"Beneath every mask a thousand secrets whisper in the silence..."
As the Lycan King stepped into her chambers, Eira couldn't help but speculate what it was he wanted from her. They had seen each other three times since her arrival, which was the most number of times she had seen a single person in the castle. And one too many times for someone of his status to spare.
"Leave us." Kael ordered sending Orelda and Lysette rushing out of the chamber. He dragged his feet over to the dresser, and stood directly behind her.
Eira raised her head, stealing a glance at him through the mirror. She gasped softly at the black and silver mask he had on, which covered majority of his face, leaving room for just his eyes to be seen.
Reflexively, she frowned, thinking that it was such a waste that the Lycan King would hide his beautiful features. But then a question popped into her head, why would he have to hide his face? All three times they had met he had revealed his face to her.
So why…
As though reading her thoughts, Kael leaned in for a tight squeeze on her shoulders, he looked at her reflection for any sign of protest, but Eira retained a composed demeanor, as though being manhandled was second nature. Something the daughter of an Alpha should not be so familiar with.
"Tonight, you shall not breathe a word to anybody about what sits beneath this mask, am I understood?" Kael gruffly asked, his grip so tight it rumpled her fabric.
Eira couldn't help but nod, it wasn't as though she was capable of doing that in the first place.
Effortlessly, he spun her chair, and lifted her chin, forcing their eyes to meet, "Swear it to me!" Kael demanded, his piercing glare penetrating her defenses.
However beneath the layers of hate and anger, Eira gasped at the silver of what resembled fear in his crystalline gaze. Mindlessly, she sunk her fangs into her quivering lower lip, drawing blood down her chin to the sides of her jaw.
Keeping their eyes locked she rubbed her palm across her bleeding lip, and despite the fear that overwhelmed her she dropped to her knees, her bloody palm rested on her chest, where her heart should be and clenched her fingers into a tight fist.
Mouthing the words ever so slowly, Eira swore, "I swear it."
Despite her gentle demeanor, Eira was drenched in fear, would the empty promise of a bargaining chip hold any weight to the Lycan?
For a half minute, a deafening silence ensued, save for the howling of the wind and the cackling of her dimly lit fireplace. Her breathing paced to the raging beat of her distraught heart, in short and heavy pants. The tension from his stare sent shivers down her spine, she slowly lifted her head, perhaps to gauge his reaction.
Eira didn't know which came first, the mask falling to the ground, or the king's hand firmly gripping the back of her neck.
She held her breath, bracing herself for whatever impact, little did she expect to be met by the king's lips crashing onto hers...
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"Ugh!" Adrianna groaned at the sudden tug on her neck. She flung her head back, her ice crusted eyelashes blurring the area into a swirling maelstorm of white and gray. She levelled her gaze at the thorn bush clawing at the hem of her coat.
Planting her boot firmly into the crunching snow, she twisted her upper body and tugged desperately at the thick layer of fur, her fingertips a blueish gray.
Her breaths came in ragged, steaming gasps that froze instantly, "Come on! Come on!" she chanted inwardly, the wind growing stronger, the storm coming closer, the ground quaking beneath her feet.
"YES!" she cried, the coat pulled out succesfully, pieces of it surrendered to the thornbush.
Unfortunately, her celebration was cut short when a blinding whirlwind came charging at her, lifting her off the floor and tossing her body into the unforgiving blizzard!
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A rushed knock on Thalassa's door broke her attention from the rings laid out on her dresser. Her retainer, Sana quickly marched to the door, opening it to reveal her twin, Sena.
Sena went over to Thalassa and leaned in close, her mouth behind her palm she whispered, "I have made all the arrangements."
Thalassa's lips flattened into a grin, "I see," she picked up a gold ring and slid it through her black laced glove to her middle finger. "I trust that no one saw you on your way out?"
Sena nodded, "The slave quarters was completely empty, as we speak all the omegas are at the banquet waiting on the guests." She went on, "As per your instruction, I've called for her retainers, I'm certain that as of this moment she is alone in her quarters."
