After leaving the prison, Elena went straight home with her parents.
Her mother Eleanor prepared her a warm bath. Elena sank herself into the water and cried for a long time.
Too many betrayals and shocks in such a short time. She just didn’t know what to do next. Her head was in such a huge mess. And she couldn’t even talk about it with her parents. What Cory asked her was so humiliating. She couldn’t even say it out of her mouth. And her father might try to murder Cory after hearing it. She didn’t want to risk her parents’ lives for that.
“Then what should we do now?” Nyla asked. “He will push us again, L. I assure you.”
“You tell me,” Elena cried, hugging herself in the water. “I’ve never thought he would do this to me…never…never….” She couldn’t even come up with a full sentence.
They went back to painful silence.
After about an hour, her mother knocked on the door and called her, “Are you finished, sweetie? Jasper is here. Your father wants you to meet him.”
Jasper was Cory’s Beta and best friend, kind of her best friend too. A month ago, he accompanied Cory to the Dragon’s land, which meant he knew about Cory and Lennie the whole time, but he kept it a secret from her.
Elena knew Cory must have ordered Jasper not to, still, she didn’t want to see him. She hated all of them.
“No,” she cried. “Ask him to leave. I don’t want to see him.”
“Your father invited him here, dear,” Eleanor explained to her gently. “We are trying to find out what happened at the Dragons. You want to join us?”
That was something she desperately needed. Elena sat up from the bathtub.
“Yes,” she yelled and then stepped out of the water while wiping her tears.
She didn’t even have the mood to dry her hair or do makeup, just wrapped herself into the bathrobe and went out of the bathroom.
Eleanor gave her a warm bear hug first, then led her to her father’s office downstairs.
Jasper was already there, sitting on the couch. Seeing Elena walk in with such a gaunt complexion, his heart was drowned by shame and guilt.
“L,” he stood up and apologized while staring at her. “I am sorry.”
Elena didn’t want to have any interaction with him. She was too tired and angry to do so. She leaned against her mother, placing her head on her shoulder, and sobbed. Eleanor patted her shoulder and then led her to another side of the room.
There was a comfortable longue under the window. They sat there together.
“Now you can tell me what exactly happened at the Dragons?”
Her father, Orion, was sitting on the couch opposite Jasper across the end table. He asked Jasper in a calm voice. Which helped Jasper feel less nervous.
“Please don’t tell Cory I told you this, Sir,” he swallowed. “He will get angry.”
Orion frowned, “He had the guts to do it, then he should have the guts to bear the consequences too.”
Jasper swallowed again, but he started to talk, “I don’t really know what happened either. I swear. It’s just…on the first day we arrived at Dragons, some male dragons invited us to a club. We saw Lennie there and her friends. Those dragons told us that Lennie is their most precious princess, but she is extremely picky with men; No one had ever successfully asked her out for a date. Cory observed Lennie and said, ‘She doesn't seem that difficult to me.’ Those dragons then dared him to go after Lennie. Cory took the bet and went talking to Lennie… and then…”
“And then what?!” Elena asked from the other side of the room. Her eyes were filled with angry tears.
Jasper pressed his lips uneasily, but he went on with his confession, “That night, I came back to the hotel alone.”
That was basically saying Cory had hooked up with that dragon princess on the very first day he got to the dragon land. Elena couldn’t believe her ears.
Though she had seen Cory’s selfishness and betrayals, all the time, deep inside, she was still trying to find him an excuse. She thought it might be because his father had pushed him, or the dragon Alpha demanded him. She even thought it was because Lennie had applied some kind of spell or potion on him. Dragons are said to be good at that. She never thought it was Cory who made the first move.
“You are lying!!!” She stood up and stormed in front of Jasper. “Cory could never have done that!! He is not that kind of person!!!”
“It must be those dragons!” She raised her voice, eyes turning red because of rage. “They must have slipped some pills into his drink. They must have d/rugged him!! It was a set-up! Cory wouldn’t have done it on his own will!! He is faithful to me!! He loves me!!”
Jasper swallowed again. Now his gazes on Elena were filled with pity.
“Cory indeed loves you, L. I am not saying he doesn’t. It’s just…”
“Just what?!” Elena asked.
“Well,” Jasper pressed his lips hesitantly, then said, “he always admires the dragons’ lifestyle.”
Elena couldn’t understand. “Why do you mean?” she asked. “What about the dragon's lifestyle?”
Jasper cast an inquiring look at Elena’s father. Orion let out a heavy sigh. It was a painful YES.
Jasper went on, “I am talking about the harem, L. You must have heard it. The Kings of Dragons are allowed to have more than one wife. I heard Alpha Aubrey has at least 30 women in his harem. And he replaced them regularly.”
