My eyes blinked open to an unfamiliar room. I sat up on the huge bed, flicking my eyes around to assess my surroundings as my eyebrows furrowed in confusion. The last thing I could remember was being battered by my people, I shivered as I recalled the memory of several hands beating on me. My eyes stung with tears at the humiliation and betrayal by Alan and my people. I couldn't comprehend how the same people I had dedicated my life to had turned their backs on me in the blink of an eye.
I was so immersed in my thoughts that I barely registered the entrance of another person in the room. "I see you're awake!" The deep voice resounded in the room, snapping me out of my reverie. I jumped out of the huge bed and instantly stopped mid-sentence at the sight before me. Every pack was aware of the Lycan king and how powerful he was. I knew without doubt as I stared into those blue orbs that the Lycan king was peering back at me.
"I'm sure you must be wondering where you are," he said with a firmness in his tone that irked me. "You are now in the Lycan Kingdom, and you will be staying here, in my palace from now on."
"How- Why am I here?" I asked with puzzlement, still finding the whole situation strange. A dark look crossed his eyes, and he clenched his jaw with an unreadable expression before he gave a reply. "That's not relevant; you should just be happy that I got there in time to save you."
I took notice of how he deflected my question, but my face softened as I realized that I would probably have been dead if he had not brought me here. A frown crossed over the Lycan King's face as he stated with an unfocused gaze. I concluded that he must have been using the mind link.
"You don't need to worry about anything else, your personal maid will be here soon, and she will help you with whatever you need." He announced, turning on his heel to leave. "Wait, your highness!" I quickly forced out. He paused. "I -I" "You can call me by name, Dominic." He corrected in a calm tone. "Thank you, Dominic." I said in a softer tone.
For some unknown reason, I couldn't take my eyes off him. I watched his back as he only gave me a short nod before he finally left the room.
Shortly after he left, a smaller looking woman walked into the room. "Who are you?" I asked, guessing that she might be the mentioned maid. "I am Hilda, your personal maid, and I will be attending to your needs from now on." The woman answered by bowing slightly as a show of respect.
"I'm Summer." I reluctantly divulged, keeping in mind that I was in the enemy's territory and I could not trust anybody.
The woman nodded. "Would you like to have your bath now?"
"Yes." I answered immediately and walked over to the large mirror on the other side of the room. All my wounds had healed completely. But I looked like a mess, and shivered in disgust at the things that had been done to me. My auburn hair was all over the place, and my clothes were dirty and tattered. I was in dire need of a bath.
"Your bath is ready, miss!" Hilda announced from across the room. I walked over to her, "Address me as Summer." I stated before walking past her into the bath.
I stepped out of the much needed bath with a sigh. "I already picked out your clothes, and I can help you with your hair afterwards." Hilda explained, beaming at me with a smile.
"I can do that by myself next time," I pointed out rudely, giving the woman a hard stare.
I walked over to the clothes that were laid out on the bed and wondered why I was getting such special treatment in the first place - the huge room, personal maid, expensive clothes... I couldn't understand what was going on.
I shot a glance at Hilda before dressing up, and sat at the bench, where she helped me with brushing the tangles out of my hair.
"Now, time for dinner!" Hilda announced as soon as we were done.
The pair of us walked out of the room, and I ignored the disdainful stares on me from the guards as we passed by. I followed Hilda, who was either oblivious or simply chose to ignore their stares.
"This is the dining area, you can sit anywhere apart from the head of the table and the first two seats." Hilda said, motioning to the huge two seats.
I was unbothered by these conditions since I was fully aware of the hierarchy that was similar to that of a werewolf pack.
I didn't care about sitting arrangements, I wasn't even comfortable in the enemy's territory in the first place, so it didn't matter where I sat. I sat on a random seat, far away from the head of the table, ignoring the burning gazes of the other people at the table. It seemed as if they shared the same sentiments about my presence, they didn't want me here. My wolf was at alert, in case of any surprise attacks, but surprisingly nobody made a move to attack me.
Sparing a quick glance at the head of the table, I noted that the Lycan king was absent. Without giving it much thought, I directed my focus on the plate that had been placed in front of me. My stomach rumbled at the sight of the steaming food, and I wondered how long I had been in the Lycan Kingdom and the last time I had eaten. My mind ran blank, and I shrugged, digging into my food.
"She even eats like an animal." I heard snickers from the women sitting across me. I stared straight at them with a murderous gaze, my hands tightening around my fork.
"Summer, try to fit in," Hilda whispered in my ear. "You don't want to draw attention to yourself."