Chapter three

Lillie

I was pushed back into the guest quarters like an animal that morning, and severely warned against any form of violence in the palace by the guard who had my hands cuffed behind my back.

“You’re lucky. He seemed to be in a good mood this morning. He would have had your head hanging on a stick. He hates your kind for what they did to his mother.” The last sentence escaped his tongue, and the disgust in his heart escaped along with it.

It seemed to be in my destiny to suffer for a decision my father made. It was his greed that led him to connive to sell women and children for money. I was ready to bear my cross, but it hurt me everytime.

I was determined to continue to test different escape plans. After all, he would never notice my absence. The queen’s hand would be pleased if I didn’t show up at the first class, I could tell by the way she looked at me last night. He would just assume I didn’t make it to the final presentation.

However, plans changed on the first day of the test. We were to have a class on dining etiquettes when I heard one of the contestants, a blonde girl, saying the last five contestants who made it to the final presentation would each be awarded ten million.

My eyes widened that morning. That was more money than I had ever had in my entire life! It would go a long way to take care of Logan’s bills, and we would leave Darkmoon and never return. We could start life in another pack, where I would make sure to wear turtlenecks for the rest of my life, because I was tired of being stared at like I was the most disgusting thing that existed.

The ten million I stood to win was more than enough motivation for me to want to make it to the top five. For that reason, I put my all into all tests that occurred over the next five days.

We had etiquette classes, literature classes - we were told the alpha king enjoyed reading classic literature whenever he had free time - dance classes, and even classes on how to play the harp.

None of the girls could help the shock on their faces whenever I successfully passed a test, and moved on to the next class. At the end of every test, one contestant was always eliminated, but I always passed successfully. What they didn’t know was that despite being a “banished one”, my mother was still high born and enjoyed teaching Logan and I etiquettes, dance, and instruments in her free time. She was the one who had thought me to play the harp perfectly. We would always sing and dance together in whatever fancy clothes she still owned around our very small living room.

It was a wonder to everyone how I made it to the final five contestants, but the queen was more than fair in her judgement after every class and test. For the first time in my life, I wasn’t treated based on the tattoo on my neck. It was almost like Queen Sophia was blind to the screaming wolf on my neck.

We had been told no one was allowed any form of meeting or engagement with any of the princes, so I made sure to keep my encounter with the prince at the garden to myself, and I had a feeling he had done the same too.

Alas, the night of the presentation arrived! The night we were to be presented to the alpha king so he could make his choice.

I was led into a large room along with my other four finalists. The dressing room held hundreds of dresses, shoes, and five vanity mirrors with stylists and makeup artists stationed at each of the tables.

Lady Mary was present to welcome us into the dressing room and give us the much needed instructions. All the while, I couldn’t wait to receive my check of ten million, so I could leave this place and NEVER return!

“The queen has been generous enough to produce you girls with a variety of clothes, shoes, and jewelry. You are free to make your pick and head over to any of the chairs were the five best makeup artists and hair stylists in the pack are waiting to make princesses out of you.” Her eyes landed on me again and she scoffed.

“Or as many of you as can be made. Some people are just not destined to have greatness in them, wouldn’t you agree?” She was staring at me.

I nodded, silent.

I wasn’t going to make any trouble. This was my last night here, and ten million was on the line.

“What is your name again?” She asked.

I cleared my throat, fighting hard to keep the scowl that tried to form on my face away.

“My name is Lillie Rome, ma’am.”

She looked sternly at me, from my head to my toe.

“If I were you, I would wear something suitable. You know, to cover up…” she didn’t say it, but I could see her eyes drop on my neck.

On instinct, my right hand rubbed my tattoo, and I heard the girls beside me chuckle.

“You would need to cover THAT up if you even want to stand a chance. It’s just a friendly advice. You’re free to take it or leave it.”!

She looked away from me and continued to speak to other girls. For the rest of her stay in the room, lady Mary pretended as though I wasn’t part of the contestants. Which gave me ample time to do exactly what I needed to do.

I searched the room for over twenty minutes, patiently looking for a dress that screamed “fuck you.”

My eyes finally caught a black dress laying at the top of pile of dresses. It wasn’t displayed on rails like the rest of the dresses, and that intrigued me. I walked towards it and picked it up, then held it up for my eyes to see.

The corset stole my heart first, before the rest of the dress. I looked around and watched as the girls busied themselves with selecting fancy red, green, purple, and even pink dresses, but I knew there and then what I wanted to wear.

With the black dress in my hand, I made my way to the shoe section and picked out a black boot with high heels. In the jewelry section, I found a pair of onyx stone earrings, and made sure to pair them with my dress.

The look of confusion on the face of my makeup artists and hair stylists, and the gasp of horror that came from the girls caused a small smile to form on my face.

All it took was an hour for me to look like the statement I intended to pass across. “Fuck your contest. All I need is my money.”

Like I expected, lady Mary was absolutely horrified when she saw me. Her hands flew to her mouth, and her eyes widened. She looked at me as though I had gone mad, and I relished in her disapproval.

The amount of cars parked in the palace told me we were going to have a full house tonight. We were led through a corridor in the palace to the door of the throne room.

I was asked to stand behind as the fifth contestant to step into the room. It was finally time.

I didn’t know why, but I was nervous. I had thought it would be an easy journey in and out of the throne room, but I was visibly shaking. Every time the door opened to reveal a new contestant, cheers and applauds could be heard. It caused my heart to twist in my chest, knowing they would never applaud me in that way, knowing that once I stepped into the room, I would glared at, hated.

“And the fifth contestant, daughter of Cain Rome, and Hilda Rome, Lillie Rome!” There were no applauds.

How could there be? When the mere name of my father caused a frown to form on everyone’s faces.

As I walked into the throne room, I tried my best to keep myself calm. I was already in the finals, and I was going to walk out of the contest with ten million. I just had to see it through, I just had to keep walking. To catwalk as elegantly as I could, and give them my best smile. It didn’t matter that I was stared at like an alien. I was going home with ten million, and once I got my money, all of it would be worth it.

The murmurs, the hisses, the hateful eyes. Everything would be worth it.

“Now that the contestants are all here, we shall now bow for the arrival of the alpha king, Alpha David Morris!”

At the mention of his name, all heads bowed, as well as mine. All I could think about was the money I was about to walk out with.

The side doors of the throne room opened to welcome the royal family. I kept my gaze glued to the ground as they walked in.

I couldn’t tell if it was the breeze from the door, or the presence of the royal family, but a strange cold feeling swept over me. My hate for the royal family wasn’t enough to cause me to shiver at the sight of them, or was it?

The side of my neck began to tingle in the most ticklish, yet uncomfortable way. The corset I had on didn’t help matters at all. I clutched the hem of my dress and dug my teeth into my lower lip to stop my teeth from rattling.

“Mate.”

What?

The low whisper in my ear caused my ears to stand erect.

My grip on my dress got firmer. What the hell was happening?! My wolf had not spoken to me since I first shifted when I turned eighteen. Four years later and she whispered “mate”?! Recognized and claimed her mate?!

Who could be my mate in a room filled with dignitaries of Darkmoon?!

“Look up. He’s staring at us.” Enid, my wolf, whispered to me again.

I could barely breathe, not with the anxiety that tugged at my chest. Yet, I listened. I looked up, eager to find the man my wolf had found, the man that caused her to speak for the first time in four years.

I looked in the direction of the tingling sensation, and that was when the world around me crumbled. Right that very instant.

A very familiar set of blue eyes caught mine and didn’t look away.

“He is our mate.” Enid repeated, and I swear I died.