It Was Her

It Was Her
The room was dark and cold but Myra barely noticed.
She sat on her straw-stuffed mattress, digging her fingers into her skirt while staring at nothing.
Her cheeks still hurt and her sore hand was wrapped in white, wool bandages.
For once, the silence didn't hurt. It was oddly comforting, becoming the closest friend she could get here.
She stared up at the moon that peeked through the tiny window. Its soft light barely graced the hole she was in.
She turned back and stared at the darkness. Again.
Something was changing in her. Her heart was turning ugly.
She had done nothing wrong to deserve this yet the torture lingered. She glanced down at her hands.
Once soft, now calloused. Once meant to rule, now forced to serve bloody monsters.
She clenched her fists but winced as the pain shot through her. Opening her hand, she saw a fresh stain of blood on the bandage.
This was all because of them. The wolves.
Every misery, every fire she walked through, was all because of them.
She closed her eyes, recalling her screams as her hand was mercilessly scorched. No one rushed forward to help. No one.
The Alpha had kept a straight face like her screams were just another sound. She didn't expect anything more from him.
He was cold, but she would be colder.
She was done crying. She was done being weak.
Everyone she'd ever loved was being taken away. Her father first and now her sister's life was dangling by a thin rope.
Myra's eyes hardened. It was time to fight back. To claim what had been snatched from her.
She had lost everything to that monster—her family, her royalty and even her innocence.
She could no longer wait for mercy. It wasn't forthcoming.
Her people were still rotting in the dungeons—one was just turned to a maid—while she was here, crying every day while serving tea.
No. It was time to rise. Even if it meant selling her soul, it was time to pay back.
She was going to do what she had never wanted. But she would make sure the Alpha regretted his very existence.
Her heart turned cold with determination, the bruise on her neck flickering to life. It was time.
She smirked. He wouldn't know what hit him.
When the day started with cloudy skies, the guards summoned her again.
"The Alpha request your presence in the council room"
She didn't question them. She didn't tremble with dread. She was numb.
She adjusted her hair over her bruised face and followed them without hesitation.
Inside the council room, all the ruthless men she despised were there. Advisors, ministers, generals, and at the top of the ladder was the Alpha.
The bastard she was going to kill in a way he'd never imagined.
His eyes locked on hers as she was led inside, all men's eyes turned to her.
She ignored them, fixing her dead stare on the Alpha.
"Bring her here" he ordered.
The guards seized her arms and dragged her to his side. With a shove, she was sent to her knees on the cold marble ground.
She barely flinched, keeping her gaze down.
"You can leave" he dismissed the guards then addressed her, "How do you feel now princess?"
'Dead' she wanted to say but knew that would satisfy him so she remained silent.
Arthur was barely bothered by her silence. He slid his hand under her jaw then tipped it up, meeting her flat gaze.
"You are meant to respond to all my questions. Is that clear?" His tone sparked the fire in her but she knew better than to retort.
He had already punished one person for her mistake, she wasn't going to make it two.
"Yes Alpha" she whispered.
Her answer satisfied him and he let go of her, turning his attention back to the men. "Now where were we?"
"We were just discussing the latest demands for slaves from other packs" Lucien said.
Myra's ears pricked up but she forced her eyes to stay put. She had to act like she wasn't remotely interested in their discussions.
"Rumours have spread that you have gotten a fine number of human slaves" a blond man with a neutral expression, informed.
"Let me guess, Eric?" Lucien rolled his eyes. "He's pissed he didn't get the princess"
"How many Alphas are we looking at here?" Vincent enquired.
The blond man glanced at the letter in his hand. "Four, including Alpha Alfred"
"Sleazy fool" Lucien muttered. "What action should we take Alpha?"
Arthur's eyes flickered briefly to the woman sitting below him, pretending she wasn't listening but he knew she did.
"I do have many slaves" he began and saw her lips tremble.
Good. He like that. He liked that fear.
"Sell some, particularly the women. They're very valuable and a rare commodity" a round-bellied man spoke.
Myra's heart sank. Sell them?
She sneaked a glimpse of Arthur and immediately regretted it. She found him observing her with those golden eyes she was coming to loathe.
Just a glance into those eyes sent heat prickling along her skin. Burning her, licking her like flames did to dried wood.
"They could be sold princess" his tone was deceptively soft but his words chilled her bones.
Her palms turned clammy with sweat. "Please"
"Please what?"
"Don't... Don't sell them"
His eyes hardened once more. "I didn't ask for your opinion"
She tore her gaze away, her heart racing. She had to do something. She couldn't lose one of them.
"Why are you doing this? What did I ever do to you?" She asked desperately.
For a moment he was silent but then the frost returned to his eyes. "Because you and all humans deserve it"
She swallowed, painfully close to tears. No. Not anymore.
She would no longer cry. She had to find a way.
In between her distressed thoughts, Arthur said, "Let me sleep on it. I'll come to a conclusion by tomorrow morning"
The blond man looked troubled. "Do you want to sell them Alpha?"
Arthur leveled him a flat stare. "I will inform everyone tomorrow Pierre"
Pierre nodded, glancing at Myra with what almost looked like pity. "As you wish Alpha"
"Meeting dismissed"
Arthur leaned back in his chair, his eyes wandering back to her.
Her eyes were riveted on the ground, her curtain of hair parting slightly to reveal the purple bruise on her cheek.
Something snapped in him and for a fleeting moment, he felt rage sweep through him.
His wolf snarled, 'Hurt'. But he scowled. So? Did it matter?
"Tell me princess" he asked her. "Do you want your people to be sold off?"
Myra didn't understand where this was going but she raised her head up. "Would you want your pack to be sold off?"
