AVERY

Everything hurts.

I groan, shifting to my back only to get the bright sunlight to burn my face. For a few moments, I keep my eyes closed and try to understand why it hurts.

But then the events of the night flash before my eyes and I sit up in the bed. The stench of alcohol and sex still lingers in the air but the atmosphere is cold now.

The warmth is gone.

I open my eyes and look around to find the room vacant. The man is gone. And I—

I look down at my body only to find myself still naked and bearing the marks from last night.

My breath hitches in my throat. Did I just give up my virginity to a stranger when I was supposed to keep myself pure for my future mate?

No. This can’t be.

Dustin will kill me when he gets to know and if he doesn’t and I end up in the South, Aleister Anasazi will know. If he finds out, he will consider this treachery.

Fear grips my heart and twists it painfully. What do I do?

Why did I do this?

Why did I lose my mind when I saw this man? Why did I feel like I was on fire when he was so close?

Who was he?

Another memory swarms my mind. Last night, I saw his eyes turning black and some strange veins appeared in his cheeks. Could it be that…he is a Lycan?

But, that’s impossible, right? Only the Royal Bloodline are Lycans. Aleister Anasazi and his family are the only Lycans in the South.

Does this mean…this man…is Aleister’s relative?

Oh, my Goddess. What did I do?

I am startled out of my thoughts when a loud knock sounds on the door. It is followed by several heavy thuds. I don’t need to open the door to know who is there. It’s Renee, her sweet scent is filling the space already.

Scent. My eyes widen in realization. I had sex. She will be able to tell instantly.

“ Princess! ” She shrieks on the other side of the door when I don’t answer.

I jump to my aching feet and gather my clothes. Panic surges in my veins as I dress up in a hurry. The urgency in Renee’s tone tells me that the worst has happened.

And as expected, when I open the door, her fear-filled eyes meet my gaze. She grabs my wrist and pulls me out.

“ His Highness— ”

She freezes, her gaze lowering to my neck which is still exposed. The temperature drops around us, and at that moment, I realize something else. Last night, he did something to me. His teeth sank into my neck and then everything became heightened before I lost consciousness.

“ Tell me you see nothing there. ” My chin wobbles.

“ Is that a… ” Her lips tremble as she meets my gaze again. “ Princess. What did you do? ”

My numb, cold fingers finally land on my neck and there is a bump there. I stumble on my feet, my back hitting the wall behind me.

No.

I dig my nails in my neck.

No, he didn’t do it.

“ It’s a… ” Renee can’t bring herself to say it.

“ Mate Mark. ” I utter and the world slows down for a while.

“ Who was it? Did you find your mate? ” She steps away from me cautiously.

Deep grey eyes keep revolving in my mind. The indifference, the amusement, and the strange glint.

My heartbeat escalates until I can’t breathe anymore.

No way.

A Princess marked by a man she doesn’t even know…That sounds just…Impossible.

This man is from the South, an enemy and he is a Lycan which means he is closely related to the man I am promised to. That’s just oil to the fire.

“ They are here to take you back, Princess. They found us. ” Renee whispers scaredly.

“ He is going to kill me. When he finds out, I did something like this, Dustin will kill me. ” I gasp, covering my neck.

Dustin, my brother, and the King. He will die before accepting this. He will kill me.

And what about the man I am promised to? He will hold this against Dustin. He sought a pure, virgin Princess who had never been touched by a man before, and when he realizes that not only did I sleep with a man but also had his mark, he will consider this a betrayal from our Kingdom and he will…wage a war.

I hyperventilate as my whole body trembles and my breath gets stuck in my throat.

Oh, Goddess.

What the hell, Avery?

What now?

My stomach tightens in knots, sending me to the edge. I might as well strangle myself now and pretend I didn’t do anything.

Heavy footsteps cover the distance to us, and my heartbeat speeds up to new limits.

“ The Royal Guards. They are coming. ” Renee lunges towards me and covers my head with the cape. “ we must not let them see this. Do you understand, Princess? ”

She is right.

“ Here. ” Hurriedly, she opens the small vial bottle which I failed to notice before, and forces the liquid down my throat. “ this is a scent-hiding potion. They won’t smell anything on you. ”

My first reaction is to agree with her. Until I come up with a solution which I doubt will be possible, I must not let my brother figure out what I did in here.

