Chapter four- You're the king's woman
FLAP
I exhaled as my arrow successfully shot an antelope in its spine causing it to fall to the ground without a struggle.
Mason sped past the antelope and I got another bow ready to be engaged.
Without fail, I shot down a wild pig in its neck, fatally ending its life.
Closely behind us were Mason's men picking up the kills.
As we entered a more open field with multiples of deers, I grabbed three arrows and shot at once.
Two deers down.
Mason and I continued, with me shooting down animals until I suddenly felt dizzy and fell off his back.
"Lyra!" He cried, and I heard the faint sound of him shifting into his human form. The last thing I saw were his light brown eyes before darkness enveloped my body.
***
When I woke up, I was in a dim room surrounded by dark curtains. I sat up in bed and breathed deeply.
I felt tired, but I couldn't bear the stuffiness of the room. So I took the courage to stand and walk out of the room. As I moved aside the curtain at the exit of the hut, I saw that a group of people had gathered in front of my room. They surrounded a fireplace while happily eating roasted meat.
The older woman that had cared for me earlier was Cara and she was the one sharing the meat amongst everyone. Somehow this scene brought tears to my eyes, it reminded me of my old days with the Alpha and everyone else.
From the side, I spotted Mason hurrying towards me.
"Are you okay? You suddenly passed out!"
My hair danced behind my ears as he sped towards me.
I stared up at him, knowing I was not misidentifying the emotion in his eyes. It was that of concern.
"Mason, I'm fine," I said with a smile. I saw through the corner of my eyes, the other members staring at us. They all looked very happy.
Thankfully Mason didn't invite a healer to look at me so he didn't know of my illness. At this lovely moment, I didn't want to ruin anyone's mood.
"Lady, you hunted this meat for us, you should eat. Hurry and come here!" It was Madam Cara calling for me. I smiled at her.
"Come here," Mason led me towards the group. I sat close to the fire and I felt the heat warm me up which surprisingly made me feel better.
Mason collected the meat from Madam Cara and brought it to my lips. "Eat," he said.
I was taken aback by his action at first but then I opened my mouth and took the meat into my mouth.
"Thank—" I tried to say but he shut me up, "—Just eat, after all, you were the one who hunted the meat." He said dismissively. I turned to look at him and I noticed that he looked somewhat down, but he was trying hard not to show it and I think his men did not notice.
"Lady,"
"Yes?" I smiled kindly at the men who looked like they wanted to converse with me.
"You looked so cool— uh, I mean fierce when shooting the arrows!" He said after getting a sharp look from Mason.
"Thank you," I said.
"I respect you so much. You didn't miss a single shot."
"Even though you passed out due to exhaustion you're far stronger than some girls who only know how to look pretty,"
I couldn't take that as a compliment.
"Everyone in the pack has their own duties. Although we're all rogues with no home, since we all serve Mason as our King then we count as a pack. Hence, not a single person's duty shall be undermined. For example, you're wearing clean clothes, right?"
The rogue bowed his head upon realizing my point.
"You men don't have time to take care of your hygiene properly so it's the responsibility of the females in the pack to ensure you go around with neat clothes to prevent you from getting sick."
"Yes… Lady, you're correct, I really didn't think of that properly." The rogue replied while running his fingers through his neck nervously, his face filled with guilt. Several more rouges who seemed to have thought the same as him looked uncomfortable too.
I smiled at them, "Since you know better now, the only thing you can do is treat those females that wash for the pack with more consideration and care instead of looking down at them."
"Yes, thanks for the teaching, our Luna."
My eyes widened at the title and all the blood in my face rushed to my cheeks, "No, just call me Lyra."
"How can I do that? After all, you're our king's woman."
"That's right,"
"Yes,"
The rogue got up from the fireplace along with his friends. Then they bowed to Mason before leaving.
Before I could think of words to counter that statement, they were already gone.
"Let's also go talk somewhere quiet,"
I looked at Mason who looked amused at my flushed expression.
