09. Fancy

I fell on the soft bed and bounced back. 

After our talk, Beta Darius left me temporarily, saying he would gather every available dress he could find for me. 

Make the Lycan King fall in love.

If I am honest, I could use our bond to make it work. Making the Lycan King fall for me would be possible. 

But…could I do it knowing he may be the culprit of Sabrina’s disappearance. And that woman. I did not have the chance to talk to her. 

Damn it.

My body screamed for rest, but my mind was stubborn enough to refuse. It kept on wandering and went back to Sabrina. 

I let my eyes roam around. 

Everything was plain. If I am asked. Well, nothing was fancy in our family after Sabrina left. After her disappearance. Our family was destroyed with Father drowning himself to work. He forgot he had another daughter, and that was me. 

Reminded of something, I sat on the bed and inspected my wounds. It was healed already. But it did leave a scar. The physical scar was not a source of worry. But the emotional scar will.

My physical appearance no longer bothered me anymore. The Lycan King did not want me anyway.

Feeling icky all over, I went into the shower and found a tub fit for my petite frame. I opened the tap and let the water flow. It seemed that a servant always cleaned this place. There was no dust all around despite the lack of occupants.

When the tub was already full, I removed the cloak and stepped inside the tub. 

The icy cold water hit me. Hard. Making me shudder. But still, I submerged myself in the tub.

I moaned.

It felt good.

I started scrubbing all the dirt away but found a bar of soap in the corner and removed all the dirt and the blood. 

I sighed as I continued scrubbing over my body as the events sank into my mind. 

A servant. A lowly servant. 

I stopped mid-air.

This was not the status my Father wanted for his daughters. He wanted us to be successful ladies who would significantly contribute to the Howling Pack. Father wanted us to become healers, if possible. However, I did not want that path. All I wanted was to step outside the pack and travel. Gain a lot of knowledge. And use it to my Pack's benefit to help the alpha. 

But now...

How could I do that if I became a slave now? On top of that, to the Lycan King.

I closed my eyes. 

I just wanted to disappear for a moment. 

An endless knock resounded, which made me open my eyes. 

Wait. Did I fall asleep? 

The knock continued. Grabbing the robe hanging on the side, I wrapped it around my body and opened the door. 

"Beta Darius." My eyes darted at the servants behind him, carrying dresses. For me? 

He looked at me. Without any lust. Good, because the moment he did, I will poke his eyes. 

"I see you make yourself comfortable," he commented.

"I have to. This will be my new home." Until I find Sabrina. "What's up?"

"I brought all your clothes as I promised. Choose anything you want, and then we will dine with King Elio."

My eyebrows furrowed. "Excuse me. Why would I eat with him? Only prominent people are allowed to dine with the Lycan King." 

And as far as I remember, no one wanted to join him to eat. Rumors said that when he got angry, he poisoned one of his people when he did not like what that person said. I did not know if there was some truth about that or not. 

I did not want to be poisoned. 

All the rumors surrounding him were not that good. 

"Our agreement."

"Oh."

Beta Darius smiled, showing his pearly white teeth. Perhaps it would be better if the Moon Goddess paired me with him. He seemed friendly and dependable. 

I shook my head. 

Now was not the time for that. 

Beta Darius motioned for the three maids to enter the room and put all the dresses in the bed. They were fancy dresses comparable to the price of a city and vast lands based on the intricate ornaments displayed. 

If Sabrina were here, she would love looking at all these dresses. It was she who was fond of dolling herself, unlike me, who did not care what kind of clothes I wore.

Beta Darius stepped inside. 

"Choose any of these. I'm sure one of these will be to your liking."

"How much does each one cost?" I was even afraid of touching them for fear that I might ruin them. One dress was also enough to free slaves. 

Beta Darius shrugged. "Enough to buy a pack."

"What the fuck?"

His eyes narrowed. "Language. A queen should be regal."

"I am not a queen," I corrected. 

He ordered the servants to go out. When it was already the two of us, he said, "That will be your goal, Flora. Make him accept you as his queen. He may not realize it, but he has been lonely and in pain. He is only in denial."

"King Elio is the only one who could save himself. No one else." 

"He needed someone else. That's for sure. Hurry up. The Lycan King is waiting for us."

I scoffed. "He is not the type to wait for someone."

"How could you tell?"

"One look at him, and I can read him."

He shrugged his broad shoulders. "You are right. I forced him to allow you to dine with us. I did my part in helping you. Please do not ruin the chance I am giving you. Prepare yourself now. Do you want me to call the servants to help you?"

"I can do it. I still have my limbs. Besides, don't make me forget I am now a slave."

"You won't be for long if you make him fall in love with you. King Elio will give you anything you want, just like he promised Eva to offer the moon to her."

"Still believing in that kind of shit? Kings normally mate for life even if they stumble upon their second-chance mate."

He grabbed one dress and forced it on me. "That's why you are here, woman. Change his dark views in life, and I will be happy. The people will be happy."

"I'm not here to make you happy or anyone else."

"You always have something to say, huh?"

Pointing at my mouth, I said, "Father will be disappointed if he found out I let others trample me. We were not raised like that."

"He did a good job."

Biting back my tears, I responded, "He sure did." I inhaled deeply. Now was not the time to be emotional. "Now, leave me for a moment. Unless you want to watch I get naked."

"I don't."

—---------------

My hair was in a ponytail while a few strands were let loose. The silk dress with crinkled silk chiffon sleeves and overskirt fitted my body perfectly, giving me a feminine feeling. 

However, despite wearing the most expensive dress that even noble women would envy, I was not happy inside. 

My thoughts are all toward Sabrina. 

Slapping my face a couple of times, but not enough that it hurt, I forced myself to focus on the present 

I had to do an excellent job of making the Lycan King fall for me. I would make sure to succeed despite hating him. 

"You're gorgeous and pleasant to look at, woman," Beta Darius complimented, nodding back and forth, satisfied with my outfit. 

I just wore the dress he had given me. It did not matter if I liked it or not. 

"As much as I did not appreciate any compliment coming from you, thank you by the way."

He offered his arms. "No need to say thank you. Both of us will surely benefit from this."

"I doubted that. I don't want the Lycan King."

"You will when you know him later."

"Beta Darius. I do not believe in the concept of love towards men."