I wasn't a werewolf,
I was no wolf,
King Xavier Vincenzo was toying with my mind, playing a game of manipulation with me.
He was only doing this to break my spirit.
He was a fucking liar, and I would be damned if I believed someone I had watched rip someone's heart from their body.
But I couldn't ignore the weird strength I had experienced while attempting to flee.
For some reason I had almost been too sure that I could break through the window.
The unexplainable body pains and migraines, coupled with the weird mark of the Moon I had been born with.
It all made sense now.
I wasn't a werewolf,
I wasn't part of the kind that had murdered my own mother,
I thought of all these as I was flogged.
For each whip delivered to my skin, his security counted and bared their fangs, placing a bet about how long I could last before I finally died.
My throat was patched and dry, my heartbeat slowing down with each passing moment.I was better off dead.
My wet eyes fluttered shut slowly, mental and physical exhaustion struggling against the aches from broken bones and torn flesh.I was almost floating, almost completely detached from my body when the doors opened.
Hell, for a moment, I imagined someone barging in to save me, an empowering vampire aura filled the room.
Security turned to the newcomer immediately and bowed.
"Xavier, the governors are starting to complain that they haven't seen you yet."
It was a female voice, dripping venomous chill which made me shudder awake.
"Oh, I see. Are their packages ready?"
"Yes. Seems you got yourself a little entertainment. Can I join in the fun? I bet she can make me happy."
Xavier's chuckle penetrated into my shattered soul.
"This one won't live long enough for that. I'm even thinking of entertaining that wolf territory with packages of her bones."
The lady was amused.
"Oh starting a war right now will ruin our plans. Besides, she doesn't look that important; could be an omega slave or something more worthless. Not worth the troubles at all."
Xavier stood, adjusting his suit jacket.
For a moment, he turned to meet my eyes, and I felt none of the pain in my heart and forgot for a second how much of a monster he was.
His eyes swept through my battered state and he parted his lips slightly.
"Pete, get rid of her quietly, I don't want my governors knowing about this. Like Lilith said, we aren't fully prepared yet. Do you understand what I mean?"
The one who held the iron whip nodded, his tone more eager than required.
"Yes, your highness, I won't fail you."
"Don't make the mistake of leaving any trace behind. Send the picture we took of her to the doctor and tell him that she would only be alive for the next one hour, though my men tell me he's on the shores of England as we speak. The rest of you, let's get the party started."
He said again, waving me off as if I were a little fly.
Just when I thought they couldn't possibly say more vile things, Lilith muttered,
"The doctor surely lived up to his name and kept some minor slut as his mistress."
Then they were gone.
"Okay, you heard the king, wolf."
The bastard Pete unshackled my chains as he spoke, a low guttural chuckle leaving his lips as he obviously found satisfaction in my pain.
I was disappointed with life and given up on it.
If everything were true, then the man I had taken as my guardian had abandoned me and left for a city on another continent entirely, and I was something I had detested...
I wouldn't spend the rest of the little moments I had to live thinking of that, nor the accusations and tortures I had endured tonight.
I was once a bubbly little girl who followed her mum everywhere and believed in fairytale and Prince charming coming to save the world from injustice.All a crap load of bullshit.
I was limping as Pete took the dark stairs which seemed like it led to a dungeon, but I was detached from my pain and felt nothing even as his rough disgusting fingers brushed through my arms.
Suggestively.
Had I some life left, I would have flinched and put up a fight even if I was nowhere near his bulky physical body.
Then he swiped his tongue over his lower lip, and groaned, his nostrils briefly brushing against my neck.
"Hell, you sure give fucking good blood."
I was repulsed down to my bones, but my body which had become an emptiness of pain made no attempt to show its disgust.
Taking that as an encouragement, the bastard moved closer to me, his palms halting mine as soon as we got to the dungeon.
It was darker than expected, with chains and equipment I didn't recognise hung over a red headboard. It seemed like a place of torture but smelt strongly of sex and blood.
I was revolted.
"You know, I could show you a good time before you... leave."
Leave?
I would have died first before letting this beast touch any part of my body, but I swallowed hard and stood stiffly, a part of my eye swollen from being thrown against the wall.
He sniffed my body again, running his rough dirty hands through my sticky body.
"I could be rough...or gentle, depending on your cooperation."
Mental, physical, and now sexual abuse?
When I didn't respond, he sneered with his lips turned to the side, and pulled down his zipper.