His lips quirked up slightly. "I was asking you princess"
"No I don't"
"You care about them" he murmured.
"I am their princess" she said, lifting her chin.
"Was" he corrected, rising from his seat. He squatted before her and grabbed her chin. "You were their princess"
"I will still rise Alpha"
He smiled but it did not reach his eyes. "How sweet of you to retain such fire. But I must tell you it's pretty useless. You couldn't stop me from turning that girl into my maid, what makes you think you'll rise?"
She had to admit he had a way with his words. He knew exactly what hurtful words to say.
"I will rise" she said quietly.
He tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, his touch making her shiver. His action was a sharp contrast to his stony demeanour.
"You won't" he got to his feet. "I'll make sure of that"
Long after he left the room, Myra was still there on the floor.
She wasn't joking, she would rise.... when he least expected it.
As the night rose higher, Myra slipped away from the palace.
She had a purpose tonight—a place she hadn't dared to visit. She knew it was risky but the nagging need to see Evelyn again consumed her thoughts and left her restless.
She was worried for her sister, well aware the dungeon was not a pretty place for anyone.
Wrapping her arms around herself, she tiptoed to the back doors of the dungeon and quietly let herself in. She descended the stairs leading down to the cells, the air thick with dampness and dried blood.
Hollow eyes greeted her.
Men, women, even children, looking ragged and worn out, hands clutching the iron bars.
Their eyes all brightened at her presence.
"Princess" many of them whisper-shouted, joy and disbelief mixing in their voices.
A lump appeared in her throat, making it difficult to speak. She gave them a bitter smile. "Yes. It's me"
Her heart shattered when their expressions mirrored hope and happiness.
And it shattered even more when she caught a pair of blue eyes.
"Eve" she called softly.
Behind the iron bars sat her sister, her face oddly pale. And right behind her was Andrew, fast asleep on the ground. The sight of his innocent form brought tears to her eyes.
She wished she could give them a better life. They didn't deserve this.
Evelyn reached through the bars and clasped Myra's hands, offering a small smile.
Myra could feel the coldness in her bony fingers. "Are you alright?" She asked fearfully.
'I am' Evelyn signed.
"Eve" she whispered, her voice cracking. "I'm sorry. I feel like a disappointment to us"
Evelyn shook her head fiercely. 'You're doing your best to protect us'
"I'm not" she confessed with a sob. "Everyday my heart bleeds, my hope shatters and....." She trailed off.
She couldn't tell Evelyn what happened to her. Her sister—and the people who were keenly watching—didn't need that kind of news.
It would crush them.
So she gave a watery smile. "And I'm trying to hold on for us"
Evelyn smiled sadly and reached out to cup her cheek. 'You're brave. Papa would be so proud of you'
That elicited another sob from her. Would her father be truly proud of the mess she was in?
Evelyn caught the fresh bruise on her cheek. 'Did someone hurt you?'
"No" she said quickly. "It's nothing. Don't worry"
"Princess" said a heavily pregnant woman. "We need your help. Save us"
"We're dying of starvation" a man called out.
"Save us. You're our only hope princess"
The burden of their expectations rested heavily on her shoulders. Everywhere she turned, people were behind their cells, their stares filled with hope,
Hope she needed right now. Hope she couldn't disappoint.
A tear fell from her eye and she said with conviction, "I will save us. I promise"

Arthur was restless tonight.
He paced the length of his balcony, holding a glass of liquor, half drained.
He was agitated and on edge for reasons he didn't care to know.
His body was hot but he had no desire to call Christine tonight. Her touch wasn't what he craved.
His wolf demanded answers he didn't have, yearned for a woman that wasn't even real. Or if she was, she was long by now.
He growled and drained the remaining liquor.
Leaning against the black railing, his eyes scanned the grounds below. In the darkness, a figure moved, gliding away from the dungeons.
He frowned, peering closer.
The princess.
Even in the dark, he knew it was her. The way she walked, the waves of hair that spilled down her back.
What in the hells was she doing down there? Who had she gone to see?
Suspicion came to life behind his eyes. He had a strong hunch she was plotting something. Something that was a threat to him.
He sighed. He had enough on his plate tonight, she was just another minor inconvenience.
He staggered into his room, pouring himself another drink. Then another.
Slowly, the fire in his chest eased.
His eyes found the necklace on his drawer and he reached for it.
He glanced at it unsteadily. So familiar yet strange, belonging to a woman that had left him.
She was his. He was sure of that. His wolf was deeply attached to her.
"Why did you leave?" He asked, his voice slurred.
Under the candlelight, the blue stone shimmered, beckoning to him.
He stared at it blankly. Funny it looked just like the princess's eyes.
Blue, he thought, like her stormy blue gaze.
Then flashes hit him all of a sudden.
Blue stone. Like the blue eyes that haunted his dreams.
Visions of the night returned. Her voice, her scent, the way her back arched into him. Then.... her face.
He stumbled into a chair, his eyes wide as the pieces slammed into place.
No. It couldn't be.... No.
Her face stained with tears, looking up at him from those blue eyes. 'Please Alpha'
The unrestrained fury in her voice when they collided. The tension in her voice. The fear in her eyes when he came too close.
Arthur pulled at his hair, his breath dropping to quick pants.
No, no....
The woman he couldn't remember, the woman who had awakened his primal self.
His wolf howled victoriously, 'Finally'
It was all falling into place.
Her cutting words back in the healer's room.
'....when you need a warm body to sin'
'Just not enough to remember, right?'
'Because I remind you of something you conveniently erased?'
"Fk" he cursed.
Shit. Damn shit.
The girl he claimed. The girl he broke. The girl who haunted his every breath.... was her.