Elena thought she must have heard it wrong. Jasper quickly explained, “I am not saying that Cory wants to sleep with 30 women altogether, L. He is not like that. You know it. It’s just…he once told me, that’s what a king should be like, entitled to all kinds of stuff the others can’t. If he couldn’t have a different life from all others, then there would be no point in being the King. That’s what he always wants.”
“No,” Elena murmured. Her body started shaking.
What Jasper had just said was all too new for her to process. She refused to believe that the man she had been in love with since she was 12, had been dreaming of a whole different kind of life with her all the time.
He had promised she was the only one he could ever love. He had sworn she was the only love of his life numerous times in her ears. No one could ever fake that good. And no one could have faked that for 7 years.
Jasper must be lying. They all were. They all thought she was stupid. They all wanted to break her up with Cory.
Cory couldn’t be that deceptive and cruel. And she couldn’t be that blind and have noticed nothing all the time.
It was just not true. She refused to believe it was the truth.
“Liars!” She screamed, tears rolling down from her hysterical eyes. “You are all liars!!! It’s not true…It can’t be true!!!”
Eleanor walked up and tried to give her a hug. But Elena didn’t let her. She and her husband had vaguely figured out what was happening once they saw Cory with that dragon girl-Cory seemed to be genuinely fulfilled with that girl.
It wasn’t about l/ust or desire, at least that wasn’t the only reason. Cory was aiming for something bigger. It was more about vanity and power. He wanted to be at the top of the world. And he wanted all of it.
“Sweetie, please listen to me,” Eleanor begged regretfully. She and her husband had thought once Elena found out who Cory truly was, she would get over him more easily. But she forgot that lies and greed were only common among adults. Elena had already turned 19, but she was still living in her fairy-tale world, where her prince charming was the most perfect guy in the world and she would live with him happily ever after.
“You are all liars,” she said. “You are all lying to me. Cory’s not like that. Cory loves me. He only wants me. I am his mate, his true love!!! He wants nothing other than me!!”
“Sweetie, Listen-”
“No! No! No! No! No! No! No!” She screamed and ran out of the office, storming towards the front door.
She wanted to find Cory. She wanted to confront him. She was going to question him if he had ever lied to her or not. And she was going to clear it all up.
All those things, the dragon, the cheat, the prison, including that Lennie girl must just be some kind of misunderstanding. She might just be having a nightmare. None of those things had ever happened for real. She was just hallucinating. Once she found Cory and talked with him, everything would be back on the right track.
She would find Lennie had never existed. And she would marry Cory as she was supposed to. She would be his only wife. They would have their own home and live happily ever after.
Yanking the door open, Elena didn’t even realize she was still in her bathrobe and she wasn’t wearing any shoes.
But outside on the porch there he was, her prince. Cory was standing there, just about to knock on the door.
“Cory…” she froze on the spot and tears just streamed down from the corners of her eyes.
Cory was surprised to see her like that. But he knew too well how to make her feel comfortable and happy.
“Hi, baby,” he took a step forward and pulled her into his embrace, and then stroked her back gently while whispering in her ear, “I am right here for you. Don’t worry. There’s nothing for you to worry about.”
Elena was stuck in her dreams. She knew she was dreaming, and she felt her body, but she was trapped inside of it, and she couldn’t find a way to get out of it. She heard someone speaking beside her bed, “She just experienced too many shocks in a short time. It stimulated her nerves. After some proper rest, she will be okay.”It sounded like the kingdom’s doctor, Dr. Todd, but she couldn’t understand what he was doing here. Another voice in the room whispered something to him, but Elena couldn’t make out who it was. And then there were footsteps going away. But the severe headache she was suffering started getting worse. It almost felt like someone had just split her head in half. She knitted her forehead and cried out of pain. Someone took her hand and whispered to her gently, “Are you okay, L?”Elena tried to open her eyes but failed. She then called the name she trusted most, “Cory…” Tears streamed down from the corners of her eyes. Cory responded to her. He knelt beside her b
“Look around, L. We are not in our bedroom!!!”The moment she heard that, Elena suddenly sobered up from her devastating headache. She rolled up from the bed and observed, and then found that she was in a completely strange room. There were no lights on right now. She could only see some simple furniture vaguely. But she knew it wasn’t night outside. Because from the narrow window above her bed came dim daylight.“It’s a basement,” Nyla explained. “And there are silver bars blocking the window, and the door is iron. I bet we can’t open it from the inside.”Elena responded to her with nothing. She just got up from bed and then went to check the door. As Nyla had guessed, it was locked from the outside. She put her hand on the doorknob and pulled it. It wouldn’t open.“He locked us here, L,” Nyla cried. There was a rare trace of panic tinged her voice.Nyla was a competent wolf, always giving her mature advice and acting composedly. And when she started to panic, Elena knew they must ha
