Chapter Three

Rashi’s POV

I woke up on the cold floor; my head, my bones and every part of my body ached  badly. It was the first time ever I had shifted, I sat up and grabbed the iron bars in front of me. A prison? I was in a prison cell.

"Oh no," I shouted, already getting furious.

Was this it? Was this the end? I had made a grievous mistake coming here. I thought the amulet was a guide, but it had led me straight into a cage. I paced around the small cell. I had a life. How could I abandon my job to be a prisoner in another world?

"Stranger!" a voice boomed. A guard appeared; he was tall and wore leather armor. He unlocked the gate with a heavy clank.

"The Alpha wants to see you," he grunted. Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed my arm and pulled me out.

I stumbled but found my footing as he dragged me through long stone corridors. We walked fast until we finally reached a set of massive wooden doors. The guard pushed them open.

It was a throne room. Sitting around a long table were men. They were the same wolves from the forest, but now they were human. At the head of the table sat a man who made my breath stop.

It was him. He had the same sharp jawline, the same burning eyes. It was the man from the photograph; it was Karan, my father.

I looked down at my hands, noticing I was human again, just like the men who sat here. I looked back at him; he radiated power and sat with a dominance that filled the room. So this was it. This was how Mom fell in love with this beast who looked like a human.

"This is real." I let out a loud sigh.

The room went silent, they looked at me, confused. They did not know who I was. I could not tell them I was human, nor could I tell them I was his daughter. Not yet, I had to come up with something quickly.

"Who are you?" the Alpha asked. His voice was deep and commanded obedience.

I swallowed hard. "I am an orphan," I lied. "My parents and I were traveling near the border. A forest beast... it attacked us. It killed them,  I managed to escape. I don't know how I found myself at your borders… but I have no place to go."

The Alpha narrowed his eyes. "Who were your parents?"

"Jarek and Danika," I said the first names that came to my head, the first werewolf names I saw from my research. "Of the Moon Ridge pack."

An elder with a long grey beard leaned forward. "I have been around a long time, girl. I have never heard those names in my life, nor of that pack."

I fell to my knees, trying to look as pathetic as possible.

"It would be cruel to send her out," another elder said softly. He looked at my torn jeans and dirty face. "She looks poor and homeless; she shouldn't be left to suffer in the wild."

"Are you mad?" another man shouted. He slammed his hand on the table. "What if she is a spy? What if a rival pack sent her? She could be an evil wolf sent to destroy us from the inside!"

"She is just a child!" the kind elder argued back.

"She is a stranger!" the angry one retorted.

They went on arguing, their voices rising in volume. I kept my head down, but I watched the Alpha. He was studying me, looking right into my eyes.

"Enough," the Alpha said, and the room went instantly quiet.

“If she is a threat, I will see it with my own eyes,” the Alpha said. “And if she is not, then we gain nothing by spilling blood.”

The man sitting to his right stood up abruptly. It was the Beta. "Sire, please rethink this," the Beta urged. "We cannot trust strays."

"She is going to be one of my servants," the Alpha declared, "...in the Royal House. It would be a better way to keep an eye on her."

Everyone looked shocked, and the Beta looked furious. "Sire!" the Beta protested. "It would be a better way for her to get close to the royal household and execute her evil plan!"

"What evil plan? What the hell?" I said under my breath. If only they knew. I felt a warmth on my chest as the amulet pulsed against my skin. It was happy; I was in the right place. I looked at the Alpha; he just had to let me in.

"My decree stands," the Alpha announced with finality. He looked at me. "What is your name?"

"Rashi," I whispered.

"Rashi," he repeated. "Guard!" He pointed to the guard that had brought me. "Show her around."

As we walked out, I could hear voices. "But Sire…" I knew the elders would still protest.

The guard from before grabbed my arm again; he pulled me out of the room before the Beta could say another word.

We walked through the castle; it was huge. The guard showed me the kitchen, which looked like an ancient place from old stories. It wasn't like the ones in the city. He showed me the laundry rooms, and then every royal chamber, one after the other.

"Stop," the guard commanded. We were in front of a door with gold carvings.

The door opened, and we walked in to meet a woman who sat in front of the vanity.

"Bow," the guard instructed.

The woman was tall and slender, with fierce-looking eyes.

"That is the Luna," the guard hissed.

I bowed my head. "Greetings, Luna," I said with a smile.

I looked at her, So this was the woman my father left my mother for. I studied her face, She didn't look half as beautiful as my mother. Her face was hard, and her eyes were empty.

The Luna rose, she looked at me and began to circle me like a shark. She looked at my arms and my legs, analyzing my figure.

"Leave us," she ordered the guard. At that command, he left.

"You are new," she muttered with a calm, feminine voice.

"Yes, Luna, I'm Rashi."

She reached out and touched my chin, tilting my head up. Her eyes lingered on my lips and then my neck.

"You would be of great satisfaction to me," she smiled, speaking in a strange, flirtatious tone.

I blinked. I didn't think much about it; I just wanted to leave. "Thank you, Luna," I smiled.

She smirked, and I walked out of the chamber to the guard waiting outside.

"Come on," the guard said. "I'll show you to your quarters."

He took me down a flight of stairs to the servant quarters. It was a large room filled with bunk beds; people were rushing around in simple grey uniforms.

"Listen up!" the guard shouted. "This is a new girl, her name is Rashi, Put her to work."

A woman with a kind face walked over and handed me a uniform. "Welcome, dear. Take that bed in the corner, I'm the head, Madam Lysca."

I took the clothes and looked around the busy room. I looked at the stone walls of the castle, and my heart soared.

"Don't worry, you can have a private room when you perform excellently," a tall, slender lady said as she walked up to me and rubbed my shoulders.

“Finally,” I thought. “I am finally in my father's house. Finally in.”