Chapter 8 Because I looked like lady Victoria
New mate? Is this truly happening to me? I looked up at the towering spires of the palace, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. I was supposed to be a slave, a ghost in the kitchen, but here they were calling me a Luna.
As the carriage door stayed open, an elderly lady with deep lines etched into her face stepped forward. She didn't look happy. She looked disgusted.
"What is all this fuss about?" she snapped, her voice like grinding stones. "She is not his first mate, she is his hundredth. I don't know why we keep wasting our breath with these ceremonies."
"I just hope this one stays," a man’s voice called out from the gathered crowd. "I am so tired of welcoming a new Luna every week, only for them to run away or disappear after the seventh day. It’s a waste of good wine."
Suddenly, the crowd parted. A woman walked through the gap with a majestic, predator-like grace. She was wearing silk that clung to her curves, her eyes sharp and predatory. This was Lady Phina. Everyone bowed their heads as she passed, but she only had eyes for me.
"Why are you all stating the obvious?" Phina said, her voice smooth like honey and venom. "Although this one looks better than the last few, I heard she can't talk."
She reached the carriage and leaned in, her eyes scanning my messy red hair, the faded marks on my skin, and the shape of my body. She came so close I could smell her expensive perfume.
"A mute, and a naked dancer" she whispered directly into my ear. "No wonder the King brought you here. He probably wants a sex toy that can't scream. This is your only chance to run. When he rejects you—and he will—come to me. I will give you the best sexual experience of your life."
She pulled back, gave me a slow wink, and turned to walk away. I sat there, frozen, my face burning with a mix of shame and confusion.
"That's Lady Phina," Elio whispered, leaning close to me as we prepared to step down. "She is a lone wolf. She doesn't belong to any pack, but everyone fears her because she is the King's person. She’s dangerous, Aurora. Stay away from her, she is into girls."
I stepped out of the carriage, my legs shaking. Before I could even take a full breath of the palace air, the elderly lady from before lunged forward. She grabbed my hand with a grip like iron.
"Come," she barked. "We have to give you the spiritual bath and prepare you for the ritual. We must conceal the bond before the moon reaches its peak."
She didn't wait for me to agree. She dragged me forward, her long, sharp fingernails digging into the back of my hand. I felt a sharp sting and looked down to see beads of blood surfacing where her nails had pierced my skin. I tried to pull away, whimpering silently, but she was too strong. I looked back at Elio and Kelvin, who were running after us, their faces full of alarm.
"Stop! You're hurting her!" Elio cried out.
Suddenly, a force of nature slammed into the space in front of us. A gust of wind so cold it felt like ice whipped past my face. I gasped, my hair flying into my eyes.
A hand reached out—large, scarred, and powerful—and yanked the elderly woman’s arm away from me. She stumbled back, nearly falling.
I looked up, and there he was. King Deacon.
He stood between me and the crowd like a mountain of shadow. The moment his silhouette became clear, the entire courtyard went silent. Every guard, every servant, and every noble dropped to their knees. They didn't just bow; they pressed their faces toward the dirt. No one dared to look at him.
"Get your filthy hands away from my mate," Deacon said.
His voice was lower than I had ever heard it, vibrating with a lethal edge. I stared at him, wondering how someone could be so cold to an elder, but the old woman didn't back down. she straightened her back and faced him.
"Why did you bring her here?" she demanded. "A mate who can't speak as our Luna? Is this how little the royal dignity means to you now? We are a family of pride, Deacon! A red-head, a mute, and a servant? Don't tell me you chose her because she looks like Victoria."
The King’s posture stiffened. The air around us seemed to freeze.
"I see the resemblance in this mute girl," the woman continued, her voice rising. "Is that why she's your hundredth? A sacrifice? First, you brought a girl because she had Victoria's eyes. Then you brought one who walked like her. Now you bring a slave with no scent? You are losing yourself, Demon! Your life is in danger, and we have no heir to carry the bloodline. You have so little time left until your demise. It has been twenty years! Let go of the dead and produce an heir, but not with this girl. We cannot afford a mute prince!"
I felt a surge of pain at her words. A mute child. A mistake. That’s all they saw when they looked at me.
"I do not care about you, and I certainly do not care about the royal family’s dignity," Deacon said. He stepped closer to her, his shadow swallowing her whole. "And why are you so concerned with whom I mate with?"
He reached out and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up at him.
"Look here, old lady," he growled. "I am the King of Prussia. I am not the little Alpha you used to know. You go by my command. You do what I ask you to do—including dying if I order it. Now, go get the things ready. We are completing this mating bond tonight."
He let go of her chin with a flick of his wrist as if she were trash. He didn't wait for her response. He reached back, grabbed my wrist firmly, and began dragging me toward the massive palace doors.
"You will regret this!" the elderly woman screamed behind us, her voice cracking with rage. "I will watch you die, Deacon! I will watch the Hollow King crumble!"
Deacon didn't even turn around.
"Not if you die first," he threw back over his shoulder.
He pulled me through the threshold of the palace, his grip tight and his stride long. Behind us, Kelvin and Elio scrambled to keep up, their footsteps echoing in the massive, cold hallway of my new prison.