CHAPTER 18

"I agree." She replied and Lucas's eyes widened but he quickly regained control of his temperament. Showing his surprise would only make him seem small and her holiness superior.
"However," Her holiness arose from the table and the back of her garment rose with her and danced rhythmically over her feet as she made her way towards him while taking slow strides.
Lucas could not tear his gaze from her even if he wanted to, it was almost like he was hypnotized by her beauty.
She made her way to the front of his seat and whispered near his ear, "Marry me."
Lucas's eyes widened while her holiness looked at the front of his face and cupped the sides of his face.
He was utterly at the loss of words, was she joking! If so, it was a sick joke she was playing at him. How could he marry a witch?
That was inappropriate, what if his mate appeared right after he married the witch. And besides, her holiness had a high rank in the witch realm. What could she possibly want with a humble man like himself?
It was quite unrealistic that she would grow a liking for him, she had to have a reason for telling him to marry her.
While his mind wandered, he didn't seem to notice how close their faces were until he felt a soft pair of lips on his.
He shivered, not knowing how to respond.
Queen Jezebel pushed her tongue into his mouth while devouring every inch of his mouth. She wrapped her arms around his neck and continued kissing him. That was when Lucas came back into his senses. He broke away from the kiss and looked into her holy eyes - It held a lot of desire for him and it scared him.
No one had ever looked at him like that.
But he knew not to be swayed.
Every living thing was deceptive, even witches.
Yes, he read about her good deed for years and he believed she was more trustworthy than the other witches but what was the reason for her offering marriage to him. It was sudden and too unexpected.
He untangled her arms from around his neck and Queen Jezebel huffed before moving away from him.
"Do you know why I offered you marriage?"
'Of course,' Lucas noted in his mind. 'She had other motives.'
"No. I don't care about the reason, I don't want to marry you, your holiness."
Queen Jezebel turned her back on him so he didn't see the disappointment on her face.
"You speak as if you have a choice!" She said indignantly.
Lucas sighed, "I just want your help to put away the witches in the werewolf realm. I know you can do it. I read about you for many years and I put my life on the line to come here and ask for help." He moved an inch towards her, "I'd go on my knees and beg if you want me to. Anything to save my people."
Queen Jezebel simply said, "Come with me." Without another word, he followed her out of the dining hall and they passed the empty hallway before heading towards a corner Lucas hadn't noticed before.
They climbed the steps over it and the further up they went, the more darkness seemed to engulf the staircase.
Thanks to Lucas's wonderful eyesight, he could easily see through the darkness and where the stairs were headed.
A few minutes later, they arrived at the top of the stairs which shone with great light that was reflecting from the sun.
On top of the stairs, he could see the whole of the witch realm.
He moved closer to the small fence that protected the corners of the tower-like building and looked at the excited witches going about their normal lives.
Some of them summoned fire and tossed it to their friends while the others vanquished it with water.
Lucas was in shock. He thought witches were only deceptive and mean to people that weren't a part of their clan but they were even mean to people of their clan.
"W-why are they throwing fires to themselves, I-it's dangerous." Lucas stuttered.
He was worried, they looked young and they were playing so recklessly with their powers.
Queen Jezebel looked at the flustered look on Lucas' face and held back a smile. He looked like a worried father and it amazed her how affected he was looking at those children unleashing their powers on one another.
However, nothing bad would happen to the children, they were just having fun.
"W-why are they doing that?" Lucas stuttered as one of the blonde girls released fire out of her mouth and the others did the same.
Afterward, the children breathed slowly and the fire in their mouths disappeared.
Queen Jezebel let out a loud chuckle. Lucas was just too cute looking flustered and scared.
Lucas looked at her with wide eyes, "What's so funny? What they're doing is dangerous."
Queen Jezebel looked at him and smiled at the genuine glint of worry in his eyes.
"Don't worry, the children won't get hurt."
"How do you know that?"
Lucas thought if his question was stupid. Her Holiness was the ruler of the whole realm and course, she knew her people more than him. He was just exaggerating and being a hypocrite.
Before reaching the witch realm, he'd beaten his disciples to a pulp. He had no right to act like a saint and worry for those kids.
If her holiness said they were fine then the children were probably fine.
He exhaled and looked at the queen who was already looking at him.
"Why do you beat yourself up?" She said and Lucas looked away from her hypnotizing gaze.
"What do you mean?" He said.
"I don't know how to say this in the language you'd understand so let's talk about the reason I brought you here."
"Yeah," Lucas muttered under his breath, "Why did you bring me here?"
The queen waved in the direction of the entire kingdom and said, "Look at my people." She proudly said and Lucas complied, looking past the children who freely played dangerously with their powers.
"They take pride in their powers and identity."
Lucas simply exhaled.
