Seven
1395 Words
(Where do I belong?)
Lizzy
The moment the portal swallowed us, the world twisted violently around me. It felt like my insides were being ripped apart and stitched back together at the same time. Colors exploded behind my eyelids.
My stomach lurched.
“Relax” The man said calmly beside me, like we weren’t being dragged through some glowing tear in reality. “The first trip always feels like that”
The first trip? Was there going to be more? Before I could ask what he meant, the spinning stopped.
Abruptly.
The car jolted, and the sudden stillness made my head throb. It felt like I was in a trance until we suddenly appeared in front of a large gate. The atmosphere and architecture felt different from the city, but also somehow familiar; it was so strange to be in a place that seemed almost familiar, like I had been here before. My mind couldn't remember exactly when or where, but everything felt so right. Like my life had always been a dream and this was where it all started.
Behind the gates stood a castle that seemed to hold the stories of more than five generations. Its grand entrance was flanked by an impressive fountain, and two guards stood nearby.
My chest tightened.
“Where… are we?” I whispered.
The man stepped out of the car beside me. His movements were relaxed, confident like he had walked these roads his entire life.
“Home” The man beside me said and my heart skipped. I still didn't know his name.
Home? That single word weighed down on my brain like heavy rocks. Home sounded weird coming from him, a total stranger.
My wolf shifted inside me, restless and alert.
“Come with me” He led me to the guards that stood near the massive gates. They were large men with broad shoulders and sharp, watchful eyes. The moment they saw us, saw him, they straightened.
“Prince Edwin” one of them greeted respectfully.
Prince? Did I hear right? Then their attention shifted to me and the silence that followed made me conscious that my skin crawled
They stared, it wasn't the polite stare of curiosity, no, they looked at me like I was something strange that had wandered into where I didn't belong.
The man whom I now knew as Edwin didn't seem to notice or maybe he noticed but pretended not to, either way, I still felt uncomfortable.
“Open the gates” he ordered. His voice now held a different authority.
The guards obeyed immediately. I watched as the iron groaned as they swung wider, revealing a massive courtyard beyond. I hesitated before stepping through.
The moment we walked inside, the atmosphere changed, I could feel eyes on me. It wasn't just my imagination - it was real. The people who walked past us stared while bowing slightly to the man beside me, I noticed the whispers as we passed.
“Who is she?”
“A human?”
“Why is the prince bringing a human here?”
“She smells like a wolf… but not fully”
Heat crawled up the back of my neck and my clothes suddenly felt too small, too cheap, too inappropriate, they didn't seem to fit in here and mostly I didn't fit in.
I could still feel faint pains in my arms from Sam but there were no bruises, they always healed faster.
The man, whom I now knew as Edwin, walked forward as if none of it mattered. He seemed different from what I remembered that night, he was almost withdrawn and indifferent, like the entire kingdom could stare and he wouldn’t care.
“Come” he said without looking back.
I forced my legs to move.
He led me through the hallways and finally to a large room. My wolf and that tiny voice I had always tried to get rid of now paced anxiously inside me.
We climbed a set of massive stone stairs leading toward double doors carved with wolves and crescent moons.
The doors opened as we approached.
The inside of the castle was even more overwhelming.
High ceilings stretched above us and pillars carved with ancient images that I didn't understand lined the hallways. Chandeliers glittered overhead, filling the space with golden light.
Edwin finally stopped outside another set of golden doors and the two guards who stood outside there bowed just like the ones in the gate had done before they pushed those doors open.
It was a throne room, a man sat on top, overlooking the little crowd of men below who all stared at me as if I was a specimen. The man on the throne looked older than Edwin but more powerful in ways I couldn't explain. He had a few strands of grey hair here and there and his emerald green eyes were sharp enough to cut through flesh.
Edwin bowed “Father” he said while he bowed and I stood there awkwardly waiting for someone else to say something. I felt so out of place and exposed, and I couldn't help but wonder how they were going to react to what my appearance did to me.
The king’s gaze softened slightly.“You’ve returned”
“I found her. This is Elizabeth Watson, the mate we've been looking for” Edwin said, trying to break the ice a bit. There was no reaction from anyone, though, and it only made me anxious.
The king’s gaze slowly moved from my tangled hair to my choice of clothes and disapproval lurked around his features.
The king frowned. “Found who?” like he had not heard his son correctly the first time.
Edwin placed a hand on my shoulder and pulled me slightly forward. “Our mate”
Our mate? Who was our? What did he mean by that? A mate? What did that mean? The room went silent.
The king stared at me and his eyes narrowed slowly. “This girl?” he asked as if he were in disbelief. Did he expect more? “This is the one the prophecy spoke of?” He continued.
My stomach twisted painfully.
“She smells barely like a wolf,” he continued coldly. His gaze swept over my clothes.
“She looks like she crawled out of the streets”
The humiliation burned through me and I clenched my fists. This wasn't the place full of my king as he had promised. My kind didn't seem very fond of me.
Edwin didn’t move. “She is the one” he said firmly.
The king’s jaw tightened. “I expected a Lycan worthy of standing beside my sons” he said sharply.
His sons? What was this man going on about? His only son was Edwin right? Why was he speaking in plurals?
“Not this”
The words hit harder than any slap. A feeling of deja vu struck me, and just like history, I was out of place again.
“Take her to the guest chambers until I decide what to do with her”
I turned to look at Edwin expecting a form of reaction from him but he didn’t argue, he simply just stepped aside.
“Take her” the king repeated.
The guards gestured for me to follow.
I turned and walked out of the throne room, trying not to let my humiliation show but I was sure that the redness of my face was enough evidence that I wasn't doing a good job in hiding it.
The castle hallways felt colder now, unwelcoming and I wanted to go back to Maggie, why was I even here?
Then suddenly, a scream echoed through the castle. And I froze, it was loud and not far from being animalistic.
I could have missed it but I didn't, I noticed how the guards exchanged uneasy glances.
Another scream followed and it made my heart pound violently.
Then suddenly, my wolf exploded inside me as a force yanked at my chest, like the one I felt toward Edwin. But this time it wasn't pulling me toward the man I had left behind in the throne room.
“Mine” The word echoed inside my mind.
I staggered slightly as the invisible pull tightened. Why was my wolf howling for someone else?
- Writer
