It was on the night of a full moon.
I had just returned from my usual secret hunt. Yeah, a secret hunt. My father would never allow me to even hunt or rally with the rest of the pack, just because of the condition I was born with.
I was known as one of the weakest Omegas in the kingdom, and being of royal blood only made the stigma worse. Well, it's not like they were wrong though. I am indeed weak and frail as a werewolf.
I could barely keep up with the bunny I caught tonight, even while being powered by the full moon. Only the heavens know what would have happened if it was on any normal night; that was why I always sneak out of the palace every full moon.
Sigh… I sighed depressingly as I knelt before a lake in the woods. The silver full moon shone on the rippling lake, and I could see my wavy reflection.
My black hair was dishevelled from all the running, and my blue eyes were pale — I was tired. I sighed once more, cupping my hands and dipping them in the lake.
I scooped out a decent amount of water and splashed it on my face. It was cold, it was rejuvenating. I poured another scoop on my face, then wiped it clean with the arm of my shirt.
I stood up and sprayed a lot of deodorant on and inside my clothes. I couldn't risk getting snuffed out by anyone at the palace.
My father wasn't usually around at this time of the month, making it easy for me to slip out. But if the guards or my mother caught the scent of the woods on me, they'd definitely tell him. I'd be dead.
After emptying the small deodorant bottle on myself, I turned in the direction of the palace. Thanks to my weak trait, my heightened ability to smell was almost dormant; the excessive body spray I used on myself didn't choke my nostrils.
I leaned forward a bit and burst into a sprint, running at my own supernatural pace.
It took me almost twenty minutes to get to the palace. I was really slow.
I snuck my way in and tiptoed into my room.
“Phew…” I sighed in utmost relief, taking off my shirt and trousers.
I rushed into the bathroom and had a nice, long bath. I couldn't tell how long I spent in there, but when I walked out of the bathroom, the full moon had been bloated by thick clouds.
I didn't give much thought to it as I openned my wardrobe and picked one of my ‘elegant’ dresses; my mother would kill me if she found me wearing mundane clothes.
It was as I fitted the dress on my body, that a subtle knock came from the door.
“Hm?” I raised a brow, zipping up.
But before I could say anything, the person that knocked voiced out, “Princess Elora, it's Damon.”
“Oh…” I relaxed a bit, picking up the fluffy skirt of my dress and trotting towards the door.
Damon was a high ranking guard of the kingdom, specifically assigned to guard me. Mother said it was because he might be my potential mate or something. But we never got along in the first place, he was always so rash and short tempered — not my kind of man.
I unlocked the door and pulled down the handle, opening it as I took some steps back. Damon walked in immediately, towering at a height of 6ft. As usual, he was donned in his combat uniform, that was dominantly black, with laces of purple at the shoulders and other parts.
I took a step back away from him as he looked down at me. The last time we were in that position, he wanted to kiss me, but I was quick enough to react and turn my face away.
He ignored my precaution and bowed his head, “His Majesty awaits you at the Throne room. He requests your audience immediately.”
“Huh?” My heart almost skipped a beat. Father was back?! Why now of all times? He always returned about three days later. Or did he find out about--
Before I could get lost in my panicked thoughts, Damon spoke again, louder this time, “Princess Elora, he wants to meet you now. You know how tardiness irks His Majesty.”
I sighed, “I know, I know. Let's go, then.”
He finally raised his head, stared into my eyes intently. For a split second there, I could have sworn to see worry in those black eyes of his. It made me shudder. This was Damon we're talking about, what could possibly get him so worked up?
He fully opened the door and gestured for me to exit the room, which I did, lifting my annoyingly heavy dress. He followed me aftwards and we walked towards the throne room in silence.
However, as the throne room came to my view, a sudden chill encompassed me. The hairs at the back of my neck stood taut like needles. I could feel… Danger.
