The Lost Goddess, A War On Mates

Chapter 2

Nine years later, the princess has aged beautifully with long flowing white hair and bright fiery eyes. If the people did not know better, you could say she was a newborn vampire from the blood red shade with those mesmerizing flecks of yellow and orange in her eyes. She grew up to be just as pale as the vampires in the coven. Although it was to no fault of her own because she was forbidden to go out during the day since no one could watch her outside. She was a short five foot five and had started to develop into puberty. She would constantly train with the warriors without the king and prince knowing. She had a toned figure meant for a warrior. She had slowly been getting depressed though and it led to her having insomnia and becoming restless. Barging into prince Drake's office she flopped onto his couch waiting for him to acknowledge her so she would not interrupt his work. He had stayed the same since she could remember. He was lean and about six feet tall. His ink black hair was just above his eyes now and his green eyes were piercing. He was darker than you would expect form a vampire but not by much. He had a cute dimple on his cheek that I always pinched. He looked exactly like the king. A carbon copy except the king was paler than snow.

“What do you need Aeris?” he mumbled without looking my way. It hurt to know he was so busy he could not even spare a glance for me. He was my friend and supposedly one day my fiancé if I wanted that. I do not know if I did want that anymore simply because of moments like this. He was always too busy for me. I felt like a burden most days.

“I want to go outside Drake, come with me pleaseeee?” I beg him because I need to leave. I am even forbidden to go to the peace treaty festival they have every year with all the other species. I am so lonely then because it is always on my birthday. No one stays home with me then except some maids. They say its because I am human and vulnerable, but I am starting to think that they are ashamed of me and that's why I cannot attend. Who would not be ashamed, I am weaker than everyone inside and outside of the coven.

Sighing he finally looks up at me,” No Aeris, no one has the time right now and its dangerous. There have been rogue sightings near our territory and I do not want you getting hurt. Okay?” He gives me a semi-smile and I plaster a fake one on my face while nodding. I get up and start walking out when he startles me “Aeris, I love you and we can do it later when it's safe.” I just nod thinking ‘It will never be safe for me though; something is always a danger.’

Storming down the hall it's almost sunrise and I need out. I want out. I have not been outside in a month, but it feels like years. I go sit in the kitchen anxious and wait for most of the castle to go to sleep. It is 7:30 am so the sun should be high enough I can go out without anyone stopping me. I quietly go to the kitchen's back door and slowly unlatched the lock and open the door. I feel the adrenaline pumping and take my first step outside and close the door behind me, so I do not hurt anyone in the process. I would never purposefully hurt the coven. I loved everyone of my members like family. With that thought I tie my hair into a ponytail and slowly step off the porch steps and onto the grass. I let out a sigh and lay in the grass. Its so soft out here and everything smells fresh. I cannot believe it feels so good to lay in the sun. I feel bad for my coven to never feel this again, the warmth radiates through me, I smell the earth and feel at peace for the first time in years. I slowly drift off to sleep listening to the creatures in the woods going about there day.

 I wake up and find myself in some shade. Dread fills my entire being. I have been outside for hours if I am suddenly in the shade. I was only ten feet from the house, but they are going to kill me once they realize I was outside alone. I quickly run to the door and peek in. No one was there and I stepped inside sighing in relief. I run to my room and slam my door shut. I squeal and hop on my bed feeling reinvigorated. Then it pops into my head, ‘I could do that every day…no one would ever know.’ A big smile breaks out onto my face at the new plan.

Another month passes and everyday I went outside. I went a little further each time and today I am at the front gate. I want to see the woods and climb a tree. Smiling to myself and feeling confident I open the gate and turn to close it behind me. 'The coven's safety is a priority' I thought and nodded at my final check of the gate, I ran off into the woods. It feels freeing to have my hair whip in the wind and I smell fresh soil and a mix of rain everywhere I go. I kept running and running until my lungs burned and I had to stop. 

