chapter 3

Lily's Pov

I woke up slowly, still feeling the warmth of the night before lingering on my skin.

For a few seconds, I didn't remember where I was. I lay still, listening to the silence around me, until I realized that I was no longer lying on the cold floor of the room where Axel had locked me away. I was on a soft bed, wrapped in warm blankets, and for the first time since I had arrived at the Ashford palace, my body did not feel as though it was about to break apart.

I turned my head slightly and stretched my hand across the bed. There was no one beside me.

My fingers moved across the empty sheets until they reached the other side, but the man who had held me through the night was gone.

I slowly sat up. The memory of what had happened returned in pieces, making my cheeks burn despite the cold morning air. I remembered his arms around me, the warmth of his body, the way he had kissed me, and the strange tenderness that I had never expected from Axel.

I touched my lips unconsciously. Then my hand moved to the back of my neck. My fingers stopped.

There was a small, tender mark there. My heart jumped for a little moment.

I carefully touched it again, almost afraid that I had imagined it, but the raised skin beneath my fingertips confirmed what I already knew. A mark, He had really marked me.

A smile slowly spread across my face. "So when Axel said he hated me, he didn't really mean it," I whispered to myself.

For two days, I had believed that I was nothing to him. I had believed that he saw me as an unwanted burden his father had forced him to accept, but the mark on my neck made me wonder if I had been wrong.

Perhaps he had only been angry. Perhaps he had been trying to hide his feelings. Perhaps last night had finally changed something between us.

My chest filled with a happiness I hadn't felt in years. My husband had marked me. The thought alone made my heart race.

"Maybe he finally accepts me," I whispered, smiling as I touched the mark again. For someone else, it might have meant nothing. For me, it meant everything.

I had spent my entire life being treated as though I was unwanted. My father had sold me because he believed I had no value. My sister had laughed while I was being taken away. Axel had locked me in a room without food or water. Yet last night, I had been held so desperately, Kissed, Wanted like his life depends on me and Marked.

I lowered my head, tears suddenly filling my eyes. "Thank you, Moon Goddess," I whispered. "Thank you for giving me something that finally feels like mine."

I slowly pushed myself from the bed.

My legs were still weak, so I used the bed for support as I stood. I took one careful step, then another, trying to remember the shape of the room from the night before. My hand brushed against something.

I froze when i touched something solid, It was a plate. I moved my fingers over it and felt the edge of a bowl beside it. The smell reached me a moment later.

It as food, My stomach immediately growled. I almost laughed.

"Axel is really a sweet man," I whispered, unable to hide the smile in my voice. "He even left food for me."

I sat down and pulled the plate closer. There was enough food to make my heart ache.

After two days of hunger, even the simplest meal felt like a feast.

I ate slowly at first, but my hunger soon took over. I finished everything that had been left for me, barely stopping between bites. When the last piece was gone, I rested my hands on the empty plate and breathed out softly.

For the first time in days, I eat to my full, For the first time in days, I felt hopeful, things seems like it going be better.

I stood again and carefully found my way toward the door.

I didn't know where I was going, but I thought I could find my way back to the main hall. Maybe Axel would be there. Maybe I could finally speak to him now he has accepted me.

Maybe I could tell him that I was grateful. Maybe I could ask him why he had changed overnight. I opened the door and stepped into the corridor.

I followed the wall with one hand, moving carefully because I still couldn't see where I was going.

I had barely walked a few minutes when I heard several female voices approaching. Their laughter grew louder.

I stopped to avoid messing with who i am not supposed to. "Who is there please?" I asked respectively. The laughter suddenly became quieter.

Then someone walked directly into me. My body stumbled backward.

Before I could regain my balance, a hand shoved my shoulder and I fell hard onto the floor.

"What the hell?" a woman exclaimed. I heard several girls laughing.

Then the same woman spoke again.

"Oh, you're the cheap little slut who came here to steal Axel from me," she said.

I frowned. I didn't understand, what she meant by that at all.

"Who are you, ma'am?" I asked, slowly trying to get back onto my feet. "Why are you doing this to me?"

A second girl laughed. "Wait, wait, wait," she said. "She's blind." The hallway erupted in laughter. My face burned in embarrassment.

I lowered my head, trying to ignore them. Then another voice spoke.

"Not only is she blind, but I can't even smell a wolf on her," she said with disbelief. "She is wolfless."

More laughter followed. I clenched my fists.

"Of all the people the White Wolf Kingdom could send as a subject of peace, they sent this blind, wolfless thing?" the girl continued. "I honestly don't know what Axel could possibly have found in her."

My heart tightened. I didn't know who these women were, but their words reminded me of everything I had heard since childhood. Wolfless, Useless, Worthless.

I slowly pushed myself up. "Please leave me alone," I said.

Someone grabbed my arm. I tried to pull away, but that grip was tight.

"Let go of me," I said. The woman didn't listen.

Instead, she grabbed my hair and pulled my head backward. Pain shot through my scalp. I cried out in pain.

"Who are you people?" I asked, reaching for the hand in my hair. "What do you want from me?" The woman pulled harder.

