ZAHIR
The door to the throne room opened and she stepped in, high and mighty with her majestic strides and poise. Hera Castilione, my mistress and chief trainer of the human slaves.Hera was a werewolf and should be among the other people of the kingdom under my leadership but I have kept her around for years after our escape from the humans. She was one of the few wolves who were lucky enough to escape slavery when the humans first invaded our world.One would think she had no right to hate them so much since she didn’t go through the same thing most of us did but knowing the deep and intense secret rooted in the darkest parts of her mind, she was entitled to every bit of the hatred that came from her.And she was mine. Her darkness complimented mine so well. I made sure she was clothed in the best apparels, expensive silk and sequins and a bountiful of golden ornaments and jewelry."Your highness. I came as soon as I heard the news of the arrival of the human princess." Hera stated as she came into the room; her plummy voice was strong and clear, depicting an upper class persona and formality—most times, sounding very pompous.However, her proud smug melted into a sour scowl as she looked very displeased on sighting Serafina, her brows narrowing in loathe, "Is this her?" Her tone edged with disgust and hatred."Yes." I simply replied. Serafina feebly turned around to face Hera and unlike the other female slaves who have come in contact with her, Serafina didn't show any hint of fear nor was she subjected to any form of intimidation. Her shoulders never slacked, the positioning of head remained upfront as she maintained her royalty; even when she was being humiliated in public, she still maintained it now as well, in front of the most reputable and respected woman in this Kingdom.Hera sneered, her siren eyes gleaming coldly as she casted a hateful gaze at Serafina. From the very mere looks of things, her unchanging stance deeply angered Hera. I knew how my mistress liked to be in control of things.Hera crossed her arms, her eyes judgmentally settled on Serafina's battered and injured being and her eyes roamed around her from head to toe.Then her lips turned up on a mocking smirk."Oh? So she still carries herself like a princess. Surely, all that pride of hers would vanish by the time I'm done whipping her a hundred lashes.""Is that necessary, Hera?" I questioned, now taking note of just how much damage has been inflicted on the girl from the start of the journey to the Kingdom till now.Not that I cared but If she is subjected to any more injuries, she might not be able to take it and may die—and I don't want her to die.Not yet. I harbor deep intentions towards her, and I must exact them just as her people had done unto me. I need to keep her alive to bear the punishment of her people and I will make sure she suffers a torment worse than death.For that to happen, she needed to be alive."Yes it is. A slave should be a slave, she's no longer a princess and she should act like the servant that she is. I will discipline her to be the perfect, doting slave, your highness." Hera's frown slide into a sinister smirk and she eyed Serafina menacingly.I shook my head in naught, "You will do no such thing. Serafina will be my personal slave. You have no business with her at all." I declared. Serafina instantly swung around to look at me, her eyes chanting an infinite number of pleads and begging as she obviously knew what being my personal slave entailed. Her apparent fright delighted me.I didn’t need anyone to tell me she would prefer to be whipped a hundred times by Hera than being punished by me. The fear in her eyes thrilled me.Hera remained silent, only making a slight noise from her throat as she adopted a sullen look ; obviously, the news of Serafina being my personal slave didn't sit well with her but I am the King, and my orders are final whether they are palatable or not. The rhythmic clicking of her heels ensued as Hera walked over to Serafina and pushed the girl down to her knees, she fell to the ground looking too weak to even yelp in pain. On the ground, Hera used the edge of her heel to kick Serafina in the gut. She fell heavily to the ground almost like she was spineless."You are a slave and you should never be on your feet in the midst of royalty." Hera rebuked curtly, etched to her tone was a hint of irritation and disgust.“You belong right there on your knees.”Hera fumed and then turned to look at me as if asking for permission when she has never needed one to teach a mouthy slave her place. I think she got the message when I just turned and proceeded to walk out of the throne room leaving them both in the room together.A loud slap is the last thing I heard. Followed by gasps of pain I didn’t plan on stopping. Hera can have fun bossing her about for a little while as I attend to other important things. I entered into my study and sat down at the table, taking out a scroll to begin and then I dipped the pen in ink and began filling up the report. I was in there for a little while working when I heard a knock on the door. I grunted, grumbling to myself wishing that it wasn't Hera at the door about to give me a full lecture on why Serafina shouldn't be my slave and should work with the others on the fields instead.I mean, I let her have her to herself for the night. That was surely enough, wasn’t it?"Come in." I replied. The door creaked open and instead of the struts of heels, I heard the gentle tapping of sandals on the floor. It was a slave. Well, it might not have