CHAPTER 003
1206 Words
CHAPTER 003
Next, her life had been perfect: a good father, a respected pack, a sister who loved her, and a mate who said he loved her. Then it all fell.
Kael had betrayed her, rejected her, and ordered her death. Fate had not been too kind, and she was sold as nothing. She was now a traitor to her pack and had been denied everything that she had ever known.
Charlotte sat fidgeting at the end of her dress as the carriage passed through the still, silent streets. The eyes of the guards were pressed into her back, full of unspoken threats. She shuddered at the look in their eyes, and her skin crawled.
The time was dragging, and each minute felt like an eternity. The man beside her was asking questions that were not sensitive, in a very calm and detached voice. Charlotte was so tired her eyelids were drooping, but fear and adrenaline kept her awake. At last, she grew too tired to keep awake and fell asleep.
A sharp shock awoke her. The carriage had pulled up, and she had slept. She cursed herself in silence at having lowered her guard.
Hungry? said the man.
No, Charlotte said, and her stomach told the lie. The eyes met, and she felt that he had caught her in the lie.
He glanced up at his watch and caused the driver to pull up at a small inn. The carriage stopped, and one of the guards jumped off. He fetched it back in a few minutes and gave it to her.
Charlotte was looking, but not quite believing, and feeling thankful. “Eat. You will want it,” was his answer.
She was hesitating, but at length opened the bag. The sandwich was plain on Carrie. She bit a little, her stomach complaining of hunger. She had to gain strength in order to live.
What are you going to do with me? she asked, trembling in spite of her effort to sound calm.
You will soon find out, he replied, with cold and inscrutable eyes.
She ate, in an endeavour to follow the bites, the chews. Her mind was going swiftly. She must have every ounce of strength to have a chance of escaping.
Even as she spoke, the guard by her side threw himself upon her and clapped a cloth over her nose and mouth. Charlotte kicked and pushed, but the strange and pungent smell overwhelmed her senses. The darkness engulfed her fast
Charlotte woke up to the smell of lavender and chamomile. Warm water was pouring over her body, relaxing the muscles that had been tense for the past few days. Soft fingers were rubbing her scalp, and she moaned quietly in relief.
Her eyes were back to see a fancy bathtub with maids. One was testing the water temperature, one was washing her arms, and the other was cleansing her hair. Mechanical and blank.
She was in a whirl. Where was she? Whither did her purchaser go? Was it all a nightmare, the vicious happenings, the betrayal, the auction?
Where are we? said she angrily to a maid. No answer was returned. I put a question to you!
The maid eyed her up a bit and returned to her work.
Charlotte drew her arm violently free. I need to have a reply!
The maid started back her arm. You are a slave as we are. We bathe you, and that does not mean that you can boss us around. This is not your domain, princess. You are in the Lunaris Citadel, not your little pack--the one you betrayed."
Lunaris Citadel. Charlotte was fluttering. The throne of the Lycan King--the leader who is feared and respected by all packs. How had she ever come to the likes of such a place?
Enough, the head maids, Brigid, is saying, Selene, but Charlotte did not hear her. She was lost in deep thought, trying to make sense of her reality.
The King of Lycans is Ruthless. Unyielding. A thing too few dare to mention, His eyes were able to burn, and his power was unmatched. Now Charlotte was in his clutches.
The maids undressed her and put her in a sheer, white dress that almost left her with no thighs, yet fit her curves perfectly. She had been naked, at the mercy of.
Why on me? she said, trembling.
Selene looked back into the glass at her with a glance of pity. You are to present yourself to the king tonight. Do not run away from him, is one word of warning.
Charlotte sank to her stomach. What sayest thou?
A guard in polished armor came inside the room and did not even give Selene a chance to respond. He was a rough-looking fellow with a bossy appearance.
The king awaits, he said, in a deep voice, parting the air. Come with me.
Charlotte walked behind him through a dark passage way, shaking. The atmosphere became dense, cold, and charged with the smell of electricity. She knew where they were going without being told.
She was going to meet the most dreaded man in the werewolf world.
In, the guard said, in a voice like a whip. Charlotte kicked the great door open. She moved into the dark room. The door rapped like a threat.
The room was thick. It was almost possible to feel the presence of the king. The air itself was electric, the smell of power and wild dominance overpowering.
Charlotte stood with her eyes cast down, endeavouring to brace herself. She knew he was watching her, that he felt each movement of her.
I am able to do this. Then she could live through this, she thought, but when she looked into his eyes, the resolution was gone. The gold-red eyes pierced her soul.
Panic seized her, and every nerve in her frame tensed. She turned against her better judgment toward the door, in her desperation to get away.
Open the door! she said
A low growl caused her to stand still. Heat emanated off of him, so near that she could feel his body on her back. His large body loomed above her and pressed her against the wall. Hot breath on her neck sent a thrill through her spine--but also aroused a curious, frightening interest deep within her.
Where are you going off to, little quarry? said he, deep and threatening.
Charlotte thought over it a moment or two. There was no way out. She did all in her power to resist, but was unable to do so against the being that stood behind her. His golden-red eyes were looking into hers--calculating, domineering, terribly alive.
Her fingers clasped one another. She lost the last remnants of her independence, but a fire would never be blown out in her. She had been cheated by Kael, she was betrayed, she was auctioned. Did she have a chance to survive this? Was she going to be able to fight the power of the Lycan King and reverse the situation?
The question turned in her mind as she confronted the most dangerous creature she had ever known. Would she come out alive--or was this the end of Charlotte, daughter of the Ravenwood pack?
- Writer
