I've cleaned multiple times again today. Alpha Draven has been watching me unusually closely, and I feel like something is coming. I don't know what, but something.
He never usually pays this much attention to me outside of the bedroom. So why now?
I followed their orders last night despite the immense pain I was in. I didn't refuse or say no. So I know I have not done something wrong with them, or at least I hope not.
"Mutt." I move and kneel at his feet. "I am busy; ensure the guest room is cleaned and ready for guests who may be staying tonight."
"Yes, Master." He stands and walks out. I walk through to the bedroom and fight back the vomit. The memories of last night are more potent in this room.
The blood is still on the floor and the bedsheets. Along with actual vomit because Alpha Ethan seems to have a fetish for gagging women to the point they are physically sick.
I began to clean the room, removing every trace of evidence of what had happened to me in this room last night. It takes far longer than it should due to my body hurting. The bruises are far more prominent today.
They cover every inch of my body, and my face isn't excluded; it didn't escape the torture of abuse. Carrying the sheets through the house to the laundry room, the maid looks at me and takes them. I stop when I see the Television on. I rarely get to see it or watch it.
It's the king, Alpha Prime Darius.
"Anyone is welcome, yes." He stands tall, his hair dark, and his eyes bright emerald.
"Does that include those of poorer backgrounds, without strong packs, or without a pack at all?" The reporter questions him, and the camera zooms in.
"Yes. There is no restriction on it, except the contestants can not be bitten and claimed." What is going on? I look towards the maid.
"You didn't know? After the king had died, Alpha Prime Darius took over. He's holding a sort of game, a trial for females between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five. He's looking for his Luna."
I didn't know.
"No, I shall not be personally selecting. How would that be fair?" He chuckles and leans forward, looking directly at the camera, almost like he is looking through the lens directly at me. "Magic will be used. Fifteen women, one winner. However, there is a chance a lady may be lucky and picked up by Alpha Kellan."
I hear claps and gasps. Alpha Kellan is his younger brother, the prince. So, while one will become his Luna and the queen, one will possibly be chosen by Kellan to be his Luna.
"It's easy. Those wanting to take part, go online, answer a few quick questions and await to be whisked away to the castle." His smile widens. I mentally record the website link.
I can find time, I'm sure of it. Turning, I leave the laundry room. I have twenty-four hours or less. The rules are simple: the entry form will be locked in twenty-four hours or when ten thousand women apply. Whichever comes first.
More than likely, the ten thousand women applying will be what closes it, not the time limit. I walk through and pretend to be cleaning; I briefly check the Beta's rooms, finding them empty.
Rushing, I sit at the computer and type in the address.
The form begins easily. Name. Age. Date of birth. Pack name if applicable. Questions regarding my appearance. Questions regarding my occupation or standing within my pack. Then it gets interesting. It asks about sexual partners.
That question, I lied on. I couldn't possibly answer the truth anyway; I don't know the exact number of men I have slept with or how many times I had sex.
Then it is the question about being bitten and claimed, I again lie. I will keep my mark hidden. Ten minutes later, I finished and submitted it.
Quickly deleting the history, I walk out and try to make it look like I am doing the regular jobs I am meant to. I doubt anything will come from this. He said everyone can apply, but even I know that those women will all have wolves and a pack and be high up in their pack. The daughter of another Alpha.
Me? I'm sold. I don't know who my parents are. I don't know if I came from a strong pack. I know nothing.
So of course I won't be chosen. If it was truly picked using magic, why require answers to so many questions? It feels more like it is so they can ensure the woman selected will be as good as Luna.
"Mutt." I walk through and kneel, lowering my head. I wait. "You have a gift." I don't raise my head, even though I want to. I have never been given a gift before, and I'm unsure what to say or do.
"You may raise your head." I lift it and look at Alpha Draven. "Apparently, you made a good impression on Alpha Ethan. He requested that he be allowed to give you a gift, and I agreed."
"Thank you, Master."
"We spoke, and he suggested you may find a blanket more beneficial than a gift such as a bracelet." He holds out the giant blanket, and I have to be honest, I would rather have the blanket than a bracelet or anything else.
My cell is cold.
