The door slammed shut and my heart skipped a beat. I watched Lycan Cassius drop his box case on his large, king-sized bed. He took off his shoes and turned around to look at me, still staying close to the door. I lowered my gaze, and I felt footsteps coming towards me quickly.
"What skills do you possess?" His question sounded abrupt, and my gaze remained lowered as I didn't have an answer to this.
He raised his voice, and I felt his fists knocking at the air. "Take your eyes off the floor and look at me when I am speaking to you."
I quickly raised my gaze, setting it on his chest instead. I couldn't return those brutal stares. They were piercing my eyes. The room felt tense, and for many reasons, I just wanted to go out and breathe a deep sigh of relief.
"I can see that mark on your neck. It's an honorary badge given to warriors, but it amuses me that you can't answer a simple question," he said, a smirk playing on his lips which faded the moment I stared at him.
"Keep the gaze intact," he commanded and leaned in closer. "I will have my men take that badge off your neck. You belong to me now. Not as a warrior, but as my property."
His hands grabbed my neck, and he gently pushed me to the wall, sniffing the air around us. "I will advise you to learn your place in this pack before I teach it."
His voice became so low and threatening. "I don't care what badge you might have received in your pack. All that matters is... you're here. You don't breathe until I tell you to."
And then he dropped his hands from my neck. That tingling sensation I felt rippling across my skin vanished. That must have been a result of the pressure he held my neck with.
"I don't understand why Jace has not yet arrived. He will show you where to stay, and he will give you some instructions to follow. If being alive is one of your plans, I suggest you follow his rules without complaint," he said and turned towards the door, while my breath remained shaky. I had started staring at the floor again now.
And then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the reflection of green eyes on the door as curiosity raised my head. It was actually a reflection of his green eyes. He stood quietly while his eyes reflected illumination, and suddenly, he snapped back to life.
"What took you so long?" He asked in a low tone as the door kicked open. A middle-aged young man with nice features walked in, bowing his head. He had a muscular build as well, but not up to half of Cassius’s.
Cassius must have sent a mind message to him, I said to myself and snapped back to reality when I heard my name.
"Safely guide the little Camilla to the last room here," Cassius said, his eyes complimenting his words while his Beta stood there, a little confused about the order.
"I have contacted the Omega District, and they are eager to welcome her. There is plenty of work to do and..." His Beta spoke firmly, but Cassius cut his words short.
"Are you telling me what to do? Are you adjusting my command?" Cassius growled. "Show her the room and return to your duty."
The Beta lowered his head and stretched out a hand to me. "Please come with me, little Camilla."
I quietly stepped behind him, and my mind felt freed the moment I left the Alpha's room. It felt like I had just gotten out of captivity.
I heard the low chatter of the wolves outside. I saw different sets of girls walking up and down in this Alpha's dormitory, some discussing schooling, some discussing mating issues, and I was almost losing myself to these imaginations.
We finally reached the doorstep of my new room. I thought about this again. The Beta was actually right. Was I not supposed to work in the Omega District? He told me he didn't care whatever I might have been in my old pack. All that mattered to him was my presence here and the fact that I would obey every last one of his orders.
The Beta pushed the door open and stepped inside, letting the switch come on. Fear gripped my heart for one second. How could I be given this large and beautiful room? It felt awesome so awesome that I was close to declining this great gift.
"This is the room. Guards will be here for you very soon. The mistress will attend to you as well. Please ensure you stay inside here and don't cause any commotion to the pack," the Beta said and slightly lowered his head.
It was brave of me to reply with a bright smile, but I guessed it was worth the risk. He replied with a bigger smile and stretched out an arm. "My name is Jace. How about you?"
"C-Camilla," I said, smiling.
"Yeah, I've once heard that name," Jace said and quickly switched the topic. "I have to go now. Take care of yourself, Camilla."
I waved at him as he walked out of my room with calculated steps. And then that fear returned to my mind. The Beta slammed the door shut and probably locked it from the outside. I stood in the center of the room as I took in the features: white marble tiled floors, the walls painted with silky brown, and several diagrams hung on the wall. The bed was properly set, and my mind suddenly came up with a thought.
"His previous mates could have made use of this room. There are female materials in here," I said to myself as I walked toward the wardrobe. I wanted to feel scared. I wanted to feel unsafe. I wanted to feel anxious. But I sucked it all up.
He didn't throw me off to the Omega section. He didn't claim he'd beat me up if I didn't give a response. Maybe his previous mates had too much anger in their tone. Maybe they didn't. Maybe I was just new to this and felt he was an innocent master who just wanted everyone to be under his control or maybe not.
The weather began to change, and it was getting cold now. It had been many hours, and no one had arrived yet. Just as I was thinking about that, I heard a soft knock on the door. I rushed to get it open and saw a young maiden. She lowered her head, and two guards did the same.
