Chapter 3

SELENE

Selene felt a pounding rhythm inside her head. She tried to open her eyes because the blinding lights in her surroundings really made her irritable and made the pounding stronger. 

And she also tried to move her hands to cover her eyes. Alas, her hands just stay limp beside her body. She understood she could not move her body as she wished because she was just regaining consciousness. 

When she finally opened her eyes, she saw intense black eyes staring back at her. His thick and full eyebrows furrowed deeper once Selene blinked. 

“How are you feeling?” His voice was hoarse but sounded exotic to her ears. 

Was it possible to get a shiver when you heard somebody talking? Because that was what Selene was feeling right now. 

“Hi…” she tried to say something, but her voice was small and cracked. 

“Do you want a glass of water?” Selene nodded, and the stranger rose from the plush leather chair beside her bed and went toward a cabinet where a pitch of cold water was there. 

Selene watched the stranger as he efficiently put the water into the glass and came back to sit beside her. She sat up, leaned on the headboard, and received the glass.

She drank all the water and felt more humane now. 

“Who are you?” The stranger leaned into her and started the interrogation. 

“I’m Selene.” She replied. 

“Where am I? Where is this place?” Selene felt disoriented and still could not grasp what exactly happened to her. 

Selene looked around this room and realized that this room was so spacious and luxurious. Filled with high-quality leather, drapes of beautiful and tasteful silks here and there, gold ornaments decorated on the walls, and shining, sturdy black tables at the end of the room. 

“This is my room.” He said curtly. 

“Now… answer me truthfully. Why are you here? Or rather, why were you at the Ariadne Forest?” 

The condensed glass she was holding helped Selene to focus on answering the question and putting back the puzzles of information inside her head. 

“I honestly do not know. One second I was in my bathroom, and then boom, the next, I blinked. I was suddenly standing inside that forest!” Her heart was beating loudly and faster as Selene remembered one by one what happened to her before she fainted. 

This handsome stranger lifted his left eyebrow upon hearing her explanation. 

Yes, it was unbelievable. But it was exactly what happened to her just a moment ago.

“Oh! And there’s… there’s.. freaking huge wolves! Like literally huge.” Selene shuddered when she recalled her last memory before she lost consciousness. 

Dozen or more enormous creatures surrounded her. Waiting to pound her. It was a miracle she was safe and sound in this luxurious place. 

“And who are you?” Selene asked back. She wanted to repay his kindness after getting her safely here. 

“I’m Lucius. Listen… Selene, do you have any idea why you were here?”

Selene shook her head. 

All of this was an absurdity for her. 

“Could you tell me where this is? I mean, this place, that forest. I have no idea where I am right now. And how could I come here?” 

She observed Lucius intently. He was big, tall, and sinfully handsome. The epitome of tall, dark, and handsome; like the novel describes the main character. 

His hair was dark as night, thick, full, and wavy. His eyes were dark as well. The darkest brown that it could pass as black in the dark. 

His face was what painters called an angel face. Or rather… a devil’s one. It was just like a perfect Greek God sculpture. The angles were perfectly put, so none was the bad angle if he posed in front of the camera. 

“You are in the King’s room of Lafazall Kingdom, Selene.” 

She blinked her eyes. 

Kingdom? Wolves? Mystical forest?

What did‌ these mean?

“Wait… you said this is your room?” Selene was sure that was what this man said to her several moments ago. 

“You are correct.” He nodded. 

Did that mean he was the king of this kingdom?

“That means you are the king!” Selene whispered back, and Lucius chuckled, hearing how Selene whispered to him. 

“That I am.”

“Wow! You’re a king!” Selene looked upon him in awe after knowing he was a king. Well, he indeed looked like a king and acted like a king. Full of authority, charming, and commanding. 

“Okay, now.. let’s return to our discussion, pet.” She frowned when he called her like that. She was not a pet! When she wanted to protest that nickname, he cut her off and asked, “From which capital are you? I don’t think you are a citizen of our kingdom. And do you know what a Luna is?”

“Oh, I am from a small city in Colorado.” She felt a bit of sorrow while remembering her hometown and her home. Could she go back to her home?

“And I don’t know who Luna is or who she is. I’ve never met her.” 

Lucius kept silent after hearing all of her answers. It made Selene frustrated. She did not know where this conversation would lead. 

“From what lineage are you? I’ve never heard about Colorado. Which kingdom is it?” 

“Uh… what do those questions mean? I don’t understand at all.” She countered back. 

She felt exhausted suddenly with these back-and-forth questions, which got more absurd each time they progressed. 

Deep down, she finally understood that she was not in the US anymore. The realization hit her like a truck. 

She was thrown into an unknown place that likely practised magic or at least had a magic influence there. 

“You have to stay here while we investigate where you come from. And in the meantime… you should prepare the next ritual once The Elders notice your presence here.”