Chapter Four
Maelis Each step I took away from them reminded me of the words he said. "Welcome to EclipsarumElite Sancta Royal Institute?" Was that what he was supposed to say to me after his girlfriend, or whosoever she was, beat me up for what he did? He was the one who held my hand. He was the one who took me to his resting room. I didn’t go because I wanted to. Why did she have to punish me for that? My heart raced with anger and pain. I felt as helpless in this school as I did outside of it. I thought things would change when I came here. I thought I would finally lead a good life, where I wasn’t worried about what people said about me or my face. But I was wrong. This school was no different from every other place I had been to. There was no escape for me. He could have said, "Welcome to hell," instead because this was hell. A new hell for me, a new place to be treated as badly as I had been before. I wish I could go back to the time I stepped into this school. I wished I could experience that feeling of warmth and a sense of belonging I felt for a brief minute. I thought having not just one of the alpha brothers but three of them as my mates would change things and make me accepted here. But I was wrong. Totally wrong. The alpha brothers being my mates wasn’t my ticket out of my terrible life, but a ticket to a greater level of torture and maltreatment. I remained an outcast, just like I had always been. I remained invisible until it was time for a trick to be played on me. Once again, I wished I hadn’t accepted the offer to join the school. I wished I had just stayed in the shadows, as I had always tried to do. My legs became wobbly as I dragged them to the restroom door. It was as though the beating I got from that lady settled in my legs, making it hard to move. I got to the restroom and pulled off my dirty shirt, leaving me with just the bracelet I wore underneath. It was a red, sexy bracelet that I got for myself and would always wear in my room, looking good for myself because no matter how hard I tried to look good, all people saw was my face. I placed the shirt on the basin and gazed at my reflection in the mirror. The red mark on my puffy cheeks reminded me of the hard slap I got when I tried to explain myself to that girl. I remembered the beating that came from the rest of her crew after that. I wasn’t even allowed to explain myself. I had no say. I was nobody. Though it wasn’t different from what I had been before, the only difference was the level of my disappointment. I thought this school would have a place for everybody, and I would be able to fit in. But I was wrong for the umpteenth time in my life. I held out a low sigh as I began to wash my face, hoping the red mark would disappear quickly before anyone noticed what happened to me. It wasn’t like they cared anyway. As I washed my face, insecurity and reality began to dawn on me. I stopped and stared back at my hurting, tear-filled eyes in the mirror. I would never be accepted by the brothers, not in this world and not in the next. Looking at my face, it was nothing compared to every other girl in the school, especially not the one I had just encountered. She was beautiful, along with every other girl in her crew. I would be setting myself up for another form of disappointment if I continued to expect that a miracle would happen and even one of these brothers would consider me as his mate. Right there, I made up my mind to push away the fact that they were my mates. I decided to push that feeling I felt when I first saw them away from my mind. I knew the Moon Goddess wasn’t that cruel, even though she hadn’t been on my side for years. I knew she wouldn’t be so cruel as not to give me another mate who would treat me well. I let out a heavy sigh of pain and uncertainty as I began to wash off the dirt from my clothes. Just then, I heard the creaking sound of the door opening, but I paid no attention, thinking it was just another student. Having them see my face would only bring me more pain. I remembered a year back when I went to use the restroom in a mall, and a lady came in with her daughter. I turned to see who was coming in, and the daughter broke into tears, wailing and screaming that she had seen a ghost. Her mother complained, and I was eventually banned from coming to the mall or shopping there again. I wished that someday, I would be able to stand in front of the world without caring about what they would say about me or my face. But until then, I had to keep hiding in the shadows. “Won’t you check if you’re being kidnapped?” The soft but deep voice startled me, and my legs froze, a cold shiver rushing up my spine. My mind raced to where I had heard that voice before, and my eyes widened when I remembered whose voice it