I came upon an open meadow while resting, it had brilliantly colored flowers. It felt like natures own private color-show. I sat in the flowers smelling them and running my hands gently over the petals. Closing my eyes I felt at home for a moment. I did not realize how far out I had gotten but then I saw the sun was setting and as I went to turn around for home, I noticed it was completely silent in the forest. The flowers even seemed dimmer and limp suddenly. This was not good, I turned around only to come face to face with a wolf peering out from the edge of the meadow. I gasped and suddenly it was flanked by two more wolves. I did not know what to do but stand still. The leader was in the middle and was huge. He nodded to the other two wolves, and it looked like they were snickering. They were all a muddy brown and were covered in dirt and twigs. They suddenly turned into men while the large wolf in the middle walked away. Then it hit me, they were the rogues that Drake kept worrying about. I went way to far and I must have stepped off the coven’s land because this was neutral territory if rogues were openly stalking around.

 I cannot run fast enough to get back home. Looking for some form of cover the two men stalk towards me and grab my arms as I stay quiet trying to think. I do not cry, I stay strong because they are not worth my tears. They walked me all the way to a car that was maybe ten minutes away from the meadow and tossed me in the trunk. I was not a threat to them, so they did not bother to gag me or tie me up. I was mad they did not see me as the slightest threat at all. Suddenly after hours the car halted to a stop, and I was yanked out of the trunk yelping. They left bruises on my arms from being so rough. One put a blind fold on me and the other tied my hands. I heard one of them snicker and say “It was so easy. She’ll sell for a pretty penny with this face and body.” I started to get really scared at the idea of being sold. I was beating myself up for leaving the castle and panicking about what was going to happen. I made a mistake. I want daddy and Drake.

 A tear slipped from my eyes as I heard more voices and was suddenly being stripped to my underwear. I felt sick and ready to fight even if a chance at escape was slim when someone ripped the blindfold off and pulled me onto a stage. It was blinding from every angle. After blinking hard and allowing my eyes to adjust I saw a room filled to the brim with masked strangers. It seemed to range from men to women all wearing different attire. Some formal, others casual, as if this was just another day walking into a*****e for a regular purchase. Power seemed to radiate through the room, it was definitely a supernatural auction. Oddly enough I was probably the only human here. I felt anger course through me, I stood tall and showed no weakness while glaring at every masked person in the room. 

Suddenly I heard an announcer yell out, “This here, ladies and gents, was found outside the vampire territory but is not a vampire even with those red eyes. She is completely human. She has a flawless body and unique eyes for good breeding. She also seems to be very obedient because the scavengers who brought her had not a single ounce of fight from her. She seems to be a virgin gents. She cannot be much older then 10 years old. We assume the vampires were using her as a slave and she ran away. This is a one of a kind prize if I do say so myself! We will start the bidding at 10,000...” The announcer had it all wrong, but I bit my lip knowing that it was inevitably my fault for leaving the castle grounds and being stupid enough to leave the territory. Numbers kept being shouted out and I did not know how to feel anymore. I felt numb and wanted Drake so badly.

I started to regress into my mind trying to block it all out when I heard a loud shout, “SOLD! Please come pick up your item at the back.” I was blindfolded again and walked back into the back room where a deep gruff voice was heard talking to a woman, “All the documents are signed so she is now my property. I shall be going. Where is her paperwork?” I hear shuffling of paper and then someone dresses me again. I feel drained and useless. I am suddenly yanked into someone. They pull me outside and toss me into a backseat. I literally am in this car for what felt like days. I was starving and bored. They would not let me take off the blind fold. It was humiliating but I guess if I am a captive, it makes sense. The car seemed to stop many different times but it would start again a little while later. It was probably for the driver to eat and use the restroom. I was only pulled out twice to pee. The car stopped and did not move again for a while. The door swung open and I fell out of the car onto my back. The wind was knocked out of me but I pulled myself to my feet and inhaled deeply. I was suddenly hit with a different forest smell almost mossier, it smelt like we were close to the ocean. It put me at ease for a moment and then they took off my blindfold. I blinked rapidly at the sudden use of my eyesight and took in the man before me. He was extremely tall and overbearing. He was right in my face and he had stubbly beard growing. His eyes flashed yellow when he spoke.