Cory had changed. The moment Elena saw that dangerous flash flicking through his eyes, she realized Cory had changed into a different person. Each time, when he showed up in front of her, he became more aggressive than before. Each day, the ego inside him grew bigger and bigger. His engagement with Lennie was like a demoniac key that unleashed this hidden beast inside him. Now he had gotten support from dragons. He had become powerful. He didn’t need to play by the rules anymore. And he didn’t need to pretend to be caring or ethical either.When you can get something by intimidation and threats, why bother to coax and act?The moment she saw that ice in Cory’s eyes, Elena knew she was doomed. She watched Cory walk out of the basement, and then heard him lock the door from outside. Her body went cold out of fear. Tears streamed down from the corners of her eyes. She knew she might never find a way to get out of this, but she couldn’t just give up like that. She could never share he
After Cory said that, he bent over and scooped Elena up from the floor. He carried her in between his arms in the bridal style which was very familiar to Elena. Only this time, she wasn’t looking at him, but at his neck. The lights on the roof of the hallway were very bright. It clearly presented every vein and muscle on his neck. Cory kept his head high, looking straight to the front, which exposed his artery. Elena had this strong impulse to bite it. Cory was an Alpha, but his wolf wasn’t that strong, not even half as strong as his father. Which was the main reason why he had been amiable to everyone around him before Lennie came. It was kind of the elephant in the room, the truth no one was allowed to mention in this kingdom. Elena fought him a few times during the training back when they were still teenagers. She wasn’t a feisty warrior, but she had the confidence to give him a fatal strike. As long as she sank her teeth deep enough, and shredded his neck completely when no one
The next day, when Elena woke up, she felt she had fully recovered. The dragon’s cure was very effective. She didn’t feel sick and weak anymore.Aurora and Bella brought a maid's suit to her, which was very different from the colorful but thin dresses they were wearing. Bella comforted her, “Don’t take it too personally. You attacked Lennie and tore her face. Of course, she will pick on you. The thing is, Lennie never attaches to things, neither good nor bad. She moves on very easily. As long as you play along with her, don’t go against her will, she will get bored in literally three days and forget about you. What happens next will depend on you and your king. You know what I mean.”Elena nodded her head. She knew those dragon girls would be partial to Lennie, but it didn’t really matter. Like Bella had suggested, her true enemy was Cory, not Lennie. She must escape from the kingdom and cut the connection with him.“My parents,” Elena asked, “did you get in touch with them? What did
Following all those dragon girls downstairs, Elena surprisingly found that instead of the dining hall, they went directly to the garden outside from the side door.It was late spring. The weather just started getting hot, but the plants hadn’t decided to go green yet. Withered weeds were everywhere and half of those trees were still bald. Lennie somehow found herself a place for a huge sunshade.A red carpet decorated by golden threads was under her feet, and in front of her was a long dining table for more than a dozen people. Lennie was sitting in a big luxurious armchair like she was already the Queen. Several wolf maids wearing exactly the same uniform as Elena were standing behind her with their heads lowered, waiting humbly. Ashely was the first one to step forward and saluted Lennie.“Your Highness,” she came to the side of Lennie’s chair and lifted up her thin dress along with an elegant bow.Lennie then gave her hand to Ashely for her to kiss. When their eyes connected, Ele
“What second chance mate? What are you talking about?” That was a totally unexpected answer. Elena was stunned, “We haven’t rejected Cory yet. How could we ever find a second chance mate? That’s not how it works.”“I don’t know,” Nyla’s tone became a little anxious. “I just have this feeling, Okay? We are going to the Rogue’s land anyway. Our parents are there, remember? So why not let Lennie sell us? I am sure she can find a way to bypass Cory. It’s two birds with one stone. Why not give it a try?”“Because we are civilized persons with dignity. We don’t sell our peers and we don’t allow ourselves to be sold,” Elena couldn’t believe what she had just heard. “Don’t you know what happens to sold people? They got slave marks on their necks, chains and shackles on their limbs. They will never be free again. They will never belong to themselves. They will get masters to tell them what to do. They might spend the rest of their lives in cages. Do you really want that kind of life?! Do you
Amidst the most furious rainstorm of the year, in the middle of one of the darkest nights, a young girl in a white dress was stuck into the last wagon which was heading towards the rogues’ land on that day.A newly branded triangle mark was on her neck which showed her number was 10712, and a bronze anklet on her left ankle classified her as one of those lowly Omega girls. But there was another thin silver anklet on top of that bronze one. It symbolized she came from a high-ranked family and could sell for a good price.The loader put a pair of heavy shackles on both her feet and locked the chain to the hook in the middle of the floor. After counting the number of those sold girls one more time, he locked the door from outside and yelled to the driver to start off.Once the wagon started moving, the rainstorm outside became less scary. Some of those girls started to whisper to each other, but most of them were staring at that new girl who was passing out facedown on the floor.“Do you