Chapter 6: Adelaide.

The Lycan king's words sound like falling sand to me. 

I can't see past the pain in my fingers.

It's not just my fingers, but also my heart. I have been beaten, humiliated, cursed at and seen only in terms of what I can do for others and the pack. 

I'm the lowly omega daughter of the Alpha, a disgrace to the pack and the one who will never be free no matter how much she tries.

The moment I hear the word freedom, my tears come out even hotter and I try not to break out into another sob.

I can't help but feel like he's lying to me.

There's no way I can ever be free.

"This offer isn't going to last forever Adelaide, I'm guessing you have....."

Panic flares through me and I almost scream the words.

"I'm in!"

They slip out of my mouth before I can even think of anything else and with my fear filled eyes, I look up to peer at the face of the man whose mercy I'm at.

He looks amused, and somehow that makes me feel this is the right decision.

He would have killed me if he wanted to kill me, but he hasn't. As much as he wants to conceal it, I know he needs me.

Not me specifically, but someone like me. 

Weak, docile, someone who will do anything for a better future.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you just said you're in, right?"

I nod again and try my best to stand up. I don't see the slap but it lands on the side of my face. I stumble back to the floor and when I look up at him, he has a cold look in his eyes.

"You're in front of a king. You don't get up unless you've been asked to."

I swallow the tears I feel burning at the back of my eyes and I nod.

"My apologies Lord Lyros."

He lets out a sound, something like a grunt of approval and he turns on his heels.

I watch as he ascends the stairs to his throne, it looks nothing like the way I've imagined any throne to be. It's as cold as the man who sits on it and when he's finally seated, I can't help but be awed by how perfect he is.

Again that image of his hands on me, his body at my back, and his mouth on mine flashes past my eyes but this time it's only for a moment. I push it down myself and tear it out of my mind.

"You'll be directed to your room and you'll be starved for the next seven days. It's customary for every prisoner to go through that so don't feel I'm trying to be wicked to you."

I nod.

"I understand Lord Lyros."

He peers down at me again and he snaps his fingers.

Two guards come out from their hiding place in the walls and cart me away. Tears threaten to cloud my vision but I keep them in.

I can do this. 

Freedom is not something I have ever been offered before, and almost like the Lycan king of the north knows me too well, that's exactly what he has offered me.

The one thing I have always wanted.

I would have been a fool not to accept.

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The hallways are dark and empty. The walls smell of hot males and there is not a speck of dust anywhere. The room looks well kept when I'm thrown into it and the guard only spares me a glance before he walks out.

My fingers hurt like hell. 

Looking at them makes me feel more distraught so I don't. I might have to lose this hand at the end of the day, something that isn't useful hanging onto me isn't going to help me, and the goddess knows I need all the help I can get.

I stand up from my kneeling position and explore my new room for a bit. There's a bathroom and toilet, and the small space is tastefully furnished. 

One soft bed, one arm chair, and one table in the middle.

The bathroom has a mirror so I walk to it and turn the lights on. What I see does not surprise me.

My hair is ruffled, my face is puffed up and swollen from all the crying and hitting. My eyes are red-rimmed and I can feel them waiting to close, just so I can forget about the harshness of our current reality.

I am not weak, I am tired. 

I feel like I've been broken to the bone. 

Lyros killed Jane and then killed my brother too. I should be happy he just broke a few of my bones.

~Are you still awake little wolf?~

I give a silent nod and I realize what he's doing this for.

He can get into my mind. He's telling me there's nothing I can hide from him. 

I hear a low chuckle and that feeling of someone leaning over my shoulder is gone again. I don't know when that feeling started, but I know I can always tell when it ends.

I wash my broken hand, peer at the ring for a while and fall asleep.

Right there in the bathroom.

The first day finds me on that bathroom floor and I move only to change positions and go back to sleep.

The second day meets me with a dream, of happiness and pain, and pure misery. I see the Lycan king leaning over me and whispering the words "I can never love you."

"I would rather sleep with a dog than you."

By the fourth day my stomach is grumbling and I am sure i might have digested half my intestines.

The fifth day leaves me squirming in pain and agony. My heart feels like it's about to give out, but all through the passage of these days I make sure I keep what my goal is in sight.

Freedom stands in front of me like a ghost. The ghost of my best friend, killed for a crime she did not commit. 

The ghost of a mate I hope to meet and the ghost of us with kids.

Freedom is worth seven days of hunger.

And sure enough on the seventh day, I hear my door creak open.