“ My Princess. ” The head Royal Guard, Austin is the first to get to me.

Respectfully, he bows his head when he approaches us and gestures at the other guards behind him to stay in the back.

There is no change in his usual respectful stance towards me which means the potion is working. He won’t be able to pick the stench on me.

I try to gather myself and act to be nonchalant but the lessons of a lifetime fail me. I can’t wipe off the look of horror, shock, and anger from my face. He notices this from the corner of his eyes and sighs.

“ His Highness is waiting for you outside, Princess. ” He informs politely.

But my world tilts off its axis. “ My brother…he is here? ”

He came personally? I gulp nervously. The potion might hide the scents but fooling my brother is no easy feat. He will know when he looks at me.

“ Yes, My Princess. ” Austin nods and steals another glance at the sweat trickling down the side of my forehead.

My brother is waiting for me. My cold hands shiver by my side. How am I supposed to face him?

I take a step back in fear. I don’t want to see him. I want to hide and—

“ If you don’t walk now, Princess, His Highness will have to come inside. ” He adds, releasing a soft sigh.

My heart jumps in my throat. If he comes inside, this whole place will burn down to ashes. He is my brother but he is a cruel man who leaves no witnesses behind in any scenario.

I break out of the dreadful trance and steel myself. “ Let’s go. ”

My soul trembles in fear of my brother, my family and the future as Austin leads me down. The club that was bustling with people is empty and the eerie silence only weighs on my senses.

Where did all the people…go?

Renee follows closely behind, the rigidity of her body increasing my nervousness. I hold my head high as we exit the premises.

And there he stands, the man who can manage to make the strongest people scared with a simple look. His calm demeanor is the same as usual. There are no cracks in the facade he puts up in front of people when his eyes move to rest on my face.

But I know better than to think he is composed. The calm Dustin is the most dangerous man to exist.

I drag my heavy feet towards him. My heart races in my chest, as fear spreads throughout my body.

It’s embarrassing.

He will know what I did. I can’t play him. My brother…He is too smart.

“ Dustin, I didn’t do anything wrong. Don’t even think about it. I just wanted to be free for a day… ” I didn’t dare mention night. “ I drank too much and passed out. ”

Lies spill out of my mouth one after another. I am digging my grave deeper. Eventually, Dustin will know and he won’t spare me.

“ Take the Princess back. ” Dustin cuts in and commands Austin without taking his eyes off me.

“ It’s not what you think. It’s… ”

It’s exactly what he thinks. I shouldn’t feel guilty but the disappointment, that only I can sense in his eyes makes me tear up.

‘ Royals don’t cry. ’ My mother’s cold voice rings in my head, accompanied by the sounds of sharp lashes and screams.

I clasp my hands together to stop the tremors. Dustin’s fleeting gaze falls on my hands but his eyes don’t soften. He has nothing to offer to me anymore.

My chest tightens in pain but I don’t utter another word. I am doomed—I know and I must suffer and pay for what I did last night.

I tighten the ribbon of my cape to hide my neck and storm away, leaving my brother behind.

He let me go without asking anything in front of so many people, but what awaited me at home won’t be this lenient.

AVERY

I hurry back to my room so I don’t stumble across her. At this time, the worst thing will be a confrontation.

Renee is running behind me as we both abandon our usual composed demeanor. She is the only person who knows why I am so out of breath.

When I finally enter my room, a sigh of relief escapes my mouth. She is not here. Renee enters behind me and closes the door.

“ You should take a bath, Princess. It’s— ”

“ I know. ” I snap, rushing towards the attached bathroom.

She closes her mouth and doesn’t stop me. I discard my clothes once I am inside and turn on the shower. Water rains on my body, wetting my hair instantly.

The wall-length mirror in front of me reflects my body. My drenched blonde hair clings to my back and shoulders. Unconsciously, my gaze rests on the exposed black half-moon and a star on my neck.

Numb—That’s all I feel when I see the mark.

Why did a stranger feel the need to mark me?

The longer I stare at the mark, the worse the fear becomes.

