The Shadow King Married Me As A Substitute

I had been the Shadow King's secret lover for a century in the dark depths of the Night Realm.

I waited with a hopeful heart for him to ask for my hand in marriage.

But then, I accidentally overheard him drinking and joking with his generals.

The King even managed to seduce the High Priestess of the Sun. When is the wedding feast? one of them asked.

Balthazar took a sip of his dark wine and sneered.

"What wedding? I never intended to marry that little flower shifter! She threw herself at me, so why wouldn't I take what was offered?"

"But... Lady Evangeline is about to return from the void..."

"Why the rush? Evangeline loves blooming gardens. When she returns, she will see the Night Realm covered in the flowers that girl planted for me!"

My eyes stung with tears.

The hundred years of love I felt were nothing but me being a substitute for someone else.

I swallowed the bitterness in my heart and sent a telepathic message to my mother.

"Mom, tell the Great Alpha that I accept the marriage proposal from the Silverpaw Pack. I will marry the Werewolf Prince."

On the day of my wedding, it happened to be the same day Balthazar chose to take a wife.

On the Bridge of Souls, the Vampire Legion and the Wolf Pack stood in a tense standoff.

When Balthazar saw me in my crimson wedding gown, his eyes instantly turned blood-red.

"Mom, tell the Great Alpha that I accept the marriage proposal. I will marry into the Silverpaw Pack."

On the other side of the transmission, I heard a glass shatter. My mother was in total shock.

"Calla, are you sure? This alliance is no joke. Once you agree, there is no turning back!"

The Great Alpha had ordered a union between the Wolf Pack and the Flower Shifters. My parents had pressured me for a century, but I had delayed it out of my own selfish love for Balthazar.

My parents were even prepared to defy the Great Alpha's order and offer our tribe's treasures as a penalty.

Who would have thought that at the final deadline, I would suddenly agree?

My mother was silent for a long time.

"Calla, I know your heart belongs to the Shadow King. If you don't want this, your father and I will fight for you, even if it means..."

"Mom, I want this."

"I am willing to marry the Prince of the Silverpaw Pack."

I interrupted her, my voice firm.

Because my parents treated me so well, I couldn't let them suffer for my mistakes anymore.

"Mom, start the wedding preparations. I will be home in a few days."

"Fine. I understand."

As soon as the connection cut, Balthazar's voice echoed behind me.

"Where do you think you're going?"

I turned around. He reached out and pulled me into his cold embrace. His dark energy seeped into my body, making me shiver uncontrollably.

I noticed details I had ignored before.

As the Lord of the Shadow Realm, why was his energy so unstable today?

There was only one reason. He had gone to the Abyss of Lost Souls again to summon Evangeline's spirit.

Seeing my distraction, he gripped my chin and forced me to look at him.

"Calla, I'm asking you. Where are you going?"

I bit my lip and responded coldly. "Nowhere. The gatekeeper asked me to plant some lilies. I'm going to the riverbank."

Balthazar frowned slightly, looking annoyed yet helpless.

"Calla, there has been a lot of war in the mortal world lately. The Shadow Realm is flooded with souls. I only came back late because of work. Don't overthink things."

I turned my head to avoid his kiss. My eyes caught the jade pendant tucked in his robe. It held Evangeline's soul essence.

Balthazar noticed and subtly hid the pendant deeper into his clothes.

It was funny. I had come to the Shadow Realm just to see the legendary River of Souls.

They say your destiny is written on the stones there.

I first met Balthazar at the river. At first, he was impatient and incredibly cold.

I was a newcomer and didn't know he was the feared Shadow King that everyone whispered about.

The riverbank was vast but dead. He would stare at the water in a daze, and I would plant flowers beside him.

Eventually, the gray sands were covered in colorful blooms. Only then did his eyes show a different light.

"The flowers are beautiful. Do you like them that much?"

That was the first thing he ever said to me.

Later, we became close. He gave me gifts, sometimes pale silk dresses, sometimes jade hairpins.

I didn't like any of them.

But back then, I thought he just didn't understand colors because he lived in darkness. To protect his pride, I never complained.

One night, he was drunk. I helped him to his room, and he kissed me. Everything happened naturally after that.

We spent a hundred years together, though we never went public.

I thought he loved me. I spent every day waiting for him to propose.

But now I realized he didn't lack a sense of color. He just loved someone else and was using me as her shadow.

He leaned in, burying his face in the crook of my neck.

I felt a wave of disgust and pushed him away. The jade pendant in his robe glowed, as if expressing its own displeasure.

At that moment, a dark message orb floated into the room.

"My Lord, there is a disturbance at the Abyss."

Balthazar stood up instantly, throwing on his cloak.

"Calla, I have to go. You..."

"Go ahead," I said.

A smile spread across his face. He reached out and stroked my hair.

"Calla, be a good girl and wait for me to come back."

I watched his back as he sprinted toward the Abyss without a second thought. My eyes grew dim.

This century-long secret affair was finally over.

Balthazar was gone for two whole days.

On the third day, he returned looking radiant.

The jade pendant was gone. When he saw I was still there, a flash of guilt crossed his face.

"Calla... the situation at the Abyss was tricky. I couldn't get away..."

I looked at him calmly. On his neck, a bright red bite mark was clearly visible. It was a clear claim of ownership.