It was going to be the worst thing I would endure before my death, and I shut my eyes against that stinky smell of semen and heat.
The bastard had had sex already tonight and still wanted some?
"I bet you will enjoy sucking me off as much as you service the doctor..."
Adrenalin returned to my blood, perhaps he would have also succeeded in defiling me, but for the first time in my life, a miracle happened.
One second he was pulling down his underpants and the next he had slumped on the floors, blood gushing through the empty holes drilled into his body.
Then they jumped in through the broken windows, wolves and people in dark outfits bearing weapons surrounded me before I could do as much as process the death in front of me.
But the most surprising of all was the lady that led them, the one who had visited me at the diner a few hours ago.
Her eyes were nothing sort of flirty now, determination gathering in her aura as she placed each leather boot in front of the other.
She stopped in front of me and...
Knelt.
What the hell was happening?
Then she parted her lips.
"Forgive us for being so late, your lycan highness. Did anyone touch you?"
Jackets and water were being handed over to me as though it were a normal occurrence.
"I... No." It was all I was say, relief flooding my tone and her eyes as she tilted her head to the side, taking a breath of relief.
"I know you are confused and have so many questions, but we only have fifteen minutes till the distraction we cause blows up. We've called the best Royal pack doctor who waits in the jet as we speak. Please, come with us, let's ensure your safety first."
Jet? Royal pack doctor? Lycan highness?
I was confused about everything, but I nodded, needing to get away from the stench of what I had been through.
The lady smiled, reaching her hand towards me.
"I am Alpha Gaia, privileged to make your acquaintance, your lycan highness."
Of all the most arrogant and infuriating bastards... How dared he startle me by using his vampiric abilities to swiftly stand behind me? And in the name of all that was the very most unholy, his breath was tickling my ears, his potent strength and cologne making to destroy my resolve. But because I had a mission against this man, and had the awareness that he had done this to get a reaction from me, I forced a smile, taking a step away from him. "Yes, your highness." It was his turn to express surprise, and I held my chin as I gauged his reaction, my blood boiling with adrenaline, heart pounding, and wolf leaping. Sometimes I wished to put my wolf to a long sleep so she wouldn't ruin my plan. And finally, Xavier cocked his infuriating magnificent head to the side, "Well, come in then." But added as soon as Beta William made to follow me, his guards suddenly putting a distance between me and my beta. "No, only she goes in." I saw fury flash through the beta's eyes and shook m
"But grandfather...""It does not matter whether you were infuriated by his words, you went through royal school for four years to learn how to control your emotions! You think I don't want to rip the bastard's head off his body and feed him to our rogues in jail? You should have controlled your emotions better! That's why you're not some commoner, Artemis. But a lycan!"I stood before my grandfather, everything capable of having feelings in me inducing emotions of anger and resentment.I wanted to kill the fucking bastard.I sucked in a deep breath, palms clasped together as I stood with my noble chin raised upwards. It wasn't enough to console me, but at least my grandfather had waited till evening after his office hours before calling me to his courtroom. "He is a royal guest, Artemis, and as much as even I hate to have him, the laws dictate that based on how he penetrated his way into our territory, we are to be hospitable towards him. Besides, I do not need any war with vampire
Goddess, I was almost ready to give it up had he not spoken again, this time, amusement clouding his features."Now if I had seen this palm before, I wouldn't have mistaken you for the stable help. This is the hand of a princess who doesn't know anything about survival of course. Privileged pampered, princess"My eyes widened and narrowed of their volition. I hadn't expected him to bring that up in front of... Everyone.Nor had I expected such vile accusations from him.Now he saw me as an over privileged princess who knew nothing about the suffering of the common wolves?He had no fucking idea.My grandfather cleared his throat and I blinked, regaining myself and slowly releasing my palm from his hold although I just wanted to smack it against his cheeks.It was becoming overused even to me, but how dared he? Did he know half of what I had been through before spewing that shit from his lips?I took a deep breath of my own and forced myself to genuflect before going to take my seat be
What the fuck? My lips hung open, my eyes blinking like a pair of blinding lights had been flashed into them. But goddess knew that was exactly how I felt. I swallowed hard, hating that smirk in the corner of his lips as he walked past me and...laid his hand on the horse I'd nurtured for years like my own child. The proud selective horse who had thrown every other person off its back except me. But was currently neighing in a somewhat excited manner when he fucking mounted her. How many of what belonged to me did this bastard want to take? Then he turned to me and motioned towards the doors. "Open the door and take good care of this babe for me while I'm here, and perhaps I could pitch in a word to your King. Say, you can work at the castle then." And the idiot who had taken me for a stable girl fucking winked, and motioned for the door with a crook of his finger as though I were his slave. What the hell? Why was I standing there in the middle of the stall seething in si
