Happily Never After

Chapter 3

 I had to admit, organising the Lycan ball was fun. All the eligible she-wolves had RSVP’d to the event. The additional two she-wolves had been chosen to ‘service’ the prince’s needs and I had just finished organising food and drink. I had enlisted Lilly’s assistance with a few things to keep her busy. She hadn’t been feeling well and was a little depressed. I wanted to keep her busy and off Alpha Rex’s radar. Lilly wasn’t as strong as me. Every time he had his way with her, she’d crumble a little more. I didn’t know how she would go with a Lycan prince. But she always put on a brave front.

Rex was unusually distant to both of us, not that we minded.  A small part of me hoped his infatuation with my body was over but I knew full well this was all part of the act to get on the good side of the Lycans. Roman had equally been distant with me. He stopped showering me with affection which only fuelled my hate for him.

On the day of the Lycan ball I woke feel optimistic. There was something about today that felt right, and I was determined to make today one of my best since moving here. I turned over to see Roman had already left. I didn’t mind, it meant I wouldn’t have to make small talk. I went to the bathroom, showered and dressed all with a great big smile on my face. I was just checking the schedule for when the princes arrive when there was loud banging at my door. Before I could say anything, Lilly burst in and ran straight for my bathroom. The sounds of her throwing up churned my stomach.

“Lilly? Are you ok?” I waited outside the door while she continued to hurl. I was beginning to realise she was in no fit state to entertain a prince. The sound of the toilet flushing indicated she was finished, and I entered the bathroom.

The sickly harsh scent of bile flooded my nose as I surveyed the scene. Lilly sat leaning up against the bath. Her head in her hands as she cried. I ran to her, kneeling next to her making sure she wasn’t hurt.

“What happened?” I asked. She looked at me before a fresh wave of tears started.

              “Oh Katie.” She said in almost a whisper. “I’m pregnant.” Her tears came thick and fast again. I didn’t understand why she was upset. I knew she and Ron had been trying for a baby.

              “I don’t understand Lilly. Why are you so upset?” I put my arm around her to comfort her. He lent into my shoulder trying to fight the onslaught of more tears.

              “Because…it isn’t Ron’s.” She was crying hard now. I hugged her tightly sitting with her as she cried letting it all out.

After several minutes I pulled her up and took her away from the bathroom, sitting her down on my bed. “Talk to me Lilly. What do you mean it’s not Ron’s?”

              “Ron and I haven’t had s*x in over a month. He hadn’t wanted to since the Alpha punished us. Sometimes he won’t even look at me.” She cried.

I hugged her again. Squeezing her tight in an attempt to make her feel better. I realised that I knew exactly when she fell pregnant. The day I had to walk through the pack house naked, I’d seen Lilly racing from the Alpha’s room.

              “Oh Lilly…” I sighed. “Have you told the Alpha?” She shook her head violently.

              “No!” She cried out. “I can’t. Please don’t say anything to him. PLEASE!” she begged.

              “Shhh. I won’t say anything, but you need to calm down. We will work something out. He will never have to know.” My plan to escape now included another and her unborn child.

              “What are we going to do about tonight?” She asked through her tears.

              “You leave that to me. How about you rest here. I let everyone know you have a stomach bug and don’t wish to give it to the Lycans.” I smoothed her hair back that was plastered on her cheeks from her tears. She nodded her head and I helped her into my bed.

I went to the bathroom and used some bleach to clean the toilet and around it. I hoped the stench would cover Lilly’s new scent and play nicely into her stomach bug story. By the time I had finished cleaning, Lilly had fallen asleep. I wrote her a note, leaving it on my bedside table with a glass of water.

I quietly exited the room and was met with an angry Roman. He marched towards me grabbing my arm.

              “Hey!” I protested.

              “Shut up. Ron is looking for Lilly. She’s meant to be in a meeting with the other two girls for the Lycan princes. You should be there to. Have you seen her?... What is that smell?” He sniffed the air noticing it was coming from our room.

              “She’s very sick, got a stomach bug. She’s been throwing up all morning. I was just on my way to tell the Alpha she will not be entertaining the Lycan’s tonight.”

