SWNOVELS Chapter 13
Chapter 13 Blake POV Charles followed me up the staircase as the subordinate ran ahead to continue to fight off the attackers. I had faith in my men that they would keep me from harm, so all I needed to do was plan the trip back to my castle as the rightful king now that my uncle had perished. “Although it may not seem it, Sir, Lady Nora has made a lot of progress with her training,” Charles said once we stepped onto the floor of the living room. “I know. She’s a smart girl.” I responded, turning to face him. “By the way…” “Yes, Sir.” “As you know, I’ve started the process of finding Nora’s wolf. But… she doesn’t need to know until we’ve made solid progress.” “Of course, Sir.” Charles nodded and clasped his hands behind his back. “I understand that you don’t want her to be disappointed if somehow it doesn’t go as well as we hoped.” “Thank you,” I nodded in return and walked toward the window to look out at the scene before me. There are many wolves my men are fighting off, but I know I’m safe in here with them defending me. My men were well- trained and loyal to their king. This is only a bump in the road for the true battle ahead. I worked hard to get to where I was and there was no way in hell I was letting anyone or anything screw up what I had this. time. My castle was awaiting me and I was eager to get there and take my rightful spot as King. Over the next few days, once my men had fought off multiple waves of the attackers, I bundled up Nora and Charles to hit the road. Nora was pleasantly surprised that I let her out, but she was uncharastically quiet the entire trip. Obviously, she was still mad at me. Yet, I didn’t feel the need to explain to her that it was the safest for her to be hidden in the basement in the past few days. while my guys swept the Rogue Zone clean. She would learn soon enough her role in my life as my new wife and why I had her complete all this training. It would make sense in due time. My heart swelled with happiness the moment I saw the castle come into view and it felt as though everything was beginning to fall into place like the missing piece to the puzzle I had been desperately trying to complete.. I inhaled deeply and smiled wide at the sight of my kingdom. I was finally home. Nora POV Blake hadn’t been kidding when he’d told me he lived in a different world. I’d been raised by an Alpha family but they didn’t have anything near the size of that castle. When we reached the castle gates, hundreds of people were gathered. They all clapped and cheered as Blake walked through the gates. I hung back with Charles. “Is this normal?” I whispered to Charles, motioning to the gathered crowd. “The king has returned. Why would the people not rejoice?” Charles asked back. I shrugged and kept walking. Right as I got to the gate, two guards blocked my way. Blake got much further ahead of us. Charles was stopped by the guards too. “You can’t go any further unless the king permits it,” one of the guards said. His booming voice echoed over the crowd and suddenly, several of the wolves turned their attention to me. I looked down, noticing how shabby and crummy my clothes looked compared to everyone else that was gathered. Even Blake, who had been exiled, had managed to scrounge up a nicer outfit for returning home. “Who are you?” someone asked. I was about to answer when another voice screamed, “Jesus Christ, she is…” “Stealer! She’s the Thief Nora who stole Helen Leed’s wolf!” “We don’t want trash like you here!” someone else in the crowd spoke up. The crowd erupted in shouts of agreement. People shook their fists at Charles and me. I looped my arms around my waist. I thought my days of ridicule were over. It didn’t seem like there was anywhere I could go without people thinking that I was a traitor or trash of some kind. “How dare you sully our territory! F*ck off!” Something uncontrollable was emerging from deep in my heart. Something I’d long forgotten. Clara. My wolf. My forever friend. “Guards! Guards take her away! Stealer!” I’m not…I’m not..I’M NOT-! “Stand aside.” Blake’s voice came from behind the guards, his eyes cold as ice. “She’s with me.” Blake held a hand out to me as the crowd’s cheering died down. Shouts of anger faded into murmurs of confusion. I was about to reach for Blake’s hand when a shrill laugh rose up through the crowd. I whipped around to see a tall, leggy woman emerge from the crowd. She licked her glossy red l*ps and tossed her perfect blond hair, laughing again as she approached me. Not too long ago, I was as confident as this woman when I had Clara with me. But now, I must appear as an ugly duckling next to this beautiful swan. Everyone in the crowd looked at this woman and awe settled over their faces. I took a step back from Blake as she approached us, and he dropped his outstretched hands. “You’re a king. Blake,” she said, giving him a sultry look. “You should have a strong, beautiful woman at your side, not some rogue in rags.” Blake sighed. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here, Kelly,” he muttered. I stood there helplessly as Kelly pressed her hands to Blake’s chest and licked her l*ps again, slowly. “Someone like her is just using you. She can’t have a decent bone in her b*dy.”
