Contract Marriage: The Lycan Queen's Tempting Fate [GL]

[SAKURA]

The air in the room changed instantly the moment Izanami walked into the council room. Everyone who knew her key was worse than the devil, even though she had mothered the devil herself. 

She was the scariest person in Doiwa and her only match was the girl staring at her boredly from her high seat. For a moment, the mother and daughter stared at each other, their eyes holding gazes as Izanami walked in towards Sakura. 

The councilmen felt like they were being suffocated by the presence of their unruly former queen

However, they couldn't do shit, because they could easily be used as collateral in a game of power that Izanami Watanabe had been playing long before her little Sakura had ever been born. 

It was a life of spite that she had lived and regardless of how shit had gotten, no one would ever be able to tell what had happened between the mother and daughter for them to both be filled with spite for each other.

"Is that all from the first reading?" Sakura asked the countrymen, even though her eyes had never once left her mother's. 

She could tell that Izanami was baiting her and frankly, Sakura was so angry that if her mother tried shit today, the woman would get to see her on the battlefield. It was that simple and Sakura wasn't even going to pretend like it was all rainbows and sunshine. 

She had never hated a person like she did her mother but that wasn't even something that she wanted to pay heed to. Right now, what mattered was for the council to continue, because otherwise blood would flow, and it certainly wouldn't ever be Sakura's.

"You look like shit," Izanami said as she looked at her daughter. A part of her seemed to have been expecting something else because Sakura could have sworn she saw a flicker of emotion in her mother's eyes.

It seemed like regret and pity, but it all had to be in Sakura's head because her mother was incapable of emotions. Her mother was a cruel bastard who had decided her life to make Sakura's life harder than possible. 

It was weird how she was here but Sakura wasn't about to falter. It was not the time for her to be engaging with her mother, so the least she could do was avoid the woman. It was her only way out, because otherwise, she would be losing her mind. 

Izanami was a master manipulator and Sakura had long learned to deal with her mother. 

Right now, it was clear there was something else Izanami had come for, but then she had to wait, if she wanted her daughter's attention, unless she was back to humiliate Sakura – in which case she could have the floor as usual. 

Oh, how Sakura despised Izanami.

"Your majesty," Otaru spoke and Sakura stared at him. 

She knew he was about to tell her to dismiss the council but that was obviously what her mother was waiting for. This woman had tormented Sakura more times than she could recall and she wasn't about to give in to her whims again. 

It hurt most of the times that Sakura had interacted with Izanami, and Sakura knew that today wouldn't be any better. So if her mother wanted to fuck with her again, then she had to wait, otherwise, this time, maybe Sakura would just choose to end her life. 

It was what was best for the majority either way.

"That is not an answer, Otaru. What do you suggest we do with the Kiyomi situation?" Sakura asked and Izanami let out a mocking laugh. It was almost like the mad woman knew something that the entire realm didn't. 

But what was it? 

What was Izanami playing at this time? 

Izanami was not to be trusted and yet for the thousandth time, Sakura cursed herself for not being able to take out her mother. This woman had taunted her throughout her entire life and she had been silent even then. 

Maybe today was the day she reminded Izanami that she was the queen, no?

"Your majesty," Otaru spoke as he looked at Izanami who was smirking at him. 

She was a troublemaker who knew how to irk everyone around her. It was like she was determined to make sure that none of the councilmen ever got peace, or perhaps this was aimed at her daughter who was staring boredly still. 

This was a dangerous game, and surely Izanami had to have known that too, right?

"Do you want to tell the council the truth or should I, Otaru? Should I let them know why these council meetings are pointless and what my dearest daughter was busy doing in Odanera? 

"Is that something you want them to know or will you both tell them yourselves?" Izanami was taunted and that got Sakura's attention. There was a flicker of emotion in her eyes, one thing that everyone in the room saw. 

The queen known for her emptiness had let out an emotion, and everyone could see that it was not related to Izanami Watanabe. What the fuck was the queen hiding? Why was she not saying anything to defend herself? 

Oh, but Sakura was seething. 

It took every ounce of self-control in her body for her to be staring at her mother there without ripping her apart. 

This woman had tortured her existence in her entire life and Sakura had kept her alive even then, because as strong as Sakura was, a part of her still hoped that there would come a day when her mother loved her. 

She was the girl with issues, the girl who had been betrayed one too many times by her mother and yet she was also the child who hoped that mother dearest would hold her hand and tell her that it was okay. 

Oh, but Sakura had known for the longest time that she didn't have to beg from her mother because that was never going to happen. But right now, as she stared at Izanami, Sakura knew the shift was happening and boy was it breaking her heart.

"What is this about, Sire? What is the queen mother talking about?" one of the councilmen asked as Lola coordinated the Doiwa army for a breach as was protocol whenever Izanami Watanabe was around. 

That woman wouldn't be serious with what she was saying. 

This was treason if she spoke those words and she could change so many lives including hers. If she did this, then the realm as they knew it would burn, and Sakura would be the one holding the matchstick. 

Oh, to have a date with a mother so cruel. Sakura was staring at her mother keenly, waiting for her to fuck up like she had started and honestly, she had had enough.

"Go ahead. Tell them, mother. I dare you," Sakura spoke for the first time and the council members felt chills down their old spines. They had seen Sakura Watanabe wreak havoc and with the battalion outside they knew that this was agreeable to war. 

Then again, it only posed the question of who Sakura was willing to go to war for. She was willing to risk everything she held dear for whatever that was, and honestly, it scared them. 

The queen had something to lose and yet they didn't seem to be looking at it like that. For the councilmen, this was simply a translation of the queen being the worst version of herself just for this thing that she couldn't lose. 

What the fuck was it?

"Saki…" Otaru voiced and Sakura's head turned fast at the nickname Kiyomi had coined for her. 

It was a name that had meant so much coming from Kiyomi and right now, hearing it come from Otaru's lips was the reminder Sakura needed to be careful about what she was about to do. 

Otaru was telling her that her mother was bathing her, but the Sakura had been born to that. She had lived with a treacherous woman at every turn of the way and frankly, that woman had led so many to their destruction. 

"You cannot threaten me, little kid. I pushed you out of me. And if it's that Kimura Erasthai you have gotten yourself that makes you think you are stronger than me, then think twice, Sakura. 

"I gave you life, and I can easily take it. Don't test my patience, and do not tempt my fury," Izanami spoke with a smirk as she walked towards the exit, knowing damn well that the damage she had done would take a while to fix.