              “WHAT!” He yelled into my face. “You’ll have to do something. You know the Alpha will punish you if she doesn’t show up. Give her some pills, make her well. Or better yet, YOU DO IT!” He shoved me against the wall and walked off.

Vix growled. She really hated how our mate was treating us lately.  I would have to go to the meeting and explain the situation. I only hoped the Alpha would be reasonable. I walked down the corridor quickly. Once I reached Rex’s office I stopped. I took a deep breath and wrapped lightly on the door.

              “Enter!” Came the oily voice I’d grown to hate.

I plastered a smile on my face and entered the room. Two girls were seated on the day bed. Tori and Hannah were the sluttiest girls I could find. They were extra keen on giving the princes anything they desired, even insisting on bringing adult toys, whips, and cuffs, in case the princes were into that. I knew Rex would be pleased with them. I looked over at Rex who was not looking amused.

              “Ah, there’s our hostess. Now where is our third beauty?” A flash of anger raged across his face.

              “I’m sorry Alpha, there was an emergency.” I strutted over to his desk and perched myself on the corner. If anything I would try to use my body to subdue the rage that was about to unleashed.

              “What kind of emergency?” Rex got up from his desk and walked over to me. His fingers moved up and down my arm. I smiled my most wicked smile.

              “I’m afraid Lilly is sick with a stomach bug. She came to me. She said she didn’t want the Lycan princes to get sick.” I battered my eyelashes at him. Peeking out from under them I could see he wasn’t happy.

Suddenly he grabbed my throat. “And what are you doing to fix the situation?” He sneered into my ear.

              “I’m in the process of finding her a replacement.” I gasped, fighting for air. “I was just coming to inform you of the situation, before you got worried.” His grip tightened. Black spots began to form in front of my eyes. He threw me onto the floor. I spluttered and coughed trying to fill my lungs with air again.

              “See that you do Katie, or you know the consequences.” He walked over to Tori and Hannah running his hands over their bodies. They squealed with excitement. “I need to make sure these girls are up to the task tonight. Show yourself out.”

I got up and walked to the door. Glancing back, I saw one of the girls already had a hold of his c**k while he had his tongue stuffed down the other’s throat. The sight made me gag and I ran out of there as fast as I could.

I spent the next three hours looking for a suitable girl to replace Lilly. I knew Rex wouldn’t want any kind of slut filling in for Lilly. He liked her in his own perverted way. I just hated the thought of him finding out she was pregnant with his pup. I feared what he would do to my friend.

I kept searching, even though the princes had arrived and had made their way to their suites. I knew time was running out. I even began looking at she-wolves that were already mated. After all Lilly was mated to Ron so why not? I made myself sick thinking about it. This was all so wrong, but I didn’t want to be punished. Where did my perfect day go?

By the time I’d given up, the ball was in full swing. I raced to my room to find Lilly was still sleeping peacefully. I grabbed my dress and quickly braided my hair. I applied some light make-up before stepping into the shimmering silver full length dress and silver heels. It hugged my hips and flattered my curves. I did a final check in the mirror and raced out the door.

Roman was waiting for me outside the giant gazebo I had chosen to house the ball. Walking towards it, I marvelled at my work.

              “Where have you been?” Roman said through clenched teeth.

              “I’ve been trying to find Lilly’s replacement.” I smoothed my dress down and slipped my hand into the crook of his arm.

              “And? Did you find one?”

We walked forward making our way inside. “No. There is no one suitable.”

He swung me around and gripped my arms tight. “What do you mean no one suitable? Just pick a girl!”

              “I can’t. The reason he wanted Lilly to look after the eldest prince was because she was deemed special. I couldn’t let just anyone do it. You know he would punish me.” I hissed.

              “You do it then.” He spat back grabbing my elbow and steering me forward.

              “I can’t. He told me I was not to do it.”  I plastered a smile on my face and nodded at the Lycan King.

              “You’ll have to do it. I’ll cover for you.” Roman whispered in my ear. “Either way we will be punished so just do it.”