“There are some rules now that you are our pack slave. We are faster and stronger than you, we will hunt you down and bring you back with any escape attempt. All attempts lead to punishment and with each time you try they will get worse. You are to listen to any orders given to you by any member. You are lower than an omega here and your job is to take care of the pack. You will live in the pack house in a room we give you along with some clothes. You only eat when permitted and you will be punished when you do not listen or break rules. Our lead house omega will train you on everything. Is that understood?” His gruff voice made the hair on my neck stand on edge and I nodded.

 He quickly smacked me, and I fell to the ground. In shock, tears fell while I held my cheek bewildered. It did not register for a moment and then the stinging settled in making me wince. He yanked me up by my hair causing me to yelp out. “I expect a yes sir. We speak around here with respect. Understood?” he gave me a menacing smile and I choked out a “Yes sir…” he let me go and I collapsed to the ground. He expected me to follow and I did. I wobbled along the way towards the house they call a "pack house" and I hugged myself feeling self-conscious for the first time ever of my hair and eyes. At the coven everyone loved my looks, but here I kept getting disgusted looks. My confidence was dropping faster then I could comprehend. He led me to the kitchen and a maid looked me up and down. She then gave me a genuine smile. She walked over and made a tsked noise.

“Here go put these clothes on, they’re better for working in and then I will be teaching you everything you need to know.”

I mumbled a quick, “Yes, ma’am.” She smiled at me, and I walked to the bathroom. I changed and stared at myself in the mirror. I looked weak. No wonder they took me. I looked easy and exotic. I looked at myself in disgust and anger for the first time. I walked out with my head held high. She quickly explained all the house duties I would do. I would cook, clean all four floors, do the pack laundry, watch pups when needed, and most importantly follow an orders from the Alpha, Beta, and Delta. Apparently, I was bought because they didn’t have enough omegas anymore because they kept getting mated and leaving. They only had a few hundred omega left and most of them were much to young to take care of the pack house the way it was meant to be taken care of.

I was interested in the wolves ideals and traditions. I disagreed with the hierarchy that was explained to me and how omegas were almost the equivalent of live in maids in the eyes of the pack. It did not feel right to me. It also felt weird that an Alpha and Beta decided the fate of the pack without anyone's input. At the coven everyone was family and treated as such. Opinions were respected and never disregarded. Drake and Daddy Lucius even had large meetings with the whole coven just to make sure everyone was safe, healthy, and happy at least once a month. I felt a pang of pain missing home. Mating seemed to interest me most and I had no idea why because I did not want a mate, but it fascinated me. Some goddess picks out your one true love for eternity and you eventually meet them and end of happily ever after. It sounds unrealistic to me. 

The maid who was training me was much nicer than the man who brought me here. She said he was an elite warrior wolf and he didn’t understand humans were much more fragile then omega wolves. Omegas were only slightly stronger then most humans. The way he hit me should not have even left a bruise apparently. I rolled my eyes at her because I was not a pack member, so of course, I will not be protected. She introduced herself as Frances, but I could call her Fran. She said I was the first ever slave bought. She also mentioned I would have to attend the local high school eventually. It was mandatory no matter who you were to have an education. I found that to be a relief. Although, I would not be in school for another 3 years, she offered the library so I could read in my free time. I was starting to not feel to bad about being here, considering I was a burden back at the coven anyway. Drake never had time for me and no one was awake when I was. It was impossible for them to really be there for me even though they tried their hardest. I wonder if this is for the best? Maybe it is the plan of that goddess Fran keeps talking about. Smiling to myself I suddenly felt less hopeless.