I: His Prey. His

I: His Prey. His.

~Roenna~

The gates slammed shut behind us as our car drove into the large and spacious yard.

The estate stood tall before us— existing in a gothic shade of all-black and gold touches beneath its shadows with its spires stretching toward the sky.

Even though my wolf hated it already, none of this mattered because I’d lost my freedom.

“Are you Miss Lancaster?" A middle-aged woman approached me with a smile as soon as I stepped out of the car.

I nodded, and as she asked me to come with her, she stretched her hand to receive my duffel bag, but I didn't release it.

Inside it were the few things I was allowed to carry.

"Welcome to the Lycan King's territory, Miss Lancaster. Please, call me Marilyn.” She said in a more formal approach as we headed inside the building.

It was expensive and exquisite, like something that had been preserved since the Middle Ages. Its walls had elegance and history carved and painted into them.

Every step forward here only reminded me that I'd been given off as nothing but a tribute by my Mother.

The maids bowed to Marilyn as she walked past them.

In a day or two, I'd have been in the same uniform… washing away my dreams of being an expert surgeon alongside the dirt on the kitchen dishes.

Marilyn took me to my room, asked me to settle in before the housekeeper would visit me. “Do not on any account leave your room before then, please." She warned before stepping out.

The moment she left, I inhaled very deeply. I'd been holding my breath and tears in since I dropped from the car.

Despite being born into a wealthy and prominent family like mine, my life was nothing to write home about because I was the black sheep.

In a family of pure Beta wolves, I was born as the only Omega.

My family hid me away until my Father passed away and my Mother took over completely.

Instead of making the world question how I happened, she made me live like a maid while my younger sister, Isabel lived as the golden daughter.

She was my Father's replica and of course, everyone's favorite.

I cleaned her mess after her and a week ago, she announced she was pregnant for my Traven, my fated mate.

Traven’s father and my Father used to be friends so technically, it made us family friends.

The day I found out he was my mate was the happiest day of my life because I'd liked him for a long while.

He accepted my matebond and fooled me into believing I was loved. Until I caught him in bed with my sister.

It hurt for a really long time, but eventually, I outgrew it.

My family went broke due to my Mother's mismanagement, and to be on the good side of the Nikolais, my mother had given me off as a tribute— a slave.

“Miss Roenna." A knock sounded on my door when the day was already pulling toward evening. That knock pulled me out of my thoughts.

I wiped my tears, pulling myself together. " I'm coming" I mumbled, rushing towards the door.

I twisted the doorknob, and outside there stood an old woman with about five maidens— all dressed in uniforms with warm smiles on their faces.

I stepped aside for them to come in.

“The girls and I are here to supply everything you need. From clothes to essentials…” she smiled.

From the way she spoke, I knew she was the housekeeper.

This was awkward.

First, were all the maidens addressed formally?

Second, on my way in, I'd seen a building on the other side of the yard with the poster ‘MAIDENS QUARTERS’.

Why was I to stay in here and not there?

"After that, we're to bathe and cleanse you.” Her tone was clipped, but it was more of a natural habit.

"Cleanse me?” My brain fogged.

“Yes. The cleansing ritual is essential, darling." She answered.

“Why.." I let out an awkward laugh. “What is the cleansing ritual for?"

She took a few steps toward me, then her hands endearingly found my shoulders. "It is very essential before you begin your duty and as it seems, you must meet the Alpha tonight.”

Was it mandatory for every maid to meet the Alpha? Had all over-a thousand maidens in the courtyard met him as well?

If so, how would my wolf stand that cursed man? Rumours had cut across regions, kingdoms, and packs about his curse of death.

He'd ripped out more hearts than the times he'd prayed to the goddess, they said. Rumours were not purely lies.

They undressed me, bathed me, and cleansed me with different pure salts, and when it was time to apply scents, I stopped them from using the rose scent.

My wolf hated roses.

I stepped out of the bathroom with a towel clinging to my body.

“Wear this." The housekeeper pointed fingers toward the bed.

My eyes landed on the two-piece black outfit lying on it.

My wolf hated three things: Color black. Roses—flowers or scents, and blood.

"It's a lingerie.” There must have been a mistake somewhere.

I turned to the housekeeper but instead, she answered patiently, "That's what you're wearing tonight.”

"No.” I shook my head, dropping it on the bed. “Am I to meet the king wearing that?"

Her brows pulled together as she and a few other maids exchanged glances. They obviously knew something I didn't.

She walked towards me and drew me in by my shoulders. "If you must breed for His Majesty

—"

The word registered too fast. “What?” I squinted, confusion occupying my head. "What did you say?”

She looked at me like I was unserious. "Listen, child.” She nodded at one of the maids in the room. "As King Xenos Nikolai's breeder, do what you must.”

My eyes watered and a twinge struck my chest. Breeder? What had my Mother done?

She read my face before I even said the words. “You didn't know?"

Right before her, my wolf tore apart. My reality was far worse than everything I thought.

Being a breeder meant that I'd give him children. I wasn't serving like every other maid.

I'd be the maid to serve him with my body and bear him children that would never call me “Mother"

Above all, one mistake could pluck my heart out of my body.

He'd killed nine breeders— nine of them and who knows? I could be the tenth.

No. Goddess. No. She looked at me with a deep sense of pity.

A few minutes later, I was standing before the entrance to the King's inner chambers in a wine-night dress, and around my waist was a large, thick, and long rope that travelled through the hands of ten guards.

The housekeeper hadn't mentioned why but I suspected it'd be used to drag out my corpse if anything went wrong.

"You can do this, child. Follow the rules I gave you.” She placed her hands on my shoulders with a reassuring smile that had very little effect on the fear within my wolf.

One of two things would certainly happen once I passed through the door: I'd either walk out alive to face my reality as a breeder or dead.

I nodded, my lips trembling even as I tried to stay composed.

She patted me gently before pulling the doors open.

For a fraction of a second, my fear vanished, and I walked straight into the dark room.

The King wasn't in, obviously.

Following the housekeeper's rules, I sat quietly at the edge of the large mattress, waiting for as long as she had told me to.

The air solidified with the muggy stench of blood, and my stomach twisted as the smell hit my senses.

With the strength of the small, my wolf would make me puke and the slightest mistake could make me lose my head.

Already tasting a little of my vomit, I got up, ready to leave the room, but in that moment, a low guttural sound drifted through the dark room. “Sit."

I fell back to the mattress in fright, forgetting why I even stood.

The overhead lights in the room burst alive and then I saw him.

King Xenos Nikolai. He stood at the end of the room, just behind the door.

Blood trickled down his forehead, landing on the hard planes of his bare chest.

He didn't look helpless or sane either… he had a vicious stare in his eyes.

Rule 1 broken: Don’t look into his eyes until he asks you to.

I squeezed my eyes shut as he treaded toward me.

“My prey.” He chuckled heinously. “Mine."