Then her fingers brushed the back of my neck.

She suddenly became silent. "What is this?" she asked. My heart stopped. Her fingers moved over the mark.

Then her voice changed completely. "Wait," she whispered. The laughter around us disappeared.

"What is it?" one of the girls asked. The woman touched my neck again. Then she screamed.

"Axel marked you?" I froze, She pulled my hair harder.

"How?" she demanded. I didn't understand why she sounded so frightened and angry. "What are you talking about?" I asked. She suddenly began shaking.

"No," she said, Her voice cracked. "No No No No! He can't mark you." She shoved me down. My body struck the floor. "No!" she screamed again. I tried to crawl away, but she kicked me. Pain tore through my stomach. "Please!" I cried. She kicked me again.

"You stole him from me!" she screamed. "I didn't steal anyone," I said, covering my head with my arms.

She grabbed my hair again and dragged me across the floor.

"You came here yesterday and now you're marked by him?" she demanded. "I don't know what you're talking about," I cried.

"You filthy liar!" Another kick landed against my side.

I curled into myself, trying to protect my body. Then I heard footsteps approaching from the other end of the hallway.

The women suddenly stopped. A man's voice cut through the noise.

"What's all this noise about?" he asked.

Everyone became silent. I knew that voice, it Axel's

My heart leaped. He really had come for me, Maybe he had heard what was happening, so everything would finally be all right.

I lifted my head. I couldn't see him, but I could hear his footsteps getting closer.

"What happened here?" the woman beside me asked.

There was the scents of guards, several men, and then the unmistakable voices of the Alpha King and Queen.

The woman who had attacked me immediately rushed toward Axel. "Axel!" she cried. I heard her begin to sob.

"I thought you promised to love me," she said. "Yes i did, so what is happening here? he said.

"I thought you promised to take care of me," she said through her tears. "You told me she was only a subject of peace. You told me she meant nothing. So why, Axel? Why would you betray me?"

"I didn't betray you," Axel replied. "How did I betray you?" The woman pointed toward me. i could see that cause, blind wolf can only see living being Aura but not what the look like only a white frame to indicate a living thing.

"You marked her," she accused. There was silence across the hall. Then Axel spoke, to break the silence. "No, I didn't," he said. My heart stopped. I slowly raised myself from the floor.

I couldn't understand what I had just heard. No? Who on earth is that possible? Or Maybe he was pretending because his family was there. I remembered the night before. I remembered his arms around me, His lips against mine, so he wont deny it.

The mark on my neck, I touched it again. "Axel," I said softly. Everyone became silent. I swallowed the pain rising inside my throat.

"After everything that happened yesterday, you want to deny me?" I asked.

I heard someone gasp. Axel's voice suddenly became cold.

"What are you talking about, you filthy thing?" he asked.

My heart cracked. I reached toward him, desperate to find him.

"You came to me last night," I said. "You held me, you kissed me, and you marked me dear, please don't deny cause everyone is here.

Then I heard the Alpha King speak. "What's going on here?" he asked. Axel didn't answer immediately. The woman who had attacked me began crying again.

"Look at her neck," she said. I could feel their eyes on me. Then Axel's voice came again.

"Wait," he said. There was something different in his voice now.

"What are you saying?" he asked. I touched the mark again.

"You marked me," I said. "No, i didn't you dog" Axel replied immediately. My chest tightened. He didn't sound like he was lying.

He sounded genuinely confused. The Alpha King stepped forward. "Let me see the mark," he said.

I lowered my head, The Queen gasped. "That's a mate mark," she said.

The hallway became completely silent. My heart began beating wildly. The woman who had attacked me started crying harder. "But how, i thought he said, she is dirt?" she asked.

Axel's voice rose. " of course l didn't mark her," he said. The Alpha King turned toward him. "Then who did?" he asked.

Nobody answered. The silence that followed felt heavier than anything I had ever experienced. Then Axel's voice became filled with disgust. "You mean someone else slept with you?"

I trembled. The Alpha King didn't respond. Axel suddenly laughed bitterly. "This is a taboo," he said.

My stomach dropped. "What are you saying?" I whispered. He turned his anger toward me.

"You came into my territory, and didn't think of anything else but to go around to sleep with low wolves you are so disgusting you fool?" he asked. "No that not true," I cried . That's not true you say?" he repeated.

Tears rolled down my cheeks. "I thought it was you," I said.

His voice became colder. "You thought it was me?" I nodded.

"Yes."

The woman who had attacked me suddenly laughed through her tears.

"She's a cheap slut," she said.

The words struck me harder than the kicks had. "No," I whispered. I shook my head. "I didn't do anything wrong."

Axel shouted in anger "If another Alpha marked this girl while she was under our roof, this is a serious violation," he said.

I could hear the tension in everyone's breathing. I reached toward Axel again. "Please," I begged. "I didn't lie to you. I didn't sleep with anyone but you"

He stepped away from me. His voice was merciless.

"Guards!" My entire body went cold. "Come here and execute this filthy thing now," he ordered.