling his head in a suggestive manner.

"No. Well, maybe someone my mother decided would be good for me," I say casually. Parents in my village use the time their children are away preaching to find suiters for a possible marriage. "Although something tells me they would be more impressed with a King as a son-in-law."

How would my mother react? I think she would be too stunned to question the fact that Tai doesn't believe and support the Beast. My mother may the brazen, hot-headed one of the family, but she wouldn't question a King's demand.

"I would like to meet them. Perhaps when this place is safer you can invite them here," Tai offers, turning around before I can catch what his expression becomes.

"My father is in the war, so there's no hope of that," I admit, before processing his words. "And is this place not safe?"

Tai waves his hand dismissively. "Never mind that, I didn't meant to scare you. You should go to bed, so I can properly apologise tomorrow."

There's so much more I want to say, but the words never reach my lips. Instead, I give him a tight-lipped smile and head up to my room.

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If you guys want to read ahead, you can read more of KING'S POSSESSION on Radish! It's chapters ahead of Wattpad (:

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Stay safe! Thank you for reading (:

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I'm officially rewriting Alpha Jasper's story now on Radiah! It will be following the same storyline with the same characters, but with revised scenes and some new ones!

I love Jasper's story so much that I wanted to go back and rewrite it. I hope you guys will enjoy it, you can find it now on Radish (:

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~Midika 💜🐼