"My name is Kate, and I will be here to help you with anything you want," she said, and my response came out in a low tone. I didn't know how to treat lowly people. I was a high-ranked warrior in my pack, fine, but at the same time, I didn't have time to relate with so many people. I just helped them with tasks and missions and kept my focus on my supposed mate who rejected me and on my friend Noelle, the architect of my deep sadness.
"Please come in, ma'am," I lowered my head as well and shut the door behind me as she walked inside. She led me toward the bed and told me to lie down while she spread sheets over me because of the cold.
It felt so different. It felt so dangerously comfortable to be treated in this manner. But my heart cried out to the goddess to take me out of this comfort zone if the dead end would be the fate of Cassius’s two previous mates.
Camilla's POVThe tick of the clock jolted me awake as I stifled a gasp. I hoped I wasn't running late already. I sighed when I saw that it was just 7:09 a.m. I let out a deep breath, and my eyes caught the view of Kate mopping the floor and wiping sweat off her forehead with her palms."You're up? Oh wow," Kate said happily and dropped the mop to the floor as she tried to reach me, but I stopped her midway."You've woken up so early to work. I'm going to do the same thing. I hope your night was great," I said with a wink, and she nodded and smiled.I quickly searched the wardrobe for my work attire. Cassius had sent Jace last night to deliver the clothes to me. I would need to wear them each time I was going to work in his room.I rushed out of the room after wearing it. I walked quickly to reach his room, as the clothes were revealing. I had to cover my chest with my palms as I hurried off.The door was slightly open, and I let out a final breath before stepping in. The guards knew
Camilla's POVThe sound of low laughter jolted me awake as my eyes snapped open. Fear gripped my heart, and I clutched the sheets above me. Where was I?I stared at the walls of the room, the wallpapers hung on each end, and the door made of mahogany, and slowly, my memories came back. Memories of last night swooned to my head, and I stretched out my arm. Getting up to turn the lights on, I felt a hand pat me on my back, and I froze up on the bed. I slowly turned to look back, but the person's voice reminded me of who it was before I could confirm for myself. "Did you have a bad dream? I'm sorry, I should have woken up long before you did," Kate, the mistress that was assigned to take care of me, said to me. Funnily enough, I didn't even know someone else slept beside me. I must have slept off last night. "No, it's nothing. I just wanted... to turn the lights on," I said in a low voice as I yawned. "I didn't even know when I slept off last night." She hopped off the bed in an inst
The door slammed shut and my heart skipped a beat. I watched Lycan Cassius drop his box case on his large, king-sized bed. He took off his shoes and turned around to look at me, still staying close to the door. I lowered my gaze, and I felt footsteps coming towards me quickly. "What skills do you possess?" His question sounded abrupt, and my gaze remained lowered as I didn't have an answer to this. He raised his voice, and I felt his fists knocking at the air. "Take your eyes off the floor and look at me when I am speaking to you."I quickly raised my gaze, setting it on his chest instead. I couldn't return those brutal stares. They were piercing my eyes. The room felt tense, and for many reasons, I just wanted to go out and breathe a deep sigh of relief. "I can see that mark on your neck. It's an honorary badge given to warriors, but it amuses me that you can't answer a simple question," he said, a smirk playing on his lips which faded the moment I stared at him. "Keep the gaze i
Camilla's POVI sat on the floor, hugging my knees as the air grew heavier around me. My tears had dried into my skin, but my chest still throbbed. All through the night, I had waited for Damon. I stood outside the Elders’ quarters, whispering his name, hoping he’d look back, just once. He didn’t. He left me standing there like I meant nothing. I threw a pillow at the wall, but the ache inside me didn’t budge. It wasn’t the wound on my body that hurt the most. It was the silence. The absence. The fact that the one I loved shut me out. My wolf hadn't spoken since I got injured. I wanted her voice, her strength, her comfort, anything but she had fallen quiet, and so had the goddess.Tomorrow was the official rite. Damon had to present a Luna. It was meant to be me. Before my body failed me. Before I became something he could toss aside.“Please,” I whispered into the stillness, quiet room, with a trembling voice. “Please talk to me…”But my wolf didn’t answer.I stayed there for a whil
Camilla's POVI was warned about the danger of the rogues along this border, but my instinct gave me no room to reconsider. With my claws thudding against the ground, I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. That could only mean one thing; retreat. But I was soon surrounded by rogues, their teeth bared, ready to tear me apart.I lunged at them, kicking hard at their heads, fighting off tens of wolves with what little strength I had left. I glanced back toward the direction of my pack. Noelle was nowhere in sight. She had run off the moment she heard that menacing howl echo through the air.The rogues charged at me, letting out guttural growls, their eyes dark and wild with hunger. I met them head-on, fighting with every last ounce of strength until something struck me from behind.My eyes snapped shut as I crashed to the ground. I felt the scrape of leaves and the sting of stumps bruising my face as a wolf pounced atop me. It drove its claws into my spine, and a painful moan tore fro