We walked off to the serenity of the woods, accompanied by the movements of crickets and fireflies. As much as I didn't want to admit it, this was the best place to be.
I soaked in the silence with ease but then, he broke the silence.
"I… didn't believe you earlier, Iamsorry," he said the last part quickly and I smiled, not caring to pester him about it.
"It's okay, it's only normal that I prove myself if I want to be trusted."
"No, you shouldn't have to." He said quietly, but I heard.
"From now on, I'll believe you." He said, which made me shake my head at him. So even a rogue king had a conscious.
He most probably felt guilty because I passed out during the hunt. He had no idea it was because of my personal issue.
"Can I… ask you?" He said after some time making me nod my head.
"Yes, you can ask me anything you want."
"Why did you leave your pack? You have the potential to be Beta."
"How do you know that I left my pack and I wasn't chased out?"
"Your will… is different. You seem like you have a direction outside of being a rogue."
I felt myself tense up under his close scrutiny. This gave away my secret thoughts and it seemed to somehow rile him up.
"Then let me tell you right now before you think further," he said loudly as he stood to his feet and turned away, "I'm not letting you go!"
I exhaled and felt my heart pace increase as I watched him leave.
I woke up early the next morning. I kept drifting in and out of sleep. I was restless. As I stood by the bank of the river close to the village watching Cara and some other females draw water for use, I couldn't help but think about what Mason had said yesterday. He had no plans to let me go anywhere any time soon. While I was grateful that he saved me from that rogue, I couldn't be kept here against my will. The Golden Arm pack was my destination. "Boo!" Someone yelled from behind me.I turned around to find Beatrice grinning at me. Seems she had a knack for scaring people because what the hell?"The other girls always scream their heads off when I do this. Yet," she leaned closer to me, her eyes narrowing, "you didn't scream.""I don't scare easily."Beatrice lifted a brow. "Really?"I nodded warily as her scrutinizing gaze turned into a broad smile. She took my hand and moved towards the ladies by the river. "I found someone to tell scary moonlight tales by the bonfire tonight!"
Mason patted my back and handed me a cup of water to drink. I took the cup and drank the water, still coughing, tears in my eyes as I looked at him and said, "w-what?" I don't know why I'm even surprised. The rogues have been calling me the king's woman or Lady with respect. I should have known and expected that he'd make it official and ask me to be his at some point. I was flattered and honoured that he'd want someone as weak as me by his side but I felt nothing for him. Not in that manner. He was a kind man, a warrior who led his people with love and discipline when needed and he had saved my life. That was all. Nothing else. As Mason rubbed the back of his neck, a bit embarrassed about having to repeat himself, I silently prayed to the goddess what he said wasn't really what I heard. I must be dreaming. There was no way he asked me that, right? I wouldn't have to refuse the rogue king and possibly end up dead or hated or something, right? "Be mine, Lyra." Suddenly I lost my
The next time I opened my eyes, it was dawn. There was a commotion outside. I stood up, my bed was soaked in my sweat and my heart ached no more. I walked outside to see guards parading about. "Seeing a beauty this early spices up the morning." I looked to my side to find Mason approaching me. I wanted to look away, run and hide, but he would find that suspicious."Hello Mason," I greeted him, trying to keep the uneasiness out of my voice as he stood in front of me and leaned in. No way would I let this guy kiss me. Hell no!I took a back. He chuckled at my reaction and reached for my forehead to wipe a sheen of sweat. "Did you sleep well?" He asked.I wondered if he was the same person I had overheard last night. " I did sleep well." A blantant lie. "What's with the rowdiness?" I gestured to the guards rushing about.Mason stood beside me. "An intruder was sighted in our territory last night. There's a search," he said with seriousness. "The person had no scent until later but it co
