Chapter 3

Aurelia’s POV

My eyes slowly peeled open, taking in my bright surroundings. The air smelled like freshly baked muffins, and I could hear voices chattering in the distance.

I tilted my head to the left, only to find that I was in the arms of a gorgeous young man. Stunned, I stared into his light gray eyes. There was something oddly familiar about him, something I couldn’t quite place my hands on.

“Are you feeling any better?” he asked, laying my head against a pillow.

I nodded in response as I tried to wrap my head around where I was and why his face looked so familiar. My tummy grumbled lowly, and my cheeks turned crimson in embarrassment. I was suddenly aware of the intense hunger that plagued me.

“The maids will bring you something to eat shortly. Get some rest.” He said and made his way to the door.

“Umm... excuse me. Where am I?” I asked.

He turned, obviously shocked by my question, like I should have been able to tell from the moment I opened my eyes.

“You’re at the royal palace.” He muttered.

“Wait, what?” I raised myself from the comfort of the soft bedding beneath, and stared at him. However, I winced softly, as a dull ache racked the back of my head.

When I lifted my gaze towards his, there was a smile on his face.

“How? And who are you?” I asked.

A look crossed his face, and I could tell he was clearly annoyed at that point.

“You don’t recognize your own prince?” He asked, in disbelief. That was when it hit me, the strange feeling that I’d seen him somewhere, it was because I had. His name was Norton Vikings, the Alpha Prince of Red Valley Werewolf City, my home, my pack.

His father, the king, was well acquainted with my family because of our contributions to the growth of the city as one of the Beta families.

“Forgive me, Your highness.” I muttered under my breath, bowing my head in respect.

“The maids will soon be here with breakfast, and you’ll be meeting my father shortly after.” He said, waving his hands like he was waving away my apology. He turned towards the door and left, and I looked around once more to take in my surroundings.

I could see why he’d been put off by the fact that I couldn’t tell I was in the palace. Everything that surrounded me screamed royalty, from the furniture that adorned the room down to the rug.

The chairs were made of the finest wood, and their carvings were immaculate. The walls were white, with shamrocks hanging from their edges and gold railings placed at the top of each window which were adorned with light blue curtains that had gold beads sewn in the shape of roses. Coupled with the sweet scent of vanilla and muffins that filled the air, I felt like I was in heaven.

I racked my brain for what could have possibly led me to the royal castle. The last thing I remembered was a strange man biting into my neck, and my hands instinctively went to the spot of the incident.

I felt a tiny bruise there and I winced at the pain, but there was something else, a small weight that pulled at the lines of my neck, a necklace.

I immediately took it off and gasped. The necklace was stunning, with an alluring shape and a blue stone for a pendant. I wondered where I’d gotten it from, the prince maybe? Why would the prince give me something like this?

There was suddenly a soft knock on the door, and I immediately hid the necklace behind me.

“Breakfast is here.” A feminine voice called out.

"Come in." I ushered. She unlocked the door and came in with a small tray of tea and muffins.

I smiled at her as she dropped the tray on a stool beside my bed. She was probably in her mid 50’s, and she wore a beautiful smile on her face as she placed her right palm on my forehead.

“Feeling any better?” she asked. I nodded at her and she gestured at me to eat.

“Finish the tea, it’s great for building up the blood.. you lost quite a lot.” She muttered.

I took a sip of the warm tea and decided now was the time to get answers to the questions that burdened my mind.

“H-how did I get here?” I asked, placing the teacup on the tray and taking another bite of the muffin.

Her face suddenly looked sullen. “Is that something you’d like to hear right now dear? You just woke up from a three day coma. Maybe you should rest some more.”

My heart skipped a beat. Three days?? I’d been unconscious for three whole days?

“I’m fine. I just need to know what happened. Please tell me.”

She gave my hand a tight squeeze and exhaled, like she was about to relate the painful stories of her past. I sat up straight, preparing myself.

“The prince found you outside your home, along with your parents and everyone else from your pack. Thankfully, you’d survived, and so you were brought to the palace and checked by a doctor. He said you’d lost a great amount of blood, but you’d be fine with time if you kept taking your medicine. I’m the maid in charge of taking care of you.`

`

“So, I never woke up once in those three days?” I still found it hard to believe that I’d been asleep for that long.

“You did manage to drink some green tea on some occasions. You’d have been long gone by now if you hadn’t.” she said, pouring some more tea into my cup.

“Chew slowly, dear. After you’re done with breakfast, I’ll have you all cleaned up and ready to see the king.”

She left the room and came back after about thirty minutes had gone by, and prepared a bath for me.

As soon as I was done, I tried out some random dresses that had already been prepared in advance. We finally settled on a wine colored dress with gold trims, which accentuated my green eyes. My blonde hair was tied up in a neat bun, and she stared at me, satisfied with her work.

“You look absolutely lovely.”

I nodded with a small smile and she led the way out of the room and into the hallway. We passed by several maids, all dressed in the same black and white uniform she had on, running up and down the halls, dusting surfaces while chattering away.

They’d pause briefly, staring me up and down and muttering incoherent words, and then they’d go back to their cleaning. I felt quite uncomfortable under their watchful eyes, but the maid in charge of me, whose name I did not yet know, gave my hand a small squeeze and whispered into my ears.

“They’re all saying you look lovely.” I smiled at her, thankful that I had someone that nice looking after me.

We soon arrived at the door to the throne room and she stopped just before me.

