The Gold Queen (Prequel)
The Gold Queen – Chapter 22

December 1st, 1994

***Sofia***

For almost two weeks now, Teo and I have spent every night together. We’d wait until a little past midnight when everyone was asleep to sneak into each other’s rooms, dreading the return of the morning.

During the day, Mateo and I would steal k****s in the hall way and pass notes during class when Guadalupe wasn’t looking. After my meetings with Julian, Mateo would make it his personal mission to rid me of that bastard’s scent by masking it with his own, much to my joy. I loved wearing his scent. I even had one of his shirts stuffed in my pillow to calm me down when I was alone in my room in the mornings.

But now with the inevitable day almost upon us, it was getting harder and harder to bear being without Teo. I could sense Solana’s restlessness grow with every passing day and no matter how many runs I went on, I could not keep her calm. Only HE could that do that.

What will I do when the time comes for us to say goodbye?

Solana whimpers at the thought and I force myself to finish dressing as I prepare for another day.

Mateo was already at the training grounds, hard at work with several of the captains and I decide not to bother him. He’s been at the training a lot harder these past two weeks, probably equally as restless as I was about the impending wedding.

After training and attending a boring class on the Second Mexican Revolution, I replace myself pouring over some Estrella del Monte pack laws and finalizing the marriage application in the library. Julian’s parents were coming over for dinner later and I needed to impress my future in-laws with my knowledge of their kingdom. After a few sneaky k****s, Mateo reluctantly goes back to the training grounds to keep from going mad in Julian’s presence.

Completely immersed in my task, I almost don’t hear Emiliano walk in, a heavy backpack slung over his shoulder. I look up to meet his eyes and he blushes in embarrassment.

“Oh I’m sorry, your highness,” he bows quickly. “I didn’t realize you would be here. I can go study somewhere else-“

“There’s no need,” I wave him over, gesturing to a nearby chair. “Please. Sit. I don’t mind sharing the space.”

His blush deepens and he scurries over to the seat, spreading out his notebook and an algebra textbook.

“Ooh, yikes,” I chuckle.

“Yeah, I didn’t do so well on that math test Guadalupe gave us last week,” he smiles, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “Dad said I needed to study to get my grades back up or I would have to go home.”

He looks defeated as he stares at his homework.

“It’s okay,” I chirp. “If you need help, let me know. I’m quite good with numbers.”

He flashes me a smile and we both dive into our work. He shows me his worksheet and I walk him through the quadratic formula, giving him a simple problem to work on his own. After a few minutes, I feel his stare on me and I look up to meet his eyes.

“Yes?” I ask, setting my pen down.

“N-nothing,” he says quickly, lowering his eyes to the worksheet he was working on.

“What is it?” I insist, resting my hand on his elbow. “Don’t worry, I don’t bite.”

He hesitates but my smile seems to get to him and he finally gives in.

“It’s just… my brother cares about you…” he shrugs. “He loves you.” A bit of pain swirls in his chocolate eyes. “I-I just don’t understand why you have to marry Prince Julian.”

My smile falters a little and I pull my arm back, my fingers fumbling with the documents I had spread out. I clear my throat and sit up a little straighter.

“I-“

Suddenly, the door bursts open and I look up to see Julian leaning against the door frame, staring back at Emiliano and I.

“Buenas tardes, mi reina (good afternoon my queen},” he says with a voice of silk, completely ignoring Emiliano. “Vamonos. My parents are due to arrive soon for dinner.”

I feel the pit of my stomach churn in dread and I look over my papers in an attempt to ignore him.

“Dinner isn’t for another two hours,” I sigh, glancing at Emiliano’s worksheet. “Besides, I agreed to help Emi-“

Before I can finish my sentence, I feel a hand yank me up by my elbow.

“I didn’t ask. Let’s go!” His voice booms, some of the books on the shelves quaking a little.

He was so close to me, I feared he might catch Mateo’s scent all over me, but I remind myself that I had been meticulous. I had showered, scrubbed and perfumed myself, removing all evidence of our nights spent together.

