Punishment

Marcus opened his eyes and met the king's angry look. He was angry and it showed on how tight he was holding his hand.

Marcus bit his lower lip in pain, his hands felt like an elephant was stepping on them.It hurt him so much but the king didn't seem to care.

"W..what are you doing?" he nervously asked.

"Teaching you the consequences of trying to harm what belongs to me," the king replied.

He pulled Marcus out of the room by the hand. They entered the main hall where the guests were, he brought Marcus to the center of the room.

"What are you going to do to me?" Marcus questioned to him.

"I will give you a reason to live," the king said to him. "Listen up, I know that you were invited here for our engagement but Marcus has made it clear that he can't wait," the king said while gazing into Marcus's eyes.

Marcus felt his heart pounding in his chest. The King was smiling but the pressure had not decreased. He was still very much upset with him.

He grabbed the kings hand with his fingers, when the King raised his brows at him. He shook his head. He wasn't sure what he wanted to say, all he wanted was for him not to say what he was about to.

"If you want me not to say anything then you have to kiss me," the king whispered in his ear.

Marcus's mouth was wide open with surprise. The condition the king had set was one that he was not sure he could do.

"Will you do it or not?" the king raised a questioned.

Marcus felt a chill ran through him. They were standing in the middle of the room before everyone. All eyes were on them. The King had also made such a demand.

He got dizzy. Just thinking of having to give up his life for his people made him feel like drowning himself. Because he couldn't stomach having to marry a man.

"Give me an answer, will you kiss me or not?"

"I c..cant," Marcus let out softly.

The King furrowed his brows at him and turned his attention to the guests. The guests were eager to hear the announcement, everything at this point sounded good to them as it meant that the war was coming to an end.

"Marcus has decided to get married right this instant," the king announced to everyone. His announcement made the prince in his arms tense. He had made no such decision and if possible he would rather the wedding not take place at all.

"He doesn't mind about all the traditions. After all vows anf wedding rings are all that matters in the end," the king stated.

His statement washed the prince's body like ice cold water causing him to shudder. It was a pain to have to think that everything was coming to and end for him.

"That is a wonderful idea," Marcus heard his father say to the werewolf king.

He turned his teary eyes to stare at the man who was responsible for everything.Both he and the werewolf king were responsible for ruining his life for their selfish purposes.

"I'm glad you agree, then can we get started?" the king inquired.

Marcus's father had the ancestral rings of the family brought for the their wedding. As king his father is ordained to perform weddings hence he was the one to wed them.

Marcus was filled with disbelief, no single person raised a complaint agaisnt the wedding. They all stood quietly watching his life getting ruined like it was an entertainment to them.

His mother and grandmother were no where in the room. Even his sister dared not meet his eyes, his family the very people who should stand by him and protect him from all harm. They were sacrificing him to the beast without worry.

"As you exchange your rings, you can take your vows," the king of Narsia announced.

"I Morpheus Xanaz Dundragon, take you Marcus to be my lawfully wedded husband. To have and to hold, till death do us part," the werewolf king said his vows as he placed the ring in Marcus's finger.

Reality dawned on the male, the bond that he was finding so hard to accept was becoming a part of him. The fears that he had since learning of the king's decision that morning were coming true.

He was getting married to a man, as soon as his part of the vow are over them he will belong to the werewolf king.

The King, his father handed him the ring that he was supposed to give to Morpheus. Holding the ring on his finger, he body trembled.

The ring was the shackles to the cage that was going to be his life. And he was given the power to tie the shackle on himself. His heart couldn't bear it, before he realised it the king had raised his hand and let the ring slid into his hand.

"It seems as though, Marcus is too shy to say his vows," the werewolf king spoke. His words brought Marcus out of his trance. Seeing the ring he was holding in the king's finger, he froze.

"This works for me," he father uttered. "I now pronounce the two of you as a married couple. You may kiss to seal the bond," he announced.

"That won't be needed," Morpheus spoke seeing as Marcus had turned pale at the mention of the kiss. He took to the dance floor with the prince and requested a song. "We can do it in a dance instead," he added.

"The paper dance please," the werewolf king commanded.

The paper dance is a dance that newly married couple in Zayion practised at theird wedding. During the dance, couples who have been married in the same month take to the floor to taste their bond and love with their partners.

The winner of the dance is pronounced the best couple of the month. The dance is simple, each couple has to dance on a paper as the music plays on. When the music ends the couples who have not stepped out of the paper get to move to the next round.

Every round the paper is folded a little smaller until only one couple remained. It was a fun and exciting dance.

But for Marcus is was a nightmare as he would have to get even closer to the king. Every moment of that day was making him suffocate. It was too much for a person to take in one day.