"You may take it." I reach out, taking it from his arms. "You understand, I only agreed because he has decided to go ahead with our deal and felt you should be treated for your part." The words are almost growled.
He didn't want to agree. I can tell by his tone he wanted to refuse but couldn't. Instead, he agreed to get the deal signed.
"Thank you, Master. I understand."
"Good, you may leave." Standing, I walk out; it's late now. Returning to my cell, I unfold the blanket and wrap it around my body. It feels amazing.
Sleep takes me instantly; the warmth and comfort of the blanket are the perfect gift; I rarely fall asleep quickly; I need to either be in tremendous pain or be extremely tired as the coldness of my cell prevents me from sleeping.
Asher POVI look down at Katla. She's only a few days old. After speaking with Zyra, she decided that the space in the mountains would be a retreat—a place for us to escape to, somewhere Katla could get used to what it is like to live in the Dragon Kingdom.We have spent a few days there, but not many. Apparently, she wants to be in the palace close to the others. Part of me feels like that's because they were her support while I was hiding away.It's shown her what having a family around can do. We're close, minus Aurelia. She seems to be thriving with the Bears and keeping her distance. Other than returning that day when I was going crazy and needed help, she rarely came back. We've adjusted and got used to that, however.She wants her life away from here; she wants her own life, not one that is connected to us. She should have that if she wants it."Hey."Turning, I see Elijah walk to me.He laughs slightly and takes Katla from my arms. "You look exhausted; fun night?"It's only 4
Asher POVI walk out of the room and go to where I know they will be. As I step into the office, they turn to face me.Darius shakes his head. "You should be with Zyra.""I was, but considering this is brought on by the Dragons, I should be helping." I walk further in and look at the papers."Nothing to help with," my dad shrugs. "His son is clean, Seraphine can tell. Things were explained to him. He had no idea about the arranged marriage and, to be honest, was shocked, as he apparently had a mate."So the son won't be an issue. Is that what he's saying?"Look, both Eliphas and Durnalin are in the cells, away from each other. The son has gone. Apparently, he has a whole life with his mate. His dad told him the dragons had requested their presence at events." Darius explains.It makes no sense, though. "Why? Why would the dragons want the warlocks there?" How didn't his son question it?"Apparently, because Eliphas and his son are the strongest warlocks, they invited them to make a un
Asher POVI wait and watch."Prince Asher, soon to be King, tell me something." He walks to the bars and leans against them. "Where do Warlocks belong?"My head tilts; they belong wherever they want to. I don't understand his question."See, there is no answer as we don't belong anywhere. There is the werewolf kingdom, fae, dragons and everything else. Witches and warlocks are forced to live in one of those kingdoms, with no real power."So this was all about getting power? My body is pushed back, and my eyes widen as I see King Drakon reach through the bars—his hand clamps around Eliphas' neck.I guess he's fixed, and his curse is gone. My dad and Darius drag him away, and I watch Eliphas drop to the floor, clutching his neck. The blood runs down from where King Drakon's nails dug in."We need answers; killing him won't get them." My dad turns and faces Eliphas."Apparently, this was all for power." Which still makes no sense."It wasn't just for power. We wanted our own kingdom, our
Asher POVI'm anxious. It's been two days since the curse was lifted, and I'm glad to be back to normal. All that is at risk, though. Tonight, I have to be close to whoever is pretending to be King Drakon. That then risks it happening again, and if it does, will it start slow again or begin where it was removed?I've noticed Elijah, Storm, and Aurelia are quiet. Whatever was done has worn them out, which I didn't want."Are you ready?" Zyra hugs me, and I nod. I'm not. We need answers and to figure out who it is."Be careful, okay?" I don't like that I'm not going to be there."It's you who needs to be careful. You will be in a confined space with him. If anything goes wrong." She looks at me worriedly.Wrapping my arms around her, I smile. "I'll be fine; once he's in the cell, he can't do anything." I kissed her and gave her a final hug before walking away.Getting to the cells, I sit in one and wait. I'm hoping the plan works. If we can get him in the cell, then his magic and power
