Chapter 24 I was ordered to be a mute for a reason - I don't sugarcoat things
Aurora:
I burst into the King’s private bathroom, my heart racing. I had so many things to tell him. I wanted to tell him about the fire Elio mentioned. I wanted to ask him if he was really the one who had buried my mother and sister all those years ago. But as I pushed the door open, the words died in my throat. A cold, heavy weight settled in my stomach, making it hard to breathe.
I saw my mate. But he was not alone.
The room was filled with warm steam that smelled like expensive oils. Through the white mist, I saw them.
"King Dea... Deacon? Are you okay?" I whispered. My voice was small and shaking.
I stepped closer, my eyes trying to see through the steam. My heart didn't just break; it shattered into a million sharp pieces. Lady Phina was there. She was standing behind him, her hands moving slowly over his scarred, muscular back. She was washing him with a slow, steady rhythm. They looked so close, so comfortable, that it felt like I was the stranger in the room.
I expected him to jump when he heard me. I thought he would push her away in shock and run to me. I had started to think he actually liked me. I thought the way he looked at me and held me meant something real. But the Hollow King didn't even move. He stayed perfectly still in the large stone basin, letting her fingers linger on his skin.
I tried to back away quietly, wanting to disappear. But my heel hit a porcelain vase sitting on the floor. It tipped over and crashed, the sound echoing through the room like a gunshot.
They both turned their heads to look at me.
"Do you want to join us?" Lady Phina asked. A mean, hungry smile stretched across her face. She stepped out of the water, walking toward me slowly. She was completely naked, her skin glistening under the light of the torches. She was smaller than me, but she moved with so much confidence that I felt clumsy and out of place.
"Mind if I take control of you?" she murmured. She leaned in, sniffing my hair. "Mmm, I like your shampoo. You’re all wet and hot from the run, aren't you don't you want me to lick it off with my tongue?"
She leaned into my ear, her breath hot against my skin. I looked past her at the King. He stayed in the water, watching us with a cold, blank face. He didn't say a word to defend me. He didn't tell her to stop. He didn't claim me as his own. He just watched me like I was a show he was bored with.
As Phina’s hand reached out to touch me, a spark of my old fire—the fire that helped me survive the pits—flared to life inside my chest. I grabbed her wrist and shoved her away with every bit of strength I had.
"Get your filthy hands off me!" I screamed. The sound tore out of my throat, raw and angry.
I didn't wait to see her reaction. I turned around and bolted out of the bathroom, my feet slapping against the cold floor.
"Leave her alone. Let her go," I heard Deacon say behind me. His voice wasn't sad. It wasn't full of regret. He sounded bored, like he was tired of the drama.
I ran through the long, dark halls, my vision blurry with hot tears. How could I have been so stupid? I was just the hundredth girl. I was a temporary distraction to keep his curse away for a few more days. I had come to this palace with a plan to find out the truth, but I had let his touch make me forget who I was. I had started to believe his lies.
"Argh!" I screamed into the empty hallway. I clutched my hair, wanting to pull it out.
I hated myself for still wanting him. Even now, my heart was thumping for him. My body still remembered his hard cock, his muscular built. For a split second, I wondered if I should have stayed. Should I have joined them just to be near him?, lady phina doesn't look that bad either No. I was the Luna of this pack, even if I only had five days left. I had more pride than that.
I walked toward the stairs, so lost in my own head that I almost walked straight into two people blocking the way.
"I’m... I’m so sorry," I muttered, trying to move past them without looking up.
"I guess the rumors are true. The Luna can actually speak," a sharp, scratchy voice said.
I looked up. It was Elder Rue, the old woman everyone feared as a witch. She was standing there with a younger woman who had brown hair and a mean look on her face.
"Well, lucky for you, you won't have to say much," Rue continued. Her eyes were as cold as stones. "Your only job is to give us an heir. You just need to get pregnant. Even if the King rejects you next week, you will stay here as the mother of his legacy. You owe him that much for taking you out of that trashy pack you came from."
"Oh, come on, Grandmother," the younger woman sneered. She looked at my clothes and my face with total disgust. "Look at her. She doesn't have the body of a Queen. She has the body of a toy. Men use girls like her until the fun is over and then they toss them in the trash."
The pain in my heart suddenly turned into a sharp, cold anger. I looked at the girl, then at the old woman.
"And who do you think you are?" I spat. My voice echoed loudly in the stone corridor. "Who gave you the right to talk to me like that?"
I turned my eyes to Rue. "And as for you, old lady... I don't care who you are in this palace. You should have been a witch in the woods. Why are you so worried about me and my mate? Why can't you mind your own business? Why don't you go beg the Moon Goddess to finally take you? Aren't you tired of being alive yet?"
The younger woman gasped, her mouth hanging open. But I wasn't done.
"And you, brown-head," I said, stepping right into her personal space. "You are just as dumb as your grandmother. If you're so jealous of the attention I get, why don't you go beg Lady Phina to play with you instead of walking around hoping a male wolf will notice you? Or is it my fault that you’re still all alone?"
"You... you have no wolf!" the girl stuttered. Her face turned bright red with embarrassment. "No wonder they kept you quiet and hidden!"
In response, I let out a low, deep growl. It wasn't a human sound. It was the sound of a predator. My fangs snapped out, and I felt a surge of heat behind my eyes. I knew they were glowing that electric blue again.
The two women stumbled back, their eyes wide with terror. They nearly fell over each other trying to get away from me.
"I am not like your granddaughter," I hissed. My voice vibrated with a power I didn't know I had. It was the power of the Lieu bloodline. "Now get the fuck out of my way before I bite you. I hope you know my family can kill with one full bite if I want to. So get things right so The next time you see me, remember: you don't mess with a Lieu."
I didn't wait for them to say anything else. I walked right past them, feeling the weight of their fear following me. I wasn't a toy. I wasn't just a host for a baby.