Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

|| ASHVARA's POV ||

I limped, not the dramatic kind that makes people gasp and rush to help. It was the ugly kind... the slow, painful drag of a body that had already taken too much and was asked for more.

Two guards walked on either side of me with their grips firm but not rough. I wondered if that was respect… or just because the Alpha King would be watching… because yes. Apparently, the Alpha King wanted to see me.

Me…!

Ashvara Darkwater… the omega who couldn’t even wash cum off clothes properly without getting slapped.

What could he possibly want? I asked myself for the hundredth time.

I had never met the Alpha King, and I'd never even seen him from a distance. He belonged to stories whispered at night, told to scare children into behaving. Kings didn’t come to packs like Silverfang for omegas accused of murder.. they came for alliances, for power and for punishment.

Every step sent a sharp sting through my ankle and all because of the silver that had burned me raw. I clenched my teeth and kept walking.

'Maybe he’s here to order your execution himself,' Seris whispered quietly.

“That’s comforting,” I muttered.

The pack house loomed ahead ever so tall and proud like it had never crushed lives beneath its walls. The courtyard was packed. Warriors lined the edges, elders stood together, whispering and servants pretended not to stare while staring very hard. Then I saw him and my body forgot how to work.

He stood near the center of the courtyard, surrounded by guards who looked tense and alert but he himself looked… calm.. too calm and tall with broad shoulders and dark hair falling loose like he didn’t bother to tame it.

His face wasn’t old like I imagined kings to be. He looked young, strong and so beautiful in a way that felt illegal. I swallowed hard. Oh. That was my very intelligent thought.

And then it happened..! The pull…!

It hit me so suddenly I actually gasped. It wasn’t gentle.. it wasn’t curious. It was deep and wild and ancient like something inside me woke up screaming.. that’s him..!

My knees buckled not from weakness and not from hunger. It was from him..!

“No,” I whispered in panic with my fingers curling into fists.

Seris froze inside me.

'Ashvara…'

“Don’t,” I begged. “Please don’t.”

The last time I felt this pull, my life had ended. The last time I felt this was towards Astar and look where that got me..! There was no way this shit was happening again!

The Alpha King lifted his head.. our eyes met and the pull doubled.

It felt like the air shifted like the world narrowed down to just us. His eyes were gray, storm-dark and steady.. not cruel but not kind either..

My heart raced so fast I thought I might faint right there in front of everyone as he studied me for a long second and then he nodded.

“That’s her,” he said calmly.

My mind screamed in fear and confusion. That’s WHAT her?

Before I could process that, Astar stepped forward with his voice sharp and annoyed.

“She’s filthy. Have her washed and dressed properly. Make her more presentable. We can’t have her with the Alpha King like this.”

Presentable? The word made my stomach twist. Presented like what? A gift? A fuck gift for the Alpha King?

My hands trembled as the guards turned me away but I didn’t fight.. fighting never helped.. at least for me.

They led me into a bathing room behind the pack house where steam rose from wooden tubs. Three older maids waited there with their arms crossed and their faces hard.

One of them looked me up and down.

“This is the one?”

Another snorted.

“Doesn’t look like much.”

They stripped me without warning with their hands rough and their fingers uncaring. I flinched as warm water hit my skin.

“Of all the girls in this pack,” one muttered while scrubbing my arm too hard, “why her?”

“Kings have strange tastes and even stranger sexual desires.” another said. “Or maybe he just wants to break her himself.”

My chest tightened painfully in fear as they talked like I wasn’t there.

“I heard he’s violent.”

“I heard he doesn’t take no for an answer.”

“I heard women leave his bed barely able to walk.”

I almost screamed out in shock at the last sentence. Barely able to walk? Well, I’m already there.. efficient.

'I don’t like this.' Seris whimpered within me.

“I don’t either,” I whispered.

They dressed me in a pale blue gown that was so soft and too clean for someone like me and when they were done, they shoved a tray of food into my hands.

“Eat,” one said. “You’ll need strength.”

Strength for what? No one was telling me shit!

They locked me in a room after that.. a room that was small and quiet with a single lamp flickering.

That was when I saw the knife.. just sitting there with the other cutlery they brought in on the small tray of food. My heart started pounding as I picked it up slowly with my fingers shaking.

If he touched me… if this was what I thought it was… I would end it myself..! I would kill myself.

I had barely finished eating when darkness crept in then footsteps and the door opened.

“Come,” a guard said.

They led me into the grand hall where music played, laughter echoed and tables were filled with food and wine. Everyone was celebrating like no one had accused me of murder that morning.

A feast for the Alpha King and sat at the head.

Closer now, the clawing at my heart was worse and the attraction intensified when his gaze found me immediately and then softened just a little.

“Sit,” he said, gesturing beside him.

I sat rigidly, barely breathing. My hands rested in my lap and clenched tight as he abruptly stood.

“Silence.”

The hall obeyed instantly and then he raised his goblet.

“I toast,” he said clearly, “to Ashvara Darkwater.”

The room froze with anticipation at those words.

“My mate,” he continued calmly, “and my future Luna Queen..”