“I’ll be out here waiting.” She said, I muttered a ‘thank you’ to her before disappearing behind the doors.

The throne room was enormous, with sunlight pouring in from the large windows and every inch of the room screaming royalty. The King sat on his throne and waved at me to approach. I stood before him and curtsied.

“Aurelia Brock.” His voice was deep and held so much power. His eyes were gray and stern, and the whites of his hair sipped out from beneath his crown.

“Yes, your highness.” I replied, crossing my fingers nervously.

“I deeply apologize for the tragedy that befell your parents and your pack.” He said, his eyes softening.

I’d tried my best so far not to think about the fact that I’d lost everyone that mattered to me. I guess I could only go so long without reminders.

“Thank you, your highness. But you need not apologize, you had nothing to do with it.”

His expression suddenly darkened, but he was quick to regain his composure as he waved his hands to and fro. The maid in charge of me stepped into the throne room and bowed her head.

“This is Margaret, the servant I’ve placed in charge of taking care of you. I assume you’ve already met.”

To that, I nodded. I knew the king was only being kind to me, but the fact that he didn’t reply directly to my statement left me somewhat bothered. Did he know something I didn’t?

“Margaret will be taking care of you throughout your stay here in the castle, where you are free to live out the rest of your days. Your parents were great people, and I cannot bring them back from the dead, unfortunately. But I can at least make sure you get to spend the rest of your days within the comfort and safety of my castle.” The king smiled at me, and at that moment, I could truly see how much the death of my parents had hurt him.

“Thank you, your majesty.” I said, my heart clenching.

Margaret and I curtsied at the king once more before exiting the throne room. Margaret must have read my mood because the moment we got to the room I was supposedly going to be spending the rest of my days in, she excused herself.

I lay still on my bed, letting the realization that my parents were gone for good hit me once more. No pack, no family, no home. The king was gracious enough to let me stay in his castle, but I knew it wouldn’t be long before I’d have to set out on my own to find the path meant for me.

***

~THREE YEARS LATER~

I brushed the beads of sweat on my forehead as I went down on all fours to weed the royal garden. I could spot Margaret walking up to me with a tray of cheesecakes and some water.

I waved at her as she beamed at me, before plucking out the last weed from the section I was working on and stuffing it into a nylon. I looked around, taking in the amazing job I’d done.

“I see you’re at it again.” Margaret said, finally catching up. I smiled at her and gulped down the cold glass of water that she held out to me.

“Can’t afford to waste away in this enormous castle.”

Three years had gone by, the longest three years of my life, and I still lived within the confines of the royal castle. I could feel the small weight of that strange necklace around my neck. The prince had never mentioned it, and I simply assumed he didn't want to talk about it, which was odd.

Knowing him, he’d take any chance he got to brag about his enormous wealth and royalty. Perhaps it was a parting gift from that stranger, perhaps not. I wasn’t exactly sure anymore, since my memories from that day were partly scrambled.

The sunrays poured down from the sky, and I took a bite of the cheesecake Margaret held out in her silver tray.

“Prince Norton must be finding it difficult to choose a bride.”

I didn’t understand why she’d suddenly raised the topic, but I was aware that Alpha King Azai had asked Norton to find himself a bride, any bride, for reasons best known to him.

I found it incredibly hard to believe that Prince Norton was finding it difficult to land himself a single bride, impossible. I bit into another piece of cheesecake, ignoring her statement.

“Maybe you’ve worked enough for the day.” Margaret said. She was always fond of pulling me out of work early so we could play chess and bake together.

“Maggie, I still have three more sections to weed through. I promise, I’ll be done in a jiffy and we can both do whatever you want.” I laughed and she tugged on my sleeves.

“Ohh, you see, it’s not for me this time. The prince has asked to speak with you.”

I felt her intense stare on mg face, however, I was confident my face gave nothing away. She couldn't possibly know how stunned, and slightly horrified, I was at that moment.

For the past three years, I had avoided the prince like a plague, and it was not just because he was overly proud. I felt like he respected the distance I put between us, that is, until a few months ago when he’d randomly ask me to go on walks with him. Now, he was asking Margaret to come fetch me? That was new.

I ate the last piece of cheesecake before handing over my gardening tools to Margaret and making my way back to the castle.

As much as we technically lived under the same roof, Norton was the prince of Red Valley; I couldn’t keep him waiting. I had a quick shower and changed into a blue dress, doing as much justice as I could to my hair before heading out for the royal courtyard, where I was sure to find him.

I stepped into the courtyard and cursed quietly the moment I spotted him. He had that familiar smug smile on his face as I approached him, the sun relentlessly pouring down from the sky.

“You asked to see me, Prince Norton?” I curtsied and he waved his hands, as if waving away my act of respect for the royal family.

“You can just call me Norton, Aurelia.”

I nodded quietly, knowing fully well I’d never do that. Looking at him now, I couldn’t deny how good looking he was, with his brown hair falling in curls amongst the sides of his face.

“Let’s cut to the chase.” He said, taking a few steps towards me, which forced me to back up against a wall. My heart raced, and I wasn’t even sure if that was a good or bad thing.

“I want you to be my bride.”

I froze in place, dumbstruck by the words I’d just heard.

“Your highness? Are you feeling alright?” I asked, because there was certainly no way he would ask me that if he was.

“I am, and you heard me right.” Norton closed the distance between us, cupping my face in his palm and brushing his thumb against my lower lip.

“Aurelia, be mine.”