1

Edwina.

I am about to take my last breath when I see him riding on a gigantic stallion. The sounds of the hoofs are making the ground rumble, it is shaking everything above and everything below. It is the Lycan king and he has come to exact his revenge.

Five years ago, our parents betrothed us to each other. I am the princess of Avalor. My Kingdom was going through unrest and we needed gamma warriors to support us. Our parents made a pact that was supposed to withstand time between both Kingdoms.

They gave their only daughter to a young wolf who barely smiled. For my parents, they saw it as the only way to protect me if trouble sprung forth. At that time, he was at least five years older than me and commanded that I never call him by his name.

So, I referred to him as king and in response, he called me "princess." According to the pact, he promised that it would be his duty to protect me all his life and then marked me, to seal the vow in the eyes of the Moon goddess. It was decided that in five years, I would leave my kingdom to become his queen and mate.

After the claiming ceremony, I and my parents were returning to our Kingdom when we got attacked by Aardwolves—"a species of wolves who are vile and volatile, they ambushed us and we were greatly outnumbered."

These wolves were led by a man called Damien, a popular rebel who shrieked fear in the hearts of people across kingdoms. After surrounding my parents and killing every last of our warriors, I watched him dig his hand into my father's chest and uproot his heart.

He picked my mother next and I begged, I told him I would do anything. So, he left her and reached out to me. I remember his voice clearly, and it stuck into the cores of my spine. Damien wanted to become King and take the seat of the Lycan king of Galentia, and so, he used me as a weapon.

I was supposed to lure the Lycan king into Damien's trap but there was a mistake and instead, the Lycan's mother, Queen Olivia was the one who came to rescue me, unknowing to her that it was a trap. In anger, Damien killed Queen Olivia when it didn't turn out as he planned. He killed her in the same manner as he did to my father.

However, one of Queen Olivia's men was able to escape. After killing my father, Damien took over my Kingdom, Avalor, and held me and my mother as captives in our own home. And we stayed as his captive for three years until my mother found a way for me to escape. She gave her body to one of Damien's men for me to escape.

And ever since, I have been running. I have always wondered if my mother was safe. Did Damien hurt her after I escaped? My first motive was to find my way to Galentia and meet the Lycan King for help. However, my hope was cut short when I found out that I was marked a criminal in his Kingdom.

There was a bounty for any wolf who found me breathing or dead. He blames me for his mother's death. I have been hidden from Damien and the Lycan king for two years but today, I have been caught.

I remember his eyes like it was yesterday when I first saw him. He was tall, and he didn't bother to smile but when he marked me on my neck, his eyes became red and my wolf felt his vow. Now, I'm not sure who he is anymore—does he still remember what he swore to me or will he put his revenge above all?

I pass out, there is an injury at my waist and it has gotten unbearable. I was attacked by one of Damien's men who caught me at a nearby village, he tackled me and I fought against but he stabbed me with a knife. The injury slowed me down but I entered the Lycan's king territory because I was surrounded by Damien.

I know Damien's men would never cross the Lycan king's territory. In my heart, it was better to get caught by the Lycan king than to be captured by Damien's men.

My eyes slowly fade out and darkness consumes me. I jolt up the bed, looking around the unfamiliar room and trying to remember what happened after I entered Galentia. I try to stand but I feel pain and the injury on my waist reminds me of how I got it in the first place.

Oh no! I say weakly, staring at the regal and royal room. The floors are covered in cashmere which is a high-quality hide and skin. The queen-sized bed is huge, it reminds me of my room from five years ago when I was still a princess.

I limp carefully, looking at the injury that has been treated and bandaged very well. Did he treat me despite his hatred? I have to get out of here. I cannot be a prisoner again.

As I walk towards the door, I stare at my reflection in the mirror but I do not recognize myself. My hair used to be shiny, healthy, and curly. Now, it has matted together. My porcelain skin is pale, I miss the warmth in my cheeks and the smile that used to steal everyone's heart.

"I used to be dressed in silk, jewels, and the finest oils and perfumes from different parts of the world." Now, it's rags that even my servants could never wear.

I almost break into tears but the door opens and I move back. My wolf prowls when I gaze at a man who is double my height and triple my size. His cold-blooded eyes, emotionless ones that are grey in color and deadly in aura stare at me.

He steps closer and I move back until I sit on the large bed which sucks me in. Is he the one? Is this what he looks like after five years? I say to myself even when my wolf has confirmed it already.

"To stare at him, I have to lift my eyes." He is a beast and I could not have imagined his form or build. However, his scent is the same as five years ago; lavender and chocolate.

"Are you going somewhere, princess?" He says to me in a stern, mastery, and potent voice that breaks every connection that I think I may still have with him.

"Behind him, are two gamma warriors and a few servants." I don't know what to say. I can't run anymore. Do I beg for mercy? Do I ask for forgiveness?

I return my gaze towards him and it's stern.

"Take her." He says to the gamma warriors and they begin to walk towards me and I try to fight it. I'm no match.

What...what are you doing!? I ask in a stuttering voice as the gammas hold me and take me into another section of the room. It is an empty room with tiles on the floor and concrete on the wall. The gammas leave and the female servants enter, they bring in large bowls of water.

I don't know what he is about to do to me but it cannot be anything good.

Edward, please! I say and the moment I mention his name, he glares at me, and an older woman whom I did not see before hits me and grabs me by the hair.

It's King, his majesty! She says, behind my ear and I recognize her. She was present during the marking ceremony five years ago. Her name is Gracia and she was Queen Olivia's friend.

Take off her clothes! Gracia yells and the servants rip my clothes from my body until I'm bare. I use my hands to cover my body, shivering as they dump a large quantity of ice water upon my body and it blurs my vision.

I cough, water plunging into my throat as I kneel on the cold floor. It doesn't end at one. I lose count of how many times it occurs.

In my dampened vision, Edward walks towards me, and there is nothing like forgiveness in his eyes. He gazes at the mark he put on me years ago and his face hardens.

"Do you remember how you lured my mother to her grave, her heart missing from her body and her face, completely massacred by those Aardwolves that you and your parents made a deal with?" Edward asks, baring his claws and fangs.

I shake my head in disapproval, unable to tell him the things I have been through. What is the essence? His mother is dead and she's not coming back.

"Queen Olivia cared for you so much." The moment she got information that there was an accident on your way back, she took it upon herself to journey to help your parents and what happened?

Your parents joined hands with Damien and they killed her! Gracia says.

My parents never did that! I yell, I cannot take the slander towards my parents.

"Looking at you, I guess Damien has tossed you aside. He took over your kingdom, killed your parents and you became nothing but a rogue." Gracia says, her eyes are as cold as the rest of Galentia, who sees me as the reason for Queen Olivia's death.

"Your parents are no more but I promise you, you will pay for their crimes." Then, Damien would be next. Edward says he hasn't laid his hands on me despite the anger in his voice and the pain in his heart.

Why?

"This is just the beginning of your torment, princess." I will make death look easy and you will beg me for it. Edward says.