Noticing my gaze, Balthazar explained awkwardly.

"There were too many vengeful spirits at the Abyss. One of them caught me off guard and bit me."

I nodded in silence. A Shadow King, caught off guard by a mere spirit? It was more likely he couldn't resist the charms of the newly revived beauty.

Balthazar was so immersed in the joy of Evangeline's return that he didn't notice how different I was.

He gently tried to pull me into his arms. The scent of soul-restoring herbs on him made me want to gag.

I pushed him away hard.

His expression soured.

I looked up at him. "My Lord, we are in the main hall. Please keep your distance."

Balthazar froze. He tried to pinch my nose playfully. "What's this? Are you throwing a tantrum?"

Before he could explain, another message orb floated in.

This time, he didn't block me from hearing it. Evangeline's sweet, trembling voice filled the room.

"Balthazar! There are so many shadows here! I'm so scared! Can you come and stay with me?"

Balthazar's grip on my hand loosened immediately. Panic and urgency filled his eyes.

"Stay where you are. Don't move. I'm coming for you right now," he whispered back into the orb.

After sending the reply, he turned to me, his face pale.

"Calla, the Abyss is dangerous. Evangeline is recovering there, and I'm worried. I'll just check on her and come back. Believe me, I'll be fast this time! Don't be angry!"

Before I could even respond, he vanished in a blur of shadows.

I looked at the bottle of nectar he had knocked over in his haste. I laughed at myself.

In the past, if I smelled even a hint of another female on him, I would ask questions. He would always scold me for being annoying.

Now that I saw the truth with my own eyes, my heart was strangely peaceful.

Don't worry, Balthazar. I won't ever be angry because of you again.

I was getting ready to leave.

I spent two days helping the gatekeeper plant flowers by the river. Before leaving, I went to the Soul Bridge one last time.

Without realizing it, I walked to the edge of the Bridge of Souls.

This place was covered in the flowers I had planted a hundred years ago. They were blooming wildly, making the cold Shadow Realm look like a piece of heaven.

I got lost in my memories, walking toward the spot where I first met Balthazar.

But what I saw made me stop dead in my tracks.

Not far away, two figures were tangled together among the flowers.

The man's heavy breathing and the woman's soft moans filled the air.

"Evangeline, you don't know how long I've waited for you. It took a thousand years to gather your soul. I wish you could have come back sooner."

"I know you love beautiful scenery. I watched over this riverbank as it changed for you. Now, I give all of this to you as a gift."

Before he could finish, Evangeline flipped over and kissed him deeply.

"Making love in these flowers is so much better than in a bedroom! You think of me so much, Balthazar. I'll make sure you love me even more today!"

The man let out a low groan and pulled her tighter into his arms.

"Evangeline! Evangeline!"

"I am going to make you my Queen!"

I felt as if a hand had reached into my chest and squeezed my heart. The petals flying in the wind felt like blades cutting my skin.

Tears streamed down my face. My strength vanished. I saw Evangeline look over his shoulder with a smirk of pure triumph.

After they finished and left in each other's arms, I collapsed to the ground and sobbed.

I remembered exactly how Balthazar had confessed his love to me in these very flowers.

We had done everything here.

And now, he had done those same things with another woman. Thinking of the images I just saw, my stomach churned. I actually vomited.

I stood up and tossed a flame into the flower field. I watched as the flowers I had spent a century tending turned into ash.

Just like my feelings for Balthazar, everything was burnt to the ground. Nothing remained.

I wiped my tears and turned around. Balthazar was standing behind me, his eyes filled with emotions I couldn't read.

"Calla, what are you doing? Why did you burn the flowers?"

"You planted these with your own hands. You even scarred your fingers for this garden..."

He sounded hurt and concerned. For a split second, I thought he still cared. But his next words sent me straight to hell.

"Did you see what just happened between me and Evangeline?"

I stared into his eyes, waiting for an explanation or an excuse.

He sighed, his voice cold and indifferent.

"Since you saw it, I won't lie to you. I want to marry Evangeline. But don't worry, I won't abandon you. If you stay, I can make you my second wife."

I looked at him with pure disgust.

"You marry your Queen. I am leaving."

Balthazar looked at me with a mix of coldness and contempt.

"Where would you go? Where could you possibly go without me?"

"Stop throwing a tantrum. Our wedding is in seven days. After that, I'll give you a ceremony too."

Seven days?

That was exactly the day of my wedding with the Silverpaw Pack.

I didn't want to argue with him anymore. I turned and walked away.

He assumed I had agreed. He happily went off to prepare for his wedding with Evangeline.

Two days before the date, I burned everything I owned in the Shadow Realm. I uprooted every last flower, leaving only the death-lilies by the gate.

Balthazar was too busy with wedding plans to see me.

I walked out of the Shadow Realm easily and returned to the Flower Tribe.

On my wedding day, a thousand birds sang in the sky. My parents walked me to the carriage with tears of joy.

The guards carried me step by step toward the Bridge of Souls, which connected our realms.

The Werewolf Prince, Roderick, was waiting there. He reached out a strong, calloused hand to lead me out of the carriage.

As we stood on the bridge to carve our names into the stone, another wedding procession arrived.

Balthazar was at the head of the group. When he saw me in my bridal red, his face turned pale.

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