Once people find out, everything will be over. For me, and our Kingdom. Dustin has already promised me to Aleister. If he sends me there, the King of South will know about the mark and my wild night and if he doesn’t, it will mean breaking a deal.

In both conditions, Aleister will be coming here to do what he wants from the beginning—starting a war that will destroy both our Kingdoms and many will lose their lives for something that is not even their fault.

A chill crawls down my spine as I drop to my knees in the middle of the shower room. Pain reverberates through my legs, but it’s not enough to divert my attention.

I was always careful. I had never caused trouble for anyone. Even last night…I wanted to retaliate against my brother’s decision by running away from home and getting drunk. I thought, Dustin would be worried when he found me missing, he would come looking for me, and he might regret imposing this difficult situation on me. That’s all I wanted.

That’s all I have ever wanted—for others to choose me or show me that they at least regret not doing it. I can’t be so worthless that they don’t even feel guilty over abandoning me, right?

How did this small retaliation turn into this life-threatening situation?

“ What were you thinking, Avery Landric? ” I murmur, closing my eyes.

Why couldn’t I resist this man? Was I so drunk that my mind shut off completely?

But that…never happened before. I never blacked out like this.

Maybe, he is my mate. My mind suggests, but if he is my mate…I could have felt it, right? Other than the attraction to him, I felt nothing out of the ordinary.

My body becomes cold and numb under the freezing water as I sit there for a long time. Eventually, a loud knock on the bathroom door pulls me out of my daze.

I jump to my feet, startled out of my mind.

What am I doing?

I need to find a solution quickly.

I can’t let Dustin know and Aleister can’t know about this either. The night must remain a secret and somehow, this mark needs to be hidden.

Another knock on the door and I am turning off the shower. My hand reaches for the bathrobe to wrap it around my body before I step out of the bathroom.

My nerves become tense as my eyes first fall on Renee and then on the woman standing in the doorway. Her docile posture makes me shiver instead of putting me at ease.

Instantly, I brush my wet hair and strategically cover the mate mark with them. To my relief, the bathrobe’s neckline covers the spot.

“ Renee, step out of the room for a moment girl. I need to talk to my daughter alone. ” She clasps her hands together and throws a smile in the direction of my friend.

Renee’s hesitant gaze lifts to my face. I nod subtly, silently telling her to leave and not make it worse.

“ Where were you, Avery Sweetheart? ” Mom walks inside the room leisurely. Her golden hair and blue eyes resemble mine so much that I don’t have to wonder what I will look like when I am older.

“ I—I didn’t go far. ” I swallow the lump forming in my throat and utter.

Renee lowers her head and walks out of the room. On the way, she closes the door and immediately, Mom’s polite smile becomes a vicious glare.

“ You just had to make your stupid existence known, didn’t you? You had to cause trouble and let the whole castle know that you are a slut who runs away from home every other day to whore around. ” She closes in on me and without my control, my heartbeat speeds up.

“ Mom, I—I can explain. I didn’t— ”

“ What do you think your fiancé will do once he realizes you are not a pure girl but a common whore who throws herself at every man she sees. If your history with Tyson was not enough, you had to open your legs to other men too. ” She stops in front of me.

I take a step back to put distance between us. Every time I ran away and was brought back…this was what she said. Her daughter had always been a whore to her. I could deny her accusations before…but how do I do that now?

“ Look at you. ” Her hand shoots out and grips my jaw so tight that I instinctively flinch. “ with an ugly face like this, you should be happy a King is ready to take you in but you have to keep decreasing your value. ”

My eyes sting as I lower my gaze. I ball my hands into fists, keeping my lips tightly pressed together to not give in to her.

One day, I will be out of her clutches and free, I tell myself. My day will come.

“ This is exactly why Tyson chose a bitch over you, daughter. You never acted like a Princess. More like a cheap slut. And you keep doing it. Eventually, Aleister will throw you out. No one will ever choose you, slut! Is that what you want? To always be a burden over us? ” Mom leaves my jaw with a harsh jerk.

My head turns to the side as I find myself unable to bear the disgust in her eyes. My cold fists tremble no matter how tight I keep them closed.

She takes a step back, and sneers. “ Listen to me now. ”

I gulp, keeping my gaze low.

She reaches out and fists my hair roughly. I bite my lower lip to drown the hiss threatening to escape.

