Adrian’s Point Of View
We all laugh at Julian’s empty threat and continue to talk about how beautiful she is until we reach our rooms. Julian’s door opens first, and a beautiful brunette, with highlights of red in her hair, steps out.
"What’s so funny, brother?" she asks.
Bianca is his sister, but since we’ve been at the castle these past few months, she seems like she’s my sister, too. All of us feel the same way.
"Nothing. Just stupid boy talk." Julian shrugs.
"Are you taking me to the gardens soon?" Bianca asks, leaning against the doorjamb.
Julian sighs. "Soon," he promises her. "I need to check in with my Beta. I’m still running a pack, even though I’m not there, you know."
He has a point. I need to check with my Beta, too. I don’t like leaving the pack for this long, but it’s for a worthy cause, and I trust the people I’ve left behind. "See you all later," I say and walk the few doors down to my own room.
We are all going to do work, from the sound of it.
I need to get everything I can done before I have my first encounter with Ivy.
Because I have a feeling that once I’ve had her, she’ll be all I can think about.
Ivy’s Point Of View
Peeking through the windows, my surprise and confusion turn to horror. Four figures stand in the dark fog in the gardens below. I blink and try to adjust my sight.
Their forms seem to be swaying to music only the four of them can hear. As my eyes focus intently on the faces looking up at me, my heart drops. I open my mouth to scream, but no sound comes out.
I have never seen a ghost, but they say there is a first time for everything. The faces below are blurry. They all have no definitive features. They are faceless.
I attempt to scream again, but like before, it seems like someone has pressed the mute button on me. I try to move away from the window. I don’t want to see the scary faceless figures that are looking up at me anymore.
I find that I can’t move; it’s like my feet are stuck in something. I look down. Two horns have my feet pinned to the floor. My skin feels flushed, and I can feel sweat beads forming. What’s happening? Where am I?
A movement behind me makes my heart leap to my throat. I struggle to find my motor skills again. I lift my gaze to the gloomy skyline outside the window, purposefully not daring to look down at the scary figures below. I glimpse the moon behind some dark clouds. I find myself asking the Moon Goddess for strength.
Suddenly, a blinding light filters over my face.
My body jerks up and I can feel a soft surface beneath me. I blink against the light. I realize I am now sitting in a bed. The room looks large and unfamiliar, but I exhale in relief because suddenly I can move. A shadow catches my peripheral vision. I yelp.
"Are you okay, my lady?" a voice asks.
I look toward the source and see a young girl almost my age looking down at me with worry in her eyes. It takes a few seconds to register fully where I am. I bring my hand up to clutch at my throat. I must have been having a nightmare.
The puzzle pieces of the full story about where I am, like magic, fall into place. I am in the castle, crowned with the displeasure of helping my family out financially by using the two uterine horn superpower genes to produce an heir for one of four Alphas.
The girl proceeds to blink at me. I can tell she is unsure about how to proceed.
"Argh, I..." I manage to stutter groggily while attempting to rub the sleep out of my eyes with the back of my hand.
The girl smiles at me. "I hope I didn’t startle you. I was just drawing the blinds open."
I glare at her. My brain is trying to reboot from my uneasy slumber. What am I supposed to say? What time is it? Who is she? The light outside tells me that it is daytime. Have I slept through the night? Is it morning or afternoon? I decide not to offer any greetings because I am unsure if ’good morning’ or ’good afternoon’ would suffice.
"Thank you," I manage instead.
I feel like an idiot. What exactly was I thanking her for? For almost giving me a heart attack? I wipe my face again. Well, she did just save me from the most bizarre nightmare.
"I put a tray of bath salts and soaps for you in the bathroom for your bath."
"Thank you..." I feel like a broken record. What’s her name?
As if reading my confusion telepathically, she offered, "I am Nora. I will be your chambermaid for the duration of your stay here."
I nod. She does a small bow and walks out of the room.
Alone now, I exhale and inhale. Memories of my nightmare cause me to pull the wool duvet away from my feet. I breathe with relief to find no horns growing out of them.
I swing my feet off the bed and welcome the feel of the cold ceramic tiles against my heels. I yawn and stretch my hands over my head. I can hear a few bones cracking with delight at being straightened.
Slowly I tread to the bathroom while taking in more details of the room as I walk.
I gasp as I look into the bathroom. The room is almost half the size of the bedroom. The white oval jetted tub looks like a mini swimming pool, adorned with gold-encrusted plumbing. Magical!
I manage to figure out how the sophisticated buttons work and soon I have myself a warm bath.
I choose a little satin drawstring pouch marked with the words ’lavender’ because I know how relaxing it can be. A sprinkle of some Epsom salts into the bath water puts the final touches to it.
I easily slip out of the red dress I hadn’t bothered taking off before and step into the water.
Closing my eyes, I lean back onto the cushiony bath pillow. The lavender scent tickles my nostrils as it works its magic. I feel my muscles begin to relax and I inhale the aroma that now fills the whole room. Suddenly, I hear footsteps coming from the bedroom.
I can’t help but panic. The bathroom door is ajar and here I sit, naked in the tub. I don’t know how much my poor heart and mind can take. My eyes look nervously around the room trying to find something, anything to use to cover myself.
"Hi," a cheerful voice announces as a head pops through the open door. "I hope you are rested."
"I... I..." I stutter.
Callie beams at me from the door. She doesn’t seem to be bothered by the fact that I am naked. I wince as she proceeds to walk across the bathroom marble tiles toward me, using my hands to cover my exposed breasts. She perches on the rim of the tub and smiles at me. This is just awkward...
"Mmm, it smells so good in here. I hope you don’t mind. Owen was summoned by the king and I had nothing to do. So when the maid told me that you were up, I decided to come over and chat. Nora—that’s your head chambermaid’s name."
I can feel my face heat up with embarrassment.