Bringing the ring to her line of sight, Thalassa admired the trinket, "I cannot believe that for a moment, I was threatened by this woman." she scoffed, "She's an easier handle than my wretch of a cousin."
Rubbing her shoulders, Sana seconded, "She is of an inferior race, its only natural she learn her place. Once the Alpha catches her for what she truly is, she'll be banished without a second thought."
"I coud barely hold back my laughter when she accepted the precious gift our mistress gave her, such a gullible bitch." Sena replied, earning a cackle out of her sister.
Thalassa slipped on more rings, "A sheltered princess can only handle so much, her naievity will only work to my favor. Just like I had that fool Vynessa by a string, Adrianna will dance to my tunes sooner rather than later." she said, her tone laced with outright satisfaction.
Her retainers gushed, Sena teased, her tone sinister, "For her sake, she shouldn't run into any males, goddess knows what scent she could give off..."
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Back at the camp ground, the daily role call was being taken. This was a safety measure adapted to make sure all in the camp was accounted for.
The person in charge had just finished, and was about sending everyone back to their tents. However, elder Jael forced his way through the crowd to the front, where he raised his voice, drawing attention.
"What about Freya? I haven't seen her all day." Jael pointed out, earning an eyebrow raise from Cara, she had memorized everyone living in the camp, she was confident she did.
Cara frowned, "Who are you talking about?"
"The survivor from the mountain. I've searched everywhere but I haven't been able to find her." he revealed.
Cara pinched her chin, "Why are you just saying this now?"
Jael defended, "I asked some of the protectors, but no one was willing to help. Its late, something might've happened to her-" he was saying, only to get cut off by a young brunette, holding an empty sac.
Lila threw the sac furiously to the floor and yelled, "The intruder has robbed us blind!"
"What? Freya wouldn't do that-"
Lila cut him off, "I caught her snooping around the area, and haven't seen her ever since. She stole from us and abandoned camp!" she raised her voice, earning murmurings and side talk fom every angle.
Jael looked around at the distrustful faces all around, "No...No...Freya is just a defenseless little girl, she's looking for her sister, the poor thing must be out in the blizzard trying to find her!" he argued.
"Please! That woman could have been a spy, goddess knows what pack she's working for! This is why we never let outsiders into the camp." her words incited the camp into a frienzied rage.
The agitated voices of the crowd drew the attention of Ryker and his companions, from inside their strategy meeting tent, Ryker emerged, holding a flaming touch, his worried eyes scanned the faces, trying to decipher what had happened.
"Cara, what's the situation?" he asked, pulling her to the side, his tone low he asked, "Why are they not in their tents like they're supposed to be?"
She inhaled sharply, then said in a deep exhale, "The intruder is missing, and so is a bag of-"
"She's what?! How the hell did you let this happen?!" he grabbed her by the shoulders, letting the torch fall and fizzle into the snow.
Cara's heart pounded in fear of his glowing golden eyes, "I-I'm s-sorry-" she struggled to say over his tight grip.
Wren pulled back on Ryker's shoulder, "Stop! You're hurting her!"
Ryker blinked twice, the image of a watery eyed Cara seeped into his darkened vision. He released her and turned around furiously, ignoring her drop to the snow. Wren helped her up, then ran after Ryker, a worried expression painted on his face.
"Ryker where are you going?!" he shouted over the howling wind.
"To find her." he said, taking a horse from the rest.
"Isn't this what you wanted? The intruder is out of our hair, our plans can run smoothly. Don't do something foolish and jeopardize everything-" his words were cut off miserably by Ryker.
Over the roaring wind he yelled, "She knows our location, the layout of our hideout, she knows how many of us are out here! If we let her slip away with that knowledge, everything we've worked for is as good as over!" he argued, then got on the horse.
"Ryker! Its a fucking blizzard out there, someone as frail as her wouldn't survive to tell the tale-" the neighing of the horse drowned out his voice.
Ryker rode past him, the wolf within him raging harder than the turbulent tempest.