Chapter 3 : The Price of Dinner

*Ember*

“Moon Goddess, please don’t let Lukas take me. Please let the stranger come in time,” I prayed under my breath. The maid who was helping me into my dress glanced at me quizzically. I blushed, not realizing that my words had been audible.

“I was just wondering what we would have for dinner,” I muttered, and the maid nodded. I hoped she believed me. The last thing I needed was the maid chattering to her friends about a stranger whisking the Alpha King’s daughter away.

“Done,” the maid said, straightening and bustling out of my room. I looked at my reflection in the mirror and grimaced. The dress, black this time, was just as bad as the one my father had forced me to wear the previous night. The silk clung to my thin frame, etching every bone and dimple in shadows. The bodice was almost painfully tight, constricting my breasts and pushing them up uncomfortably.

The maid had done her best to cover the bruises on my face with makeup, but it only made the ugly black and purple splotches stand out more. After that, she hadn’t even bothered putting kohl around my eyes. I wished that I could’ve left my hair down, but the maid had scraped it back into a tight, intricate bun at the nape of my neck.

Even though it pained me to look at my reflection, I lingered in front of the mirror. Every second I procrastinated was one less that I had to spend with Lukas. After the way he had treated me in front of my father this morning, I dreaded to think what he might do when he had me alone.

“Stay strong,” I told my reflection.

Inevitably, one of Lukas’ silent guards came to fetch me. I allowed him to lead me to the west wing of the castle, where visiting Alphas and their entourages stayed. A surge of panic fluttered within me. Why was the guard bringing me here? Lukas had asked to dine with me. Shouldn’t we be heading to the dining room?

I could only think of one reason why the Alpha would have told his guard to take me to his chamber. Suddenly, I was no longer hungry.

Eventually, the guard came to a halt in front of one of the doors. He knocked, opened the door, and then stepped aside to let me pass.

The inside of the room made me gasp. The chamber was more opulent than any room I had seen in the castle. Ornate rugs covered the stone floors, and the gilded walls were hung with tapestries woven from golden thread.

A huge, four-poster bed dominated one half of the room, while the other was arranged into a small sitting area in front of the fireplace. There was a table in the center piled high with towering plates of food. My stomach rumbled at the sight, and I realized that I hadn’t eaten anything since the day before.

The sound of a throat clearing drew my attention. Lukas was draped across a spindly couch, the firelight reflecting ominously off his dark eyes as he watched me gaze longingly at the food. He smirked at my reaction.

“Do you like what you see?” he inquired, quirking an eyebrow.

Remembering my manners, I quickly dipped into a curtsy. “Alpha.”

Lukas made a tutting sound, wagging one finger at me. “What did I say about calling me Alpha?”

“Lukas,” I corrected quickly, not wanting to antagonize him. “Thank you for inviting me for dinner.”

“You are most welcome Ember. Come,” he said, gesturing to the floor at his feet. “Sit.”

Pushing down my humiliation, I did as I was told and knelt at his feet. He drew out his hand and traced one finger down the side of my cheek. To my horror, he didn’t stop at my jawline. Instead, he trailed his hand lower, down my neck until the palm of his hand pressed ever so slightly against my windpipe.

“My, my, Ember. You’re blushing,” he sneered, bringing his face dangerously close to my own. He met my eyes briefly before raking his gaze down to where the tops of my breasts strained against the tight black dress. “I wonder how far down that blush goes, hm?”

He squeezed my throat for a split second before letting go suddenly, and I immediately brought a hand up to rub the spot where his had just been. Lukas chuckled darkly and leaned back into the couch.

“Are you hungry?” he asked innocently, as though he hadn’t just made such a crude comment about my body.

I forced myself to answer, “Yes.”

Lukas’ smile grew wider, revealing his perfect white teeth. “As am I. I think I will start with those,” he said, pointing to a plate of delectable red strawberries.

I paused, waiting for him to reach over and take one from the plate, but he didn’t move. He only stared at me, his eyes unreadable.

“Well?” he said after a moment.

“Excuse me?” I asked, unsure of what he meant.

“Why else would I ask you to dinner, if not to feed me?” he replied, smiling cruelly.

Realization dawned on me. My first instinct was to resist. But this man was going to take me away. If I made him angry now, how would he treat me once we got to the Grims’ packlands? Or worse, what if he decided not to take me as his Luna? My father would kill me for being such a disgrace and ruining his alliance with the Grims.

Sick to my stomach, I reached out a shaking hand and plucked a strawberry from the dish as Lukas watched me appraisingly. As I brought the berry up to his mouth, he never looked away from me. He paused for a moment, the berry lingering against his lips, before he drew forward and took a bite.

“See?” he said, after he had chewed and swallowed. “That wasn’t so bad, now was it?”

I shook my head, determined to comply. The consequences would be worse if I resisted.

