THE ALPHA KING'S CLAIM
Chapter 3 - Getting Wet with the King's ___

< Aero >

The Kingdom of Phanteon is vast and grand. Naturally, I would place watch towers in everyboundary to make sure our land was well-guarded. In addition, I ordered guards to make roundsevery hour day and night. The realms have had nothing but peace ever since it was created, but itpays to be vigilant sometimes.

My men were doing well with their duties, but being the King that I am, I also preferred to check thelands from time to time, be outside the castle and see if everything was in order.

Evenings were my best times to shift into my lycan form. Id run all over the kingdom, sometimesnot stopping for hours until dawn hits the horizon. It was my way of keeping up with my form andstamina. I found running exhilarating and I found it a good way to de-stress from the dramas of mycourt.

Like for example, in this very night where I just found out my crown was under threat.

My father was known to use underhanded means in getting what he wants. I never expected he'duse it on me. When Elijah told me about the decree, I immediately called the council, ordered themto eradicate it, but unfortunately for me, they refused, saying my father's words were absolute,nonnegotiable and executory.

I had to control myself not to deliver all of them six feet under. I'm now the Alpha. I'm now the KingI was supposed to have full control over my subjects but it seems my father made it sure I couldn'tworm my way out of this problem.

The hell.

Running around my kingdom successfully decreased my anger of the night's unfortunate events. Ihad calmed down, but still the thought of having to take a woman to be my queen still lingered onmy head. As to how I'd do it, I do not know yet, but I'd be sure to use underhanded means to fulfillthe decree.

An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. It's time to use my father’s teachings against him.

When the early morning sun hit my metallic black fur, it was my cue to return, but instead of goingback directly to the castle, I went to my manor that was located in a nearby lake, northeast of mykingdom. Made with the finest stones in the land, my father gifted this abode to me when Isuccessfully first shifted at the age of twelve.

This manor had since become my place of sanctum. The only place free of worries, ministers, andwomen. Mostly especially them.

I was looking forward to a peaceful bath inside my bathroom; however, exactly the moment Istepped inside the entrance of the building, I sensed a presence. Someone was inside and it wasgiving out a scent that was both enticing and poisonous to my nose.

I was in a guarded mode immediately.

Slowly, I traced where the scent was coming from and it led me to my chamber. The intruder hadthe gall to actually trespass my most sacred space.

But instead of frowning more, I grinned, looking forward to ripping this intruder's head off with mybare hands.

As I entered my bedroom, the scent grew stronger and stronger. I was torn between gagging andrelishing it. I was certainly almost tempted to do the latter and that made me angry all the more.This intruder could be using magic in order to get to me.

Once inside, I looked around but there was none in my chamber. No sign of any soul at all, bothliving or dead, or otherwise.

It was only when I opened the double doors of the bathroom when the scent really did hit me inlarge volumes. I growled in displeasure.

Maybe it was the oils used that threw me off earlier, that's why I hadn't really realized who it wasimmediately, but now, as I stood in front of a very naked woman using my pool, I knew for a certainwho she was.

The first thought that crossed my mind that moment was, “I'm going to wring Elijah’s head for this."The woman was sitting comfortably on a partly submerged section of the pool, but I could seeclearly she was butt naked like I was whenever I shift back to my human form. I was certainly nakedearlier too, but all thanks to witch magic, werewolves and lycans alike didn't need to worry aboutprocuring a dress post shift. Now, I was properly garbed in my casual outfit of white tunic and loosetrousers; a perfect look to interrogate this woman again.

The way her back curved and the way it looked flawless and pristinely white against the sun's rays, ittempted my eyes to ogle instead of looking away. I clenched my hands, feeling disappointed withmy idiotic show of weakness. She was just showing a lovely, feminine back. No big deal. But I hatedhow I couldn't keep my eyes off of it.

I continued to look on, still deliberating on how to interrupt her, but then out-of-the-blue shestopped drying her hair and glanced up.

