(From Blue''s Perspective)


    I flinched away quickly, attempting to expand the gap between us, but he was still clutching my hand, holding me in ce.


    "Running away, my bride?" he teased.


    "Aren''t you going to show me other parts of the castle?" I asked, trying to stop his teasing. I did not want to let him see my state, as an awkward mess.


    "Oh yeah, my bride," he whispered, brushing his lips on my earlobe before pulling away. "How about we go to the library?"


    He led me upstairs, on the second floor, to the library. On our way, many people bowed to us. I felt very ufortable, but he did not seem to notice.


    "Do they always bow?" I asked.


    "They are supposed to, as I''m their King," he replied.


    "Isn''t it too much?"


    "Perhaps, but rules can be overbearing sometimes," he shrugged.


    He pushed the library door open with his palms. It was huge and heavy for sure, but he opened it effortlessly.


    "Are you werewolves stronger than normal human beings?" I asked.


    "You can say that."


    "Like, how strong are you? Do you have super strength?"


    "Depends on your definition of super strength."


    "Can you punch a wall and make a hole?"


    "I''m not sure about a hole, but I can make a fracture on the wall for sure," he said.


    "And you won''t break your knuckles?"


    "Not just by punching on the wall."


    "That''s really amazing!" I eximed in awe. But then the thought came to me. He was unbelievably strong and that meant he could snap my bones if he was angry. I gulped. What if he snapped my bones? What if he cracked my skull?


    "What''re you thinking, my bride? Are you scared of me?"


    "No," I tried tough, but the sound that came out of my mouth could be anything, but surely not augh.


    "Don''t lie to me, sweet thing. I can see through your words. Don''t hide your true feelings from me_ ever," he said, bringing his face close to mine and cradling the side of my neck as if he was careful that I might crackdown.


    "I''m not scared... Just a bit conscious about the reality," I mumbled.


    "I see. But be assured, my bride, I will not hurt you. I will lift the world for you..."


    "And then let it fall on my head when you''re angry."


    "What makes you think I would do that?" he asked, and I realized I had said that aloud. I thought it was in my head, but my mouth betrayed me.


    I nced up guiltily at him, my eyes meeting his ck ones, and I gulped once again. "Sorry."


    "Why are you apologizing? You spoke exactly what was on your mind. I''d like you to do the same. I want you to bepletely honest with me about your life, your decisions, your feelings, and everything else," he said while running his thumb across the corner of my neck where his hand was, and I felt myself melting down. "But don''t be concerned, my bride. You''re mine and I don''t hurt that is mine.


    I save them at all costs and I make sure that no one else takes what is mine. But I will never hurt my thing. No matter how I am with others, my sweet bride, you will not see that part of me with you."


    I did not know if I was to be confused or relieved by his words. There was something in the way he said ''mine'', some kind of possessiveness, a determination, and something more that I could notprehend.


    "You will not hurt me?" I asked shakily.


    "I won''t, darling, I won''t," he said and kissed my forehead. The gesture was a sign of protectiveness, a promise that secured my heart tightly.


    "My king?"


    A voice made me flinch, and I tried to get away as we were too close. But he held me in ce, not bothering who saw us standing that close.


    I noticed we were still standing in the library door, too close to each other, that his breath fell on the top of my head.


    "Oh, I did not know...," the old man started hesitantly, looking away.


    "Don''t bother, Amos. I''m here to show the future Queen the library," Demetrius said, ncing down at me, making my cheeks heat up.


    "Oh, I did not know. Wee, mydy," the old man said, bowing.


    I nodded at him and offered him a smile, not knowing what else to do. "Pleasee inside, mydy."


    "You can take a break now, Amos. We need a bit of privacy."


    I did not understand at all. He was supposed to show me the library. Then why would we need privacy?


    "Certainly, my king. Have a good time, my king and mydy," Amos said and bowed once again before leaving.


    Demetrius led me inside the library and shut the door behind me. The library was massive, with a massive rack on either side. There were more books than anyone could ever count. I was left in awe at the grandeur of the ce and the collection of the books.


    "Why do we need privacy?" I asked, but he just chuckled, shaking his head. "We''re not married," I mumbled under my breath, which made himugh even more. Hisughter was seductive in a way, even though it was not supposed to be.


    "Don''t worry, my bride. I will not do something you will not want me to do. I just don''t want him to linger around when we enjoy our alone time," he said.


    I cleared my throat and feltpelled to shift the topic. He was teasing me more and more with each passing second. He was not like that a while ago, but he had been slowly a tease and I... did not hate it.


    "Do youe here often?" I asked him as we walked past a shelf and I gawked at the books.


    "I don''t have a lot of free time, but when I have, Ie here to read."


    "Can Ie here too? I want to read some books too," I requested.


    "Of course, my bride. You don''t have to ask me that, just to do whatever you want," he said, patting my hair as if I was a little kid. "But remember one thing."


    I looked up at him, as his voice had suddenly turned frigid. It seemed like the warm side of him was gone in a split second. I could not help but feel ufortable at the sudden change.


    "Always remember that you''re mine. Always remember that," he said, his voice so dark and dangerous that I wanted to take a step back. If it was not for his hand on my hair and his other hand holding my hand, I would do so as soon as possible.


    "Do you understand, my bride? Do you understand, my sweet Blue?" he asked, bringing his face down to mine, letting me almost get blinded by the look on his dark eyes.


    "Y-Yes," I said and my voice trembled badly.


    He smiled abruptly, causing the dark aura to rip apart and catch me off guard. "Good girl," he remarked as he messed up my hair.


    "Come on now, let''s go to the window. I''ll show you something," he said and pulled me with him. I was too shocked that I could not utter a single thing. The sudden change, the dark look- everything was telling me that there were more things about him than I thought.


    "Is something bothering you, my bride?"


    I shook my head and tried to smile as he showed me the moat. The water that filled the moat was clear, looking beautiful as sunrays fell on it. Even with the beautiful weather and the fantastic surroundings, I could not help but think about the way he behaved a while ago.


    "Don''t you have to work today?" I asked.


    "No, my bride, not until the afternoon. I''ll leave after lunch. I can bete. We have a problem with another kingdom. Things are getting a bit harsh with several of their spies entering our kingdom. I need to look more into this matter," he said.


    "Barrett said that there are five kingdoms," I said.


    "Yes. This is Querencia, my kingdom, our kingdom. The other four are Ataraxia, Trouvaille, Lacuna and Mazarine. We have a problem with Trouvaille. Ford Trouvaille is the king of Trouvaille. He is not much of a person to make decent deals with others.


    He even named his kingdom after his surname."


    "Is that allowed?" I asked, surprised.


    "He made it allowed. His kingdom is a bit smaller than mine, but I won''t lie, but he has better spies than us. His spies take death vows."


    "Death vows?"


    "Yes, like if they get caught, they will kill themselves in a way or another," he replied.