              “Maybe the prince will find his mate and won’t need an escort.” I hoped aloud. Roman nodded and led me to the dancefloor.

As Roman and I danced, we relaxed. The tension that had been between us melted a little and I was beginning to enjoy myself again.  We must have been dancing for a while when Roman said he would get us a drink. The moment he left me a hand snaked around my waist.

              “Ah my host. Where have you been?” He nibbled my earlobe keeping eye contact with Roman.

              “I’ve been enjoying a dance or two with my mate.” I bit back through a fake smile.

              “Good. And has our little issue been solved?”

Roman handed me a drink. “Yes Alpha. I saw to it personally. Katie’s choice is the best, besides Lilly.” I couldn’t believe Roman just threw himself into the lion’s den.

              “Excellent. Because I’ve been told the Lycan princes have not seen their mates here, so our escorts have got their work cut out for them.” He mused. Roman shot me a glance and I stared back at him. “If I were you Katie, I’d get the three girls ready. I’m sure Roman can entertain himself for an hour or so.” He grinned his evil grin and moved off towards the bar.

I shuddered. Was I really going to do this? I looked over at my mate who was trembling. I place my hand on his arm which he just shook off. All our tension had returned and my hate for him burned strong again. Glaring at him I backed away and took off to find Tori and Hannah.

They proved harder to find than I thought. I had assumed first of all they would have been near the bar. I thought I had given them instructions to wait there for instructions. But because I had spent my day looking for a suitable replacement for Lilly, I hadn’t had time to confirm details with them. I finally found them grinding against each other on the dance floor. Probably a little show for the Alpha who had propped himself against the bar watching them intently.

              “Hannah, Tori, it’s time.” I called to them.

The stopped dancing and strode over towards the exit. I followed before turning around to see Roman distracting Rex. I took off with the girls across the field back towards the pack house. They were talking about all the sordid things they wanted to do with the princes and all I could do was listen. My heart was beating fast. I didn’t want to be f****d by a prince. Not for his own pleasure anyway.

We reached the floor where the princes were to spend the night. Outside each door was a white paper bag containing kinky lingerie. Hannah and Tori giggled and compared each other’s scraps of material. They hadn’t noticed a third girl hadn't shown up yet. I wished them luck and went to walk back out towards the stairs. Once I heard their doors close, I walked over to the third bag and looking inside. I doubted if the lingerie would fit my curves and then reprimanded myself for even contemplating putting it on.

I walked into the room and looked around. It was similar to mine but a little smaller. The room was lit by candles only. There was champagne in an ice bucket, chocolates, and a selection of cakes. I chuckled to myself remembering this had been my idea. I sat down on the edge of the bed and wondered what I was going to do. Would I just explain to him I wasn’t available for s*x? What if he demanded it? Perhaps if we talked, I could explain everything to him, and he would be understanding. I laughed at my own stupidity. At this very moment, Rex was probably telling the princes there was a delectable surprise in each of their rooms willing to service them in any way they wanted.

At that thought I heard them. The sound of their heavy footsteps on the stairs. My heart began to beat fast. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. My mouth became dry. Every gulp of air was like sandpaper on my throat. I stood up as the door handle began to turn. The door flew open and in came a tall man with black tousled hair. He wore a dark blue suit and black shiny shoes. I held my breath as he stopped in the middle of the room. I couldn’t see his face. The shadows hid him from view. But there was something about him. It was like the earth shifted in a slightly different direction. Everything felt different.

The prince stood there. His chest moved and he sniffed the air. He began moving again this time slower and with caution. Finally, his face came into view. His blue eyes sparkled in the light and his strong jaw jutted out as he surveyed me. He looked at me as if he were trying to figure me out.

Suddenly he rushed forward and grabbed me in a tight embrace. A wave of sparks flew through me as he held me tightly to him. Feelings of warmth and happiness flooded through me. Being hugged by him made me feel as if I were home. I smiled and hugged him back resting the side of my face on his chest. Slowly he pulled back and said something I never expected.

“Mate.”