My heart thundered as the room fell silent. Or was it my heart that stopped beating? I looked up just in time to see Jarod approaching, but not fast enough to back away from him. His blow met my face straight on, and I felt my nose crack. My hands flew to my nose, and I felt the blood flowing from my broken nose.
"When I tell you to do something, that is what you should do, bitch," Jarod yelled in my face.
I blinked several times to stop myself from crying. It wouldn't help in this case. Behind Jarod, I saw Freya laughing silently, covering her mouth. It must all be so entertaining to her. I looked back up at Jarod, and he glared down at me.
"Now, you will watch as I fuck another," he told me and walked back to the bed. I just registered the fact that he had been naked all along, and he went right back to what he was doing with Freya. She was moaning loudly and putting on a great show for me, even winking when our eyes happened to lock.
I managed to keep watching, holding my nose to stop the bleeding after snapping it back into place. I felt sick in my stomach; the smell of my blood was not pleasant to my empty stomach. Something wet touched my fingertip, and I noticed it was a few tears that had escaped my eyes.
Jarod must be having fun right now, knowing that it would hurt me to watch him have sex with my best friend. And Freya didn't seem to mind at all. This must be what she had always wanted - attention from the Alpha, to be his partner in this act.
All her snide comments now made sense to me. She used to ask me what Jarod saw in me, to want to have sex with me alone. Well, maybe her dreams had come true now. He was having sex with her like a beast, like the monster he was - cruel and heartless. How could such a person be the Alpha?
Because of his power, he was able to attack my family, leaving me an orphan in his clutches. He must enjoy that - seeing me hurt, in tears. But why me? Why can't it be anyone else? I swallowed hard at that thought. Why not me?I watched as Jarod pushed himself away from Freya. I noticed that he did not release his seed inside her, just as he had been doing with me. He was never caught off guard; he was always in time to pull out before letting go. I kept wondering why he would do such a thing and failed to understand. Does he not want an heir?
"Leave," he barked at me.
I didn't need to be told twice. I rushed out of the room as if I were on fire, putting as much distance between Jarod and myself as possible. I went straight to the kitchen. When my stomach growled again, I got some leftovers from the kitchen staff. Then I headed to my room, cleaned my nose, and devoured the food as fast as I could. After that, I congratulated myself for not passing out while watching Freya and Jarod. I must be getting stronger in this, I mused.
The day went by without any mishaps. I managed to return the laundry to each room without any trouble. I was thankful when I got to Freya's room and she wasn't there. I would have wondered how I was going to face her and confront her. People threw me pitying looks everywhere I went, and I was sure that half of the pack members knew that Jarod was sleeping with Freya.
The kitchen staff gave me a plateful of food, telling me I needed it most. It brought tears to my eyes as I sat in my room eating. When I was done, I went to the kitchen and was asked to wash the dirty dishes. That showed me that nothing comes for free in this life; you have to give to receive. Once I was done with that, I made my way to Freya's room. I should proceed with the confrontation if I want one, but I hesitated when I reached her door. I could hear voices coming from the room.
I listened to the voices. I would be doomed if I entered and found Jarod there. I would surely be punished, as he dislikes me entering any room he is in without his permission. I was about to turn and walk away when I heard a voice that rose above the whispers.
"We should not prolong it," the voice said in annoyance.
"Shh, lower your bloody voice, Viktor," Freya replied.
"When do you plan to do it then?" Viktor asked.
"I will when he is more relaxed with me. I can kill him then. You know how Jarrod can be," Freya said.
I gasped in horror. Was that what Freya had been planning all along? She was going to kill Jarod?
"We need to kill Jarod fast, without—"
"Shh," Freya interrupted Viktor.
"What is that?" Viktor asked her.
I had no idea what she must have told him. Did she know that someone was outside her door? I needed to act fast. I hurried to stand in front of the door and raised my hand to knock when the door opened wide. Freya was at the other end. She seemed surprised to see me, and I composed my face so it wouldn't seem like I had heard their conversation.
"Layla, how long have you been standing here?" Freya asked. She was fully dressed. I saw Viktor sitting beside her window, and he glared at me.
I swallowed nervously. "What do you mean? You know why I am here. How could you do this to me?" I asked instead. "I trusted you, Freya."
Freya smirked at me, and her shoulders relaxed. I noticed Viktor also relaxing. It had worked then.
Now I just had to find Jarod.
