Rejected By My Alpha, Claimed By The Dragon Commander

Chapter 6: The One That Met The Blade

Bright light violated my eyes. I tried opening my eyelids but they felt heavy. At least my head wasn’t throbbing anymore. It would’ve been excruciating if it still was. I slowly forced my heavy eyelids open anyway. The light hurt but I ignored it, turning away from the window.

Then I remembered that I didn’t fall asleep, I fainted. And I remembered why. I sat up and looked around the room. I wasn’t in the tent anymore. I was in a bedroom, with a bed beside a big window and the other side of the bed was still neat, like no one slept there.

The floor was covered with a thick rug that looked soft enough to sleep on. There was a fireplace on the opposite wall, although it wasn’t burning. Above it was a huge painting of a dragon with its wings spread wide, its mouth open like it was about to breathe fire straight through the room.

What the hell happened? How did I get here? And where exactly was here?

I tried not to think about what might’ve happened after I passed out but I realised that there was no throbbing or soreness between my thighs. Wasn’t it supposed to hurt? I didn’t know, I’d never done it before. And with my wolf on a self given vacation, I wasn’t sure whether I could’ve healed quickly or not.

Even the headache and wound from Aria’s assault took longer than usual. For all I knew, I could’ve been in a coma for days.

I heard voices outside the door before it flew open and Mira appeared there with a maid holding a silver bowl. I knew she was a maid because she was wearing uniform. I considered laying back down and feigning sleep but they were already staring at me like I was a ghost.

“My Queen,” they both quickly said and bowed.

The maid moved to put the bowl on a table near by.

“You look better.” Mira rushed over to my side, taking my wrist in her hand and feeling my pulse.

“Where am I? How long was I out? What happened? Where is the barbarian?” I rapidly asked.

Mira chuckled. The maid lowered her head shyly to hide her smile.

“The King is attending to his duties,” Mira whispered. “You have been asleep for only a few hours. It is now twelve in the afternoon.”

I nodded, looking up at her and waiting for her to answer the rest of my questions.

“You are at the palace,” the maid said. “I’m Belle. Welcome to the palace, my Queen.” She bowed again, beside the bed this time.

“I’m also Belle,” I said , smiling. “Annabelle. But I prefer Anna.”

“A servant cannot call you by name, my Queen.” Mira giggled.

I pulled back my wrist and turned to fully look at her. “The consummation. What happened?”

She cleared her throat and bit her lip, tilting her head to the side. She opened her mouth and closed it, then opened it again.

“I was not there,” she finally said. “But I heard the King presented the sheets.”

So he did violate me. I guessed it was a good thing I couldn’t feel it.

“I need to be alone,” I whispered and laid back against the pillow.

“I understand.” Mira nodded. “But one of the women said you knew the one that met the blade of the warrior? It is a burial in a few hours. I thought you might be awake by then and would like to go.”

My heart froze as my mind instantly went to Penelope. It couldn’t have been her, could it? I didn’t know a lot of people here but maybe it was the woman that explained the bride hunt to me.

“Wh… Who was it?” I stuttered.

She gave me a sad look. “A Penelope. We never got her last name.”

My heart sank. I closed my eyes and bit the inside of my cheek to keep myself from screaming. The image of her face when she looked at me before running was still fresh in my mind. She looked so afraid. So fragile.

“Are you sure?” I asked without looking at her.

“Yes, Queen Anna,” she whispered, her voice lower. “The male omega said her name was Penelope. Another vouched for him.”

Male omega. So he made it. Just one loss. It didn’t make me feel any better.

“The warrior who killed her.” I raised my face. “What will be his punishment?”

Mira blinked, then shook her head and looked away.

No punishment. No punishment for the murder of an outsider. The books didn’t say anything about this. It was clear then that the rest of us didn’t know anything about Vaelryth.

“I’m going.” I tossed the covers from my legs.

Mira stood up straight. “I have prepared your clothes and the bath.”

“I will bring the food.” The maid bowed and scurried off.

The bath didn't take long. I wasn't in the mood for it but Mira insisted that I couldn't appear before the people looking like I just crawled out of bed. I let her wash my hair and dress me without arguing much.

She put me in a black dress this time. It wasn't as elaborate as the one from last night. The skirt reached my ankles and the sleeves covered most of my arms. She pinned my hair back and placed a smaller silver crown on my head.

I stared at myself in the mirror.

Queen Anna.

I was really a Queen. A violated Queen. A forced Queen. But still a Queen.

I walked through the palace with Mira beside me and four warriors following behind us. They were all dressed in black, carrying guns at their sides. Their footsteps were in synch as we made our way outside.

I didn't know whether they were protecting me or making sure I didn't run.

Probably both. It didn’t matter.

The cemetery was surrounded by tall stone walls covered in vines, with rows of dark headstones stretching across green grass. There were people waiting near the freshly dug grave. They bowed as I walked past them. I kept my gaze ahead.

My steps slowed when I saw the man standing beside the grave that would belong to Penelope. She wasn’t a member of my pack, or rather my previous pack but she was a werewolf, and she belonged to Fenrith. It hurt just the same.

The man wasn’t quite as big as the King but close enough that I immediately understood why he was able to overpower someone during the hunt. His arms were thick, his shoulders broad and his black hair was pushed back. He was wearing black trousers tucked into boots and a black shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows.

I instantly wanted to kill him.