5

The young woman sitting by me stopped her game and watched me rant in astonishment. When I ran out of angry words, she clapped her hands in succession, and it echoed in the silence.

"Well said, Princess, but I think someone lied to you, just like they lied to some of them over there," she said, pointing to a point in the room's corner. "Over there in the blue dress is Princess Kit of the Blue Brook Pack. She was given away as an alliance gift to the Lycan King and found herself as a slave here the very next day. Following her is Princess Yvette from the distant pack region of the werecats. She was told that she was to be matched with the Lycan Prince. She has not gotten over the deceit that led to her being here, but she is infatuated with the prince. You will do well to avoid her mostly. "

I rubbed my arms, soothing the rough spots from the previous itching, and pondered on all she had said. I was not a gift, but a slave. Then who was she and how did she know all that she did? She must have been in their custody for a long time.

"Who are you?" I inquired, suddenly suspicious of her overfriendliness.

She scoffed and smiled wryly. "I'm not anyone important. I'm just an unfortunate victim of circumstance. I know who you are, though, Princess Miatta. You are welcome here. " She paused and listened for something that I did not know. Suddenly, a loud bell rang out, and immediately, everyone present shuffled to their feet hurriedly. The ones who were asleep were jolted to awareness by their mates, and they joined in the frenzy.

"What’s going on?" I wanted to know, but before I could get a reply from anyone, the door to the room was pulled outwards and a woman in stringy dreadlocks marched in, terrible looking in battle regalia. She had a wide mouth, big eyes, and a bad stoop when she walked, but it could never be taken as weakness. The soft moonlight poured in through the door, allowing some of the odour to leave our surroundings. She examined each of her faces, hers rough with an ugly frown marring it the more.

"On a single file, move outside for inspection!" she ordered, and they sprang into action, forming a line at once. My unusual friend took her position behind me, and we filed out with no one saying a word. We were approximately twenty in number, including the younger girls, all looking skinny and malnourished. We moved along until the elderly woman at the beginning of the line halted abruptly. We were in a certain square, and my curiosity kept my eyes roaming left and right.

"Keep your head down, Miatta," my friend murmured from behind me, "and make sure you keep it that way no matter what is said out here tonight, for the safety of your head." I obliged and bent my head reluctantly. I was royalty, and I was not supposed to bow to individuals of a lower station than I. The mean woman walked in front of us, her hands clasped behind her firmly. Her feet were dirty, and the talons on each toe were long and sharp. I gulped hard, anxious and abuzz with anticipation.

"Let the newcomers come forward!" She bellowed, and some girls stepped out quickly, falling on their knees in obeisance. I simply stepped forward and remained on my feet, staring down as advised. I saw her feet advance towards me, but I did not expect the hard object she swung onto my neck, forcing me to crash on one knee. The slaves gasped at my endurance, and I refused to lower the other knee.

"Princess Miatta, isn't it? I have heard a lot about you and your legendary stubbornness, but alas, even your pride and your coward of an Alpha could not save your pack from our own hands. I promise to break you until you learn to respect your betters, until you will voluntarily kiss my feet whenever I am in your presence. 

"Never!" I swore, and I raised my head to meet her eyes. You may beat me up, torture me, but you can never break my spirit. I am a proud daughter of the household of the Black Fur Pack, and neither you nor your alpha can teach me any manners. "

Her frown deepened at my mention of her king, and she roared out loud into the night, beating her chest aggressively like a gorilla. My friend shook her head in pity, but I could not take back the foolish words I had already uttered.

"How dare you, you scum of the earth! How dare you speak about my Alpha, my king in such a disrespectful manner? " She hit me uncensored in the arm with a blunt object, and I felt my joints dislocate. I bit down on my lower lip to prevent myself from crying out loud, and she hit me over and over again until I cowered at her feet in a ball to protect myself. Finally, she flashed her claws and aimed for my neck when she was pulled away from me suddenly.

"Let me alone! The little bitch insulted our king! " She yelled wildly at her captors but immediately cooled when she saw the face of the person behind her. It was the monster who had led the ambush on my village. Her eyes widened, and she fell to her knees before him, although it was clear that she was far older than he.

"Beta," she began, rather meekly, "I am sorry for losing my temper in your presence. She said some..some disrespectful things and I couldn't...I couldn't take it. " Her voice shook with emotion, like she was about to break down into tears. To my surprise, he ran his fingers through her dreadlocks, soothing her tenderly, and she rubbed against his legs, seeking his comfort. It was almost a sweet scene, like the one between a mother wolf and a pup.

It is okay, Desdemona. I will handle the proud princess myself. From now onwards, Princess Miatta is my responsibility.

Lucas's POV

The sun shone early in the morning, taking its position at the highest point of the sky before I was up. My bodyguards stood at strategic positions in my room, their faces eternally stiff and emotionless. Each day brought a different issue, and I looked forward to what the day had to offer. A scream reached my ears and I shrugged it off nonchalantly, not wanting to get involved with things that did not concern me. My father could take as many women as he desired, but they could never take the place of my mother, whom he had murdered.

The Moon Goddess gave our mates to us, though some considered her a pesky meddler. My father had been mated to my mother when he was rather young, and they had grown up side by side. My mother, the Lycan Luna, was graceful and submissive to her alpha, never challenging me in public or causing him any reason to be ashamed of her. My mother adored my father and lived her life each day to please him. She was mostly successful until the day tragedy struck.

The father had captured a family of wolves and had brought them to the courtyard for persecution. When he had pronounced the death sentence on them for trespassing. My mother noticed the mother wolf was with the child and had begged for pardon on their behalf openly. The court was divided in two that day, and the father's orders were scorned in favour of the mother's suggestion. The wolf family was sent away with their lives, but the father felt insulted by her intervention and was bothered the entire day.

Unable to hide his displeasure, he summoned her to his private court and accused her of adultery. Astonished, the mother tried bravely to defend her honor, but her fate was sealed even before she stepped foot in his court. When she attempted to beckon to his better nature, one that he did not possess, he flung her across the room where she was pinned by a tusk hanging from the wall. Her lifeless body was tossed into the woods, unburied and without her honour as a Luna. Since then, I have detested my father’s anger above all things.