Freya gave me a bittersweet smile. She still looked beautiful with it. Everything about her was beautiful. Why won’t the male population be drawn to her? I held back myself from saying what would put me into trouble. I have to continue the pretense that I heard nothing of her conversation with Viktor. She was at an advantage with me because of her height, so I have to step back a little bit from her to look her in the face.“You knew you never belonged here, Layla. Your respectful place is in the ditch, on the street,” Freya said with a shake of her head. “How can you be so dense as to think otherwise?”I had to stay focused here. Not shedding tears is a show of me being strong. “I thought you were my friend.”“Friend?” She laughed as if it was funny, and I must be out of my mind. Well, she is close to the truth with that. I am out of my reasonable mind. How could she be friends with me, a nobody? “Grow up, Layla, and you are interrupting us. Off you go now, for I don’t feel like putt
My scalp was in so much pain, my heart pounding inside my tight chest. I struggled to be free, but it was impossible and increased the pain on my scalp. I cried and begged Jarod to let me go, but it fell on deaf ears.If I thought he would stop when we got to the stairs, I was kidding myself. He did not stop, nor did he slow down. Down the stairs I went, my whole body started hurting with the pain of being dragged down the stairs."Jarod!" Clyde called, following us. He caught up with us before Jarod could drag me all the way down to the dungeon. He held the hands holding my hair. "Stop for a minute and think about this, Jarod. She might be right," Clyde said."I knew you believed her when you have also gotten to taste what she has to offer," Jarod snapped at Clyde."What do you mean?" Clyde asked, his anger at the surface."Tell me, you two are not having sex behind my back!" Jarod said."That is cheap. I would never touch your woman," Clyde said bitterly."She is not my woman!"Ignor
ANNABELLE'S POVI was taking my daily walk on the beach at the back of the pack house. I loved how the waves clashed with the sky, almost making them one. I often swam in the river beside it every night. My life was close to being perfect, with the only missing piece being my love life. If only I were a hundred percent sure that the one I loved felt the same way about me. Nevertheless, I was content with the way things were. He cared deeply for me.Growing up with my first love, I had received a lot of love from my parents before the attack that took most of the elders in the pack, including the then-king. Weeks after the attack, the queen passed away and was buried beside the king in the royal cemetery.Since then, the new king had been incredibly concerned about my welfare. I smiled as I tied up my hair in a tight bun on top of my head. Instead of a gown, I wore my training attire. It was easy to move around in, and there was no point in wearing a beautiful dress when there was no
It’s been four days since I successfully took care of the strange girl with no one's awareness, not even Lisa. I must admit that the girl was looking good; her wounds were healing at a fair pace, which was abnormal for a werewolf. She was still kept awake at night with screams, which I believe should have given me away.A few guards knocked at my door to ask if I was okay. I had to lie, telling them I had a terrible nightmare. I kept feeding her healing porridge and herbs every morning and night, cleaning her body, and checking her up so she wouldn’t catch a fever.I was a little nervous because the Lycan king was coming back in just two days, and I was yet to think of what to say and how to present her case to him.I left my room, locking the door in case anyone decided to check up on me. I informed Lisa that I was going for a walk on the beach. I smirked at the thought of how bad I've become in the past few days. I know I could be selfish at times, but this is probably the first tim
The following morning, a knock woke Annabelle up from her deep slumber. She stumbled to her door and opened it. Lisa stood behind the door, and before Annabelle’s mind could register why she should block the door, Lisa pushed her way inside the room and stopped, taking in the entire room. Her eyes zeroed in on the girl on the floor who was still fast asleep.“What is that?” Lisa asked.Annabelle cursed and moved back as Lisa turned to her. “You shouldn’t have seen that.”“Is this what you have been hiding for days?” Lisa asked. “I should have suspected this.”Annabelle wondered what the time was and how Lisa caught her at it. “It is not what you're thinking.”“And how will you know what I am thinking about?” Lisa asked with a raised eyebrow at Annabelle, who looked flustered.“I… well, Lisa,” Annabelle said frustrated. “You won’t say anything to a single soul.”“Give me a reason why I should hold my sealed mouth.”“Please.”“Who is she?” Lisa asked, turning back to look at the lady sl
Layla and I made our way out of the chamber and walked down the corridor to the left. People stared at Layla as we passed, so she moved closer to me, but she still stood out with her pale skin and dark black hair. I knew it was better to present the case to the king immediately when he arrived rather than keep it until later.I saw one of the king's personal guards relieved of his duty for the day as he made a beeline for the kitchen. He stopped when he saw us and bowed.“Hello, Lady Annabelle,” he greeted.“Vernon, welcome back,” I replied.“Thank you, Lady Annabelle,” raising his head, he noticed Layla but said nothing.“Is the king free?”“Yes.”“Thank you,” and I turned to the door, knocked, and entered the room. It was an ancient office; everything about the office was old but still looking good. One side of the office was filled with books, and the other side had armor. Walking deeper into the room, we heard voices at the far end of the office, where there was a big table and a
LAYLA'S POVAnnabelle and I spent the day together in my new room, and after that, we both went to the kitchen where Lisa served us dinner. Lisa informed me that I could start my work in the kitchen the next day, and I had no problem with waking up early since I was an early bird. With a big smile on my face, I retired to my room for the night, making sure to bolt my door before climbing into my bed. I fell asleep immediately, my head sinking into the feather-like pillow. I was amazed at how relaxed I felt in the pack and hoped the next day would be great and interesting.A week had passed since I became one of the pack members, and I had yet to encounter the king. I wondered if he was even in the pack, but Annabelle made it clear that she saw him every day and even spoke to him.I was sitting across from Annabelle in her room. She was busy scribbling something on an empty parchment, her attention so intense that I felt like I would melt if I were that parchment.“Annabelle?” I spoke
Layla found herself in a state of contentment within her new pack. She diligently attended to her duties, enjoyed the company of Annabelle and Lisa, and found her nightmares becoming less frequent. She couldn't help but feel grateful for the positive change in her life. Since the incident at the beach, where Annabelle couldn't stop talking about the Alpha, Layla saw little of his attention. She had managed to develop a good rapport with the pack members, and they accepted her without much question.However, not everyone in the pack shared in Layla's happiness, especially a close friend of Annabelle named Elena, who had returned from her mission representing the pack. Elena was a formidable warrior, and her mere presence intimidated Layla. Her large stature and perpetually stern expression made Layla anxious, so she made a point to avoid Elena whenever possible.Layla looked up from across Annabelle in the sunroom as Elena joined them. Elena shot a glare at Layla before sitting down bes