Chapter 5

Ellie.

I sat frozen in the car, unable to move a muscle, not with the intense brown eyes staring daggers at me. We sat opposite each other in the car, his aura as dark as the shirt he had on. I tried my best to keep my eyes off him, but the intoxicating scent of him kept pulling me back unconsciously.

“I suspect he’s our mate, Ellie, but isn’t it uncommon to have a second chance mate this quick?” my wolf, Ru, asked, but I shut her out quickly. I was wondering the same thing before she spoke, and I needed to know what that meant for me, and my future, being the Lycan King’s mate, but I couldn’t dare ask. The Lycan King was not Vito, they were two different wolves with different authorities, and if the rumors I’d heard about the king were true, then he was very strict, merciless, and straight-up evil.

“Do not think for even a second that he will believe anything you say,” Vito warned me earlier, but sitting opposite him like this, I wondered if he would’ve believed me had things gone my way. Would he have protected me and stripped Vito of his position as alpha, or would he believe his alpha over me?

I bit my lower lip, meeting his dark eyes, and looked away immediately. Vito was right, there was no way the King would believe me. I was caught naked in bed with an omega like me, and Vito and Nadia’s performances were on point.

My thoughts ceased when the car came to a stop after nearly an hour of driving. I folded my fists, unsure of what to do.

“Do you plan to stay in the car all day?” my heart leaped out of my chest at the thunderous voice. I folded my lips, exiting the car only to be met with the one structure I’d only heard about from people and also dreamt about.

I stepped into a grand courtyard, with an already destined path leading to the magnificent building that was the castle. The structure was tall and well-kept if the shiny silver walls were anything to go by.

Dozens of servants dressed in black and white lined up on the path from the car into the castle with their heads bowed, and in the center of the wolves created path were three people, a male, and two females, who stood.

One of the females looked young, but I would tell from the way the male and female were dressed that they were royalty; most likely the King’s parents.

“Welcome home. I must say, I am quite surprised you returned in such a short time,” the older female said, her eyes on me while she spoke.

“Is she the one?” the younger female asked, and all heads turned to me, including that of the servants.

I watched the Lycan King look around, a frown settling on his face before she shook his head.

“She is not. She is a slave I took from the Crimson pack. I don’t want to hear stupid rumors about this from any of you or the punishment will be severe,” He barked, his gaze hitting me for a split second before he turned to his Beta.

“Theo, prepare a modest room for her. She will continue to live as a slave here.”

Theo blinked back a few times before bowing with a hand on his chest. While I stood there confused.

I was certain the Lycan King was my second chance mate, but he claimed I was nothing but a slave, and would continue to live as one. Was that my punishment for rejecting my mate? I wasn’t sure, and since the Lycan King wasn’t someone I could just question, I placed my hand on my chest, and bowed, raising my head to see him retreating into the castle with the three wolves and his beta.

“So she’s just a slave? Thank goodness. I was tempted to curse when I saw her, thinking she would be the queen,” one of the servants spat, and it turned into an avenue for all of them to comment on my appearance.

I folded my fists, realizing that things were about to become much worse for me and not better like I silently hoped in the car.

My new room was a small single bedded room with one window that had a beautiful view of the sky. I leaned against the window bed with a sigh. It was a full moon tonight, and it shone beautifully, holding me hostage in its alluring beauty, until a sound from below my window distracted me. I trained my eyes on the small bush there, waiting to see the source of the sound, but I saw nothing, instead the sound became louder. I should’ve stayed in my room, I should’ve let the others check out the sound since they had lived in the castle longer than the seven hours I had spent there, but I found myself running down the stairs outside. Only that as I stepped out, a massive black wolf pinned me down, causing me to hit my head on the stony ground, but the wolf did not seem to mind.

Paralyzed with fear by the wolf’s heavy breathing, which instilled in me a much deeper terror than Vito ever had, I could only watch with wide teary eyes as the wolf took hold of the flimsy material of the dress I wore, ripping it into pieces until I was left naked. I folded my lips, as I stared back at the dark familiar eyes of the black wolf.

“Open your legs!” The command sent a chill up and down my body, but I was powerless against such power. It hadn’t been a full day since my arrival at the palace, but I was already subjected to such treatment. I could tell who the wolf was, the scent emanating from him gave him away, even before he shifted into his human state and sunk his teeth into my neck, suckling on the flesh there.

Tears spilled from my eyes, unable to wrap my head around the fact that he could not award me the decency of a room, and would rather take me out in the open, with a bush serving as cover.

“Your Majesty, please not here,” I mustered all my courage to plead, with the hope that if had any respect for the bond we now shared, he would listen to me.