“I said I’m busy!” I hiss through gritted teeth, pulling at my arm but replaceing his grip to strong to break.

In an instant, Emiliano is on his feet, throwing a punch at Julian and knocking him back a few feet.

“She said no,” he growls, standing in front of me protectively. “So just leave her alone!”

I stare at Emiliano in shock, having never seen him so riled up before. He was always so calm and tranquil. I didn’t think he was even capable of raising his voice at anyone, especially not a Prince who could tear him to shreds if he pleased.

Julian holds his fist to his mouth and smirks, the anger in his eyes filling me with fear. Moving at inhuman speed, Julian grabs Emiliano by his throat, lifting him a few inches off the ground. Emi struggles for air, his face turning bright red.

“Not so brave now are we?” he chuckles before tossing the young wolf to the side like a rag doll.

Emiliano crashes into the bookshelf with a g***n and I attempt to help him get up when Julian once again grabs my elbow and pulls me into him so he towers over me.

“Let’s go princess,” he snaps.

“f**k off!” I scream, slapping him across the face.

Julian retaliates, elbowing me in the jaw so hard, I see stars and feel the room begin to spin. The metallic taste of b***d fills my mouth but I continue to struggle, refusing to give in without a fight.

“Let me go!” I growl, my hands warming up as I prepare to light them up in flames.

Suddenly Emiliano hops onto Julian’s back, wrapping his arms around his neck in a choke hold.

“Don’t touch her!” Emilliano cries, using whatever strength he had to pull the Prince away from me.

Julian’s palms light up in flames and before I can stop him, his molten hot hands grab Emiliano’s sides. A b***d curdling scream fills the room as Emiliano lets go of the Prince and hits the floor. The burn marks on Emiliano’s shirt were all it took for me to see red.

In an instant, Solana surfaces and I willingly give her control. Panting with rage, my hands burst into flames and my sight narrows in on the worthless Prince standing over Emi. Solana hurls a fire ball at Julian, hitting him between the shoulder blades. Julian cries out in pain, quickly removing his shirt before it becomes engulfed in flames.

“You’re going to pay for that you f*****g b***h!” he snarls, his hands lighting up again.

Solana aims another fire ball at him, then aims another and another, going feral with rage as she stalks over to him, teeth and canines on display. Julian raises his arms in an X to absorb the blows of my flames as I close in on my prey, fury and revenge the only thing on my mind.

The door bursts open but my eyes were zeroed in on the monster in front of me. I hear someone call out my name but I don’t care. I wanted to watch Julian writhe in agony as the flames burned into his flesh, slowly consuming him until there was nothing left but ashes. I wanted to hear the sweet symphony of his screams until he fell silent, never to scream again.

I feel the icy grip of my father’s hands on my waist holding me back from tearing into Julian and I struggle against him.

“Sofia, stop!” my father commands and like a switch, Solana obeys, ceasing altogether.

She gives me back control and I focus on my breath to calm down my anger. From the corner of my eye, I can see Emiliano still curled up on the floor, his hands cradling his sides as he whimpers.

“What the hell is going on here?” My father demands, his arms still holding me back. “Sofia, what happened?”

“What happened is your daughter tried to kill me!” Julian snarls, lifting his forearms to display his blistering wounds.

My mother gasps at the sight, rushing in to help Julian.

“Sofia, what have you done!?” My mother screeches, carefully lifting up Julian’s arms. “What did you do!?”

“I was only defending myself!” I snap. “He was-“

“You call this defending yourself ?” She retorts.

Did she not hear me at all?

“Julian, I am so sorry for my daughter’s outburst,” my mother says before narrowing her eyes at me. “Sofia, apologize immediately!”

I stare at her in disbelief. She can’t be serious! She hasn’t even heard my side of the story!

Emiliano’s whimper draws my attention and I rush to his side, ignoring my mother’s request entirely.

“It’s okay, Emi,” I murmur, wiping his hair from his eyes. An immense guilt washes over me as I see the bloody handprints seared into his flesh and tears fill my eyes. Emiliano g****s as he lifts a hand to my left cheek and I lean into him.