And so? He also took pride in being a werewolf. He was pretty confident in his identity.
"In the witch realm, there are hundreds of jurisdictions. Not only do I make the call. But when I do make the call, I must offer something to compensate everyone."
"So. You cannot help me for free?"
"Exactly. You'll have to either stay here as a slave or as my man."
Lucas swallowed the lump in his throat as he remembered how her holiness had kissed him. She didn't hesitate and devoured his mouth hungrily.
He cleared his throat and tightened his fist, muttering under his breath, "Moon goddess, be merciful."
He wanted to refrain from being sinful.
"You don't have to hold back." Queen Jezebel voiced.
"What?" He said in surprise.
"W-well, I have sexual thoughts about you too and I don't restrain myself, I just let my mind roam."
Lucas staggered back, "No, I won't marry you. You can forget about it."
Queen Jezebel smiled and turned to look at him, "We don't have to be married to have sex."
Lucas's heart thundered in his chest.
"You are still a virgin, aren't you?"
Lucas's eyes widened at her question and he took three more steps backward. How did she know?
He had tried not to show that she was his first kiss either but now. She could see through him and it creeped him out.
"It's rare to see a virgin your age."
Lucas did not respond.
"You should think my words carefully." She urged, "Do you want to be a slave or my man? You have a day to decide." With that, she strolled past him and cascaded down the stairs, leaving Lucas alone with his thoughts.
He sat at the top of the staircase while contemplating his thoughts.
What should he do?
He'd promised his disciples that he would come back. If he didn't, they would be very disappointed in him.
He wanted to go back and see them, apologize to them, and continue watching them grow. But if he accepted to be with the witch then he couldn't go back. He wouldn't be able to see them for a long time either, probably until his death.
He sighed and remembered their faces, Tao's delicate face.
Landon's cheerful and bright face.
Christon's prideful look.
Aaron's humble face and soft demeanor.
Trent's focused yet laid-back look.
He remembered his last conversation with his disciples.
"If anything happens to me and I'm unable to come back, you'll have to take care of the park and.."
"NO!" Trent had cried, "You can keep your useless token to yourself! I don't want it! If you want the pack to be good, fucking lead it by yourself you selfish man!"
"Get your act together!"
"Everyone, if I don't come back. Help Trent become Alpha of the pack."
"Support him to lead the people of Crescent moon."
Trent had angrily tossed his token aside, "I'm not going to be Alpha. You do all of the things you want by yourself!"
Lucas had sighed and looked at Tao before speaking to her through the mind-link.
"Help me guide him if I don't come back and.. bring him back to his senses."
"Yes, Alpha."
"Take care of yourself too. Christon is the oldest among your disciples but you are more mature so I'm leaving this responsibility to you."
He wanted to go back and lead them, especially Trent, he had clearly said he didn't want to rule.
If he convinced Trent a bit more then, everything would be fine.
Tao was a sweet girl, he didn't want to dump responsibilities on her shoulders. It was all his to carry. Not hers or anyone of his disciples.
He knew he would've given his token to any one of his disciples except Trent but he'd seen Trent's potential in becoming a great Alpha that was why he gave the token to Trent. He was the most suitable for the position of Alpha.
He sighed deeply. But this issue concerned the whole of the werewolf realm. Every werewolf needed his help because he was the only one capable of helping them now. He had crossed to the witch realm safely. Breaking out of it because he didn't want to get married to a witch was out of the question.
He could also be her slave but in reality, he didn't want to. He didn't want to suffer in the hands of witches that he didn't even know how their rules worked.
It couldn't be as kind as that of the werewolf's realm. He'd seen the way they played with each other; it wasn't anything very friendly. But if he became her husband-
He didn't think he was worthy but... Was the definition of marriage different for witches?
That couldn't be. She mentioned something about sexuality, he wasn't mistaken and it scared the living shit out of him.
Now that he knew he had to put saving the werewolf realm as a priority, he was getting acquainted with the thought of being queen Jezebel's slave or her man- whatever that meant to her.
He sighed deeply.
"Moon Goddess, please." He sighed and ran his fingers through his long silky tresses. "What do I do?"
He wanted to go back home to his disciples and apologize. He knew if he didn't put the werewolf realm first, there would be no home to go back to and that broke his heart.
Now that he thought about it, he had no choice but to do what her holiness wanted. After all, he was in her territory. He laughed at the realization.
He was surrounded by witches who knew themselves well. Even if he disguised well... He was a freaking fish out of the water and would be caught no matter what he did.
He sighed and stood on his feet before cascading down the stairs. He was out of options.
He walked through the array of stairs that led downstairs. He heard several frequencies and no one had to tell him what was going on. He knew. The witches were talking about him.
If he went against her holiness, he would be captured.