been Hera now but she would surely come around to complain and go on and on in a bid to persuade me to change my decision, which would never happen."Your majesty, I bring you your meal." She stated."Drop it on the table next to my bed and be on your way." I said to her without looking away from my work. A few shuffling of feet followed and I heard the tray drop on the table with a small clink and shortly after, the door began to creak shut. Only that it didn't close completely, someone stopped it."Your highness, can I come in?" I heard Steven, my second in command, ask at the doorstep."Of course." I replied and dropped the pen in the ink jar, mentally suspending my work for later. Steven wouldn't be here if it weren't to discuss something important, the delightful news on the tip of everyone's tongue; the arrival of the Princess Slave. I rose up from the chair and came over to where Steven stood, he immediately reverenced my presence and bowed. "May you live long your highness." He bestowed accolades and I gave him a pat on the back then he straightened up."My King, everyone in the kingdom is overjoyed about the human princess being enslaved. Their lips are incessantly moving as they excitedly talk about what had happened at the Town's Square." Steven exposited and it gladdened my heart, knowing my people are satisfied about the actions I took towards their libration and now, their revenge."Beautiful. We will be having a feast to celebrate soon. This is a great victory, and there's more to come." I announced and Steven's smile broadened at that."My King, when will we have a piece of her? I'm aching all over to personally whip her till she has no more blood to give out. The rest of the royal council are also requesting a date for her special torment."There was an underlying meaning in his words. It wasn’t just about the pain they would cause her. It was about the pleasure they could wring dry from her after all, she was said to be the most beautiful princess with black hair that shamed even the darkest raven and skin that brightly contrasted her hair so much.Of course, everyone wanted a piece of her. Only, it was never going to happen.No one knew the real reason why she was the price for the sins of her people and no one needed to."I'm afraid not, Steven." My statement brought an end to his beaming smile and a small grown settled. "Serafina is my personal slave, mine to have and punish alone as I deem fit. I will personally be the one to make her suffer." Whenever I say these words, make known the intense intentions I have for Serafina, a surge of delight goes up my spine."I am sorry to question your decision, your highness, but may I know why? You have never had or opted for a personal slave before and definitely not a human like Serafina, so why the sudden decision My King?' He curiously inquired, apparently disappointed.I lingered a while before answering and in the end, I decided that no one was entitled to know the reasons for my decision. I am the King, and my dictate stands and no one is permitted to question my reasons.I shrugged, "I will keep my reasons to myself, Steven. You don't have to worry about it at all. Just know that Serafina will suffer for their sins."My words were final.SERAFINA Hera Castilione, I have heard about her, the Lycan King's famous mistress. A magnificent beauty with a contrasting attitude; proud, devious and sly. Ornate jewelry adorned her flowy brown hair, just as a severe hatred and envy for me evilly adorned her unfeeling heart. It was clearly written over her, the acute jealousy she harbored for me. The fact that I refused to let down my poise as a princess, the fact that even amidst my bloodied body, injured skin and tattered clothes, my carriage never faded or wavered. It angered her deeply, and that was an off–putting indication that she would make my stay here even more hellish than it ought to be. It didn’t matter that she was clothed in gold and silk. I knew where she stood in her world. Her lips curled downward into a displeased frown, her eyes staring at me with severe intent. "I don't know why the King doesn't want me to torture you, you really need some discipline and to ne inclined to a path of submission. W
SERAFINA A violent tug on my hair woke me up the next day and I let out a screeching yelp. My tired eyes immediately sprang open and I saw that it was Hera, standing beside where I laid, arms clipped to her side and her siren eyes narrowed furiously at me. “And why are you still asleep? Get up you filthy slave!” Her tongue was like an edged sword, and whenever she spoke it seemed like every word was accompanied with a venomous fury. I quickly got up on my feet—I was tired and exhausted, still starved and had barely slept last night.. The day hadn’t even started to break yet. I could tell from the darkness that still loomed outside the open window high up in the room. The window was set up so high for a lot of reasons and preventing a slave escaping through it had to be at the top of the list. Even if anyone made it up there, it was too small for a human body to fit in. This place was nothing but a prison. “I’m sorry, I overslept.” I answered to somewhat soothe her anger