“Are you alright, your Highness?” he whispers, forcing a smile.

Tears roll down my cheeks at his selflessness and I suddenly feel a jolt of energy enter my body, numbing away the pain on my face.

“I’m sorry,” I cry, wishing I could heal his wounds too.

“Sofia?” my father asks sternly, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Que paso? {What happened?}”

“H-he started it!” I say, pointing at Julian in accusation. “This is all his fault!”

“No, don’t you dare spin this on me!” Julian spits back. “You were the one who refused to come with me! All I wanted was to bring you downstairs to help you prepare to make a good impression on my parents since I know how hard it is to meet your in-laws!”

Julian’s face contorts into that of indignation as he plays the perfect victim and it seems to be working excellently on my mother who glares at me.

“I only hit you by accident,” Julian continues, looking at Emiliano with anger. “Because that boy jumped on my back and started attacking me!”

“Emiliano doesn’t start fights,” I snarl. “He would never hurt someone unless they truly deserved it-“

“Are you saying I deserved to be attacked?” Julian growls.

I open my mouth to respond but my father’s voice silences me.

“ENOUGH” He commands, the room falling silent as his voice echoes off the walls. His eyes fog over before he crouches down to Emiliano. “I have a few omegas preparing the infirmary for you, okay?” He says, taking Emiliano’s hand in his own.

Emiliano whimpers in response. “He hit her, your majesty,” he whispers, although all of us hear him. “He wouldn’t leave her alone.”

My fathers jaw sets, his brows furrowing in anger. At his sides, his fists clench and a potent air of rage fills the room, sending shivers down my spine. My father was a level headed man for an Alpha and it took a lot to anger him.

Julian clears his throat. “Your Majesty, I -“

“YOU TOUCHED MY DAUGHTER?!” My father bellows, slamming his fist on the table as his cold gaze settles on the shriveling prince before him.

Before he could say a word though, my father grabs Julian by the collar of his shirt and slams him against the wall, snarling viciously at him.

“Juan Carlos!” my mother screams, grabbing my father’s arm before he could pound his fist into Julian’s pretty face. “Basta! {Stop it!}”

At the sound of his mate’s voice, my father visibly calms down, but refuses to put Julian down.

“This wedding is off!” my father snarls in the Prince’s face.

Solana howls in agreement but it’s my mother’s voice that cuts the celebration short.

“We’ve already signed the treaty,” she reminds my father. “They expect a Princess, Juan Carlos. We can’t back out now.”

My father drops Julian like a sack of potatoes and turns to stare at my mother in bewilderment.

“He touched our daughter-“

“Well maybe if she would have just listened, none of this would have happened!” my mother huffs back. “A man only hits a woman is she deserves it.”

My father’s eyes widen in shock while my heart breaks in two.

“Do you even hear yourself?” My father asks, completely stunned by my mother’s reaction. “Are you even thinking clearly here?”

My mother straightens her back. “It seems I am the only one thinking clearly,” she snaps. “This marriage is more than just the binding of two people. It’s about the binding of two kingdoms.” She glances over her shoulder at me and then turns back to Julian who seems equally lost. “You do not love each other but that is the least of our worries. Your union will bring protection to Sol de Oro and strength to Estrella del Monte.”

She walks over to the desk I was working on and plucks out the marriage application from one of my folders.

“Now you can learn to work as a team,” my mother sighs, sitting on the desk. “Or we can all go to war.”

Just then, a few omegas enter the room and I half expect Mateo to barge in too. To my dismay, he doesn’t come, however, and a quick glance at Emi confirms that he did not want his brother to know. At least not while the Prince was still in the room.

“Thank you,” I whisper as I lean over to k**s his cheek before the omegas carefully lift him onto a small stretcher.

Valentina barges into the room and rushes to her brother’s side, tears filling her eyes when she sees his wounds. Emi manages to calm her down with his healing energy

“So what will it be?” my mother asks as the twins are taken out to the room. “Will there be a wedding or will this Kingdom be at war with all of it’s neighbors?”