“Get rid of her, Your Majesty!” a voice in the crowd shouted, stirring up anger again. “Kelly should be at your side.” “Kelly is the kind of woman that meets the standards of a king” “Send her back to the Rogue Zone!” “Hear that, Blake? The people have spoken, Kelly said, leaning against Blake. I noticed that he didn’t do anything to push her away or deny her claims. “The people don’t have the final say, I do, he pointed out with a frown. “Then do what is right. Send her away.” Kelly said, nodding to me. “Wait a minute,” I interjected. I stepped up to Blake’s side. I thought that maybe, as Blake’s wife, I’d have a little more influence over these people The crowd started chattering again. “Kelly is so beautiful” “She’s much prettier than that rogue.” That little tramp is good for nothing.” “Kelly is so much better than that harlot!” I kept my eyes away from the crowd. I didn’t want to see who was saying such awful things about me. They didn’t even know me. “You don’t stand a chance against me.” Kelly said pointing sharply to me, then turning her finger on herself as she spoke. “You might as well give up now. Whatever you think you’ll get out of hanging around the king, you won’t.” “I’m not trying to get anything from him,” I insisted, crossing my arms. Kelly scoffed. “That’s funny. You’re not even worth the dirt on his shoes.” “And what do you want from him?” I challenged, raising an eyebrow. Kelly’s smile faded for a moment. Then she smirked again and pressed her hand to Blake’s chest again. “At the end of the day. I’m the only woman he needs,” she said, her smirk widening. “You want him?” I asked. I glanced at Blake. He shrugged indifferently like all of this was boring to him. “You can have him. I don’t care much for domineering men.” Kelly gaped at me The rest of the crowd went silent. “You dare talk about the king like that?” Kelly asked. She looked at Blake expectantly, like she thought he’d jump in and scold He didn’t react with anything more than an annoyed sigh. It would have been nice if he’d help out, seeing as he was the king and could control the crowd I got the feeling he was testing me again to see how I would react Well, if he wanted to play games. I wasn’t going to play the way he wanted “King or not, he’s not a nice guy and I don’t go for slackers like that,” I continued. I saw the corner of Blake’s mouth twitch. I couldn’t tell if he was amused or upset because the expression died before it happened. “Blake, are you going to let her say those things about you?” Kelly asked, pointing a finger at me as she looked wide–eyed at Blake. The rest of the crowd kept silent. I saw the shock on their faces as they listened to me. I didn’t think any of them had ever seen someone stand up to a woman like Kelly before, or say bad things about their king. “Do something, Blake. She’s insulting you! Send her back to the Rogue Zone and get rid of her once and for all,” Kelly said, poking Blake in the chest. He arched an eyebrow at the woman in front of him. “Watch it, Kelly. Of all the people here, you’re the only one I’m considering sending away.” His teeth were clenched, keeping his threat from reaching the crowd. Kelly sniffed and crossed her arms. She stepped back, glancing between the two of us. “Have you gone soft? You’re really going to let some low– life talk about you like that in front of your people?” she sneered. Grinning. Blake took my hand and pulled me a little closer. I nearly tripped over my own feet, stumbling against him. My cheeks reddened as I looked up and met his eyes for a moment. They smoldered into me and my heart fluttered. Blake took my chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Why shouldn’t she say such things about me?” he asked. “What!?” Kelly gasped, throwing her arms out to the side. I’d nearly forgotten about her and all the people gathered in the crowd as Blake’s powerful eyes nearly swallowed me whole. “She is my wife, after all,” he continued, giving my chin a little pinch and smirking. I swallowed hard, wondering if he was going to k*ss me. Our l*ps were only inches apart and it would have been the perfect way to prove our relationship. “Your wife!?” Kelly screeched. Her voice was like nails on a chalkboard and it shook me from my trance. I pulled my face from Blake’s grip and took a step back, my cheeks hot as I tried to remain calm and keep my eyes from stooping toward the ground. I may not be used to this type of public affection, but I knew I couldn’t look away, especially when people already thought I was useless and unworthy of Blake. “Yes Nora as my wife and she will be respected as such,” Blake continued. “If anyone has an issue with that, they can take it up with me personally Otherwise, Nora is not to be harassed, hassled, or degraded” “Blake,” I whispered his name, surprised he would make such a declaration on my account. This was all a sham, yet he was treating it like we were really going to be married forever. No one in the crowd spoke Every pair of eyes was fixed on Blake and me. He still held my hand, our fingers laced tightly together . “Now, if there are no more objections. I’d like to bring my wife home,” he said, fixing Kelly with a sharp stare.