Chapter 19 Chapter 19
Sloane
The she wolf Ada had said I wouldn’t live until the next full moon, which was tomorrow and I was very much still alive, if not kicking. My whole body hurt. I ached in places that I didn’t know could ache, thanks to Ty and Eirians relentless training. Which they undertook themselves because they didn’t trust anyone in their castle not to kill me by accident.
We all knew it wouldn’t be an accident. But none of us wanted to say it out loud.
Every she wolf in their lands was out for my blood, the males weren’t much better. Humans were lower than the low. I was their enemy.
The only set of people who were hated more than me were the wolfless shifters.
I liked them. Especially my maid. We bonded over everything bad in this land and sniggered behind our hands at their stupid rules and antics.
Grace was a good person. The kind of person that I could have been close friends with if she had been human. As it was we were kind of allies.
She helped me with creams and salves for my agonised muscles after one of the twins vigorous training sessions that always left me battered and bruised. Sometime with open cuts on my body that she had to dress so I didn’t get an infection and die.
I might die of pure exhaustion though, that was a real possibility. Only-
In my nightclothes I sat cross legged on the bed, and poked my finger through the slash in the sleeve of my blouse. Ty had caught me with a claw. But this time, unlike the others, he had ripped my clothes but I had moved fast enough that there was little more that a scratch on my upper arm.
I was getting better. Faster and stronger as well. It didn’t matter how exhausted I fell into bed, I was always up and ready the next morning.
Because as much as I didn’t want to admit it, I enjoyed learning how to protect myself.
I enjoyed learning to be strong.
“Good evening Sloane.” Grace rapped her fingers on the door and came in without asking. “I have some things for you that the masters asked me to bring you. They would like-“
I eyed the pile of clothes in her arms with a frown. “No food?”
Usually at this time of night she appeared with a silver tray piled high with food so delicious that for the first days of being here I’d been afraid to eat it all and had hidden most of it.
Right until Eirian had scolded me for it and told me there would always be food for me.
So much food that I had to force myself to eat everything that was brought to me. They liked my plates to my plates to be empty of food.
And I regained strength, there was no more hollowness to my cheeks.
Great food and intense training.
I was stronger than I had ever been in my life and I felt it.
“No Miss. These are clothes for tonight.”
Swinging my legs from the bed, I walked over to her. Eyeing what looked like a black leather corset.
“They want me to train again?” I asked. The slashed shirt lay forgotten in my hands.
Eirian and Ty never asked me to train after sundown. That was the time I was told to stay in my room. I could eat or read or so whatever I wanted in there and most of the time I just fixed my clothes and slept.
They had never asked for an after dark training. They always gave me a few hours so my muscles could heal.
Suddenly I was so tired it felt like I wouldn’t be able to stand up unaided.
Shaking my head I went back to the bed and fell onto it with a groan.
“I am too tired to train this evening. They said I could rest. You tell them-“ I fell silent. Grace was a great girl but she was in no position to tell her alphas anything and we both knew it.
“It’s ok I will tell them.” Wearily I reached to take my night clothes off and get dressed again.
“They don’t want you to train Sloane.” Grace said finally, unfurling the clothes in front of me. “They want you to go to the feast. As their special guest and future Luna. This is a dress.”
Yeah, I could see that now. But it was unlike any dress I had ever seen.
Made from what looked like one shining piece of leather, twisted into a corset and then down into a skirt that would fall in drapes from my hips.
I’d never seen craftsmanship like it.
It was beautiful
The kind of dress a warrior queen would wear.
“Yeah.” I mumbled. “It’s a dress alright.” I didn’t know what else to say.
There was no way I could wear something like that. I felt awkward enough in the simple peasant clothes they gave me to wear.
This was just too much.
“There’s also jewellery.”
My head snapped up as I did a double take. Had she said jewellery?
At first I couldn’t make sense of the bands of glittering gold in Graces hand.
I frowned.
“Some for around your throat and some for your wrists.” She said looking at me pointedly.
I got it then. The leather dress, the gold they wanted to cover my vulnerable human throat and arms with. It was all protection.
Very cleverly devised armour to protect me from stray wolf claws and teeth.
The leather wouldn’t stop a full on attack but it would give me a chance to - I don’t know fight back?
I didn’t move. Suddenly I didn’t want to wear that dress for anything. I wanted to stay here where no wolf dared to enter.
I wanted to be safe and not go to a feast where ninety nine point nine percent of the guests wanted to kill me.
“Miss Sloane?” Grace said softly and I could tell by her face she knew exactly what I was thinking.
Sighing I moved towards her. Hands already shaking.
“Ok.” I said softly. “I guess I best get ready for the next part of my training.”
I already had a feeling that this evening would be the hardest part yet.