“Now, bring me one of those,” the Alpha commanded, gesturing to a bunch of grapes. Cringing internally, I took a grape between my thumb and forefinger and brought it to his lips.

He received the grape, and before I could pull my hand away, closed his lips over my thumb. I swallowed back bile as he sucked the digit for a moment before releasing it from his mouth with an obscene pop. Grinning, he watched as I yanked my hand away and held it against my chest.

“Now what about you, Ember?” he drawled, unable to keep the smirk out of his voice. “What would you like to eat?”

It was a trick. I knew it was. But I was so hungry.

“A strawberry,” I said, and then quickly added, “Please.”

Lukas slid off the couch so that he was kneeling directly in front of me. He leaned forward and reached across my body to lift a strawberry off of the plate. I moved to take it from him, but he shook his head.

“Not so fast. Strawberries are expensive these days. They have to be import from the south this time of year.” He cocked his head. “How much will you give me for it?”

I stayed silent.

“Nothing?” the Alpha asked, dropping his face into a mocking pout. “How rude. Surely something so costly as a strawberry must be worth… a kiss?”

“A kiss?” I repeated, my voice shaking.

“A kiss,” he confirmed. Before I could say anything in response, he shoved the whole strawberry inside my mouth. I instinctively chewed and swallowed so I wouldn’t choke, and while I was distracted, he pounced.

All at once, his body was covering mine. He was slim but strong, pinning my arms above my head as he brought his lips crashing down on mine. I thrashed wildly underneath him, but I could only feel his desire growing against my belly the more I struggled. Tears streaked down my cheeks as his lips ravaged mine.

This was not what I wanted.

Moon Goddess, please. Please help me.

And to my surprise, the Moon Goddess seemed to answer.

Something heavy hit the door to the chamber. The resounding thud sent the furniture rattling and stacked plates clattering off the table. Before either of us could react, several bellowing shouts echoed in the hallway.

“What the fuck is happening?” Lukas shouted, jumping up and away from me. He looked around the room frantically as the yelling outside grew in volume. “Guards!” he bellowed, his voice rising in pitch. “Guards!”

The noises frightened me, but whatever was going on outside couldn’t be any worse than what the Alpha had in mind in here. Resigning myself to fate, I took my chances and darted towards the door.

As soon as I opened it, one of Lukas’ guards came flying in, as though somebody had thrown him with ferocious force. A bone-chilling snarl echoed through the open portal.

Lukas took one look at the guard, who was sprawled on the ornate rugs of the chamber like a ragdoll, and screeched in terror. Without a second glance at me, he flung himself into the bathroom and slammed the door behind him.

I didn’t want to wait to see if he’d come out. Instead, I careened out of the open door, towards my freedom.

“Intruder!” somebody yelled as I ran blindly through the tangle of guards, guests, and warriors. “Stop him!” But it was impossible to tell who the intruder was with so many people clogging the hallway, some of them shifting into their wolf forms in panic, which only added to the chaos.

I didn’t stick around to see if they found him. For once, I was grateful that I seemed to be worthless to most of the residents of the castle, because nobody stopped me or even glanced in my direction as I hobbled towards my chamber.

It was only when I reached my room that I slowed down. Throwing myself inside, I locked the door tightly behind me before collapsing onto the bed. I didn’t want to think about what Lukas had done to me, what he had been trying to do. I didn’t want to think about the next week, when he would finish what he had started tonight. Instead, I yanked off the tiny black dress and pulled my silk robe over my shoulders before crawling under the covers.

As soon as my head hit the pillow, I winced. There was something under there. Curious, I lifted the pillow to reveal a small parcel wrapped in brown paper, another red rose affixed to the front with a white ribbon. There was no note attached this time, but the contents of the package were enough of an explanation: a flawless red apple, a chunk of cheese, and something else small concealed in a piece of purple foil.

My heart soared at the kindness of my hooded savior. Nobody else would have left such a present for me. Gratefully, I bit into the apple, and it tasted so good I could’ve cried. I thoroughly chewed each bite, knowing that I probably wouldn’t be getting breakfast the next day once my father heard about how disastrously my dinner with Lukas had gone. Then I devoured the cheese, the weight of it filling my stomach.

Finally, I stood up and carried the foil-wrapped gem to the window, which once again stood open even though I was sure it had been closed earlier in the evening. I had never seen anything like the purple-covered object before, and I unwrapped it eagerly. For a moment, I was confused by the little brown square that sat in my palm. I sniffed it suspiciously, and decided it smelled quite good. At long last, I put it in my mouth, and flavor exploded on my tongue.

I knew what this was! I had read about chocolate before in books that I had stolen from the castle library, but I never thought I would ever eat a piece in my lifetime. Yet, here I was, standing in my silk robe at the open window, tears streaming down my face as I savored this unlikely treat.

“Thank you,” I whispered into the darkness.

The night outside was silent, but some part of me knew that the hooded stranger had heard, and that he would steal me away from this terrible fate.

All I had to do was wait.