The Cursed Prince's Strange Bride

Meanwhile, Ivan wasn't taking it lightly in his chamber, where he was still locked. He had been unable to sleep all night because of the burning rage inside him, and his chamber looked as messed up as he was. He had destroyed everything breakable in his chamber until there was nothing left to destroy.

He couldn't even look outside because, true to the queen's words, the windows had been sealed and sprinkled with wolfsbane, so he was just stuck inside with his increasing rage.

He stopped pacing when he heard a familiar voice outside his chamber, and he scowled when he recognized the voice as Benedicta's. What was she doing here? One of the reasons he was stuck here was because of her.

"Step aside, I want to see Prince Ivan," Benedicta ordered one of the guards stationed at the door.

"I'm sorry, my lady. The Queen gave orders that he is not to leave his chamber and no one is to go in," the guard said apologetically.

"Am I no one to you? Do you not know that I'm Prince Ivan's betrothed? Step aside! You can tell the Queen it was my order," Benedicta said authoritatively. The guards looked at each other before the one standing in front of the door reluctantly stepped aside and opened the door for her to go in.

She eyed them in displeasure before she went into the chamber and they closed the door behind her.

"My goodness! What have you done?" she asked in dismay as she looked around his chamber.

"What are you doing here?" Ivan asked with a scowl as he watched her approach.

"I learned you were locked up in your chamber. I wanted to see for myself," Benedicta said as she continued to look around his chamber with disapproval.

She shook her head as she shifted her gaze to him. "How could you be so foolish as to want to leave the palace in search of Luciana?" Benedicta asked, and Ivan glared at her. Why did she never learn?

"Princess. You will call her Princess Luciana!" Ivan warned, and she scoffed.

"Do I need to keep reminding you that she is no longer married to you, so she is not a princess? Besides, why do you care about her when she has made it clear that she is not on your side? She has sided with Prince Harold. I'm the only one you have on your side now, so you should learn to treat me better and apologise to me for hitting me," Benedicta said as she maintained a safe distance between them.

Despite himself, he could not help but let out a laugh. She was crazy. Very crazy! He had the feeling she would die at his hands.

"Have you heard the news yet?" she asked, and Ivan scowled at her.

"Is it that you do not have any friends or someone to gossip with? Why do you keep bothering me?" Ivan asked, and she smiled at him.

"Because you are my husband. I'm only getting acquainted with you. I take it you haven't heard of the assembly that was held a short while ago," she repeated, and this time Ivan looked at her with annoyed curiosity.

"What are you talking about?"

Benedicta smiled. "The news is all over the palace. Someone came with a message that Princess Amber... I take that back, Amber, is actually not a princess," Benedicta said, and Ivan's eyes sparkled with malice.

"How is that possible? Sir Damon attended their wedding. It was a royal wedding," Ivan said as he set aside his irritation with her to get this information from her.

"The royal family was deceived. Amber is the daughter of the late Queen who was dethroned and executed. And Amber was sent on exile to the mountains when she was still a child," Benedicta said, relishing the moment as she gave out the information slowly. She could not wait to see the look on Harold's face when he learnt about this.

"Her mother was executed on what grounds?" Ivan asked, not exactly surprised that the mannerless wench wasn't a real princess. She lacked manners, which he was sure she would have possessed had she been brought up properly in a royal household.

How dare that filthy lowlife human disrespect him and turn his wife's heart against him?

"Witchcraft," Benedicta said with a malicious smile. She was counting on two things. One, if Harold had any intention of becoming king, he would abandon his wife now that he knew she was a witch and not a true princess, and hopefully, now that his curse had been broken and she was his betrothed child bride after all, he would have no choice but to marry her. Two, if Harold refused to give up his wife, that would make him less likely to have the throne, and Ivan would ascend the throne after making her his wife.

Although she hoped Harold would abandon his bride and marry her since she preferred to marry a powerful alpha like Harold and not a cowardly beta like Ivan, but it didn't make any difference. Either way, she was going to be Queen. That was the most important thing.

"Witchcraft?" Ivan asked, looking stunned! Of course, he had always thought of her as a witch, but he would never have imagined she was from the bloodline of one!

He paused when he realized something. This information couldn't have just come by chance. It had to be from the people he sent to Princess Amber's kingdom.

How dare his mother treat him like this? How dare she hold an assembly without consulting with him first or telling him that his messenger had arrived? He mused as his blood boiled with anger.

He was going to make sure to punish her for this when he eventually ascends the throne. He would teach her to know her place as a woman.

"Yes, witchcraft. The Queen has sent some men to summon Princess Amber's father, and she has sent Damian to capture Amber and bring her back to the palace," Benedicta said with a pleased smile.

"I need to go with them," Ivan said, and Benedicta shook her head.

"You can't go with..."

Before she could finish speaking, Ivan stepped forward and grabbed her roughly by the throat.

"I'm going with them," he said as he held her hostage with his sword to her throat as he dragged her with him to the door.

He didn't trust his mother. Luciana's safety was paramount to him. They could capture and kill whoever they wanted. The only person he wanted to retrieve was his wife.