Chapter 1 1

Odette

I don't know what the sun looks like. All my life I've lived inside a dark room with little air and no light.

I don't know what I look like. I've never seen my face but I had a clue as to what I look like when the maids whispered about me.

The head cook who calls me “the cursed child” said I had fire for hair and diamonds for eyes. I'm uneducated so I don't know what she meant by that. I guess I'll know the day I die and that will be today. I'm going to die today.

The day I found out I would die, I was 5 years old and I knelt before the Alpha's throne. He blamed me for the Holocaust that ravaged the pack and had the pack priestess ink my skin with the mark of the curse. After that, they presented me to the pack and told them, I'd die during the next blood moon and that would be in the next 14 years.

While the Alpha made his judgement, I waited for someone or anyone to plead on my behalf but everyone either wept or threw stones at me. They would rejoice now because 14 years have come and gone and tonight was the night the blood moon would appear.

If I die, will I see my parents again? I don't even remember what they look like because it's been so long. But I know they would welcome me with open arms.

I rose to my feet when I heard footsteps approaching. They were here for me.

The chains at the entrance rattled as the guards unlocked the door and rushed in.

“Will you grant me one last wish before my death?” I asked with a weak smile.

“Shut up!” The guard grabbed my arm harshly and gestured to the other one to unlock the chains clasped around my wrists and ankle.

When the chains fell off, I didn't feel a sense of relief. Rather, I felt happy that I would be gone soon. Life didn't favour me much in this world. Perhaps in the future.

“Come on!” The harsh guard tugged me forward and led me out of the dungeon.

I turned back to look at the room I'd grown up in and smiled softly. I'd miss it when I die.

“Eyes front!” The harsh guard repeated.

I sighed as they led me through a wide hallway. The walls were adorned with oil paintings of what looked like the past Alpha's and the floor was so smooth. I tripped twice.

My mouth fell open in awe as I admired the grand hallway. This place was above the hell I'd lived in all along?

“Watch your step,” the second guard told me as we climbed up on what I believe was a staircase.

I expected the road to my execution to be dark and scary but this one is beautiful. Perhaps, I'd die in a beautiful dress and have my face painted like most of the women.

“Where is she?!” A female voice called out in rage.

I flinched. Who was that?

The double doors ahead of us parted dramatically and an extravagantly dressed woman stepped out.

Her dress was beautiful and filled with many layers. I counted up to 8. Her face was painted and her hair was pinned up with a shiny jewel. She would've looked ethereally beautiful if not for the look of disgust she had on her face.

I looked down at myself as she sized me up and down. Was something wrong with me? I don't smell bad or do I?

“Bow in the presence of Her Majesty!” The harsh guard swatted my arm and I winced. That hurt.

I turned to the woman again and pinched my brows. If he said “Her Majesty” that meant she was royalty. Probably Luna.

I collected myself and bowed my head. “Your… Majesty.”

“Enough.” She hissed. “Take her to the maids and have them bathe her.”

My head snapped up. “What?”

If looks could kill, I'd die sooner because Her Majesty glared the hell out of me.

“Get this filth out of my sight!” She snapped.

The guards nodded to her command and whisked me away into the room the Luna had just come out from.

I was in for another surprise. The room was magnificent. The colours; red and blues were draped all round the place in the chairs, floor and even the walls. It was a room fit for royalty. What was I doing here?

“Prepare the bath!” An elderly woman said as she grabbed my arm.

I struggled as she shoved me into the large bath and tore at my sackcloth.

Panic rose to my throat as I flared in the foamy water. “What are you doing?!”

She didn't answer me. None of the maids did. They only worked in silence as they scrubbed at my skin, nails, hair, feet, their hands invading even parts of my body I didn't know existed.

When they were done, they dried my body with a white cloth the elderly maid called a towel and smeared honey oil all over my skin. Their hands moved softly and slowly as they kneaded my shoulders, neck and legs. Then, they gave me tiny straps of clothing to wear and a much bigger gown far more beautiful than that of the Luna's. They were really going through this length to bury me in a beautiful gown. I, myself, am honoured.

When the elderly maid was done, she passed me a mirror and I froze.

The girl staring back at me looked like an angel. Her hair wasn't bedraggled. Instead, it was perfectly curled. Her skin wasn't dirty but it was fair. Her eyes were really a diamond colour and her smile…

Tears filled my eyes. I never realized I had such a beautiful smile.

The maid tried to take the mirror from me but I shook my head.

I didn't know my name or where I came from. Knowing what I looked like before I died was all I owned and I couldn't be denied that. She nodded with a sad understanding and led me through the door.

Each step I took was a dreadful one. Each one reminded me how close I was to death's door.

“Enter.” The guard at the entrance pushed open the door.

I hesitated for a moment before I finally entered.

The doors shut behind me and I flinched. This was finally happening. The day I'd waited for 14 years had finally arrived.

I clutched the mirror tight like it was a lifeline and pushed forward. The room was nothing like the other one I'd been in. It wasn't decorated to suit a person's taste. Instead, it was decorated to show authority and power. I could even sense a larger than life presence in the room. Was that my executioner?

“Drop the mirror and come forward.”

I stopped upon hearing the voice. “W - what?”

Ahead, a figure rose from what looked like a throne and sighed. “Drop the mirror and step forward.”

I swallowed hard and carefully kept the mirror to the floor. Then I marched forward, trying to ignore the rapid bet of my heart.

When I stopped before him, my lips parted. He was the most beautiful creature I'd ever seen.

His eyes were the colour of the blood moon and his hair was silky and long till it fell past his waist. He was dressed in a suit of armour and sported an axe at his hilt.

He stepped into the light and I gasped even further. The left side of his face was scarred but it didn't make him ugly. It made him appear more powerful. I'd never wanted to kneel so badly and beg for my life.

I watched him with confusion as he reached for me and caressed my cheek.

“Did you wait that long for me?” He asked with a smirk.

My cheeks heated. His beauty just tripled with that smile.

Reality hit me in the face when my eyes dropped to his sword and I cleared my throat. “I… yes.”

“Good,” he pulled me closer till there was no gap between us and then whispered. “I'm glad you did, wife.”

My brows furrowed. Wife?

What's a wife?