CHAPTER 165: BATTLE OF STARES

I sat across the Dowager, her stern gaze pinned on me as we both narrowed our eyes like we were two warriors trying to figure out who’d make the first move.

I certainly imagined her throwing that teapot right at my face. When I looked over to it with the heat coming out, the Dowager did too.

I gripped my teacup tightly, ready to splash the hot tea on her face. It wouldn’t do a thing, but it’d certainly catch her off guard.

The Dowager pinned me with a look.

Or not?

What is this? Some kind of battle of eyes? I felt more like an opponent right now. She’s not ready to pull her hands, is she?

I thought after my outburst yesterday, she wouldn’t have anything to do with me anymore. But she sent for me, and here we were for over an hour doing a silent contest of stares.

Abruptly, the Dowager opened her mouth, but I didn’t let her speak.

"I’ll not tolerate you speaking to me as if I am some broodmare."

She shut her mouth.

"Are we here to speak as mature women? That is the reason you called me back, is it not?"

"You little..." she wavered, clenching her teeth. "I always knew you had a mouth on you, but who could have known you were always a force to reckon with?" She exhaled sharply. "But I was blind not to have seen that in the first place. Even when a weak, scrawny thing, you held your ground."

I frowned. Ew! Is she complimenting me right now?

The Dowager caught my look of disgust. "Do my words displease you?"

I cleared my throat. "Your words always displease me, Mother. I’m just glad I can finally tell it to your face."

This was not exactly how I envisioned taking my new chance with her. But she’s getting on my nerves!

The Dowager laughed, which was unexpected. It rang through the air before it dialed down to chuckles.

I tipped my head in question. Odd, that amusement sounded genuine, where was her usual no-nonsense countenance?

"Do not mind me, for I’ve never been defeated. Who could have known that the one who would hand me my failure would be you? Maybe I should blame the Fates for ruining everything. I have no choice but to deal with what’s left."

This woman!

"I’ve to deal with you too. We’re both kept in a situation we do not want because neither of us wants to be here."

"Precisely." She took a sip from her tea. "It doesn’t matter if I do not accept you. I must pass down my teaching. I’d not want you to soil the image of the queen position. Whatever will my people think of me? That I can’t train someone like you."

"On second thought, I’d rather drown than have you as my mentor."

She choked, dropping the teacup and coughing loudly. "I-I beg your pardon?"

"What happened yesterday has proved that you will only fill me with your sick ideas of queenhood. I have no intentions of following in your footsteps. I don’t want to be like you. I want nothing of you."

"I’m a self-made Alpha, a queen of strength! You should look at me as a role model, but you’re being disrespectful!"

"Yes, you’re those things, but are you a mother? You’re the mother of the empire, but not a mother to your own children. You’re a bad example and everything I do not want to be. I fear your habits will rub off on me."

"What do you know about a good or bad example?" she mocked. "Have you ever been queen before? No. Do not speak to me like you have the faintest idea of what to do. That is why you answered my summons, is it not? Because you know, without me, you cannot helm this new life."

My fist clenched against the table.

She smirked as if she finally got the reaction she was waiting for. "You’re now queen, my dear. You’re in the big game now. If you think your life was anything easier before, then you’re wrong. Becoming queen consort means putting your life on the line. But fear not, you have me."

I raised an eyebrow. "I have lived my entire life with bad examples, and not doing what they did seems like the step to take in creating a good one. Having morals for once." I sipped my tea, maintaining eye contact.

I see what this is now. Using her teachings, she wanted to control me. It screamed at her face, and she couldn’t hide it anymore, knowing she had me cornered.

This was her plan. Control the naive girl who didn’t know anything about queenhood; the faster she sinks her claws into me, the better.

Tch! Not a chance!

"What do you know about being a good queen? You came for nothing. Do you think you can be good? After living all that life, seeing the worst, no less than bad examples? When will you realize I’m your only chance?"

"No. I don’t think I’ll make a good queen, but I’ll be a wise queen, with morals."

She clenched her teeth. "Enough with the morals."

"Why so irritated, Mother? Is it because it’s something you lack?"

She scoffed. "So what? Traditionally, I must pass my teachings; you cannot escape this, Eloise!"

I dropped my teacup on the saucer and pinned her with a brutal look. "I have no intention of becoming your puppet."

"Puppet?" she scorned. "Whatever do you mean?"

"There is no need to hide it, I see it in your eyes. The same look my stepmother gave me when she taught me all about your kind. I wasn’t a person to be given to Lycans but a puppet, knowing if she taught me, I’d become the perfect meat to be given to the beasts."

"And look how you turned out, it seems like your stepmother didn’t do a good job."