Chapter 4 Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Chapter 4
LENORE
Several emotions were going through my mind right now — fear, frustration, and most of all, rage. I wanted to kill my father.
I gritted my teeth as I laced up my sneakers harshly just before a knock came on the door. I glanced up, narrowing my eyes at the door. “What?!”
“Uh, Hi. It’s William,” the person on the other side replied and my shoulders relaxed a bit. “Can I come in?”
“...Sure.”
A moment later, the door opened and he tentatively walked into the room while I got to my feet. He glanced around my room and set his mouth in a hard line before fixing his gaze on my face.
“Here to escort me to the car taking me to my doom?” I asked while snatching my jacket from the bed, and his eye twitched. It was clear he felt bad about this.
I hadn’t been allowed to leave the house since the council decided I’d be the one to attend the diplomatic gathering. People had been assigned to watch my room to make sure I wouldn't sneak out, and last night, William had come over to tell me about the vampire royal family and how to address them. He’d also apologized for my father’s decision and was the only one who had acknowledged how I felt about this situation so far.
“Actually, I’m the one driving you there,” William replied and I frowned. “Not to your doom though. I–”
“Why are you the one taking me?” I’d thought my father would be the one to do that.
“Uh, not just me. The Luna is coming too.” He stood straighter and cleared his throat, averting his gaze from me. “The Alpha is busy with… council matters.”
My frown turned into a scowl. That bastard. Before he could say anything else, I walked past him and out of the room, making my way out of the house.
Aimee, my stepmother, was standing next to the car and fidgeting. The nervous expression on her face was instantly replaced by guilt when she saw me heading over, and she opened her mouth like she wanted to say something to me. A moment later, she decided against it and got into the passenger’s side instead.
Unlike most of the people in the pack, she didn’t hate me. Despite her poor mental health—courtesy of my father and hers—she’d actually done her best to raise me, and her eyes always softened in a particular way when she looked at me, like she was silently apologizing for things she didn’t have the power to fix.
I took a deep breath when I got to the car and when I lingered by its door for a moment too long, the pack enforcers standing next to it narrowed their eyes at me. They were probably thinking of how they were going to force me into the car if I decided to be difficult.
Assholes.
I shot them a glare before yanking the door open and getting into the vehicle.

I didn’t know exactly what I’d imagined the vampire city, Eyrosa, to look like, but I certainly didn’t expect it to look like this. The city was a mixture of gothic and modern architecture, with tall glass skyscrapers standing alongside centuries-old stone buildings with ornate carvings.
It didn’t look eerie at all; it could easily pass for a normal city. The only thing that gave away what it truly was was the fact that it was deserted. Throughout the twenty minute ride from when we found the city with the help of the invitation the King had sent to the pack until we got to the sprawling palace which was in the middle of the city, we didn’t see a single person walking in the streets. All the windows in the buildings were darkened as well, making the city seem truly empty.
When the car finally came to a stop in front of stairs that led to giant double doors, my chest felt tight. I didn’t want to believe this was really happening, but pinching myself wouldn’t get me out of this nightmare. I wanted to scream.
There were several other cars around with people either standing or getting out of them and I assumed they were also here for the diplomatic gathering. Seeing other people made me feel a bit better, but that feeling was instantly crushed when I remembered my father and his pack weren’t exactly loved in the werewolf community. Some packs feared and looked up to his, but most detested him because he and the Alphas before him built Moon Valley to the point it was now by stepping on other packs. They’d even ruthlessly dissolved some packs by annexation, and because of this werewolves had taken to calling him the werewolf King— some out of respect, while others out of contempt.
So I wasn’t sure I was going to make friends here.
Also, seeing how deserted the city was had reminded me that I’d be living among vampires for however long the diplomatic gathering would take. I wasn’t the only one that could get attacked by a hungry vampire— the other pack representatives could be too— but I was most definitely the only one inadequate at protecting myself.
I was going to be walking on thin ice here.
My stomach churned even more violently.
The door next to me opened and I looked up to see one of the pack enforcers that had followed us here. Before he could say or do anything, I got out of the car.
The other pack enforcer had already gone to speak to the man standing at the double doors, and by the time Aimee and William also got out of the car, the enforcer and the man were heading over to us. When they got to us, the man flashed us a courteous smile.
His very pale skin and unusually bright eyes indicated that he was a vampire, and my shoulders tensed.
“Welcome to Eyrosa. I—” His brows snapped together and his eyes darted to me, his pupils dilating while his nostrils flared. His gaze bounced between me and William. “Uh… Where’s the Alpha’s child?”
William glanced at me and the man’s face blanked. He blinked at me before clearing his throat and gesturing at the double doors at the top of the stairs.
“I’ll escort you to her quarters.”
We followed the man into the building and through hallways and up several stairs. Despite unease rolling through my body, I couldn’t help but take in the castle’s opulence. It took us quite a while for us to get to where I’d be staying during the diplomatic gathering and the first thing I noticed was that it was bigger than my room in the pack.
Way bigger.
It had high vaulted ceilings, the walls were adorned with painting, and the large bed in the center had a canopy. The tall, arched windows were darkened like every other window we’d passed on our way here, and there was an antique dresser and velvet chaise lounge in one corner. Also, there were double doors close to the bed and I assumed they led to a balcony.
“A maid has been assigned to you and she’ll be here soon, so you can ask her for anything you need,” our escort announced while some men carried my bags into the room.
This is really happening. I tightened my hands into fists, willing myself not to cry, as William and our escort stepped out of the room while having a conversation about the King.
It was just me and Aimee in the room now and when I walked over to the bed to sit on it, she did the same, sitting right next to me. For several moments, neither of us spoke, but when a bell rang out somewhere in the distance, she placed her hand on my knee.
“I’m so sorry, Lennie,” she said softly. She sounded tired… she always did. “I’m so sorry.”
I hated when she did that—apologize for my father—so I placed my hand over hers. “It’s okay.” Of course, this situation wasn’t okay, but I didn’t want her to feel worse.
“He prevented them from seeing you… Virginia and Wayne,” she added and I drew my brows together. “He thought they might help you avoid coming here, so he locked them in one of the cells after the council meeting.”
I gritted my teeth. Bastard. I’d figured something was up when they didn’t come home yesterday, but I hadn’t thought much about it because I had bigger problems.
William came back to the room with the vampire escort and Aimee squeezed my hand.
“I’ll be back for you soon,” she said and I forced a smile. I didn’t want to be left here.
“I hope so.”
She squeezed my hand again before getting up and heading out of the room while I shifted my gaze to William.
He opened his mouth to speak, then paused and shook his head before running his hand over his face. “Call me if you need anything, okay?” he said and I swallowed before giving him a tight nod. “…Take care of yourself, Lenore.”
He walked out of the room with the vampire, shutting the door behind himself, and I sucked in a shaky breath, blinking back my tears.
I hated this. I hated this so much.
The door suddenly opened again and my brows snapped together when the vampire poked his head into the room. “I apologize for the intrusion. I’ve been asked to inform you that the King has extended an invitation for dinner tonight— you and the other pack representatives are expected to attend.”