I am escorted to the bedroom by two maids. When we got to the door they tried to follow me inside.
“We will help you get prepared for tonight,” one of them said.
“Prepared? What for?”
They both shared a look. “For your first night with the King, my Lady.”
‘Ah, I didn’t think of that.’
“Please just have the clothes I am to wear tonight prepared; I will handle the rest.”
They shook their heads. “We cannot do that, my Lady. We were instructed to see to you from start to finish, the King won’t be happy with us otherwise.”
I sighed in defeat. I didn’t want them to get in trouble for not doing their job, but I also didn’t want them to discover the scars on my body and the mark on my neck. I didn’t see myself any higher above their status but that didn’t make me feel any less ashamed.
I walked into the bathroom and stopped short of the large tub in the middle of the room.
“Must you help me bathe? He won’t know if you do or not,” I asked.
The maids looked at each other again. “As long as you allow us to stay here, we can turn our backs.” They both turned toward the wall and stood perfectly still.
It was the best I was going to get I was afraid. I quickly stripped out of my dress and dipped into the ready-to-go bath, the water still steaming hot it burned my skin. I had once discovered a hot spring when I visited the Odia Pack and it was my first time discovering that others normally bathed in hot water and not cold, but living the life of a servant, you were lucky if your body ever touched warm water.
I wanted to sit there for hours if I could, but I could also tell the maids were getting impatient. I scrubbed as much of the dirt off me as I could and washed my hair twice to make sure I got every knot out that I could before I quickly got out and wrapped myself in the closest towel.
“I’m done,” I said.
The maids turned around and walked me over to the vanity mirror. One got to work on my hair and put it into a long braid down my back to keep it from dripping, and the other started preparing clothes on the bed. I hoped as the maid braided my hair that she didn’t catch a glimpse of the mark on my neck or any of the scars that might’ve poked out from under the towel.
Judging from her calm expression in the mirror, I’d say there is a chance she didn’t.
“We will leave you to get changed, my Lady. The King will be here shortly.” They dismissed themselves and I turned to see the sleazy clothes they had left for me to change into. I cringed at the string and mesh outfit that looked like it belonged to a doll rather than a person.
I changed into it and thankfully it was long enough to cover my behind, but I wouldn’t be bending down in this anytime soon.
I walked over to the bed crawled on top of the covers and waited for him, curling into myself to keep calm. The door opened and I flinched but didn’t dare lift my head as I heard his footsteps slowly approaching.
The bed dipped with his pressure and my heart rate spiked. He took my arms and unwrapped them from around my knees to make me look up at him. Contrary to the dark and brooding expression he had on during the ceremony and dinner, he looked much softer now.
I tried my best not to tremble from his trust and pushed down my trauma, reminding myself over and over in my head that this wasn’t the same; he wasn’t Magnus. But there wasn’t much difference, both were men I didn’t want to sleep with, but with Magnus, it was always brutal and terrorizing.
“I’ll try to be as gentle as I can until the pain passes,” Caspian whispered.
I’m stunned at his words. Did he believe me to be a virgin? Is that what he wanted, or what he was assuming?
‘What if he was expecting a pure bride? What is he going to do to me when he finds out I’m not?’
This is my only chance to beg for a quick and painless death, by coming clean before going any further.
“Alpha King, please, wait a moment.” I held my hand up to stop him. “There is something I must confess.”
He raised a brow. “Oh, what is it?”
I bowed to him instantly. “I beg your forgiveness, for I have been deceiving you from the moment I arrived. My name is not Alaira, I am not a blood daughter of the Emery family. I have been sent in her place, but I am merely an orphan servant taken in as a baby.”
I was met with silence but too afraid to lift my head.
“I am ready to receive any punishment. All I ask…is that you make it painless, please.”
Caspian grabbed me by the shoulders and turned me around to expose my backside. I gasped when I realized I had already exposed the whip and burn marks when I bowed my waist to him, not used to my hair being tied up. That was why he remained silent.