Before I could process this sudden premonition, some figures blurred at me from all sides, and before I could blink, I found myself kneeling in the throne room. My wrists and ankles were also bound in thick ropes.
I could literally hear the sound of my palpitating heart. What the hell was going on?
One minute I was having an awkward walk alongside Damon, and now I'm suddenly thrown into the throne room, bound in ropes like some slave.
I lifted my gaze from my tied hands and looked ahead.
There he was, my father, Eric Cassius, the Alpha King of our kingdom, regally seated on his obsidian throne. Seated beside him was my mother.
Then just below the steps to his throne, were the six council members, seated opposite each other in pairs of three.
“F-Father?” I found myself stuttering as everyone had their eyes on me.
Just like with Damon, I could feel their worry and… Regret?
God, I just wanted to pry into their minds and find out what the hell was happening! The silence was unnerving!
Then came my father's voice as he leaned forward with interlocked hands, “Elora, my daughter. I'm just going to go straight to the point…”
‘Thank you!’ I appreciated inwardly; the suspense was killing me. Maybe it should have, because the next words that came out of his mouth shattered my heart.
He adjusted his posture and said, “I'm selling you off to the Greyhound Pack.”
Elora's POV“Huh? What do you mean?” I muttered in puzzlement, my eyelids fluttering incessantly like a butterfly’s wing.What did he mean by selling me off to the Greyhound Pack?The Greyhound Pack, I very much knew. It was one of the realm’s most popular Pack, or Kingdom in the case, only second to the Crescent Pack.I heard that their Lycan King, Alaric Greyhound, was more of a dictator than a ruler, but no one has ever left the kingdom. Instead, more people flocked under his iron-fisted rule, since that was what made the kingdom so prosperous.Tch. Why am I even thinking about that now? Now wasn't the time for history, now was the time to make history… Hopefully one with a good conclusion. Selling me off to another Lycan King was absurd.I was the daughter of a Lycan King myself. Though I must say that my father is quite old and has gotten weak, due to the many battles he fought in the past. It was thanks to people like him that most kingdoms now lived at peace with each other.Bu
Elora's POV ‘This is absurd,’ I muttered inwardly.It all still felt like some bad dream or trance. I mean, this whole trade thing couldn't be real, right?Sigh… I couldn't come to terms with the reality before me. A reality I never saw coming at all. As a weak Omega, my plan was to live a secluded life as a princess, maybe find my real mate and… That was it; I never really gave my future any deep thoughts. Maybe I should have.One of the four horsemen of Greyhound, moved away from his cohorts and stood before the steps that led to the throne. I don't know what he did exactly, but I saw him snap his fingers, and I was sure to have seen his suit give off a faint golden glow.Then, in the blink of an eye, a table appeared between him and the obsidian steps.I narrowed my eyes as I recognised that table. It had been in the throne room for as long as I could remember, but it was usually situated by a wall at my right.I turned my head and took a glance at the spot it usually was, just to
Elora's POV The horseman with Damon’s head in his hand, raised it high and gave a warning to everyone in the throne room.My father sighed ruefully, “That was foolish of him, I apologise.”The horseman scoffed, “You are not to blame. Children of this era have always been so naive. Perhaps, it's time we brought back the Scarlet-Crest era.”For the first time in a long time, I saw my father shrink in fear. What was so fearful about some Scarlet-Crest era? Perhaps that was one of the times in the era of war?He swallowed hard and dropped his headThe horseman simply shook his head and walked away. The other horseman still had his index claw out. I didn't even wait for him to ask before stretching my hand towards him. He made a clean cut on my thumb and gestured for me to press it on the parchment, which I did without complaint.I was still in shock of Damon’s swift death. I had no feelings for him, but he was still a wolf that had siblings to take care of. I decided not to ask anymore q