Asher POVI can see Zyra is struggling, and I don’t blame her either. She just found out her brother is missing.“Look, when Seraphine checked trying to find out the issue with him, she saw King Drakon, but it wasn’t him. Whoever it was is who we believe Cursed Asher.” My mum grasps her hands and smiles. “We’ve got people tracking down where your brother really is. There’s a reason for this, and it’s you, Zyra. Seraphine could sense the curses were put on Asher and Elijah to try and push you to return home.”Zyra looks around the room and seems increasingly worried. “What about Ryker? Is he okay? Does he know?” She waits, and I don’t know the answer to that.“I’m sorry, we don’t know. You need to stay here, Zyra. We have a plan, and we’re hoping Seraphine can uncover more when the person comes here.”She nods and sits, looking lost.“We are expecting Seraphine to return late tonight or early tomorrow. If they can’t fix the issue, then we will keep working to.” My mum smiles and hugs h
Asher POVAfter about an hour of sitting in the cell with Zyra, I ordered her to leave. I wanted to spend time with her, but she shouldn't have been sitting in the cells with me.So, I've been alone for hours, waiting to find out their plan. They hadn't thought this through. I need to leave the cell to go to the room. As soon as I step out of this cell, it will come back. Then what?I'm willing to agree to anything right now if it gets me out of this cell and back with Zyra. The footsteps have me standing, and I watch my dad and Darius walk towards me."What's your plan? How am I to do this?" They haven't thought it through."You need to shift." Darius looks at me.I laugh at him. Is that some kind of joke? "You want me to shift, so that what? I can kill people easier?"My dad sighs and steps forward. "Please do as you're told. You won't understand why we're saying you can shift, but shift. Into your wolf, not dragon."Of course, I won't understand; they haven't explained it to me. If
Elijah POVI sit in the office; Seraphine has left. She's meeting her family halfway in the hopes they have something that can help. Merfolk are powerful creatures with extraordinary abilities.Curses and such are something they specialise in."We're going to request that King Drakon attend a celebration for Zyra's pregnancy. It means we can get what we need and figure out who it is and what their aim is." My dad looks at me, and he makes it sound so simple. This isn't simple."He's going to ask why Asher isn't present, then what?" We can't lie and hide him. "It will look suspicious.""Not if Zyra invites him, she won't know, remember. She can invite him, and whoever is portraying King Drakon won't suspect anything. We're going to be honest and explain something is wrong with Asher, and he's not well."So we're not hiding the issue."He could be in the cell for weeks, so we've had things moved down there for him. The plan is later to test how he is with someone in the cell with him. T
Asher POVI watch as Elijah glares at everyone and backs up more."Elijah, we need to know." My mum steps towards him."I saw him once, just once! You all need to focus on Asher, not me! He's the one that is cursed, not me!" He shouts and steps back. He backs into my dad, and he grabs Elijah as Seraphine steps forward and grips his head.His screams echo around the cells, and it's all over just as quickly as it starts. His body falls to the floor, and he cradles his head."Well?" Darius looks at Seraphine."You're going to need a warlock, or I'll need to contact my family and see if they have something to clear the curses." Her words make me look towards Elijah. So, he is also cursed."Asher's curse is to make him push everyone out and make him think he has a mad wolf so that Zyra leaves. Elijah's was to hate Asher, likely to intensify it." Seraphine smiles slightly. "There's no mate, Elijah. The curse is what's stopping us from having a baby. There's no third mate." Her words have hi
Asher POVNo one speaks, likely because they know what I said is the truth. I need to die; there is nothing they can do to change that."Explain the process, what happened, how it started, when it happens." Darius pulls a chair over and sits outside the cell.I laugh. "Why do I need to talk? Why do I need to explain? You're proving you believe me by keeping me locked in here and being too afraid to come near your own son."Nothing I say can change that."Asher, I'm not opening the cell because I don't trust you to try and run. So explain it to me, tell me how it's progressed, and let's be sure that is what is happening." He waits, and I watch my mum, Elijah, and dad sit with him."It began with whispers. The words were barely audible, but I heard whispers in my ear. They got louder and began to sound like words. Whispers were one thing, but then I began to see people dead and my wolf above them." It was a warning to me to hide, to push them away, and not let them close to me."When do