I gasped again as he ripped the material of my nightgown off my back and hurried to cover the front before it fell off. His fingers lightly touched the marks, and I winced even though it no longer hurt, the pain etched into my mind from the many memories I was unable to repress.
He ripped away from me and disappeared into the bathroom to come back out with a robe and draped it around me. “Sit up,” he said and started pacing in front of me.
“What is your real name?”
“Sevika, Alpha King. It is the name they gave me.”
“Why was it not recorded in the family books?”
“I am an orphan who was not adopted from an orphanage, I was found and taken in as a servant.”
He growled and picked up a book from the nightstand to throw across the room.
“Then why were you sent as a daughter of the Emery family? How dare they betray me like this!”
I bowed my head and waited silently for the blow to come, but it never did.
“Do you despise me?” he asked quietly.
I lifted my head to give him a questioning gaze. “I do not know you.”
His eyes widened a bit with surprise, not expecting that answer.
“But you have heard of me.”
I nodded. “Yes, I am not hard of hearing to the words around me. But to hear something is one thing and to experience it is another.”
Caspian stared at me for a long time, something unknown buried behind his gaze.
“Go to sleep, nothing will happen tonight,” he finally said.
I watched his retreating figure and wondered if I just dodged my execution, or merely delayed it.
Caspian was still missing come the next morning and since I was used to waking up much earlier than everyone else, I was up before a maid was able to wake me up and tell me where I should go. I had no idea where the dining room was or when breakfast was even served.Thankfully a maid knocked on the door soon after.“Excuse me, my lady, is it alright for the doctor to come in now?” she asked.“What doctor? I never sent for one.”“No, but someone very concerned for you did,” a man chuckled and in walked a pack doctor. “I was hauled here in the middle of the night, but I was told to wait until you were awake. The name is Marlyn and there is nothing to fear, my lady, I’m just here for a routine check-up.”“A check-up for what?” I asked. I had never been seen by a doctor, my family always claimed I was healthy for my age and never needed to, though many times I had doubted that who was I to say differently?“Just to make sure everything is working as it should be. Just lay back and I’ll ru
Over the next few days, Caspian was present for every meal I had and tasted a piece of everything on my plate and in my glass before I touched it. He did this without being asked or it seemed without even thinking, and it both touched and tore at my heart.There was no need for him to go to this extent, so why was he? Everyone has always had ulterior motives for the overly nice things they do for someone, those motives in my experience had never been the greatest.So, was he planning anything? Or was he merely treating me nicely?Despite this positive change, things still hadn’t changed drastically between Caspian and I. It was still difficult for us to hold a conversation and it often made our meals together somewhat awkward.“There is something I’ve wanted to ask you,” he said suddenly.I nodded for him to go ahead.“You mentioned to the doctor that you have never shifted, but without a doubt, you are a werewolf. Why is that?”I sighed and got up out of my seat to circle the table t
The ride to the Rafina Pack was relatively smooth with surprisingly good weather the entire way. Caspian had made sure to run easy for me riding on top with nothing to grab but handfuls of fur that frequently slipped out between my fingers. Caspian and Jax easily disguised themselves as guards, and I dressed myself to look like a noble as best I could, hoping most wouldn’t recognize me here. I had to have looked different to some if you considered the condition I was in the last time I was in the Rafina Pack. Most couldn’t tell what my gender was despite my long hair, my face was always so dirty and my body so skinny, you couldn’t tell. I may not have put on any weight since then, but with the proper bath I was given, the hairstyle the maids gave me and my clothes, I looked like an actual person. “Where did the Elf say that gambling den was?” Caspian asked Jax. “He said it was in the marketplace, hidden in plain sight.” “That