“ If you give your brother any more trouble, I will make sure he throws a bitch like you to the commoners. You will wish you were never born, Avery Landric! ” Her shrill voice is deranged and filled with malice.

“ I won’t. ” I reply quietly.

“ In a week, you will go to the South and deal with your mess! Even if Aleister throws you to every soldier of his Kingdom, you will never set foot here again, or else, your brother will find out what you did, Avery. Do you get me? ” Her voice is like a screech that unsettles every fiber of my being.

My whole life she kept holding a secret over my head and it seems like…I will never truly be free even if I escape from her clutches.

My eyes sting worse than before but tears refuse to fall.

“ Do you understand?! ” She screams in my face.

“ Yes. ” I nod quickly, my scalp beginning to burn. “ Yes, Mom. ”

She tugs at my hair forcefully and then lets me go. A few wet strands cling to her fingers that she shakes off while hate shines in her eyes.

I don’t dare move from my spot as long as she stays there and throws me one hateful glare after another. When she finally leaves, I grab the wall behind me to steady myself.

My chest tightens as it becomes hard to breathe. She didn’t know about the mark—I try to highlight the good point to myself but in the end, I am still on the floor, gasping for air and reaching out to any support I can find.

But in reality…

There is none.

No matter where I look, I will find no support.

AVERY

“ Did you find anything? ” I ask as soon as Renee enters the room.

She sighs, letting me know what the results of the search were. I rub my temples as frustration grips my mind.

“ What good will it do to find the man anyway, Princess? What are you hoping to do once you find him? ” She questions in a hushed voice.

In the previous week, I gathered all the people I thought wouldn’t be able to tell my brother anything and searched for that grey-eyed Devil but it feels like he disappeared from the face of Earth.

“ He has to reject me, Renee. I can…probably lie about the…purity but I can not hide the mark. This mark needs to disappear. ” I press my lips into a thin line. Lying to a Lycan King about my virginity will only warrant my early death but it can’t be worse than admitting in front of my brother that I am a fool who let someone do this to me.

“ I wish that man didn’t hold me back that day, Princess. I would have protected you if only the bar people had let me go to the first floor. But no matter how hard I fought or what I did…they didn’t allow me. They said it’s for the rich guests and I didn’t have money and— ”

“ Renee. ” I snap, fed up with her explanation.

“ I am sorry, my Princess. ” She sniffles.

That’s all she has been doing for the past seven days. She kept saying that right when I stumbled across that man, a drunk stranger appeared by her side and started bothering her. She managed to shrug him off but until then, I was long gone and when she went to search for me, she was not allowed to reach the room I was in.

The timing is just so…strange.

Is it possible that this man from the South knew me and everything was his plan to do something I am not aware of?

Did he want war? Did he want to touch the woman who was promised to his King? Or what?

“ Princess. His Highness is calling you to the throne room. ” Renee mumbles softly.

I shudder. I avoided Dustin all this time, but it seems I can’t do it anymore.

Swallowing my nervousness, I press my fingers to the mark on my neck that is covered with a thick layer of makeup. However, it’s not enough to put me at ease. I rush to the mirror and fix my hair over my shoulder to cover the spot completely.

“ No one will notice, Princess. Please don’t worry. ” She shoots me a pitiful look from behind.

For a few moments, I stay there and stare at my reflection. When I do this sometimes, I can only hate the way I look. Mom says everything about me is imperfect. My eyes that are too bright, my lips that are too thin, my nose that is fat and not straight, and my—

“ Princess. ” Renee whispers, shaking me out of my thoughts.

I look away from the mirror and rush to get out of the room. I wish I could fix the way I looked but I can’t so it’s better to just…avoid looking in the mirror.

After a while, I am standing in the middle of the throne room while my brother sits on his throne, peering down at me. His face is emotionless as always but there is a hint of disappointment that still lingers in his eyes.

“ You were supposed to leave today, Avi. ” Dustin says, breaking the silence that was suffocating me.

“ And you didn’t even care to come say goodbye? ” I smile bitterly.

“ If I knew you were leaving, I would have come but you look nowhere near ready to go. Tell me now, are you going or not? ” Dustin leans forward, his eyes dropping to my hair which is unusually resting over my shoulders instead of over my back.

