003| The Morning After

~MELODY~

My head kept pounding, even as I slowly opened my eyes.

For the first time, I noticed I wasn’t in my room.

I froze instantly, heart pounding.

The soft gray curtains danced lightly in the wind beside a glass window, as morning sunlight spilled across the unfamiliar luxurious suite.

The bed I was on was too soft, too perfect.

The air smelled faintly of cedar and rain.

I looked down on my own body, only to notice I wasn’t wearing my last night’s dress.

Panic slammed into me.

I quickly sat up, but regretted it soon after as a wave of dizziness crashed into me.

“What the hell—”

But my voice came out hoarse.

I looked down again, noting that I was wearing a clean oversized shirt.

My legs were bare beneath the blanket.

I couldn’t find my soaked gown from yesterday.

My chest tightened so hard that I couldn’t breathe.

Did something happen last night?

Images from last night flashed through my mind.

I still recalled the rain.

The forbidden bar.

Alcohol.

The strong arms catching me in the cold.

And those piercing silver eyes.

Then nothing else…

“Oh my God!”

I pressed my hands over my forehead, heart racing.

What exactly had I done?

Suddenly, I heard movement by the door.

Startled, I jerked my head sharply.

A middle-aged woman wearing a black dress stood quietly near the door, like she had always been there.

She wasn’t a maid for sure.

She looked too composed to be a maid.

The woman bowed respectfully.

“You’re awake.”

My heart kept racing.

Where am I?”

“You are in the king’s private hotel.”

My stomach dropped instantly.

“The… King… like… the Lycan King.”

She didn’t respond.

That meant last night wasn’t some drunken hallucination.

It was… real.

The woman slowly stepped forward and placed a new set of folded clothes beside the bed.

“His Majesty had instructed me to make sure that you are comfortable.”

I blinked.

“Comfortable?”

Those words sounded too absurd to come from someone associated with the Lycan King.

I had never heard of anyone being comfortable around the king.

I could still recall the look of shock on the faces of his men, even though I was drunk.

“I need to go.” I said quickly, throwing the blanket aside.

The woman didn’t even react or try to stop me.

And that only made me even more nervous.

I stood up quickly, but then another wave of dizziness hit me.

I grabbed the bedside table for balance.

Perfect.

I groaned.

Guess I can now get an award for getting drunk and collapsing into strangers.

Even mom would probably wish she could rise from the dead and lecture the hell out of me.

The woman handed me a glass of water, but with an expressionless face.

“…um, thank you.”

She nodded.

There was something about her calmness that unsettled me.

It was almost like she knew something I didn’t.

Slowly, I gulped down the water, while trying to remember whatever I could from last night.

But all I could remember was still those silver eyes and shocked expressions.

For the first time, his strange question came to mind.

“Why… Why can I touch her?”

A shiver ran through me.

“Um… Did I, you know do anything embarrassing last night?”

The woman looked at me, and to my surprise, the corner of her lips raised slightly into a short smile.

“Well, that depends on your definition of embarrassing.”

Oh shit.

Before I could get the chance to ask further, she slowly handed me a black card.

“There is a car waiting to take you home, it’s downstairs.”

I didn’t respond.

My eyes were still fixed on the card and the elegant silver letters that were engraved across it.

COME SEE ME.

There were no other words on it.

No explanation, or even a signature.

Just cold, arrogant and strangely intriguing words.

I looked at the woman standing like a statue.

“What does this mean?” I whispered.

But she replied simply:

“His Majesty wishes to see you again.”

My heartbeat stumbled awkwardly, as I stared at her, not knowing how to react.

Why?

But that question alone felt very dangerous.

Why would a man like the Lycan King who hates women want to see me again?

And worse…

Why did a part of me want to go?

The woman stepped out quietly as though giving me the privacy to get changed.

For a moment, I contemplated escaping on my own without getting into that vehicle.

What if I actually did something terrible, and the king wanted to get back at me?

How would I survive it if I walked right into his car? Surrendering myself to his vengeance.

Chills ran down my spine.

“Are you ready, miss?” The woman’s voice came after a while.

Despite my fear, I still told her I was ready.

I still followed her out of her hotel suite, into the elevator and then into the black sedan that could actually lead to my death.

But it didn’t.

It actually brought me back to my father’s pack.

But it was the sight before me that almost made my heart stop forever.

For the first time, I wished I didn’t come back.