SERENA’S POV
The door slammed shut behind him, leaving me alone in the silence. Tears welled up in my eyes, I felt utterly powerless, trapped in a cage.
I couldn’t let Derek break me. I would survive. And when I turned twenty, when I unlocked the secrets of the box, I would find a way to my freedom. A way to avenge my parents and escape the clutches of this monstrous man.
It was a long shot, a desperate hope, but it was all I had. Until then, I would play the part of the meek servant, bide my time, and wait for my chance.
I straightened the simple dress one last time, forcing myself to take a deep breath. Tears had left their mark on my cheeks, but I quickly wiped them away.
Stepping out of the room, I made my way towards the conference room. My heart pounded as I walked only because I wanted to meet King Ardan with utmost composure.
As I entered, my gaze met Ardan. He stood by the window with his back to me. He turned upon hearing the door open, wearing an indifferent look on his face. "Ready?" he asked curtly.
I nodded silently, unsure of what else to say. There was no warmth in his eyes, no ounce protectiveness he had displayed earlier.
“Good," he said curtly. "The banquet starts soon. And I'll be taking you home with me after that."
My heart skipped. "Taking me home with you?" I stammered. "But... why?"
“That's not a question you need to ask," he stated. "You should know by now that my decisions are not to be questioned."
He paused. "Besides," he continued, "you did quite well rejecting Derek in front of everyone. You were almost eager to, weren’t you?"
I opened my mouth to speak, to plead my case, but before I could utter a word, the door opened. It was Cora.
“The banquet is about to start, Your Majesty," she said, before glancing at me spitefully.
Ardan gave a curt nod, completely ignoring my attempt to speak. He turned and headed towards the door. “Lead the way, then," he commanded.
There was nothing left for me to do but follow. What had I gotten myself into? Ardan's offer of protection was confusing, to say the least.
Was it genuine concern, or was there something else at play? What did Ardan have planned out for me?
At the banquet, all I could think about was the uncertainty of my future. I moved through the banquet like a ghost and when it was finally time to leave, fright gripped me.
Ardan offered no explanation, no reassurance, as he ushered me out of the hall and into a waiting car.
He gestured for me to enter. Then, I climbed into the backseat. Ardan slid in afterwards and slammed the door shut. The car was as silent as a graveyard. I stole a glance at Ardan through the mirror in front, and all I could see was the disgust he had for me in his eyes.
Even without Derek's earlier warning ringing in my ears, I knew that exposing Derek's brutality might not earn me any favors, instead it might increase the disgust Ardan already has for me.
I gulped hard. It seemed the safest course of action was silence.
We sped throughout the night for hours. Finally, the car slowed down and he stopped the car at a grand entrance. We were here; The Lycan King’s Pack House.
Ardan got down from the car and stood beside it. He offered no assistance as I emerged out of the car. We walked together, in silence. As we walked, groups of wolves couldn’t help but stare. Their widening at the sight.
“Alpha Ardan," a young man stepped forward.
“Thorne, this is Serena," Ardan replied curtly. "She will be staying here with is."
The man, who I assumed was Ardan's beta by the deference in his posture, raised an eyebrow. "Here, at the pack house, Alpha?”
"Apologies, Alpha," he stammered, "but rumors have been swirling… is she… is she your mate?"
"Absolutely not," he said with disdain. "She's nothing more than a slave I acquired. Find her a modest room – she'll continue serving here."
Thorne was disappointed, but he quickly masked it with a respectful nod. "As you command, Alpha." He turned towards me. "Follow me, Serena. I'll show you to your quarters."
I was assigned a modest, furnished room. My duties were minimal, mostly helping with small tasks in the kitchen and tending to the gardens.
One night, during a full moon, I heard noises outside. Unable to ignore the unsettling feeling, I crept out of bed, drawn towards the source of the noise.
I tiptoed down the quiet hallways. As I neared the large doors leading to the exterior courtyard, I heard a low growl.
I began to panic, I wanted to turn back, but curiosity pushed me forward. As I strained to hear the source of the sound, it came again, closer this time, accompanied by the padding of powerful paws.
I spun around, looking for a weapon, anything to defend myself. But outside was empty. Just as I began to breathe hard and accept my fate, a massive wolf stood over me.
I was paralyzed with fear. I had never experienced anything like this under Derek’s cruelty. I was rooted to the spot, I cried and begged for mercy but the wolf didn’t listen and there was no one to hear me, no one to save me.
The wolf began to rip my clothes off me until I was completely naked. Then, the most absurd thing happened.
“Open your legs,” the wolf commanded me.
I had to comply, for the sake of my life. I opened my legs until he could see every corner. I was scared, panting as he took in the sight of my vagina.
Just when I thought it couldn’t get any more shocking, the wolf shifted. It was…. Ardan?
