The Alpha Wants His Curvy Luna Back

Chapter7

EVELYN

I tried to sleep, but I hardly slept that night. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Damien before me. I saw his handsome face as he told me it was over. I heard his voice calling me ‘desperate’. And then I remembered how everyone had looked at me as I stood there, bleeding.

I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling. It occurred to me that I was in a palace. I was in the palace of the Lycan King.

And yet I didn’t feel safe. I felt lost. I felt abandoned.

I slowly rolled onto my side, but a sharp pain shot through my waist. I flinched.

‘Be careful.’

I heard a calm voice. I looked over towards the door to see who it was. There, standing by the door, was a woman. She was wearing a long dark blue dress, and her face radiated warmth. Unlike the guards and servants I’d seen since waking up, she seemed neither fearful nor cold.

She smiled gently. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Who are you?” I asked.

Her voice rang out immediately. “My name is Selene,” she said. She stepped closer to the bed. “Lady Selene Draven.”

I tried to sit up quickly.

She shook her head. “No, please. Stay lying down.”

I paused. “Are you related to the King?” I asked.

She smiled.

“Don’t worry, my dear. I’ll introduce myself properly to you soon,” she said.

I didn’t know what to say. I just nodded.

She pulled a chair closer and sat down beside my bed. “I heard you were awake.”

“I am.”

“I wanted to see how you were doing,” she said.

I nodded. “Thank you, Mum.”

Then she looked at me and noticed that I was clearly worried. “You don’t look well.”

I forced a small smile. “I’m fine.”

She didn’t press the matter. Instead, she looked at the tray of food next to my bed. “You haven’t eaten anything yet.”

“I’m not hungry, Mum.”

“You must eat something. You need plenty of strength and, above all, you need blood, and this meal can help you with that.”

“I’ll try to eat something, Mum,” I said.

She sighed softly.

“Dr. Rowan told me that you need strength. That you have a deep cut that needs to heal.”

I lowered my gaze and quickly turned my face away. “I don’t want anyone to feel sorry for me.”

“I’m not feeling sorry for you,” she said.

She reached for the tray and moved it closer to me. “I’m just telling you that you deserve to be looked after.”

I didn’t say anything. I don’t know what to say anymore.

She was silent for a moment before speaking again. “You don’t have to tell me what happened. All you need right now is to get well again.”

I looked at her. And smiled – a pained smile.

“But if you ever want to talk, I’ll listen.”

No sooner had the words left her mouth than tears streamed down my cheek. I quickly wiped them away. I didn’t want her or the King to see my tears. I tried to stay still, but I couldn’t manage it. I wanted to confide in someone who would listen to me, and now I think I’ve found that person. “I don’t understand why everyone was against me.”

Lady Selene’s expression softened. “Sometimes people choose what benefits them rather than what is right,” she said.

I swallowed. I tried to hold back my tears, but now I couldn’t manage it any longer. I had to let the tears flow freely. “I gave them everything.”

“I know.”

I looked at her sharply. “How do you know?” I asked. It occurred to me that she hadn’t even been there.

She didn’t answer straight away. Then she said, “The King told me what he’d seen.”

My heart sank. “He told you about me?”

“He told me enough.”

I lowered my gaze to myself. “I feel stupid,” I whispered.

“Why did you tell yourself something like that?”

“Because I believed him. I believed every promise Damien made to me. I was taken advantage of!” My voice trembled.

Lady Selene reached for my hand, and I almost pulled it away. But her touch was gentle.

“You loved someone. That doesn’t make you look foolish,” she said, squeezing my fingers lightly.

“But it feels that way,” I said. I wept even harder in her arms.

“No. It means you loved him with all your heart,” she said.

I looked at her, confused. “And does that mean there’s nothing shameful about it?”

For the first time since my humiliation, I felt something inside me relax. It wasn’t happiness. Not yet. But perhaps I had found a little comfort again.

At that moment, a knock at the door snapped me out of my thoughts.

Lady Selene turned round. “Come in.”

The door opened. And a young man stepped inside. He had a beaming smile and seemed completely at ease. When he saw me, he stopped. “Oh.”

I looked at Lady Selene. I wanted to ask who he was. But I was too tired to say anything.

Lady Selene looked at the young man and then at me. “Kael, this is Evelyn.”

He looked at me. “Evelyn, I’m Kael.”

I nodded. “Pleased to meet you,” I said.

He pointed at himself. He was just about to introduce himself in detail. “Royal Guard. Occasional troublemaker.”

Lady Selene laughed. “Don’t listen to him.”

“I was just being honest,” he said.

And you know what? For the first time, a small smile flitted across my lips. I even wanted to smile even wider, but the pain stopped me.

Kael noticed. “Did you just smile?”

I frowned immediately. “What?”

“You smiled.” He laughed so hard that I could clearly see the vein on his forehead. “See? I knew I wasn’t imagining it.”

Lady Selene shook her head. “Leave the poor girl alone.”

“I’m trying to make her smile,” he said.

“I can see that,” replied Lady Selene.

Kael looked at me once more. “Well, then I’ll count today as a success.”

Now he’d got me. I couldn’t resist any longer. A soft laugh escaped me. It was strange. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d laughed without forcing it.

Kael smiled back.

Then a cold voice called his name. “Kael.”

His smile vanished.

I glanced towards the door. There stood the King. His gaze wandered from Kael to me. Then back to Kael again. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

Kael straightened up. “I was just about to –”

“Then go,” ordered the King.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” said Kael, heading for the door. Then he stopped and turned to me: “I’ll see you again.”

I noticed the King give him a warning look.

Kael hurried away.

Lady Selene suppressed a smile.

I looked back and forth between the two of them. I didn’t understand what had just happened. But for some reason, the King’s eyes remained fixed on me. And I had the strange feeling that my life in this palace was soon to become much more complicated.