The Alien King’s Mate part 17

LILIAN

The family breaks into an argument. Utensils clutter loudly and chairs scrape. The lords are boiling hot enough to melt gold.

I don’t understand a word of what they’re saying. But Vulcan’s message is loud and clear: I must be punished for something I didn’t do.

I turn and walk away, wanting to rip this dress off. It still looks beautiful because my eye isn’t trained to tell the difference between gold and pyrite. But I feel horrid wearing it. Humiliated.

In my room, I change into my clothes from Earth. I don’t care if they’re wrinkled or dirty. This is the only bit of home I have left. The cotton might be worth less than gold, or pyrite for that matter, but it’s comforting.

I bite my lip, refusing to cry. Vulcan’s sister made it clear that she dislikes me and wants to ostracize me. I would only satisfy her by crying.

I stand by the window, studying the beautiful floating city, and noticing again how bare it is. There are no trees. Only rows of neat roads and cabins. I’m at the top of the world, studying the city from this rare perspective. And yet I’m one of the most unhappy persons.

The door opens. There’s no knock. I turn and face Vulcan. The man with a human name and an alien kingdom. He looks displeased, his body tense and brow furrowed. I don’t know why. I’ve done nothing wrong.

“Here to punish me already?” I ask, glaring at him although I know he has crushed the hands of men for less offenses.

“Spare me the sass, Lilian,” he says, entering the room. I can’t even complain, because it’s his palace.

I look at him in disbelief. Is this my alleged soul-mate?

“Are you ready?” He asks.

“Ready for what? I’ve done nothing malicious except bump into your deranged sister!”

He closes the distance between us, gripping my shoulders and pressing me against the window I had just been admiring. The glass is cool against my back, but the king’s hands and fiery gaze are anything but.

“You will not insult the royal family.”

There is my answer. I will never be his equal. He calls me his queen, but the title is like pyrite. Lesser. It’s not as powerful as the Princess’ title.

“Punish me, then,” I grit, glaring back at him as emotions turmoil in me.

I’ve tried my best. Tried to come to terms with losing my home, tried to see the good in the king that showed me kindness. But Vulcan is revealing his true colors. Red and black. Anger and hate like the god he is named after.

I should be glad about the turn of events, because it becomes easier to rip out the feelings that had been blooming in me. Not even the mate bond will make me forgive him. No matter how handsome he is or how exhilarating his touch is.

“There will be a whipping,” he says. “It’s the law for hurting royals, and I will uphold it.”

I flinch. He wants to whip me? For bumping into his sister? I open my mouth to argue, but he raises his hand, cutting me off.

“There are some things you will just have to adhere to. Don’t argue.”

“Are you hearing yourself?” I push forward and then back, ripping myself from his hold.

He’s telling me to take a savage beating and just go with it?

“Are you insane?” I seethe, my anger evaporating the tears that had pricked my eyes.

Wordlessly, he snatches my wrist and pulls me behind him. As he leads me outside, I’m forced to jog to keep up with his pace. There’s no escaping his grip.

“I will never forgive you!” I yell, not caring about who is listening.

“Get a whip,” he orders a guard. We walk past him too quickly for me to see his face.

We step outside the castle, the bright sun blinding me. It takes a few seconds for my eyes to focus on the people here. Were at the same spot he had his ceremony. His family is here. Handsome brothers with long white horns, luxurious clothes with detailed prints. Their figures are muscular, similar to Vulcan’s. All tall, muscular men with blonde hair. His sister is here, too, sitting on the bench with her arms crossed and legs crossed like it’s a throne.

The brothers show concern and worry. The sister, not so much.

My fingers dig into my palms, and I stand tall in my wrinkled clothes from Earth. In my outrage and fear. I will not beg anyone. I will remember this day and make Vulcan beg one day.

“There will be a whipping today,” Vulcan says, fingers still gripping me tightly.

I hear approaching footsteps and tense, assuming that the whip has arrived.

“A lesson that the royals cannot be touched.”

He releases me, and I turn to glare at him. He ignores my eyes, instead tossing his shirt off and lowering himself to his knees. I’m so shocked that my lungs empty as if I had been stricken by the first lash of the whip.

“Begin!” He commands in both languages.

There’s a pause before his brothers and sister burst into outrage.

“What are you doing?” I blurt.

“Taking a lashing,” he says. “A lesson for my sister that you and I are one and the same.”

The lesson seems successful, because his sister runs to him and pulls him by the arm, trying to lift him. She’s angry at first, but quickly becomes desperate.

“Okay,” I say, growing uneasy. “I think she understands. You can stand up.”

“No,” he counters, pulling his arm away.  “A king never leaves business unfinished.”

This is insanity.

His brothers bicker but know better than to touch him. The man holding a whip nervously approaches. He wears leather and boots, so I doubt he’s a noble. Perhaps a trainer.

Vulcan barks another command, and the whip comes flying. I jerk when I hear the violent strike, tasting the leather on my tongue.

His sister has stumbled back, afraid of the cracking black leather whip.

His brothers stand where they are.

When the whip comes flying again, I surge forward, but Vulcan grips my hips to keep me at arms length as the whip keeps coming.

“Stop!” I yell at him.

The whip comes in rapid successions. One through seven. He never breaks a sweat, though his brow is furrowed in concentration.

“I get it!” I rasp, my heart beating wildly.

It feels like he has also tried to teach me a lesson: trust. I really thought he was going to whip me for the small incident.

The lashes come to a stop at the blink of an eye. My shaky knees barely hold me up as I stare at Vulcan in shock.

“What did you do?” I whisper, afraid of looking over his shoulder.

“My family won’t mess with you again,” he says, rising and taking my hands.

I try to move around him, but he keeps me in place. “Don’t look.”

Then, his eyes move to his family. His gaze is  ice cold although I know his back is on fire. His sister ran off in tears.

He says something to his family and leads me inside. My hands are trembling in his as adrenaline surges in me.

Vulcan takes me to my room. I’m so numb that I didn’t notice the journey. He leaves me at my door, setting a kiss on my forehead that lights my skin up. Then he turns to leave, and I see the horror on his back. He took ten lashes for me. Blood covers his tanned skin, and his skin is ripped open. Still, the madman walks with his head high.

When he turns the corner, my feet chase after him. I don’t know if it’s the mate bond or a natural reaction, but I can’t stand having him out of my view. He’s hurt. Bleeding for a ludicrous reason. I’m sure his sister won’t play any more games after this, but there had to be another way to do this.

“Vulcan!” I call after him.

He turns, head crooking slightly in confusion.

“Let me treat your back.”

He hesitates. “I don’t think having your hands on me is a good idea, Lilian. No injury will stop me from wanting…”

My cheeks warm. “You will manage, alien king. I will treat your back. You’re a madman for doing this to yourself.”

He looks concerned. Like having my hands on him is more dangerous than being whipped ten times.

With a grumble, he gestures ahead. “Fine. Let’s go to the master suite, then.”

NOTE:

Caught by the Boss is ending soon. Caught by the Hacker will be a short story, 5 chapters long.

I’m returning to Zolan and writing a story about Dee’s descendant. This will be a half-human, half-Zolan girl that stumbles into a camp and into a Captain. The story is set in the modern time, where A’ria and Kill’an live. It has been hundreds of years since Dee’s story and her descendants lost the throne and have been hiding. The mixed human-Zolan protagonist decides to explore the world and breaks free from hiding. Hope you’re as excited as I am!

READ PART 18 >

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