Chapter 5: Submission

Lucas

The sun shone early in the morning, taking its position at the highest point of the sky before I was up. My bodyguards stood at strategic positions in my room, their countenances eternally stiff and emotionless. Each day brought a different issue and I looked forward to what the day had to offer. A scream reached my ears and I shrugged it off nonchalantly, not wanting to get involved with things that did not concern me. Father could take as many women as he desired but they could never take the place of my mother whom he had murdered.

The Moon Goddess gave our mates to us though some considered her a pesky meddler. My father had been mated to my mother when he was rather young and they had grown up side by side. My mother, the Lycan Luna was graceful and submissive to her Alpha, never challenging him in public or causing him any reason to be ashamed of her. My mother adored my father and lived her life each day to please him. She was mostly successful until the day tragedy struck.

Father had captured a family of wolves and had brought them to the courtyard for persecution. When he had pronounced the death sentence on them for trespassing, Mother noticed that the mother wolf was with child and had begged for pardon on their behalf openly. The court was divided in two that day and Father's orders were scorned in favour of Mother's suggestion. The wolf family was sent away with their lives but Father felt insulted by her intervention and was bothered the entire day.

Unable to hide his displeasure, he summoned her to his private court and accused her of adultery. Astonished, Mother tried bravely to defend her honour but her fate was sealed even before she stepped foot in his court. When she attempted to beckon to his better nature, one that he did not possess, he flung her across the room where she was pinned by a tusk hanging from the wall. Her lifeless body was tossed into the woods, unburied and without her honour as a Luna. Since then, I detested my father’s anger above all things.

The screaming continued, drawing my attention. My wolf, a grey-furred affair, was alert, nipping at me to discover who this incessant screamer was. I strolled to the open window and looked out only to see a young woman tied to a pole. Two warriors stood on both sides, whipping her maliciously. She dodged some of the whippings but suffered the brunt of their cruelty. Her clothing was in shreds, threads loose and hems in disarray.

“Ryker,” I summoned my right-hand man and he raced to my side promptly.

“Yes, my Lord,” he replied adequately, his head slightly bowed. I turned my back on him and watched the torture session out in the fields.

“Do you know who that is, Ryker?” I tapped my fingers on the sill, unconsciously counting the number of whips falling on her back.

“Yes, my Lord,” he repeated, bowing again. “That is Princess Miatta of the Black Fur Pack and she is being punished for speaking against your father, the Alpha.”

“On whose orders?”

“Beta Logan, my Lord,” he bowed finally and I dispersed him, sending him back to his station. Beta Logan, my father's second in command was very much like him: ruthless, power-drunk and proud. I had no affinity for him and avoided him as much as possible though it was not always possible because he spent most of his free time in the courtyard, singing my father's praises.

It seemed like the princess deserved her punishment after all. There was no need for me to step in. She should have known better than to taunt a hungry lion in his den.

“Ryker, tell Yvette that I would like to have my bath now,” I instructed and stepped away from the window.

Miatta

After my punishment, I was carted away to another dark room and left alone to care for my wounds. I thought I had run out of tears but once I was all by myself, I burst into fresh tears. My back was on fire and I didn't risk touching it to know the extent of my suffering. She had warned me but I had allowed my pride to come first and the lycan warriors had shown no mercy, especially after I had indirectly made a mockery of their king. The Beta had stood at a distance; it had turned out that I was right about his status. Beta Logan was his name and he was revered almost as if he was the Alpha himself.

As I sat in solitude, my mother's words floated to my ears and I remembered them clearly: “Remember, my girl, to be as cunning as a serpent and wise as a dove. You are being sent to them for a reason, my girl. Find that and your path will become clear.”

When she had said those words to me at that time, I had been too distressed to pay any attention. My heart had been troubled but in silence, their meaning was filtered in my thoughts. She had been trying to pass a message across to me without the lycans discerning what she was talking about. She was the one always warning me to remember my place as a princess and not a warrior. I eventually learned my lesson the hard way.

Hour after hour passed by and no one came to see me. I had been separated from my new friend and I had seen no sight of her when I was dragged back. I was ravished with hunger and my stomach growled angrily. It had almost been a day since my last meal and my wolf lay on her stomach, unwilling to give me strength that she did not possess. Wolves were known to have great endurance but it was more than she could handle. She lay silent for the first time in a long time. I crawled on my belly towards the door, and collapsed halfway, heaving like a dying dog.

Just then, the door swung open and the light burned my eyes that had gotten accustomed to the darkness. I hid my face from it, cowering before the individual.

“Ah, Miatta. Why do you fight your destiny? This is where you belong, at my feet like the slave that you are willing to serve me and only me, your king and your Lord. I love your fighting spirit, I must admit, but it will not please me, Miatta. You want to please you, don't you?” The Lycan King asked, patting my head gently with his big palm. He was so tender with me that I could not believe this was the man many were afraid of.

“I do,” I found myself saying as I looked into his dark eyes. “I really want to.”

“Good,” he smiled, pleased with my answer and licked the blood off my back. It was disgusting but endearing in a way. Mother wolves usually licked at their pups’ wounds to make it better.

“I'm sorry about what my warriors did to you. My Beta is rather too passionate at times when it comes to matters concerning me. You do understand, don't you?”

I nodded, incapable of muttering any more words. I was famished and could devour an entire cow. He saw the hunger in my eyes and touched my lips lightly, enjoying himself. I was supposed to be afraid of him but he had not done anything directly to me to invoke fear in me.

“I will take care of you, Miatta as long as you pledge your allegiance. I don't want just your words, Miatta. I want your soul, your body and your mind to be mine. I want everything you've got and you will give it to me because I own you.” He trailed his fingers down my back, and lapped at the blood on his fingers, making me shiver and tense.

“I submit to your authority as my Alpha and my master. All that I am and have is yours,” I recited instinctively by heart as his hands roaming over my youthful body turned licentious. It was at that time that the Lycan King thought he had broken my resolve.