Chapter 5| The Monster

Mira's POV

I groaned in pain when my back hit the ground.

I stared at him in absolute terror as he put one of his large paws on my shoulder and the other one on my neck. I whimpered in pain when his claws sank into my skin and my eyes welled up with tears. So the gossips were true after all. He was a real monster!

I shut my eyes and shook in fear when he roared in my face. "K...King William," I sobbed, trying to get through to his better nature. But it was no use.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps marching in our direction. He heard them too and became alert, looking all around him for the source of the sound. It didn't take us long to find out whose footsteps they were.

King William growled angrily as the royal guards encircled us. They were armed and seemed ready for any eventuality. Probably, their goal was to ensure that he never escaped from the garden out into the Kingdom which would be nothing sort of a disaster.

Bad news spread fast. Conrad seemed to have gotten wind of the situation because he soon came running to the scene. "King William!" He exclaimed when he saw how things stood. But the angry wolf only growled at him.

"Call the witch doctor!" He ordered and one of the guards quickly darted off on the errand.

King William looked even angrier than before. But when I looked into his eyes, all I saw was sadness and a silent call for help. It was as if he didn't want all of this to happen and yet, he was unable to control himself.

He suddenly opened his mouth and snapped at me as if he was about to tear off a huge part of my body, but instead, he fell heavily on me and groaned deeply.

I gasped in surprised and staggered from his immense weight resting on me. He seemed to have fainted or something. But when I looked at his back, I saw a syringe sticking out. Slowly, he began to shift into his human form.

Conrad quickly ran up to us. He pulled out the syringe stuck in King William's back and covered his nakedness with a towel. The he carried him and left the garden while I stood there dumbfounded, my mind struggling to process all that had just happened.

My eyes caught sight of the syringe which was now lying on the ground. I quickly picked it up and looked at it. It still contained some of its contents, so I brought it up to my nose and smelled it.

"Wolfsbane!" I whispered in shock as I recognized the smell of the liquid inside the syringe.

***

"No one should know what happened earlier in the garden. Understood?!" Conrad growled at us.

We were in the function hall. All the witnesses of what happened earlier had been ordered to gather together here.

"Yes, Beta Conrad," we answered in unison.

His eyes were darting sharply amongst our faces as if he was in doubt of our loyalty.

I couldn't blame him. Most in the palace were not huge fans of the King. They were mostly scared of him while the rest simply did not like him at all.

"If any word of what happened is breathed outside of these walls, I assure you, I will behead those responsible. If I can't find them, I'll behead every one of you."

Everyone gasped and trembled in fear.

"Understood?!" He asked once again in a stern voice.

"Yes, Beta Conrad!" We answered in greater unison than before. We were obviously motivated by fear.

"Good. Go back to your stations."

Everyone dispersed very quickly. Everyone except me. I remained standing right where I was, in front of Conrad.

"You, Omega," he said as he got up to his feet, his eye lingering on my bleeding neck. "Come with me."

I quickly followed him and he led me to the Alpha King's chamber. I saw King William lying on his bed. His eyes were tightly closed as if he was in pain and the witch doctor was beside him, reciting a spell.

"Doctor Samara," Conrad called quietly as he sidled up to her. "How is the King?"

"He's already okay. I put his wolf asleep," Doctor Samara answered with a weak smile.

"What happened? I thought his wolf was supposed to be asleep for three weeks after you put a spell on him last week? Why did his wolf still lash out?"

Doctor Samara sighed before answering him. "I really don't know why his wolf lashed out. I was sure his wolf would be asleep for three weeks. Maybe there was something that triggered it."

Conrad fell into silence for a couple of seconds before speaking again.

"How about the wolfsbane? Have you washed it out of his body?"

"No worries, Conrad. He's safe now," she assured him.

"He should be. His parents will arrive soon."

"Oh! Who is she?" Doctor Samara asked when her eyes landed on me.

She smiled sweetly at me and I gave her a shy smile in response.

"She's the personal servant of the King. Unfortunately, the King attacked her earlier when his wolf lashed out. Do you mind treating her wounds?" Conrad asked.

"Oh! I see. Come here. What's your name?"

"M...Mira," I answered shyly. She made me sit on the chair and turned to the Beta.

"Conrad, would you mind leaving the room for a minute?"

In response, Conrad shrugged and walked out. When he was gone, she turned back to me and looked at my injured neck.

"This is a huge wound," she said. Then she put her hand over the injury and began to recite a spell. When she finally took her hand away, the wounds were gone completely.

"Thank you," I whispered shyly.

She smiled at me and patted my head. "Take care of the King," she said before getting up and leaving me alone with the King.

I was confused. What had she meant by that? But when I turned to look at the King, I found him fast asleep.