Chapter Four

"What could I do, something must have happened... He doesn't look good," Priya mused, trying to grasp what happened between Ethan and Cara.

Priya treaded on the tiled tainted floor, aimlessly in her room, thinking of a way to get back at Cara and win back Ethan's heart. Her mind became jam-packed, piled up with thoughts. "I can't take that from you... you're trying to turn Ethan away from me." She screamed, pointing her finger to the wall, like she was talking to it.

She removed the pendant dangling down from her neck, looked at it and smashed it down on the floor. She looked at the pendant lying lifelessly on the floor and picked it up a second time only to smash it against the wall.

She laughed hysterically like a wisecrack. "This is how I'm going to end you." She said to herself. She had just made an attempt to damage Cara's pendant given to her by Eretria in exchange for hers which she claimed to be stolen by Cara.

"Maybe I should go see Ethan again, I wonder how he is doing." She decided and checked out herself on the mirror that displays the whole reflection of her body.

In no time, she walked out of her room and hurried down the stairs and passed along the place where the slaves were always working. She spotted Cara and Laurel gisting amongst the midst of others while working.

"She looks happy after everything she's done." She said, silently with deep hatred. Priya doesn't look too good, being rejected by Ethan, she blames Cara for that. "Only if Ethan had not stopped her at the balcony." She muttered, gazed at her with a sinister expression and walked away.

"Ethan, Ethan." She called out to him as she didn't get any response from the inside after knocking on his door. On normal days, Priya doesn't knock on his door before entering inside, since they were both used to seeing each other. She's even got a spare key to Ethan's room. But this was different, She felt sacred as to what Ethan might do, maybe unleashed his wrath upon her the moment she got inside.

She called out to him a second time but got the same result as the first. "He does not want to see me, It's time for me to punish her." She snapped her finger and hurried down to Alpha Luke residence. 

She knocked at the door, crying, feeling emotional. She didn't even wait for a response before entering inside. She bursted into intense cry when she entered and went straight to Alpha Luke. Eretria was not around as she had got other business to do. She laid her head on his lap, whimpering in a low broken sound.

"What's the matter girl, talk to me, are you hurt." Alpha Luke asked, feeling eager to hear from her.

Priya cleaned her sly tears from her eyes as she explained what had happened between her and Cara. "Cara was the reason why I cried. I had my patience, maybe she's going to change but instead, she worsened."

"What has she done that made such a damsel like you to weep,"

"She, she.... she humiliated me, first, by stealing the gold chain mother gave to me, I was pained, knowing it was Cara who stole it." She muttered, "The worst part of it was that, she tried to seduce Ethan, your son, the future Alpha of our pack." She paused and continued. "That action can not be tolerated, especially when it is coming from a mere slave." She rubbed her eyes and bowed before Luke.

"Are you sure about Cara trying to seduce my son?" He queried

"Have I ever lied to you, father? I saw it with my own two eyes." She retorted, with a soft gentle voice.

Alpha Luke became infuriated after hearing the words of Priya. "That dumb headed slave, how dared she." He yelled, turning to his Royal guards and ordered them to go bring Cara with impelling alacrity.

"She should be either on the field or at the barn, cleaning the horses, the work that suit her best," She said to the wolves, feeling excited through her body language. "And if she's not, she'll be in her room." She concluded with a wink.

His werewolves dispatched and impelled themselves with great speed under their Alpha's directive. 

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Cara lay down on the tattered foam, looking at the ceiling. She thought about the words Ethan told her. She seemed confused, thinking about how he could have been her mate, how he could have done what he did. "Why did I perceived his scent in the first place if he isn't my mate," She questioned herself. 

She got up from the foam, feeling restless and walked unsteadily towards the mirror. "Mother, I don't know what to do. I was rejected by my mate because I'm just a slave." She shifted to her wolf at an instant.

Not that she didn't have control over her wolf but whenever she felt emotional or angered, she didn't seem to be able to control it. She moved her hand to punch the mirror but was interrupted when Laurel entered the room. 

"Cara, Cara, I guess something has happened." She gasped simultaneously.