belonged to—Ulric, Prince Ulric. What could he be doing here? And in the female toilet, of all places? The thought that I would be in more trouble if anyone saw us together made me shiver. I turned and almost shrunk back when I saw he was a few steps away from me. “Y-you shouldn’t be here,” I stuttered. “This is the women’s toilet.” “Yes, I saw. And I came in anyway,” he replied briskly, taking a step closer to me. I wished I could step back, but I was already at the end. “What do you want? You know you shouldn’t be here. I don’t want to…” “Shh…” he cut me off, grabbed my hand, and swiftly pulled me into one of the toilet stalls. I was about to ask why when I heard running water and the muffled chats and laughter of the ladies who had entered the restroom. I got my answer. He did that so we wouldn’t be seen together. But he could have just gone in alone to hide. Why did he have to bring me in with him? I looked up to ask him that, but my words froze along the narrow path of my throat when I saw his hungry eyes devouring the revealing part of my breasts. He wouldn’t take his eyes off. I wanted to speak, but the way his eyes stared at me, hungry and with a great sense of admiration, I couldn’t say a word. I knew I wanted him to keep staring. Ever since I had been burned, he was the first person who had looked at me like that—with admiration and longing. It made me feel like there was hope for me. I could still be admired even with my ugly face. “Sexy bracelet,” he murmured. “Can I touch?” My head felt light, and heat rushed through my body as I heard that. My breath became hot as my heart raced. Could he touch?Chapter FiveUlricAll I wanted to do was give her the ointment and band-aid so she could cover up her cut. I never expected to be met with such a hot and sexy sight. My gaze was fixed on her cleavage, the revealing part of her breasts awakening the desires of my wolf, which I had been fighting hard to suppress. My wolf had been reckless ever since the moment I saw her, which meant I was reckless as well. Despite all this, I tried to keep myself in check so I wouldn’t do anything wrong or stupid, but with the sight in front of me, it wouldn’t be as easy as I thought it would.“Sexy bracelet.” The words dropped from my mouth. “Can I touch?” I thought it was all in my head; I wasn’t aware of when I opened my mouth to speak.I looked down at her, and the expression on her face seemed appealing at first, but it changed in a few minutes and she pushed me away, stepping back to the open area of the restroom. Luckily, the ladies who came in earlier had already left.“You pervert!” She yelled
Chapter SixMaelisI wanted to avoid Prince Ulric, his brothers, and those ladies for the rest of the school day, so I headed to the school library. As I browsed through the sections looking for a quiet place to read, my eyes caught the billboard announcing upcoming exams in a few weeks, with a message encouraging students to study hard and wishing them good luck.On the other side, there was a notice about the annual Blood Moon Harvest scheduled for the next weekend. Despite the excitement surrounding the event and the activities planned, I wasn’t interested. I still felt like I didn’t fit in at the school, and attending the harvest would only exacerbate that feeling.My main concern was catching up with my studies. I knew I had fallen behind and needed to work twice as hard as my classmates to catch up.At the librarian’s desk, I joined the queue of students waiting to be served. While standing there, thoughts of the day raced through my mind — from the initial excitement of being a
Chapter SevenMaelis“Oh! Thank goodness you are here. I was just telling the Royal Guards about you,” my dad said with a big smile on his face as he pulled me towards the center of the room, right in the middle of the Royal Guards.My dad had a big smile on his face, one I hadn’t seen since my mom passed away. He usually wore a frown or scowl, glaring at me whenever he wanted to speak to me. But now, he was smiling from ear to ear, and I could tell he was genuinely happy, which he hadn’t been in years.What could the reason be? Why were the Royal Guards here? What news could they bring to make my father this happy? I searched for answers but couldn’t find any. The only explanation that seemed reasonable to me was that the Royal Guards were sent by the Alpha Princes. I imagined instances where I would have to choose between the Alpha brothers, scrutinizing them from their looks down to their behaviors. Those minutes I spent standing and waiting for an explanation were filled with dayd