“Eh?” I stared at him blankly.Did he just call himself Alaric Greyhound? As in THE Alaric Greyhound that I've heard of?! The Lycan King of this Kingdom?I know I've gone through a lot from last night till now, but this couldn't be real. What would the infamous King of such a prosperous kingdom be doing in the dregs? Or was this how he greeted all the new intakes?“Are you alright?” His bass voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I sniffled and nodded quickly, “Y-Yes, your Highness. Thanks to you.”He smiled, making him more handsome than he already was, “Good to know. Now…” he turned toward the other three men, that were kneeling before the carriage driver, who was still writhing in pain.“I've heard about you guys and the stunts you've been pulling for a long time now,” Alaric said, slipping his hands into his pockets.The three men turned on their knees and looked up to him in fear.“All of that ends today,” Alaric added.“Please, your Highness. We were only punishing the offenders,
My grip on the handle of my bag tightened as I lifted it closer to my chest. Looking outside the window of the carriage, I gazed at the grand mansion looming ahead. Several tall pillars stood at different sections of the mansion and they were so large that I could only imagine how thick they were going to be if I was to get close to them. Thick ivy crawled up the pillars and scattered across the stone wall of the mansion, giving it shades of green that added to it's magnificence. Large arched windows lined the walls, giving off a golden glint as the sun hit their glass. The light casted off of it exuded a warm, almost inviting glow that seemed to be a stark contrast to the cold and imposing features of the building. My grip on my bag lessened.Slowly, the carriage rode into the mansion's compound and the uncomfortable graveled path beneath it's wheels slowly transitioned to smooth cobblestones. I was still taking in my new surrounding when the carriage suddenly came to a halt at th
Alpha Alaric stood before the fireplace, one hand in pocket, the other holding a glass of wine, and his face turned towards a large picture that stood at the end of the room. Large drapes covered the windows, blocking out the sun outside. Little light peaked in from one of the windows occasionally as it swerved in the small draughty breeze that managed to slip in through the slots of the windows. The room was dimly lit, the flickering flames of the candles around and the soft-roaring fire in the fireplace being the only source of light. The light from these flames cast off different shadows that crossed the room and danced around the place. Somehow, I felt at ease as I stood in the room.Alpha Alaric took in a sip from his wine as he continued staring at the picture. Now curious as to why he was looking at it, I slowly turned to the large frame handing on the wall by a suit of armour.Although partially obscured by the low light, I managed to see what was on the picture. It looked l
The servants quarters weren't as good as I thought they would be. Mud and different types of waste surrounded the space, giving it a very dirty look. I hoped the inside looked much better than the outside. Boy, was I wrong? I entered the room that had been assigned to me and sighed. Throwing my bag to the ground, I walked over to the closed window and pushed it open. A cloud of dust swirled in the dim light, filling the entire room as the window creaked open. Coughing and sneezing, I quickly placed my hands over my nose and ran over to the window. I took in a deep breath of the air outside, only to gag as the air filled my lungs. I quickly closed the window and retreated back into the room as the urge to throw up filled me. I cupped my hands over my nose as I ran around the place, looking for some kind of relief. The stale, musty odour that had been trapped inside the room was overwhelming and somehow seemed to seep in through the crevices of my palm, making the situation even wor
"Hey, Elora," I heard someone call out. Dropping the basket I held to the ground, I lifted my head in the direction of the call and found Gadot skipping towards me. She looked giddy as always. I wondered how she did that. "Hey, Gadot," I replied to her as I returned my attention to my assigned work. I had to be done pruning the roses before noon, and I was far behind schedule already. It had been two days since I moved into the Lycan King's Alaric's mansion, and I was slowly beginning to adjust to the rhythms of life here. Waking up really early and sleeping really late was something that I had begun to get used to back at the rear court, so adapting to that lifestyle here wasn't hard. What was hard, though, was the amount of chores given. The tour that was given to me around the mansion made me realise how really big this place was, but it didn't truly sink in until I took up my chores yesterday. I and three maidservants had been assigned the meeting room to clean, and it quickl