Chapter 04

AVERY

Everything hurts.

I groan, shifting to my back only to get the bright sunlight to burn my face. For a few moments, I keep my eyes closed and try to understand why it hurts.

But then the events of the night flash before my eyes and I sit up in the bed. The stench of alcohol and sex still lingers in the air but the atmosphere is cold now.

The warmth is gone.

I open my eyes and look around to find the room vacant. The man is gone. And I—

I look down at my body only to find myself still naked and bearing the marks from last night.

My breath hitches in my throat. Did I just give up my virginity to a stranger when I was supposed to keep myself pure for my future mate?

No. This can’t be.

Dustin will kill me when he gets to know and if he doesn’t and I end up in the South, Aleister Anasazi will know. If he finds out, he will consider this treachery.

Fear grips my heart and twists it painfully. What do I do?

Why did I do this?

Why did I lose my mind when I saw this man? Why did I feel like I was on fire when he was so close?

Who was he?

Another memory swarms my mind. Last night, I saw his eyes turning black and some strange veins appeared in his cheeks. Could it be that…he is a Lycan?

But, that’s impossible, right? Only the Royal Bloodline are Lycans. Aleister Anasazi and his family are the only Lycans in the South.

Does this mean…this man…is Aleister’s relative?

Oh, my Goddess. What did I do?

I am startled out of my thoughts when a loud knock sounds on the door. It is followed by several heavy thuds. I don’t need to open the door to know who is there. It’s Renee, her sweet scent is filling the space already.

Scent. My eyes widen in realization. I had sex. She will be able to tell instantly.

“ Princess! ” She shrieks on the other side of the door when I don’t answer.

I jump to my aching feet and gather my clothes. Panic surges in my veins as I dress up in a hurry. The urgency in Renee’s tone tells me that the worst has happened.

And as expected, when I open the door, her fear-filled eyes meet my gaze. She grabs my wrist and pulls me out.

“ His Highness— ”

She freezes, her gaze lowering to my neck which is still exposed. The temperature drops around us, and at that moment, I realize something else. Last night, he did something to me. His teeth sank into my neck and then everything became heightened before I lost consciousness.

“ Tell me you see nothing there. ” My chin wobbles.

“ Is that a… ” Her lips tremble as she meets my gaze again. “ Princess. What did you do? ”

My numb, cold fingers finally land on my neck and there is a bump there. I stumble on my feet, my back hitting the wall behind me.

No.

I dig my nails in my neck.

No, he didn’t do it.

“ It’s a… ” Renee can’t bring herself to say it.

“ Mate Mark. ” I utter and the world slows down for a while.

“ Who was it? Did you find your mate? ” She steps away from me cautiously.

Deep grey eyes keep revolving in my mind. The indifference, the amusement, and the strange glint.

My heartbeat escalates until I can’t breathe anymore.

No way.

A Princess marked by a man she doesn’t even know…That sounds just…Impossible.

This man is from the South, an enemy and he is a Lycan which means he is closely related to the man I am promised to. That’s just oil to the fire.

“ They are here to take you back, Princess. They found us. ” Renee whispers scaredly.

“ He is going to kill me. When he finds out, I did something like this, Dustin will kill me. ” I gasp, covering my neck.

Dustin, my brother, and the King. He will die before accepting this. He will kill me.

And what about the man I am promised to? He will hold this against Dustin. He sought a pure, virgin Princess who had never been touched by a man before, and when he realizes that not only did I sleep with a man but also had his mark, he will consider this a betrayal from our Kingdom and he will…wage a war.

I hyperventilate as my whole body trembles and my breath gets stuck in my throat.

Oh, Goddess.

What the hell, Avery?

What now?

My stomach tightens in knots, sending me to the edge. I might as well strangle myself now and pretend I didn’t do anything.

Heavy footsteps cover the distance to us, and my heartbeat speeds up to new limits.

“ The Royal Guards. They are coming. ” Renee lunges towards me and covers my head with the cape. “ we must not let them see this. Do you understand, Princess? ”

She is right.

“ Here. ” Hurriedly, she opens the small vial bottle which I failed to notice before, and forces the liquid down my throat. “ this is a scent-hiding potion. They won’t smell anything on you. ”

My first reaction is to agree with her. Until I come up with a solution which I doubt will be possible, I must not let my brother figure out what I did in here.

“ My Princess. ” The head Royal Guard, Austin is the first to get to me.

Respectfully, he bows his head when he approaches us and gestures at the other guards behind him to stay in the back.

There is no change in his usual respectful stance towards me which means the potion is working. He won’t be able to pick the stench on me.

I try to gather myself and act to be nonchalant but the lessons of a lifetime fail me. I can’t wipe off the look of horror, shock, and anger from my face. He notices this from the corner of his eyes and sighs.

“ His Highness is waiting for you outside, Princess. ” He informs politely.

But my world tilts off its axis. “ My brother…he is here? ”

He came personally? I gulp nervously. The potion might hide the scents but fooling my brother is no easy feat. He will know when he looks at me.

“ Yes, My Princess. ” Austin nods and steals another glance at the sweat trickling down the side of my forehead.

My brother is waiting for me. My cold hands shiver by my side. How am I supposed to face him?

I take a step back in fear. I don’t want to see him. I want to hide and—

“ If you don’t walk now, Princess, His Highness will have to come inside. ” He adds, releasing a soft sigh.

My heart jumps in my throat. If he comes inside, this whole place will burn down to ashes. He is my brother but he is a cruel man who leaves no witnesses behind in any scenario.

I break out of the dreadful trance and steel myself. “ Let’s go. ”

My soul trembles in fear of my brother, my family and the future as Austin leads me down. The club that was bustling with people is empty and the eerie silence only weighs on my senses.

Where did all the people…go?

Renee follows closely behind, the rigidity of her body increasing my nervousness. I hold my head high as we exit the premises.

And there he stands, the man who can manage to make the strongest people scared with a simple look. His calm demeanor is the same as usual. There are no cracks in the facade he puts up in front of people when his eyes move to rest on my face.

But I know better than to think he is composed. The calm Dustin is the most dangerous man to exist.

I drag my heavy feet towards him. My heart races in my chest, as fear spreads throughout my body.

It’s embarrassing.

He will know what I did. I can’t play him. My brother…He is too smart.

“ Dustin, I didn’t do anything wrong. Don’t even think about it. I just wanted to be free for a day… ” I didn’t dare mention night. “ I drank too much and passed out. ”

Lies spill out of my mouth one after another. I am digging my grave deeper. Eventually, Dustin will know and he won’t spare me.

“ Take the Princess back. ” Dustin cuts in and commands Austin without taking his eyes off me.

“ It’s not what you think. It’s… ”

It’s exactly what he thinks. I shouldn’t feel guilty but the disappointment, that only I can sense in his eyes makes me tear up.

‘ Royals don’t cry. ’ My mother’s cold voice rings in my head, accompanied by the sounds of sharp lashes and screams.

I clasp my hands together to stop the tremors. Dustin’s fleeting gaze falls on my hands but his eyes don’t soften. He has nothing to offer to me anymore.

My chest tightens in pain but I don’t utter another word. I am doomed—I know and I must suffer and pay for what I did last night.

I tighten the ribbon of my cape to hide my neck and storm away, leaving my brother behind.

He let me go without asking anything in front of so many people, but what awaited me at home won’t be this lenient.