Collinsworth met us at the alley again when the sun dipped below the horizon and the market streets became bare. He led us around the back of the empty building and to a small cellar door. He knocked three times and a slit in the door slid open, a single eye appeared.“Password?” he gruffly asked.“Ambrosia,” Collins whispered.The door rattled a couple of times before it was flung open, and a Cyclops orc took up the doorway. He eyed all of us for a few minutes before he nodded for us to get inside. The whole place stretched underground and looked like it had been thrown together recently, the wood beams still shedding from a fresh saw.There were several round tables scattered throughout the room with cards and plastic chips flying from hand to hand, as others slammed the tables and hooted loudly, the entire room filled with chaotic noise.“Where is the auction house?” I asked Collins over the mess.He pointed to the other side of the room next to the bar, where a red curtain divided
I could sense the tension from Caspian the entire way home and it makes me concerned for what awaits me when we get back to the manor. Jax stayed with us until we reached the front door but bowed his head slightly before he took off running, leaving me with the gut-wrenching feeling that I was about to face the wrath of the Alpha King.It was my first time being with a man in this way at all, I wasn’t used to such things as jealousy or knew when I was overstepping a line and being offensive. I was merely concerned about Collinsworth, who risked his life to get us in there just for something to heal my scars.Caspian waited at the front door for me to get off, then nodded with his head for me to go inside ahead of him. I gave him a hesitant look, but he nodded again and turned around to take off around the other side of the manor.“Where is he going?” I asked myself quietly.“He is going to visit his mother; he should be back later tonight.”I jumped at the sound of Carlak’s voice and
I covered my mouth in utter shock, unable to believe what I just heard.“How could they do that?” I asked.“There are many reasons, the biggest being they believed the rumours and would’ve rather die at their own hands than be tortured at mine.”“What were the other reasons?” I asked hesitantly.This seemed to be something he didn’t want to answer, but there was no going back, he had already revealed this much, and I had so many more questions.“If possible, I’d like for you to make me a promise first,” he said.I nodded.“Promise me that no matter what I say, you will listen until the end.”“Of course, I promise,” I said and sat up straight on the bed to show I was all ears.Caspian got comfortable as well at the edge of the bed and surprised me when he grabbed my hand to hold as he prepared himself.“I was born with two older siblings, a sister and a brother. I was born the weakest of the two, but since I was the youngest, there was no chance I would be next in line for the throne.
Aurora. I tested the name in my mind and was surprised at how much I liked it.“What does it mean?” I asked.“It means ‘dawn aura’ which translates in my language to ‘evening beauty’.”I hid my smile in the pillow. “Thank you, I really like it.”“If you don’t mind my asking, why were you given that name? Did your family know it means ‘slave’ in most languages?”Before I could answer her, I felt her hand brush over where the slave mark was on my neck, and she froze. “What is that?”I contemplated telling her, but something told me she already knew.“It is the slave mark my family placed on me.”She scoffed. “Is that what they told you it was? This is no slave mark, my dear. This is a mark of the Fae, an insignia meant to act as a seal. Have you always had this?”I nodded. “For as long as I can remember.”“This is something only a member of the Fae can lift, I’m afraid. They went into hiding hundreds of years ago when their species was attacked by Orcs. Much similar to Sirens, the blood
Day of the BallI sat anxiously waiting for Caspian in the drawing room. I could hear guests arrive through the front door as the halls had become a bustle of noise and laughter. It seemed to have been a long time since anyone was last allowed into the Alpha King’s castle.That just made me all the more nervous. What if people didn’t like me? What if they thought I wasn’t worthy of all this praise and affection? I had already heard the rumours circulating that the Alpha King’s new wife was a witch in disguise and she had bewitched the king into loving her.How else would anyone explain how the cold-hearted Alpha King suddenly turned into a caring and devoted husband, after he supposedly slaughtered all his previous conquests?“Are you ready, m’lady?” the butler asked.I nodded and waited as he opened the doors. I joined Caspian at the bottom of the main hall stairs, and we walked together to the ballroom. I wondered how all the girls in the room would react once they saw how well Casp