The Werewolf King's Bride

"I heard about Your Highness\'s beauty. And now that I have seen Your Highness myself, I truly am mesmerized."

"I am flattered," I smiled.

One of the rules to follow while talking to a Royal or noble member was to smile no matter what. Not only did it hide what I was truly thinking, but it also helped overcome a lot of situations.

"Can I ask Your Highness something if you don\'t mind?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"What exactly is this illness that Your Highness is suffering from? Actually, I am pretty worried about Your Highness\'s health, that\'s why if I find out about it, perhaps I will be able to see more into it. After all, we need to do everything we can for Your Highness to get better," he said.

"Thank you for your concern, Prince Caius. But His Majesty and my husband, King Demetrius is taking good care of me. There is no need to worry," I said. "But I appreciate that the prince is worried about me."

"Ah, yes. His Highness is of course taking very good care of Your Highness," he said. Even though he just failed to know about my illness, he did not show any sign of disappointment. It showed how experienced he was in dealing with these kinds of things. I needed to be careful while talking to this person. "I am quite surprised.

No offense, but His Highness never showed any interest in any women before."

"Isn\'t that because he had someone in mind already?" I said without missing the beat.

"Oh, yes, that might be true," he chuckled.

\'Might be?\'

"Well, it is none of my business. Sorry for crossing my boundaries, Your Highness," he said.

"It\'s alright. We are naturally curious after all," I smiled. "Oh, that... Are you hurt, Prince Caius?"

"It is just a scratch. My horse went slightly out of control and my palms got scratched because of holding the rope too tightly," he said.

"But it is bleeding," I said. "Perhaps it will heal, but let me... Please give me your hands."

He was surprised but placed his hands on mine and I wrapped two of my handkerchiefs around his palms. Thankfully, Ruby always gave me more handkerchiefs than necessary. She was pretty serious when it came to cleanliness.

"There! No dirt will be able to get into the wounds and it will heal sooner," I said.

"Thank you. I will return these handkerchiefs soon."

"No need, Prince Caius. They are just little things. Please do not think much about them," I shrugged.

I had no intention of helping him. But as a queen, it was important to maintain a good relationship with someone of high rank as him.

As far I understood, Prince Caius was a slightly cunning man who tried to learn about important things whenever he got the chance. And he could maintain his facial expressions and the tone of his voice very well. But he was not skilled enough. Or he was just pretending to be slightly naive to fool me. I could not judge his character just yet. It would take a bit more time for that.

"The weather is getting hotter. Perhaps it would be better to head back," he said and I nodded. "Please allow me to escort Your Highness back."

He offered me his arm and I slipped my hand through it. It was a basic courtesy to not reject a Royal, but sometimes, if they were rude, it could be refused. But since he was not rude to me at all, I did not have any reason to refuse him.

"I know it is too much to ask, but Your Highness does not need to be so formal with me," he said. "I would like to be friends with Your Highness too, if it is not too much to ask."

"I appreciate the thought, but I am more comfortable this way," I said.

Being on good terms with him was one thing, but being friendly was another. There was no way I was going to be getting close to anyone other than Dem. He said that it was hard, almost impossible to trust them.

Prince Caius chatted with me about small things and finally, we reached my room. "So, you are here?"

Dem was waiting at the doorway with an angry look on his face. He always had that face on whenever he was not alone with me. I heard others saying as well that Demetrius was the angriest and the bitterest of all the kings. But he was also the most handsome and youngest one.

"Ah, you are here. Prince Caius escorted me back to my room," I said and smiled, though I could feel Dem\'s anger. He was looking at somewhere. I followed his eyes and noticed that he was looking at my hand that was slipped through Prince Caius\'s arm.

"Good day, Your Highness, the King of Querencia," Prince Caius said, bowing just a little.

Dem barely gave a nod, still glaring at my hand. "Thank you, Prince Caius, for escorting me back. I would like to take a rest now."

"It was my pleasure, Your Highness. And thank you for noticing my wounds," Prince Caius said and kissed the back of my hand. "Please take some rest and if anything is wrong, please do not forget to send a word to me. I am looking forward to spending more time with you."

"Certainly, Prince Caius. I am looking forward to it as well," I said.

"You should go to your room and rest, Perita," I said as Prince Caius left. "Take a cold bath if possible. It was really hot outside."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Dem... Don\'t," I said. I knew what he was thinking without even him telling me. I went inside our room and he closed the door from inside, following me in.

"You seem to have gotten very close to him within a very short time," he said.

I knew he was going to say it. He always behaved like that when he saw me getting a bit close to someone, male or female. He did not do it much these days after I tried to talk to him though...

"I was just taking a walk in the garden and then I saw him. I could not just avoid him, right?"

"You could. It doesn\'t matter. If anyone says something about it, I will take care of it."

\'There he goes again.\'

"Seriously...? And besides, he came to me first. We talked a bit. I don\'t what kind of person he exactly is, but I think he is a slightly cunning person. He asked about my illness as if he was worried about me. I said that you were taking care of me enough and he doesn\'t need to think much about it.

Then I noticed some scratches on his palms. He said that his horse behaved a bit crazily and because of that, he got those scratches trying to hold the ropes tightly. That\'s why I wrapped my handkerchiefs around his palms."

"You did?"

"Yes... Ruby said it\'s important to leave a good impression on them so we can be on good terms, not friendly though," I said. "And then he offered to escort me back. And here we are."

"... I see..."

"You are angry."

"Yes, I am."

"Dem, I told you, it\'s not like..."

"I know. I understand that you had to. But I just can\'t control my feelings. I simply despise it when some other men touch you. Luc is one thing, but not any other man. That\'s why I even assigned a female knight for you.

I just can\'t... I am not telling you to stop doing what you are doing because you are not wrong. But I don\'t even know how to not feel that way."

He looked anxious and was gritting his teeth while his hands were fisted tightly. I held his hand and rubbed my fingers on his fist.

I did not know why he thought like that or what was going through his head right now. But I tried to soothe him and reassure him that I was his wife and I would not do anything horrible. I had no idea how to make him understand that his concerns were baseless. So, the only thing I could do was give him my words and try as much as I could to show him that I meant what I said.

"Dem, it\'s alright. I understand that you are uncomfortable. So, I will try as much as I can to not make you feel that way. But be assured," I said. "I only see you with my eyes. And I am only for you."