Your Queen

Caleb's eyes narrowed as he stared at his aunt. He knew Rose was watching him; her burning gaze was enough to scorch him. He sighed. "Aunt, let's be honest. We all know your daughter was never going to be my wife. Not once did I consider the thought of marrying my cousin. The arranged marriage was a nothing more than a joke made by two clowns who had nothing better to do than try and control other people's lives." He smiled as he watched his aunt's face contort with anger and shame. If the woman wanted to play, he would play.

Rose's eyes widened with his words and she turned to look at Margaret, who's face seemed to turn different shades. She bit her bottom lip to stop herself from laughing and quickly looked away knowing she would not be able to hold back if she kept on staring.

"Are you calling your grandfather and uncle clowns?" Margaret asked indignantly, fuming at the thought of someone calling her husband a clown.

"Mom, relax," Victoria placed a hand on her mother's shoulder to try and calm her down. She turned her back towards the others, making sure they couldn't see her and gave her mother a look to calm herself down. "I'm sure cousin was joking."

Caleb chuckled at Victoria's words. It was clear they knew he was serious, but they had come here with a purpose and had to play along until they achieved what they wanted.

Ksien, who stood on the side didn't dare to interrupt, much less the servants who stood rooted to their spots with wide eyes, shocked at the king's words.

Margaret cleared her throat as she pushed down the shame and anger that was boiling inside her. "My dear nephew sure knows how to joke," she said with a forced smile. She looked at the human in her nephew's arms. She tried to hide the contempt in her eyes, but it was impossible. "I'm delighted to make your acquaintance," she finally forced herself to speak. "I'm Margaret, and this is my daughter Victoria."

Victoria forced a smile as she looked at the human girl whom was obviously inferior to her in every way. "Pleased to meet you," she said as she took a few steps towards them. "I'm very happy to be here. Please let me know if there's anything I can do to help. After all, that's what we're here for."

Rose was shocked speechless by their acting. Although they were trying hard, it was obvious they hated her and were here to cause trouble, or kill her. She chuckled dryly and nodded. "Nice to meet you both."

"I'm surprised to see you here," Caleb said as his eyes narrowed at both women. "I don't remember inviting you to come and help."

Ah… so they were here uninvited. Rose finally understood the whole situation. These vampire women were definitely here to kill her before the wedding. Fucking great!

Margaret chuckled embarrassedly, not expecting her nephew to expose them like this. "Of course we had to come! This is a very special celebration! How could we possibly miss it?" She smiled at him. "Even though you didn't invite us, it is my duty as your aunt to come and help since your mother is unable to do so. I am here to give you the maternal love and guidance that was torn from you."

Rose frowned at Margaret's words. It was obvious she was trying to hurt Caleb by mentioning the absence of his mother. She looked up at him and sighed in relief, realizing he wasn't affected. Still, she felt her heart ache and her anger rise as the vampire tried to hurt him. She turned to glare at Margaret. "He probably didn't invite you for a reason. Even if you claim to be here to help, it's obvious by your words you are trying to cause trouble."

Everyone was stunned by her words. A few seconds passed in silence as they all stared at Rose.

Caleb felt his heart tighten with happiness as he watched the woman he loved stand up for him. She was defending him! She actually cared about him! He was so happy he felt he could jump up and down with joy. He cleared his throat and looked away as his lips lifted into a gleeful smile.

Ksien smiled and shook his head as he watched Caleb's reaction.

Margaret came to her senses when she heard Caleb. "You're going to allow her to speak to me like this?" she asked indignantly as she looked at her nephew.

"She's your queen! Mind your tongue!" Caleb said, unhappily as he turned to glare at his aunt. "She has said nothing wrong. It's more than clear what your intentions are. And she's right, I didn't invite you for a reason."

Margaret was fuming! She glared at the human girl in front of her. She had to fight the urge to murder the bitch on the spot. She swallowed hard and turned to look at Caleb. "I admit my words were not the best, but I am still an elder and I should be treated with respect."

"I will treat you with the respect you deserve, not the respect you demand," Rose said as she glared at the woman. "If you're here to hurt or anger my husband, I will not stand by and do nothing."

As if things couldn't get any better, Caleb felt himself floating up to cloud nine as he heard Rose referring to him as her husband.

Margaret's eyes turned red. "You insolent-"

"Enough!" Caleb roared as he glared at his aunt. This woman was ruining such a wonderful moment. "Wife trumps aunt any day of the week," he said menacingly.

The threat was clear. Margaret swallowed back the insults she was ready to throw at the human.

"I think we're getting off on the wrong foot," Victoria, said as she tried to smooth things over, worried that her mother was going to ruin their plan. She cleared her throat and walked up to Rose. She smiled shyly. "Please forgive my mother. She's not used to being talked back to. She's not a bad person, she just speaks without thinking." She turned to look at her mother, urging her to say something.

Margaret swallowed her pride and nodded. She cleared her throat. "I will try to be mindful when I speak."

"Great!" Caleb said with a smile. He looked at his aunt's entourage and frowned. "You and Victoria can stay, but no one else is allowed."

Margaret's eyes widened. "I need these people!"

"Then you can stay somewhere else with your people," Caleb said with a smile.

Margaret was ready to argue with him when Victoria interrupted her. "Mom this is Caleb's house. We must do as he says since we're guests. We're here to help, not to cause trouble."

Margaret frowned. She nodded after a few seconds and turned around to order her people to place the things on the ground. "These are gifts we brought for the future husband and wife," she said.

Rose forced a smile and thanked both women. She didn't bother trying to act polite and welcoming anymore. She would treat people the way they deserved, and it was clear to her these women were not good and were up to no good.

"How kind of you to bring so many gifts," Caleb said with a fake smile. "I will have them inspected later, you can leave them where they are."

Margaret felt her face flush with anger, but pressed down the humiliation she felt as Caleb treated her like an outsider. She smiled as she turned around to face them. "Of course, you have to be careful now that you've finally decided to take a wife. You never know who would be stupid enough to want to hurt our future queen."

Caleb's smile fell and was immediately replaced by a deadly glare. "If anyone touches a single hair on my wife's head, they will face a fate worse than death."

The atmosphere became awkward as silence dragged on.

Victoria cleared her throat and looked at Rose who was still in Caleb's arms. "Cousin in law, would you like to spend some time together? I'd love to go for a walk and get to know each other!" she said with fake enthusiasm.

Rose frowned, clearly uncomfortably by Victoria's invitation. She knew the woman didn't like her, so what was she planning to do to her? She had to be careful. Victoria was a vampire, and she was a fragile human.

"My wife doesn't go anywhere alone. She stays by my side 24/7," Caleb said when he noticed her discomfort.

Victoria frowned. "That's… how can she stay by your side all day? That's ridiculous."

Caleb's eyebrow lifted. "Ridiculous?"

Victoria shook her head. "No, what I mean is that you both need alone time don't you? Especially you, since you have so much to do. How can she accompany you when you're working? Wouldn't she be in the way? I can keep her company for a bit while you work." She knew Caleb hated distractions while he was working. Decades of knowing her cousin were going to come in handy.

"Not at all. If anything I'm more inspired and motivated when my wife is beside me," Caleb said as he placed a kiss on the top of Rose's head. "Please make yourselves at home on the west wing. My wife and I have plans."

With those words Caleb led Rose away from the two vampire women who seemed to be troubled by what they were seeing. Could it be that Caleb loved this human more than they had anticipated?