The Lycan King's Substitute Wife

PrologueIn the dawn of the sixteenth hundreds, the Lycans came out of hiding and brought war upon the Humans. The Lycans were all powerful and skilled in combat, unlike the feeble Humans. They conquered the Humans and ruled over them. The Lycan King was cruel and turned each and every Human into a slave or a s*x worker.From the slaves came a man with the name Vitalis. He despised the werewolves and their rule, along with some other Humans. They learnt combat skills from watching the Lycan army train. Once they became strong, they led a war against the Lycans.They were strong but not as strong as the Lycans. They fought well and they slayed one-fourth of the Lycans, while their numbers remained less than half. The Lycan King decided to end the war by bringing forth a proposition.He offered a treaty for peace to reign, he wanted to form an alliance—a marital one. He wanted to marry the daughter of Vitalis who he thought was beautiful. Vitalis was reluctant but the other Humans convinced him to relent, that his sacrifice would last for generations to come.Vitalis agreed and gave his daughter's hand in marriage to the Lycan King. Because of the bravery and sacrifice made by Vitalis, he was crowned the King of the Humans. The treaty of peace would hold so long as every hundred years, a Vitalis daughter would marry the then Lycan King.But they could not predict what would befall them in the late eighteenth hundreds. Chapter 1Hope"Light, are you ready?" I asked my twin, and her light green, siren eyes glinted in excitement and mischief as she nodded. We both took off our robes after that, leaving our bodies bare, and we dived into the open lake, making a loud splash sound. The lake was cold but our blood were hot. Once we resurfaced, our smiles mirrored each other.Even though we were twins, we looked nothing alike. Our only similarities were the shape of our eyes—siren—and the colors of our hair—black, and while I wore my long, Light wore hers short. That was were the similarities stopped, we even had different mannerisms. We danced inside the lake, giggling, playing, and singing. Crows flew above us in the bright sky, making sounds. I looked up, watching them for a while before I turned my attention back to Light."I'm going to miss you." I said in a whisper and she smiled, sadly, then burst into a fit of laughter."Stop talking like I'm going away forever. I'm just getting married, it's not that huge. Besides, you can come visit me anytime you want." She said in a flippant tone, then started swimming back to shore.I trailed after her. By the time I got back to the land, she had already worn her robe and was drying her hair. I walked out from the water and did the same."Really? I can come visit anytime?" I asked in an uncertain tone and she nodded, throwing the towel away."You can even come live with Darius and I." She suggested."Darius…" I repeated. The name sounded bitter in my tongue. He was the Lycan King that Light was going to marry.I had only met him once, and that was when my family and I were invited to the Lycan Palace for Light's engagement two years ago. He was mean and looked like he wanted to kill everyone on sight.Somehow, Light said that was just his resting face and that he was very nice—at least to her. I didn't think he was nice. I was afraid for my sister who was going to chain herself down to him."Yes, sister. My soon-to-be husband is the best person in the world. I can't wait to finally be with him." Light said in a lovestruck tone and I stared at her blankly."He doesn't look like it." I muttered as we started walking back home, to our castle. Light laughed."Trust me," she said, looking into my eyes. "He's harmless."I didn't say anything after that until we got back to the castle. The time set for Light's wedding was drawing close, so I bid Light farewell for the meantime, then decided to go back to my chambers and prepare myself.My handmaids kept on gushing about how edible the Lycans they had seen were. I couldn't care less for their beauty. I only cared about how they would treat my sister once she went away with them.Once my maids were done dressing me, I looked at myself through my mirror. They had braided my hair with pins adorning it with a tiara at the top of my hair. My cleavage was on for show and my corset was a bit too tight. My maids said that I had to look beautiful as I would be the next to get married, and men would be watching me.I was wearing pink—the color for waiting maidens. I didn't like being considered a maiden but I kept quiet. I turned to my maids, my light brown eyes settled on them."Thank you," I said to the three ladies and they bowed their heads in respect. "I have to go get Light now. I'll see you all after the wedding." I added, then walked out of my chambers and sought for Light.Her room was down the hall, away from mine. We had been put in separate rooms because Light fought for her privacy when she was thirteen. I had no problem with whatever she wanted so I agreed with her.Once I came face-to-face with her door, I knocked twice, then waited for her to answer. After ten seconds, I decided to knock again."Light? It is me, your sister. Open the door." I said as I knocked continuously but I was met with silence. I turned the handle of the door, then I realized that the door was open all along.I let out a sigh, then walked inside the room. "Light? I've come to fetch you. Your wedding is about to start. The moon is bright, isn't it?" I walked round the room, searching for Light but I found her nowhere.I decided to check her washroom but it was empty. Where was she? "Light? Where are you? Are you trying to trick me?" I went to her bed, pulling away the cover but she wasn't hiding underneath it.I marched for her windows, checking the curtains to see if she hid behind them but she wasn't there as well. I started to panic, my heart raced. I clutched my chest as I raced to my parents study room. People along the way tried to tell me that running was 'unladylike' but I paid them no mind.I only stopped running when I got to the room, not waiting to catch my breath before I started ranting off."Mother, father. There's a problem." I said in an uneven tone and they both looked at me with wide eyes. They were already dressed in fancy attire for Light's wedding.They both looked panicked and quite uneasy but I shrugged it off. My mother reached out to me, as though she wanted me to calm down but I couldn't do that."I went to Light's room to fetch her but she wasn't there. I searched the whole chamber but I couldn't find her. I fear that she might have ran away. I don't understand. We just parted to get ready but she's not anywhere anymore!" I raised my voice gradually as I spoke and my parents paled."Should we send in guards to check round the castle? Maybe I'm just being paranoid and she's actually somewhere in the castle. Or did Light seriously run away? If she did, then why?" I tried to wrap my head around the entire thing."You tell me." A deep masculine voice said from behind me and a shiver ran down my spine. I slowly turned around and my eyes met black onyx ones which looked devoid of emotions. His being vacuumed all the air in the room as well as the one inside my lungs. He stood tall and scary.King Darius Moratis.

HopeKing Darius looked like he was in the mood for killing. Killing me. I gulped down on my saliva as I stared up at him, not knowing what else to do.My parents had rushed to my aid, trying to create a barrier between the King of the Lycans and I."King Darius, never mind Hope. Light must be somewhere around the castle, playing. You know that, don't you? That she plays a lot." My Father said in a rushed tone, then added a nervous laugh at the ending.He sounded nothing like how a person who bore the name Vitalis, should sound. Then again, for the past few hundreds of years, the Vitalis' had not upheld the glory of the name. My Mother also let out a nervous laugh, supporting my Father.King Darius regarded them as specks of dust and he walked right through them and stood a few paces in front of me. His red lips were pressed into a thin firm line as he looked down at my five foot six, chubby figure. Co