Selena yawned as she woke up. She could smell the faint smell of fresh pine trees.
How did I get here? She wondered. The last thing she remembered was the voice of a stranger and lying on the grass.
Selena started to explore the room with her eyes. She was sitting in a small but cozy wooden room. The room felt unfamiliar but pleasant. Warmth radiated from the log fire which made the small room feel comfortable. Unlike the palace, there were no endlessly high ceilings, ugly old fashioned relics nor cold staff silently watching your every move. It was peaceful.
Selena was laid out on a sofa covered by a thin blanket. She looked down at her arm. The piece of silk she had torn from her dress had been removed and her wound had been neatly bandaged.
She stood up to explore her surroundings. She walked over to the wooden bookshelf and started to examine its contents.
The door swung open.
Selena turned a small gasp escaping from her mouth.
In strode the strange man. The stranger was chiseled, over six foot tall and wore a white shirt which barely fit. His black hair covered his brows. He had an expressionless face that made him appear cold.
He fixed his gaze and made his way towards her.
Selena was trapped against the book shelf as he now towered over her. Tension built where their bodies touched. Selena fidgeted trying to free herself from between the bookshelf and the handsome stranger. She smelt a faint metallic smell.
"A werewolf!" she internally screamed.
Until the attack at the palace she had never seen one in real life. His eyes did not contain the usual red tone and his skin was tanned from the sun. He was handsome, hypnotic and powerful.
Was he going to hurt her? Selena wondered. If so, he surely would have had plenty of opportunity to do so whilst she was sleeping.
"Put these on, showers second door on the right" he said as he picked up a towel, a man's shirt and shorts on the chair next to them. She silently nodded whilst maintaining eye contact. She took the clothes from him.
Before she had the chance to thank him he had already stormed out of the cottage.
Selena looked down and realised she was still in her wedding gown which was no longer white but a fix of red from the blood, green from the grass stains and brown from dirt. She decided to shower.
Selena felt fresh from the shower. She put on the clothes the stranger had given to her. She started to tease the knots from her long white hair with her fingers. She felt weak as it had been hours since she last fed. She wondered what food a werewolf eats. She had heard stories that werewolves only eat vampires. She wondered if he was waiting for her to be clean to eat her up. She gulped at the thought.
She started to wonder around the cottage, it was bare with only the essential. The living room had a sofa which was placed near the fireplace, a book shelf with a few books none of which she had heard of. There were no pictures or personal items. The place could use a woman's touch she thought to herself.
She picked up a book and started to flick through the photos. There was a group photo with the stranger and 8 others. They were a mix of girls and boys of different ages. They were all smiling, apart from the stranger.
"What are you doing" said a voice beside her. Selena was shocked and dropped the book, however, the man caught it quickly and placed it back in its original place.
It was the stranger. He stood close to her again. This time she took the opportunity to have a closer look. He had a defined jaw and the most piercing blue eyes. His eyes contained subtle specs of yellow. Her eyes scanned his body when she noticed he had scars all over his arms. Selena reached out to touch a bite mark on his right arm but before her skin could touch his, he moved away.
"Sit" he ordered.
Selena hurried to the couch. Why was she so obedient to this man? She wondered.
He pulled open a draw in the wooden shelving unit and took out a hair dryer. He plugged it in and keeled down in front of her. His large lips were in front of her. He started to dry her hair. His hands were gliding along her hair as he carefully dried each strand. They both were silent with only the sound of the hair dryer could be heard in this room.
Selena wondered what it would feel like to be kissed by those lips. They were slightly parted as he focused on drying her hair. The feeling of him touching her hair was electric. She felt every stoke through her entire body.
Their eyes met. For a moment she saw him smile sweetly at her. When she looked back she saw his usual stiff expression on his face.
"It's done," he said as he got up and put the hairdryer away. He then pulled out a first aid kit and brought this over to her. He started to remove her wet bandage from the shower and started to clean and re dress her wound.
"Thank you" she muttered.
There was silence.
"Where am I?" she asked.
"My house," he said. She had guessed this much.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"Lowe" he replied.
"Why did you bring me here?" she asked.
"You passed out," he replied.
"What day is it?" she asked.
"Wednesday" he replied.
She was getting irritated by his short answers as he was not really giving her much information.
Selena wondered what had happened at the castle, were they looking for her but these answers would unlikely be known by him and even if he did know the answer it would cause more trouble for her.
"Who are you" he asked directly.
This question took her by surprise.
"I don't remember" she lied.
Selena wondered what Lowe would do to her if he knew she was the Queen. Blade must be looking for her. Would he send her home? She wondered how many of her people had lost their lives in the battle. Whether Anton had something to do with her parents death. If Anton did really kill her parents then she needed to find proof she would not allow those people to have the power. She started to feel sad.
Whilst she was lost in her thoughts Lowe was staring at her trying to workout what she was thinking.
She looked up and her red eyes gazed into his.
"Hungry?" he asked. Again, a flash of a smile appeared on his lips before quickly disappearing. Was she imagining this she wondered.
"Starving" she replied.