Please don’t notice it. I plead silently.

His gaze lifts to mine again and I release the breath I held, “ What other choice do I have? What if I don’t go, Dustin? What then? ”

“ A royal who refuses to follow the King’s order has to be exiled out of the royal family. ” The disappointment in his eyes vanishes as an icy glint takes its place.

A lump clogs my throat. “ so it’s either living in humiliation in my Kingdom or getting humiliated by the enemies? ”

“ No one will humiliate you there. ” Dustin blinks and rests back.

I don’t think he believes it. He just wants me to believe this and go without causing trouble.

“ You went to attend Tyson’s mating ceremony. How did you even meet Aleister there? And why did he agree to this mating arrangement? ” I ask the question that’s been on my mind for a while.

Momentarily, he freezes. No one else would have noticed the slight pause in his breath but I can.

“ Dustin. Why did he— ”

“ Peace. Don’t you want it, Avi? ” He cut in calmly.

Peace? I have never experienced it in my life and valued it above everything else. So how can I argue when he tells me that it’s all for the peace?

My hands clench by my side. “ you could have offered anything in this world…but you offered up your sister. Do you even…feel bad? ”

“ Don’t put it this way. ” His cold reply makes me release a soft breath.

“ I will go. Not for peace, Dustin, but because I think I owe you. ” I admit quietly.

His expressions shifts and the facade of calmness fades. We never mention this. It’s a silent agreement that we will not admit that I owe him for doing what he did years ago.

“ Even if they hurt me or— ”

“ If someone tries something, all you have to do is to speak to me, Avi. Do you think I am abandoning you? Do you really believe I won’t come for you when you need me or if someone tries to hurt you? ” His eyes soften.

“ When I leave… ” I whisper as my eyes sting, “ I will never come back to you or this family again. It’s better to get humiliated in an enemy land where no one will pity me or make me feel like this. Like I…must listen because I am indebted. ”

“ Avery. ” Dustin narrows his gaze on me.

“ No, Dustin. Even when I get hurt or no matter what they do to me, I will never set foot here again. To my brother who didn’t twice before giving me up, I will never come back. ” I hiss.

Silence falls between us. It’s more painful than getting a reply from him. I bite my inner cheek to hold the tears at bay.

The door to the throne room opens and the familiar scent spreads around me. Instead of bringing me a sense of comfort, it brings me a wave of panic and fear.

“ Dustin. What are you two arguing about again? ” Mom’s sickly sweet voice is a torture to my ears.

“ It’s nothing, Mom. ” Dustin replies before I can open my mouth.

There is no mistaking the respect and affection in his eyes. It makes me nauseous. If only he knew that the woman in front of him is not the angel he thinks she is…

No. He will never know. It’s not like she is a bad mother to him. It’s just about me. Dustin doesn’t have to lose his mother because of me.

“ Is Avery troubling you again? ” She walks forward. Her footsteps make me step away from her path so I don’t come across her.

“ There is nothing, Mom. Don’t worry. ” Dustin says in a composed voice.

“ Let me talk some sense into her. She will listen to— ”

“ I am leaving. ” The words slip out of my mouth and it’s too late to regret them.

“ What? ” Mom halts and turns to me.

“ I was supposed to leave today right? Well, I am leaving right now. ” I nod.

I must face the consequences alone. I have to go and see what’s it about Aleister before I decide what needs to be done.

“ Avi. ” Dustin leaves his throne and closes the distance between us with measured strides.

My brother is the smartest man in the three Kingdoms, but he is…so oblivious to emotions. He doesn’t get the hint that I don’t need him to come to me anymore.

He abandoned me, so be it. When I have nothing here, there is no reason to stay either.

Before he can grab my arms, I turn my back on him and walk away.

“ Never… ” I pause after walking a few steps. “ I wish you never come looking for me, Dustin. ”

It’s not because I hate him. No—I can’t hate him. I am just scared that if we meet again, he will lose the little adoration he has for me. Mom won’t let me remain by his side.

“ No matter what you believe, I will be there when you need me. ” He says, causing the lump to worsen in my throat.

“ I needed you today. But not anymore. ” I whisper and leave before hearing his reply.