I opened my eyes trying to gauge my surroundings. I used my hands to feel around the place. It was really dark here with no source of light. I had never been here before. During my tour of the rogue pack, there was no place with thick iron bars as this one between my fingers. Was this a part of Mason's territory? Just as I had that thought, it all came rushing back to me. My attempt at escape and the failure that it ended up as. '...when someone told me a scary story about my Luna planning to leave...' Beatrice. Beatrice was the reason why my escape was unsuccessful. She was the one who had told Mason about me leaving. Mason had deliberately hinted at it when he mentioned a scary story. Who else was tagged with such a hobby other than Beatrice? I had never done anything wrong to her or anyone in this pack. I had no idea that she could be so ruthless. It all made sense now. Beatrice had told me right from the beginning not to betray Mason. She told me the previous girl was killed by
"Hahahahahaha."The laughter went on for a while. It was eerie and filled with amusement. It didn't sound quite right, almost like the person producing such a sound had lost his mind. I knew it was a guy from the deep bass in his voice as his laughing filled the dark space around me."So someone was here afterall," I whispered. I wanted to know if he was okay but I stopped myself from asking. The laughing stopped after a few seconds and everywhere became quiet. Rather than the peaceful silence that calmed me, it was unnerving. I waited in the silence, listening for movement and wondering what he was going to do."You listen well," he started. It was a compliment and yet, it felt like I was being mocked. "Considering this is the first time you are hearing from me, you must be quite surprised?" No. I wasn't surprised at all. His breathing had given him away long before Beatrice came in but I would not be telling him that. That last statement of his was a rhetorical question and I wasn'
MELEON'S POVI stared at Lyra's sleeping face and swallowed thickly. Just what was Mason thinking putting her in the same space as me? Was he trying to get her killed? My ears picked up her heart beat. Why was it so weak? It was weaker than normal. I groaned when the blood rushing through her veins pounded in my ears, overtaking my senses. How tempting!Shaking from the amount of energy I was exerting on self control, I shifted as far away from her as I could. It took everything within me to not rush towards Lyra and suck her dry even with the walls separating us. Smelling fresh blood so close by made my vampire half nearly go feral. When I told Lyra I was weak, I didn't mean by hierarchy or physically. I was weak from starvation. Blood starvation. Mason made sure to feed me scraps of meat but he never gave me blood. My guess was he wanted to see how long I could go before I went crazy and tried to kill anything in sight.Getting captured by Mason had been a choice. It was either that
Lyra's POVMy heartbeat had accelerated as soon I heard that bold declaration from Beatrice. If she had any idea of what she was suggesting, she wouldn't even have the thought in the first place. In the Green Arrow Pack, aiding a criminal to escape signified death and I was sure the same consequence applied to Mason. "No," I replied adamantly. This was no child's play or a random adventure story that she could tell later. If she was caught, she would be killed. I had heard the excitement and confidence that came with the declaration. Meleon probably heard it too but he didn't make any coherent sounds apart from his ragged breathing. Was he in pain?"I do not agree with your rejection, my lady." Beatrice gripped the iron bars. "You asked me to earn your forgiveness, was that a lie?""A lie? That's a waste of strength. I've never lied to any of you in this rogue pack but you know what? I've been lied to, deceived and probably made fun of," I held my chest as the influx of emotions lef
Cara's POVI walked into the cooking hut, coughing when my face was enveloped by smoke. "Miroh! Open the windows wide, the broth is burning!" I yelled, still coughing as the flustered male Omega rushed to do as I said. My eyes went to the middle aged woman sitting by the fire, blinking rapidly. She seemed to have just woken up from sleep. "Tell me you didn't fall asleep while watching the food, Yadah." It was no use. Her guilty expression told me I was right. "Dear goddess," I sighed, rubbing my forehead. What a headache! "How much sleep did you get last night?""None, ma'am." She shrunk into herself, blushing like a bashful pup caught in the act of something troublesome.I noticed the dark circles under her eyes. I couldn't blame her for sleeping. Our king's wedding was a big deal. All the women and some males that cared to assist had been working on decorating the clearing that was meant to be used for the wedding in a week's time. When Mason had informed me of Lyra's attempted esc