“Ardan?” I asked, shock showing on my face.” what are you-”“Do Not speak.” he cut me off, enunciating every word. I shut my mouth quickly and drew back, attempting to close my legs, but he would not let me.He grabbed me by the ankles and pulled me forward until my core was nearly parallel with his nose, and he sniffed.He took long, deep breaths of my core and looked like he was fighting not to leap at it.What was he doing? I could only lay there, shaking in fear and arousal, wondering what he would do next.He finally moved, dragging his tongue across my core in one long, wet path. I gasped, immediately baking up and closing my legs.“We are not doing this, and we are not doing this,” I mumbled, scrambling further backward, but Ardan refused to give me any space, closing the gap as soon as I made one.Eventually, he backed me up against the wall. There was nowhere left to run. He grabbed me by the throat, caressing my neck softly.“Don’t run from this, Serena.” He murmured into my
My wolf seemed to have a better understanding of fate than I did.After comforting myself that I should calm down and allow time to prove that there is more to what appears shallow on the surface, I laid myself to rest in a deep slumber.Every new day comes with its hurdles. I was, and I was prepared for whatever might come my way again.I stepped out to begin my day, but the person I saw was a represented day.Someone was already standing outside the door, a tall brunette with a harsh face.Emma.She was the one who raised Ardan from childhood. “Here comes the wench! Aren't you just shameless?” She announced.Her lousy voice broke my thoughts. She was fond of mocking me like I was her sworn enemy in her past life, and she was determined to humiliate me at every given opportunity.“Wash it clean and have it ironed, too.” She tossed a maid dress to me. I picked it up, and I dare not object to her. “Why are you still standing?” She asked rudely.“I. I thought you wanted me to wash this
Ardan's POV.Gama had come briefly to update me on the Pack's financial statements. I listened intently, at least that was what it looked like on the surface.However, my mind was somewhere else, far away from the present happening. I had drifted back to the explosive night I had with Serena yesterday.I couldn't shake off the feeling, I had never felt that way before. It was a wild experience, I couldn't have felt that way with anyone else.“That was too much, you know right? You wanted to devour our mate in one night” My wolf, Alf, mocked me. He was right though, I just lost control of myself, and the mate bond was irresistible.It was an incredibly perfect experience, I would be crazy to deny the truth.But I haven't changed my stand on the fact that Serena was an Omega and I would not settle for someone as weak as her, she was not better than a piece of furniture, what help could she contribute if there was a need for Luna to take a daring stand in the future?Alf disagreed with m
Serena's POVI had just retired to my cramped room wanting to rest after a long hour. But the door cracked open and the familiar figure scared me as fear overtook my heart.It was Ardan, his arrival made my body vibrate with panic. What has he come to do? It was hard to read his mind, one could predict what his intentions were, no matter how I tried.He was the Lycan King, he didn't care about other people's opinions, and you could never come up with possible ways to defeat him argumentatively even if you tried.For all I know, I was not important to him in any way, I was just a slave he acquired according to him, and he was a cold and cruel king, he could dispose of me whenever he wanted and no one would dare to stand somewhere to question his actions.It was what I had heard about him long before now, and it has even been proven to be true judging by his disdain towards me since my arrival. But it was truly difficult to understand his mind.During midday, he sent Cynthia away just b
Serena's POVWhile I maintained a firm opinion that Arden is cruel and cold, Sally believed otherwise.Maybe because she could connect with his wolf Alf, but I was the one with eyes, the heart, and the flesh that was being tortured, so I could tell for a fact that he was not different from Derek.But Sally insisted that he was different. I did not agree with her, she stood on her opinion too, and we both disagreed with each other's view.In the royal palace, there were maids to do almost everything for the members of the royal family.Everyone had their roles and duties for each day, but I was particularly assigned to the kitchen to carry out a little support by Beta.The next day, I woke up and began my day as I put on my maid dress.“That's the slut” “You don't mean it! How cheap!” “Do you see her walk of shame?” I could hear the intentional whispers that were thrown for me to hear. The other she-wolfs were mocking me.“She just got here and she already managed to seduce the king su
Serena's POVThe man lifted me, and I could barely stand on my own, my body was tired and weak from the beating.The man was called Alpha Zone, he was Ardan's cousin, the Alpha of Pack E.When I looked up at him, his handsome face and strong body were charming and attractive. I was lost in his eyes for what seemed like endless seconds.I was glad he arrived just in time, these god's forsaken she-wolfs would have shredded me into pieces.Alpha Zone ordered everyone to stand by, but then he realized that these other maids had shifted into wolves, so he asked the security guards to take them to the dungeon after he interrogated us and realized that they were the ones who bullied me and I was the victim.The universe was on my side after all, who knows what would have happened to me if he had not shown up at that moment, meanwhile, I promised my parents that I wouldn't give up or die easily. I could have failed on the promise.After the security guards took them away, I limped forward to
Ardan's POV.Even as a king, regardless of my position, I can not deny that I still look forward to seeing and bonding with my family.And yes! It was the time of the year when everyone would come around, it was tagged an annual training, but we all understood that this was a chance for a reunion and a moment to reconnect with each other.I have always looked forward to it, although I could never show my excitement as I was the King.My cousin, Alpha Zone, was the Alpha of E Pack, and he was around for the training too. I was glad to receive his presence.He had gone away briefly, maybe to use the restroom, but he was taking longer than expected.Out of curiosity and concern, I could have sent someone else, but I decided to go to his room to check on him by myself.However, once I opened the door, I was greeted by a shocking surprise.Zone and Serena were in an awkward position, they were seated intimately on his bed. I was furious and if he was not my cousin I would probably have him
Serena's POVEmma was in charge here, whatever she said was the final verdict.As my punishment, she had said that I should not be given dinner. I was alone in my room, I was hungry, and pain had dominated my body from the fight from earlier.My stomach kept making a rumbling sound. It was already getting late, I could not go out to the kitchen to get food on my own because I never wanted to run into Arden.His terrifying eyes were scary and I wasn't ready to see them again. Moreover, I didn't do anything wrong, he had simply misunderstood me, without a chance to explain myself.After I returned to the dormitory, I picked up the few things I found in the scanty first aid kit to tend to my wounds.It was burning like I had just returned from war. My heart was broken, I was alone, and my mate didn't care if I died or lived, he wasn't even aware of the the way I was bullied.How long do I have to live like this? I couldn't believe I was brought here to continue to live in a hellhole. My