Arike

Chapter 3

There were many heavy footsteps followed by a heavy bang on my door repeatedly. Before I could react, my door was broken, and I was being dragged out of my room. Pushed to the ground, I looked up and saw I was surrounded by the palace guards. Even in the midst of this chaos, one smell stood out, and that was that of the prince.

‘Mate!’ Lawumi said.

Meeting Prince Dejumo’s eyes, I could only see hatred and disgust. Further confusion.

It was then I noticed a smaller figure hiding behind the prince. It was Iyunloye. She had claw marks on her upper arms and a scratch on her face. As she met my eyes, she gave me an evil smirk and suddenly cried out.

'She did this to me! Why would she? I have done nothing to her. All I wanted was to help her last night when I heard her scream, but I was paid with evil'

I was in shock and couldn’t say a word. I don’t remember any of that happening. I was sure I was alone last night. Before I could speak, she was quick to continue her accusations.

‘Ask her who she really is. She is a monster! An abomination! An animal. She shouldn’t be alive.’

‘Enough! Guards! Take her away’

I was still in shock as everything happened in a minute. One moment I was in my comfortable bed, and now I am on the cold, hard floor of the dungeons.

My body was still in intense pain. And I was taking my time to process what just happened.

‘Lawumi, do you mind helping me out a little, because you used to be all talkative, but surprisingly, you seem quiet now that your help is needed.’

‘I need you to pay attention to me because I will not be repeating this long story I am about to tell you’

‘As long as I get to understand what is going on with me’

Settling down, lying on my back, which is the most comfortable position I could be in these dirty, cold dungeons. Closing my eyes, I gave my undivided attention to the voice in my head.

You are a rare creature called a werewolf. Although very rare in this part of the world, not unheard of. Your father was one, and he came here on a special mission, and that was when he met your mother, his mate. I know you don’t understand what a mate means, but I will get to that. You came to be as a result of a deal made by two goddesses of different people. Werewolves are descendants of the Greek goddess Luna. She is the moon goddess, and all werewolves are her children. There was a war that at the time was taking the lives of Luna’s followers. All her fellow gods turned on her, and she was in desperate need of help. Then she came to Lawumi, the spirit of the forest, the animals within it, and the herbal healer. Lawumi agreed to help Luna on the condition that a werewolf be born here on this land, and the fate of that werewolf was to be completely in the hands of Lawumi. She would choose when you would be born, where, and who your mate was.

An agreement was made, and Lawumi helped Luna.

Now, a mate is someone who was created especially for you. This person is your other half and your soulmate. Most times, it happens between werewolves, but you have a human mate, and this is what has lessened your connection with the Prince.

Prince Dejumo is your mate, but the bond is weak, and it would take effort from both ends to make things work.’

‘How do you know all these things? Why am I in this place? And I am sure I didn’t do that to that witch called Iyunloye.’

‘I am a part of the goddess Lawumi. So why would I not know what this is all about? I am just a very tiny piece of her. This is to ensure your connection to her and nothing more. You are a free ticket for the people of Owu. A storm is coming. If they accept you, then you will live a short and happy life. If not, you have a long, lonely, and painful life ahead of you. Iyunloye is just another pawn in the hands of a god, but she is also your doom. We all have to sit and watch.’

I don’t know how long I have stayed motionless on the hard floor. I thought about how my life had changed in a very short amount of time. Leaving my home and everything I know only to realize I am part of a bigger picture. It is a lot to process

In the blink of an eye, the smell of my mate alerted me. But then I noticed his smell was mixed with that of the witch.

This angered me. I held my hands tightly because Lawumi is clawing to come out and hurt Iyunloye for touching her mate.

My eye remained closed even though I knew he was at the door.

‘Arike mii.’

His voice and the way he said my name made me relax a bit, but I was angry and sad that he couldn’t stand up for me or, better still, hear my side of the story. Ignoring his presence, I stayed still on the floor.

‘I am sorry. She just put so many thoughts in my head and my judgment was clouded.’

When he noticed he was rambling and didn’t seem so tough, especially in front of his men, he regained his composure and with his authoritative voice said

‘We do not have substantial evidence to put you in this position. You are free to return to your room, and I will be seeing you this evening.

The door opened, and I was helped up by two ladies. They supported me until I got to the room. Getting to the room, I was met with a feast and new clothes. I knew whose doing it was, but I was too sad and angry to care about the effort he is putting in just to make up for what he did this morning.

After a warm bath, I put on the new clothes I found on my bed, ate a little of the food in my room, and lay gently. My entire emotions were heightened, and it was overwhelming. I was just digesting the whole idea of my existence and did not know what to think. Lawumi felt my distress.

‘Arike, sleep. Let me help you the little way I can.’

And with that, I felt myself go back into my subconscious, and I was no longer in control of my body, and all I did was watch from another perspective.

We lay like that for hours until we sensed the Prince by the door. A knock came shortly after. I could sense Lawumi’s eagerness and confidence. It scared me as I had no idea what she was up to. I guess she knew I was panicking because she smirked as she walked to the door. Opening it with confidence and a smile, she said,

‘My Prince, looking as handsome as ever. Come on in.'

I could see the surprise on his face as he carefully walked into the room and stood at the edge of the bed.

‘Sit my prince, I don’t bite……… or don’t I?’

She walked slowly like a true goddess with pride and confidence until she sat on her bed.

‘It’s wrong for me to be here with you, and you know that. It doesn’t speak well of you. "I just want to talk to you about this morning.’

The prince said as he looked extremely panicked and not looking as confident as always. I guess he knew he really hurt us.

‘Do you plan to have me as your wife? As far as I am concerned, I have been your concubine from the start. You know the rules.'

It was true. It was a topic we avoided. We couldn’t be husband and wife. I could only be a concubine.

I am surprised by the amount of courage and truth Lawumi was speaking, ignoring the prince’s apology, and I couldn’t be more grateful that she was talking things out until I figured out what her next move was.

‘Lawumi, don’t you dare.’

I said, panicking as I tried to regain consciousness.

‘Oh shut up, you want it too.’

She said. I wouldn’t deny that, but I was scared.

Walking slowly while maintaining eye contact with the prince until she stood directly in front of him. My finger touched the tip of his fingers, tracing his strong arm slowly while looking at him deep in the eyes with a smile more like a smirk on my face. The spark was so strong, and the higher I went, the more ragged his breath became. I was so sure I wasn’t the only one feeling the sparks that flew everywhere in my body.

‘So strong, so handsome, beautiful. I understand why other women would want you for themselves. So powerful.’

By now, my eyes were locked to his lips, and all I wanted to do was devour. I was not the only one who wanted this because the next thing I knew, strong arms held me tightly on my waist, and lips were on mine. It was like words and opposites. His hands were rough and tight on my skin, but his lips were gentile and careful on mine. In a second, I became Arike again, so much for the confident Lawumi to cause trouble and let me handle it. Honestly, I don’t mind handling this one.

I was new to this, so I let him take the lead as he gently carried me without separating our lips, not that I wanted to. He placed me gently on the bed and hovered over me. His hands traced sweet, slow lines from my cheek to my neck and down through the valley of my breasts to my stomach, down to my belly button. I couldn’t think straight. Suddenly, my attention was drawn to his neck. It looked so inviting, and my instinct was telling me to do something about it.

Lawumi, within seconds, took over. My canines started to grow. More like I was about to change but not completely. Before I could stop Lawumi, my teeth were deep inside the prince’s neck. I felt blood flow deep into my mouth, and I swallowed.