Cara shifted back to her human form and gazed at her. She did not seem to understand what Laurel meant by her words and tried to calm her down. She sat her down but Laurel who was still breathing heavily doesn't really care about Cara's sympathy.

"I meant that, we are in trouble." She said

"Why would I be, I haven't done anything wrong to anyone," She queried 

"I also don't know why but I saw Alpha Luke royal guards heading towards this place." She said, trying to catch her breath. "I had to run, leaving what I was doing to come inform you." She said, feeling disturbed

"Is it you they are coming for?" Cara questioned

"I don't know, Cara, but." The door opened suddenly, stopping Laurel from continuing with her words.

Six Royal guards bashed in all together and gripped Cara where she sat. The royal guards are said to be the strongest, fastest and smartest fighter. They were always trained after some series of tests and trials and were attributed with the attitude of being immune to fear and sometimes pain.

They dragged her out of her room. "What has she done?" Laurel yelled at them trying to defend her friend. "Don't get yourself into trouble girl." One Royal guard said to her after hitting her against the wall.

Laurel grunted as she crawled away from where she was thrown down and rested her back against the wall. She watched as they dragged Cara away. Cara struggled with them in order to free herself but was slapped numerous times, causing her eyes vision to get obscured.

In no time, they got back with Cara who was already bleeding on her lips due to the beating. Priya smiled vaguely in anticipation of what Alpha Luke was going to do to her as the guards dragged her inside.

"What gave you the audacity to act the way you did?" Alpha Luke questioned. Anyone could tell that he was infuriated by his phrases.

"I don't know what you're talking about... I've done nothing wrong." She said, striving to defend herself.

Luke felt so furious and ordered a guard to slap her ten times on the same cheek. Priya rapidly implored that Luke should grant her the privilege of carrying out the order. She smiled devilishly as she was granted her wish. She slapped Cara with great force three times first, causing her to bleed out profusely from her lips. Cara could do only nothing as she had been held tightly on both hands.

Cara screamed and grunted as she continued, slapping her hard with both of her hands. Her fair cheek became red and her eyes got slightly swollen. She fell down immediately after Priya landed the last slap on her face.

"That'll be okay," Luke said, a few meters away from Priya. Priya shook her head and walked back to stand with Luke

"You'll have to be part of the slaves that would prepare for the welcome ceremony for our most important guest, Prince Roy Havert," Luke said with a deep thick voice and growled.

Prince Roy Havert was the Lycan prince of the Blackpool Pack. The Blackpool Pack ruled over all other packs. Prince Roy was only coming for an important ceremony that has always taken place on every full moon. Roy seemed to be the cold type of guy because of his cool face but yet unpredictable and dangerous.

"Sir, Alpha Luke... could... could I...I participate in the trials." She said, stammering, hearing what Luke said about the trials. The trials usually involved candidates being tested of their abilities but only the ones with a noble bloodline are qualified to participate in the trials after which whosoever that won has the opportunity of becoming a royal guard after being trained. 

Cara knew about this. She had once watched how it was done when she was still little and her parents were still alive in her pack.

Alpha Luke chuckled after harkening to her request. To him it sounded so absurd as she was just a slave making that kind of request. Luke moved close to her, bending down to her level as she was still on her knees, and said, "Did you seriously just made that request, don't you know how it's been done?" "The, answer is, no, you can't." He stood up and walked back to where he sat before Priya came to him.

Priya kneeled before her, moving her head so very close to hers "A good for nothing slave wanting to take part in the trials... who are you to ask that." Priya said with her words, trying to mock her.

"Why were you adopted in the first place... because your father and mother knew you were nothing... they hated you." Cara whispered in her ears, faintly and without fear of speaking out

Luke did not hear what Cara uttered since he was already discussing with a few of his guards, checking out a map on a round table. Priya became mad at her, filled with rage because Cara gave her no respect.

She felt so unsatisfied with the punishment given to her and thought of another way she could castigate her as a lesson of looking down at her. She walked away from her as she suddenly had a perfect idea of revenge.