I didn't calculate properly, how difficult it would be to stay in the same roof with your mate who had once declared your death and in fact believed that he had killed you. But no amount of calculation or pep talk could ever prepare me for the kind of pain that hit me sometime in the night after I tried many times but failed to fall asleep. It gripped me so fucking hard I popped painkillers and gulped down glasses of water, massaging my chest and mourning my inability to reach into my heart and simply rip it out. Because dying was better than that pain. It hurt like a bitch and I hated that I recognised its source so much and now knew properly, what it meant. Xavier, my mate, was fucking someone else. I couldn't stop imagining one of those human girls he had brought with him, nor could I stop myself from conjuring images of him drinking from them while they blew him off or went as deep as having his dick in their holes. Those cheap disgusting bitches. I hated them all and
"Holy shit! He's so hot it's difficult to hate him." I almost felt my heart jump out of my body, colour flooding my cheeks in embarrassment at being caught drooling over the vampire King. But apparently I wasn't the only one who found him attractive since Leila who had just whispered in my ears and even Jane were unable to keep their eyes off him. The thought of their eyes feasting on him had emotions of anger crawling inside me. Only we had the right to gush over him that way. I curtailed myself and tilted my head more upward than required, returning Leila's words with a whisper of my own. "You've found your mate, young lady." And the good princess cousin of mine winked at me. "Which is the only reason I'm not pouncing on him right now." Now that didn't seat well by us. Well, luckily my grandfather whose pride was being wounded by Xavier for the umpeetenth time stepped in at that moment, halting the shenanigans of drooling over the vampire whom I just noticed was surroun
Awkward silence reigned over breakfast, wolves' fury spreading an aura of discomfort in the air. An unlucky Royal chef made the mistake of opening the glass plate a little too noisy and received a deep glare from the Luna. It was one of the rare times I had seen her angry. Hell even Dominic lost his playful mood and didn't whisper a joke to me about the chicken breasts. My appetite was gone, mixed emotions playing with my heart in a way that I didn't like at all. I needed to let out my wolf and embark on a really long run.After that sham of a breakfast, the Alphas entered the courtroom again, hearts heavy with the insolence bestowed on them. I didn't converse with the lycans as I always did, but we all left for our various quarters, silence and tension reigning over the royal pack house. Despite our restlessness, we somehow felt it in us that Xavier was in the territory, which drove me to pick up my phone and text Leila.She replied after a minute.'Just spoke to the Luna. App
Between the Monday we had that dreadful breakfast meeting and the next week, I did extra laps in the morning, hunted smaller animals and rode for hours. I spent so much time at the shooting range it left blisters in my palms for days and released more arrows at the field. Then I did some more extra laps, prancing through the forests to clear my mind even as howls tore from my throat. It wasn't any consolation, but I wasn't the only one on edge. Grandfather cussed more and stayed in the court room with the Alphas while the Luna held endless meetings with the staff. Within those few days, the East wing of the Royal Pack House was wiped clean and redecorated, and Delta Sarina, the Royal chief of staff walked around in flats firing orders at the staff. On Sunday evening, the royal kitchen was bustling with activities and more warriors were dispatched in different borders of the cities and parts of the castle. As for us lycans, we had the duty of looking and acting hospitable towar
Four Years LaterArchery, pack hunting, shooting, martial arts, pack training.Today, I added another record to the ones I already broke over the years; beating Dominic at horse riding for the third time this week."And that cousin, is how it's done. Want some consolation prize so you don't go crying to your mummy?"My cockiness wasn't lost even to my own self, but if I couldn't mock my sweet sweet cousin for losing to me yet again, at a skill he had perfected years before I started training, then what was the fun?Loser cousin dearest of mine was panting for breath as he dismounted the healthy brown horse which had been undergoing more stress over the past week as a result of its owner trying hard to defeat me,And of course, failing.He pulled off his helmet to reveal damp hair stuck to his forehead, his skin flushed from the effort he had put into today's training."Were you not beautiful Artemis, you would have just been an ass. Now you get to be a pretty one."I gave him the midd