Lisa
I sat beside Klaus, and the only reason why I hadn't been scolded and kicked out was merely because Klaus was seated by my side. To these men, my status as the Alpha's bride meant nothing to them. All they could see when they looked at me was an omega who wasn't worth anything, and that was evident in their eyes. To them I was nothing more than one of the hungry ladies that roamed the streets, I had only gotten lucky, and luck didn't matter to them one bit.
All five of the elders before me had smiles on their faces, but their happiness had nothing to do with me. They were merely happy that Klaus had found his mate, and that they wouldn't have to worry about getting disbanded and losing their worth to Icarus.
"We've gotten the mating ceremony done, is she with child yet?" One of the elders asked, his greedy eyes wide with expectations.
"Not yet, we've decided to take things slow for now. Lisa is not yet accustomed to this type of life yet." Klaus answered before reaching for my hand under the table. I tried to keep them away from him, but he grabbed my hand before I could slip either of them under my dress. Gently, he squeezed my hand before flashing me a warm smile, one that I was forced to mirror just for the sake of the situation.
"Take things slow? Need I remind you that you need an heir before the year runs out. Icarus is not someone we can take lightly." Another elder spoke up. He had his eyes fixed on me in an unpleasant manner, but I didn't flinch. I maintained eye contact, determined to not yield to his toxic masculinity.
"I understand, but I'd rather not discuss this any further. An heir will be produced when my wife is ready." Klaus said with a sense of finality, and only then did the older men buckle to his words. With that, the meeting had ended, and in less than ten minutes they were all gone from the room.
Klaus and I remained seated while the elders filed out of the place, and he didn't speak until he was certain they were gone.
"You heard them didn't you? I need to produce an heir soon." Klaus said with his eyes focused on mine. I already knew this was going to be the conversation he was going to initiate, and I still didn't want anything to do with it. He had been acting nice for the past twenty four hours, but even a fool would know that it was all a game. People didn't change overnight, and Klaus definitely hadn't changed. He didn't like me, and all of this was probably a plan to make me reconsider punishing him anytime I got pregnant.
I remained silent, unwilling to partake in this conversation in the slightest of ways. I had already made a mistake with my choice of words earlier today, and I wasn't about to play into his palms a second time today.
After a minute of silence, Klaus let out a sigh of exhaustion before getting up from his seat. I knew that I'd have to say something soon, if not Klaus would definitely get aggravated. But at the same time, I had no idea what I was supposed to say. I didn't want to carry his child, and I wanted nothing to do with him at all. The man I wanted was currently hospitalized, and now that I had basically submitted myself to Klaus, my options were very limited.
"Aren't you going to say something? You're just going to sit still?" He questioned in a tone that suggested he was getting infuriated. I honestly didn't expect him to really seek my opinion, and it was a bit surprising that he had left the room after I had laid out my threats. I expected a beating, but that hadn't been the case. At the time I had been serious with my words, but afterwards I came to realize that I possibly couldn't harm myself for a year straight just because of him.
Once more, the room fell silent, and after five minutes of sitting in utter silence, I finally managed to lay out my opinion for him.
"I..I will have your baby—"
"Brilliant!" He exclaimed without letting me finish. He leaned in to hug me, but after realizing his own action, immediately retracted his outstretched arms.
"But—"
Klaus paused and his brows arched ominously. He hadn't let me finish, and had immediately jumped to conclusions when he heard my first words. I had an idea, one that would make us both happy. He would retain his throne, and continue to be with the woman he loved, while I would bear him a child and be with the man I loved.
"What is it this time? You want to threaten me again?!" He inquired, visibly annoyed.
"No, it's not anything like that." I answered sharply before turning away from his fiery gaze. "I have a proposal, one that would be great for the both of us." I said, and his look of disdain suddenly became a look of curiosity.
"What proposal? Don't keep me in suspense, speak up already!"
I took a deep breath before finally laying out my thoughts to him. "I'll bear your child, I'll give you an heir. But after that, I want you to let me and Mark go. We'll leave the pack, and you can come up with a lie that we died. You'll have an heir, and you can be with Maeve, she's not a let down like I am."
An eerie silence hung in the air the moment I concluded my sentence. It was unlike the other moments of quietness, and that alone was enough to make my body shiver in fear. Perhaps my suggestion was a bit demanding, a lowlife like me couldn't possibly tell the Alpha what to do and what not to do.
I felt Klaus's dark aura spread across the room and engulf me, and in that moment I knew I had made a mistake. I had promised not to love Mark a few hours ago, yet here I was speaking about running away with him to the very man that I had sworn an oath to.
"What did you just say?" Klaus demanded in a cold, yet authoritative tone. He advanced slowly, yet steadily towards me and all I could do was glare at him with pleading eyes. I wanted to apologize, but the words got strung up at the back of my throat. My heart was pounding erratically, and it felt as though my soul would leave my body with each passing second.
"You've got some nerve Lisa Thornberry, perhaps I underestimated the guts you have." He commented, but I remained silent. He finally reached me, and with his thumb and index finger clasped to my jaw, Klaus turned my face to meet his own. And then, in a low threatening tone, he assured me that nobody else would ever have me.
"You're my mate, you belong to me, you exist for me! It doesn't matter what you do, you'll never be able to escape that fact, you'll never be able to escape me!"