Chapter Eight Valko“The Alpha King mentioned in the last meeting that he would love for his sons to find their mates before the next pack feast,” my uncle, also an elder of the pack, informed me. He turned to me with a smile, his brown teeth baring at me. “Have you found your mate yet?”That was one of the questions I hated to be asked: Where is your mate? Have you found your mate? Can you feel her presence? How long will it take to get to her? I hated all these questions, but they wouldn’t stop asking me. The questions only opened up my insecurities, revealing a part of me that I always tried to forget.How exactly could I tell all these people that I had no wolf? I had never felt its presence, and I didn’t think I ever would.“Valko,” my mom called. “Have you found her?” she asked.I forced a smile onto my face and shook my head. “Not yet. But I am sure I will find her soon,” I responded, knowing full well that was a lie and I might end up with no mate.“I can find the perfect wom
Chapter NineMaelisThe gate of the Royal castle was so big that a family of elephants could pass through it all at once. I had never seen a gate so big in my entire life, and I had thought that the first time I would enter this royal castle would be to seek employment as the royal physician. But here I was, being bundled in to work as a slave.Tears kept rolling down my face, no matter how hard I tried to hold them back. My heart felt like it was ripping apart. Never in my life had I imagined that things would get so bad that I would end up as a slave. I always thought that if I could get admitted into the institution, I would do whatever it took to graduate as a qualified physician and prove everyone wrong, especially my stepmother.I was ecstatic when I received the admission. I thought my dreams were finally going to become a reality, that my far-fetched dreams were finally within reach. But now? My dreams were farther away than I could have ever imagined. I might never become a p
Chapter TenUlricBeing at home is supposed to make up for the long day at school, but not in my case. It rather determined how bad the stay at home would be. It determined the amount of trouble I would have to put up with, as it was always double whatever happened at school.Sometimes I get tired and too overwhelmed, and I just want to quit everything, maybe go away with my mom and find a good place for us to live and start a new life. But my mom’s hopes were on me, and she wouldn’t be happy to see that I had given up.My mom was the only reason I was in this fight to begin with. Even though I had topped my brothers in every Royal class and training we’ve done, I never had it in mind to go head-to-head with them for the throne. But seeing how my mom was being treated and how she had been subjected to so much abuse and shame, I just couldn’t let her live like that forever.It wouldn’t even end with me. If I didn’t do anything to change the situation for my mom and me, then every singl
Chapter ElevenMaelisMy legs felt as though they were glued to the floor, I couldn’t move, and the same applied to my brain, it couldn’t come up with any way to escape the impending danger and chaos that would be caused by the brothers if they were to see me, standing there as one of the new recruited maid.I looked around, my eyes desperately searched for a way out, but I couldn’t find anything, I couldn’t think of a way out of this mess.I kept my head bent, maybe hiding my face could save me, but that wasn’t possible, anyone who knows me well would recognize me even if my face was hidden. The scar on the side of my face and neck would expose me.“Keep walking!” One of the guards leading us to our rooms yelled out.I looked up, and that was when I realized that the other maids had gone far beyond me. I picked up my legs and rushed to join them, finding a way to move myself in between them just so I wouldn’t be recognized.“Stop and greet the princes.” Another guard ordered, and we
Chapter TwelveUlricStanding there and waiting for my father, the Alpha King, to come in felt like forever. I already knew what my fate was, but I wanted to strongly believe that he would make the right judgment this time.He was always quick to make judgments and would even listen to my brothers over me. I was like the child he never wanted, but it was still confusing why he was acting that way. Until we were thirteen, my father was all over my brothers and me, treating us equally, without any preferential treatment for anyone.Though the other people around us treated me just the same way I was being treated now, my father and brothers were different. I always thought if I had their support and love, I wouldn’t care about how the palace maids or their mothers treated me. All of a sudden, the people from whom I gained my strength changed towards me. They were the shoulder I could lean on when I had any problems or was maltreated by any of their mothers or palace maids, but they move