CHAPTER 3: THE ENEMY'S TERRITORY

Summer's eyes blinked open to an unfamiliar room. She sat up on the huge bed, flicking her eyes around to assess her surroundings as her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

The last thing she could remember was being battered by her people, she shivered as she recalled the memory of several hands beating on her. Her eyes stung with tears at the humiliation and betrayal by Alan and her people. She could not comprehend how the same people she had dedicated her life to, had turned their backs on her in the blink of an eye.

She was so immersed in her thoughts that she barely registered the entrance of another person in the room.

"I see you're awake!" The deep voice resounded in the room, snapping Summer out of her reverie.

"What-"

She jumped out of the huge bed and instantly stopped mid sentence at the sight before her.

Every pack was aware of the Lycan king and how powerful he was. Summer knew without doubt as she stared into those blue orbs that the Lycan king was peering back at her.

"I'm sure you must be wondering where you are, you are now in the Lycan Kingdom, and you will be staying here, in my palace from now on." He said with a firmness in his tone that irked Summer.

"How- Why am I here?" She asked with puzzlement, still finding the whole situation strange.

A dark look crossed his eyes, and he clenched his jaw with an unreadable expression before he gave a reply.

"That's not relevant; you should just be happy that I got there in time to save you."

Summer took notice of how he deflected her question, but her face softened as she realized that she would probably have been dead if he had not brought her here.

A frown crossed over the Lycan King's face as he stated with an unfocused gaze. She concluded that he must have been using the mind link.

"You don't need to worry about anything else, your personal maid will be here soon, and she will help you with whatever you need." He announced, turning on his heel to leave.

"Wait, your highness!" She quickly forced out.

He paused.

"I-I,"

"You can call me by name, Dominic." He corrected in a calm tone.

"Thank you, Dominic." She said in a softer tone.

For some unknown reason, Summer could not take her eyes off him. She watched his back as he only gave her a short nod before he finally left the room.

Shortly after he left, a smaller looking woman walked into the room.

"Who are you?" She asked, guessing that she might be the mentioned maid.

"I am Hilda, your personal maid, and I will be attending to your needs from now on." The woman answered by bowing slightly as a show of respect.

"I'm Summer." She reluctantly divulged, keeping in mind that she was in the enemy's territory and she could not trust anybody."

The woman nodded.

"Would you like to have your bath now?"

"Yes." She answered immediately and walked over to the large mirror on the other side of the room.

All her wounds had healed completely. But she looked like a mess, and shivered in disgust at the things that had been done to her. Her auburn hair was all over the place, and her clothes were dirty and tattered. She was in dire need of a bath.

"Your bath is ready, miss!" Hilda announced from across the room.

Summer walked over to her, "Address me as Summer." She stated before walking past her into the bath.

She stepped out of the much needed bath with a sigh.

"I already picked out your clothes, and I can help you with your hair afterwards." Hilda explained, beaming at her with a smile.

"I can do that by myself next time," she pointed out rudely, giving the woman a hard stare.

Summer walked over to the clothes that were laid out on the bed and wondered why she was getting such special treatment in the first place, the huge room, personal maid, expensive clothes, she could not understand what was going on.

She shot a glance at Hilda before dressing up, and sat at the bench, where she helped her with brushing the tangles out of her hair.

"Now, time for dinner!" Hilda announced as soon as they were done.

The pair walked out of the room, and Summer ignored the disdainful stares on her from the guards as they passed by. She followed Hilda, who was either oblivious, or simply chose to ignore their stares.

"This is the dining area, you can sit anywhere apart from the head of the table and the first two seats." Hilda said, motioning to the huge dining table.

Summer was unbothered by these conditions since she was fully aware of the hierarchy that was similar to that of a werewolf pack. She didn't care about sitting arrangements, she wasn't even comfortable in the enemy's territory in the first place, so it didn't matter where she sat.

She sat on a random seat, far away from the head of the table, ignoring the burning gazes of the other people at the table. It seemed as if they shared the same sentiments about her presence, they didn't want her here.

Her wolf was at alert, in case of any surprise attacks, but surprisingly nobody made a move to attack her.

Sparing a quick glance at the head of the table, she noted that the Lycan king was absent. Without giving it much thought, she directed her focus on the plate that had been placed in front of her.

Her stomach rumbled at the sight of the steaming food, and she wondered how long she had been in the Lycan Kingdom and the last time she had eaten. Her mind ran blank, and she shrugged, digging into her food.

"She even eats like an animal." Summer's ears twitched as she heard snickers from the women sitting across her.

She stared straight at them with a murderous gaze, her hands tightening around her fork.