SERAFINA On the top of the weirdest yet dangerous things I have ever set my eyes on, Zahir’s Lycan form standing in all its ferocious and dangerously menacing appeal at the entrance of the hall sat there in it’s number one spot. His form was unsightly and feral, its mere stance stained my skin with goosebumps and ignited my nerves with fear, it was like none I’ve ever seen before. “So Steven was right? Someone else has the effrontery to lay hands on my own personal property— a property reserved for the King?” The raucousness of his voice reverberated even deep in my bones. His teeth were bared to heighten his maliciousness and his eyes glowed a dangerous shade of red. And for the past moments, I had been the focus of those ruthlessly illuminated eyes but now, they had found a new target. The perverted man has been on his knees during the entirety of Zahir’s presence in the room; a man whose face had been creased with a smirk all these while, now had eyes that glinted with
SERAFINA Immediately the person heard the door open and saw that it was the King, she immediately bowed before him. It was a woman, an older woman probably in her late sixties. It seemed like the entire room belonged to her and it was miles ahead from what I had slept in last night. So from all the clear indications I’ve seen so far, there had to be something special about her. The older woman retracted and stood erect and it was then she took cognizance of my presence and then her gaze shifted to the King, who’s shirtless state made her features change drastically, instantly spiraling her into distraught. “Oh dear. I will go get you some coverings, my King.” She said and quickly moved on her feet to the far end of the room, there was a small wardrobe there and she ravaged through its contents until she found a purple linen and then she came over to the King again. “Your majesty, if I may?” She seeked permission and the King gave her a slight, approving nod. She bowed again b
ZAHIR I barged into my study, rage surging in my veins with so much vigour that I found it hard to tame it down. My wolf seethed, growling in anger at the back of my mind— someone had touched its property, our property and the occurrence was driving both of us into an indepth fury. I forcefully shifted into my human form at the hall, staying any longer in that form would have guaranteed more deaths as my wolf was wild, and its ravenousness triples whenever it gets angered. It's a hard beast to tame, half the time it has a wicked mind of its own. It's malicious anger and my rage streaming together created a vehement, overwhelming emotion of fury. Instead of it dying down, it kept increasing and increasing, until I couldn't keep it within me anymore. I had to let it out. I groaned exasperatedly, hoisting the first thing I could lay my hands on—a small shelf containing a library of books—and I hurled the whole furniture across the room. It hit the wall with intensity and sha
CHAPTER TWELVESERAFINA I spent two days in Dahila’s quarters. She had specially requested from Zahir that I stay with her for the period as I needed to be treated before they could start my training and surprisingly, he’d agreed. These last two days have been the most peaceful days I’ve encountered since I left my Kingdom. I ate good food that rivaled the one I usually ate at the palace, my wounds were being tended to, I actually slept on a bed, I didn’t have to see rueful Zahir or scowling Hera. Plus, I had the nicest time conversing with Dahlia. The woman is so nice and kind, the sweetest, and she had so many tales to tell. Very interesting ones. I was making way to the door to exit Dahila’s quarters and she followed behind me to escort me. I had a sad frown as I wasn’t happy about leaving at all. Behind those doors lay nothing but terror, suffering and pain; I didn’t want to go back there, not after tasting how alternatively good my life can be here if I just stayed
HERA I left my quarters and went to Serafina’s as she was to return back there today after her healing session with Dahlia. However, when I got there, Urla told me that Serafina hadn’t returned yet. I immediately got mad at Dahlia for hoarding the girl longer than the time allocated. I marched to Dahila’s quarters and was ready to drag Serafina out of that place with a leash I had specially purchased for her. Much to my surprise, I met with a quite surprising scene on my way there. I had to sneak behind a wall and watch at it carefully to ascertain if my eyes were deceiving me or not, but they weren’t. It was clear as day, Steven, Zahir’s lackey had his head leaned close enough to Serafina who he had cornered against the wall. Their bodies were so close, they were practically kissing! I covered my mouth to contain my surprised gasp as I watched the two closely. But then an idea conjured in my mind and a devious smile surfaced; certainly, if I tell the King about wha
SERAFINA I felt a gentle tap on my back as I slept and that jolted me out of sleep. I opened my eyes and slowly sat up, yawning as I did. Then, reality smacked me in the face and I was aware of my environment, once again remembering that I am a slave and I should've been awake long ago. I hastily got up on my feet to avoid the early–morning wrath of Hera, but on the contrary, it wasn't Hera, it was Dahlia. And then I remembered that she wasn't my slave trainer anymore. Hera would never be gentle enough to wake me up from my sleep with just a slight tap on the back. "Good morning my princess, how was your night? I see you overslept today." Dahlia cheerfully greeted with a calm smile. "Good Morning Dahlia. My night was fine, thank you. And I'm sorry for oversleeping, I'm not used to waking up so early and I was usually woken up by my ma—""It's fine, Serafina." She chuckled, interjecting my ramble. "I'm not angry, I know you're still trying to adjust to this new life. But Th