Our eyes met; hers instantly showed surprise while mine, seesawing between anger and amusement.“Shit!” she cried out before she jumped into the water.

I neared the pool, chose to stand directly above the sloping steps to block her exit and then waitedfor her to resurface

After a minute, she did, but she was on the other side of the pool away from my reach.

“Here I thought I still had time to take a bath before your arrival. I guess I was wrong,” she stated,flatly giving me a disappointed look. Her face was to me, but her body was pressed up against thepool tile as if trying to shield her nakedness from my view.

Huh, as if I wanted to look at those insignificant pieces of reproductive organs.

I cocked a brow and puffed my chest, feeling proud of myself. “I wouldn't argue with that.Unfortunately for you, I'm a fast runner.”

“You're not surprised with my presence here,” she pointed out.

I crouched down the floor and dipped a finger on the water, testing its temperature. It was oddlywarm and inviting. As if the stream that sourced my pool's water approved of this woman's bathingactivities.

“I haven't yet fully grasped as to why you magically ended up here instead of the dungeon, and witha complete head at that,” I started, “but I have a strong suspicion my dear brother had a hand onthis. He'll get what's due to him and as for you, well, I'll decide later once you step out of my pool.You see, I just came from a good run and I'm feeling dirty and tired. I'm yet to take a bath andpeacefully enjoy my water.”

She tipped her chin up, picking up the hint I gave her. I'm not fond of sharing my possessions, mywater included, so that means she's absolutely not welcomed here.

“Then, would it be too much for His Highness to leave?” she stated and then pointed her eyes downthe water. “I'd appreciate if you'd give me a private time to..wear decent clothes.”

“No,” I answered quickly, a tick on my jaw appearing. “I'm the King. This is my manor. You don't getto order me what to do.”

“I heard you hate women, Your Majesty.”

“Correct.”

“Then, I presume you also hate watching them fully naked right?”

"Of course.”

For a millisecond, I almost hesitated to answer. The vision of her naked back earlier popped insidemy head. I didn’t want to admit it to myself that my eyes enjoyed it. Damn sense organs. They aretraitors.

“Then it's a win-win solution,” she continued. “You leave. I get to wear my clothes privately. You getto bathe in your pool.”

She had the audacity to negotiate with me. My eyes turned to slits and I stood up.

"How about this? You leave now. I bathe. I don't care a thing whatever you flaunt with that ghastlybody of yours.”

Her face cringed for a moment. “Prince Elijah warned me about your colorful words.”

"Good. That means I don't need to sugarcoat everything I say to you. Now, are you going to leaveor not? You're wasting my time, woman. I'm not a patient man.”

Her brows knotted, showing that she was under stress. I couldn't care less if that was the case. It washer fault she decided to bathe in my pool in the very beginning.

“I'm going to stay here until you leave,” she finally stated, lifting her chin again and giving me aserious gaze. “I'm not a voyeur, Your High—ness, and I'm certainly not the kind of woman whostruts her tits and genital in public.”

Quite a problematic woman as expected.

Clenching my teeth, I took in a deep breath so as to control my anger. If she didn’t want to leave mypool then so be it.

“Not my problem then,” I said and then I started stripping.

“Wha..what are you doing?” she asked, suddenly her voice shaky. Was it because of fear orawkwardness, I cared less. Let her feel it as a form of my punishment.

I dropped my tunic on the floor and continued unbuckling my belt whilst giving her a sharp glare.“Taking my well-deserved bath of course.”

When I pulled down my trousers, she immediately turned her head away. From a fair skincomplexion, her face turned red.

This was a first.

Normally, whenever my female subjects see me, they usually drop their heads low with their faceswhite as a chalk. This would be my first time seeing a woman responding differently at the sight ofme.

Well, this was also a first stripping myself naked in front of a woman. Never in my life had I expectedI would do such, but I didn't have a choice. I couldn't let a woman win. I couldn't let her win.