The Cursed Prince's Strange Bride

After the king left to prepare for dinner, Harold remained seated in the library for a long moment, thinking about his sudden decision to take over the throne.

Yes, he needed it to avenge his two mothers, but he also needed to do it to keep himself and his princess safe. He needed to do it to keep her beside him and to give her the kind of life she wanted.

He stood up to leave, and once he walked through the door, he saw Alvin standing there, "How long have you been standing here?" Harold asked.

Even though it was Alvin, the thought of not smelling his presence bothered him. But he had been the one to suggest Alvin use a mask. Since he was doing a lot of snooping around, it only made sense for his scent to be hidden, even from Alphas.

"Not long," Alvin answered.

"Why didn't you come in?" He asked, but Alvin looked away, not sure how to pass this message to Harold.

"I thought you were busy and was waiting for you to finish," Alvin said, knowing full well that he was only stalling and postponing the inevitable. He was going to eventually have to say what needed to be said.

Harold watched him for a moment. Having known him for a long time, he knew something was wrong, and Alvin was finding it difficult to tell him. Either one of their plans had gone wrong, or... a certain princess had attracted trouble.

"What happened?" Harold asked impatiently.

Alvin cleared his throat and made a conscious effort not to shift from one foot to the other as he spoke. "Sir Harvey..."

Harold's eyes narrowed on hearing the name. Harvey was the man who had been staring at Alicia in a certain way he did not like earlier, and seeing how Alvin was reluctant to speak, something told him that this was about Alicia and he knew he wasn't going to like it.

"Speak!" He ordered sternly.

"Sir Harvey... went into... He went into Princess Amber's chamber," Alvin said in a rush, and as he expected Harold's eyes sparked with anger.

"What?" Harold asked, already feeling his blood drumming in his ears.

"He snuck in through the window. Maybe he missed his way." Alvin quickly added.

"The princess is fine. I checked on her and she was..." Harold stormed off angrily before Alvin could finish, and Alvin ran to catch up with him.

"Where are you going to, your highness? You can't do anything to the guests," Alvin reminded him, and when it seemed like his rage had blocked his ears, Alvin stepped in front of him to stop him.

"I can't allow you to do anything rash, your highness," Alvin said as he blocked Harold's path.

"Move!" Harold warned.

"I can't. You are going to make a mistake if you act out of anger, and then you will be in trouble. The princess will also be in trouble if it is heard that another male entered her chamber. What if they know each other from somewhere?" Alvin asked just to stall Harold, even though he did not believe that there was any way Princess Amber would know Harvey.

They lived in different kingdoms, and he doubted that Harvey had ever had reason to visit Princess Amber's kingdom, where humans resided. He too was curious to know why Harvey had visited the princess.

"Maybe you should ask her what he wanted instead of fighting him?" Alvin suggested, and it seemed to work because, although Harold still looked angry, he became reasonably calm and the murderous glint in his eyes died down.

Unlike Alvin, Harold knew that it was possible for Harvey to meet Princess Amber since the mountains where she had been exiled to was very close to the little kingdom that Harvey's father controlled. It was where most of their war equipment was built.

Did Harvey really know Princess Amber? Was that why he had looked at her that way and even taken the risk of going into her chamber when he knew whose wife she was? Harold mused.

"Where is my... Where is Princess Amber now?" Harold asked calmly.

"She is at the royal kitchen with her maid, Princess Tyra, and Lady Susan," Alvin informed him.

"Go and remind them it's almost time for dinner and they need to prepare and get to the hall on time," Harold said before turning to walk away. He had initially wanted to make her stay in the room throughout and have her feign illness so she would stay in tonight and tomorrow where he would feed her his wine so she would be knocked out. He wasn't sure if that was possible anymore.

He was going to try his best to patiently wait until it was time for them to go to bed, and then he would ask her about it. He hoped she would confide in him about it before he raised the topic.

"Your highness," he heard an excited female voice, which he recognized as Benedicta's voice, call out to him, and he ignored it as he kept walking, but she quickened her pace to catch up with him.

"I was looking all over for you," she said as she walked next to him.

Harold stopped and turned to her, "Is there something you want?" He asked, trying not to look irritated.

"You... remember you are supposed to be my husband, right?" She asked shyly, and Harold wondered what she would think if he told her that he had forgotten and that it was his wife who had reminded him a while ago.

"Were," Harold said bluntly, trying not to take out his anger on her since she was Harvey's sister.

"And she is not dead or anything. And you both seem to be doing okay," she observed.

Harold looked at her closely. He had to admit she had guts.

"Reason?" Harold asked impatiently.

Benedicta was a little flustered at his one-word responses. She had known him when she was little and also heard that he didn't say much. He only grunted, shrugged or said a word, leaving you to guess what he meant. She guessed he was asking her the reason she was saying this, so she cleared her throat and smiled shyly again as she explained.

"I just want to know if..." She paused and cleared her throat again, "Whether... I mean, I want to know if you know, the curse has been broken? Your bride. She is human, after all, and she won't be able to bear you healthy sons of our kind. If the curse has been broken, I still want to be your wife," she rambled.

Harold didn't hide the disgust on his face as he looked at her, making her self-conscious.

"No," Harold said and resumed walking again.

"Don't you want me? Don't you want a wife of your kind?" She asked as she followed him again.

He stopped walking and faced her, his face red with anger and his pheromones everywhere, almost making her suffocate. He took a step closer to her and she took a step backwards while trying to breathe.

"I don't want you," he said in a calm but firm voice, conveying his irritation.

"Y-You... really do... not want me?" She asked quietly this time as she watched him with tears in her eyes while still struggling to breathe.

,m

Knowing she was going to lose consciousness soon, Harold stopped suppressing her with his pheromones and glared at her.

"Your brother wants me! Are you okay if I become your brother's wife?" She asked, and Harold tried not to look surprised since he should have expected it.

He should have, but he didn't. When did they arrive that the Queen and Ivan had already made a move? And even though he didn't want her, it was surprising that they were planning on marrying the girl that would have been his wife had he not been cursed. Those people really loved to overdo things.