Chapter 3

I arrived in Paris looking bedraggled. My aunt was waiting for me, looking like a supermodel. She wore a ridiculous black, glittering dress that was so low it showed the edge of her navel and in her hand was a black, lace umbrella. I walked towards her, seeing her face light up with a bright smile.

"Lilly, you look atrocious. It's wonderful to see you." She led me to get my baggage, then led me to her limo and ushered me in.

"We're behind schedule, but I guess there is nothing that can be done about it. You are so cute, but you smell terrible, so we are going to the hotel right away and I want you to freshen up. Then we need to shop."

I groaned and laid my head back against the loft leather headrest and closed my eyes, letting the bumpy ride calm my nerves. It had to be a little after lunch here, so it made sense that my aunt would want to go shopping, but I was exhausted, and I knew that there would be no hope of getting anything done until I got some sleep.

We arrived at the hotel. It was big and fancy, with revolving glass doors. The lobby was massive and opulent, with plush sofas and armchairs for the guests to sit in. A bellhop escorted us to the penthouse. While my aunt directed the bellhops to organize things, as well as carry in all the luggage, my single bag and her seventeen. I went straight to the bathroom, turned on the large Jacuzzi tub, and took a gloriously hot bath. I must have fallen asleep in the tub. Because when I opened my eyes, my aunt was staring down at me and the water was freezing. I shivered from both her stare and the water, before standing up and quickly toweling off.

"I forgot humans get jet lag." She rubbed the bridge of her nose and slumped down in the chair in my room. "I'm trying, Lilly, but you are going to have to work with me here. We only have a few days to get you six months' worth of clothing."

I put on a pair of jeans, a black bra, and a white tank top, then sat on the bed. I looked out the window, feeling overwhelmed. No one seemed to care that my entire life had just been uprooted, that I went from a happy American teenager who had just graduated to a European werewolf king's betrothed. I sighed and turned back to my Aunt whose desperate look had disappeared and turned into serious calculations.

Her eyes roamed my body, and suddenly I felt the need to cover myself with my blanket. Before I could manage it my aunt had me out of the bed and was observing me entirely from head to toe.

She grabbed a handful of my hair and scrunched it, watching it drop and spring back in soft curls. "What is going on with your hair?"

"What?" I ran my fingers through it, trying to untangle the drying curls.

"It's wild and undignified. You should straighten it." She told me.

"I like my hair just as it is." Not like straitening it would change anything.

My Aunt ignored me and stared straight at my breast. She leaned forward and squeezed them softly. She lifted them and released them. Again, soft and bouncy, I wanted to die. She glared at me through narrowed eyes. "Strip to your bra and panties."

When I hesitated, she barked a loud "now," snapping me into action. I stripped quickly and stood feeling more like meat on the market than a person as my aunt poked and pinched and grabbed different parts of my body. Finally, she stood back with a smug look on her face. "Your mother failed to tell me how voluptuous you were."

I dropped my eyes. "Yeah, I know I'm fat."

My Aunt scoffed, "Voluptuous is not fat darling. It's a popular human trend that your body type is very desirable."

"Yeah, for a human," I muttered and pulled my clothes back on.

"Yes, for a human. It's a popular trend among our kind too." My aunt became distracted when she answered her cell phone. She said "Our Kind," It was probably a slip of the tongue, but I wished it was the case. I wished more than anything that I had a wolf of my own.

"Hello? Yes, we will be there shortly." She hung up the phone and turned back to me. "We have dinner reservations. Please tell me you have a dress."

I sighed and dug through the bag I had packed and pulled out a bright yellow dress and put it on quickly. It was a sundress, but it was the only dress I had. The little flowers smiled up at me and when I turned to see my aunt. She was wincing so hard you would have thought I had just stabbed her.

"I should have known. It just had to be Yellow. And are those smiling flowers?"

I shrugged and looked down at my dress. "It's all I have."

She sighed. "I suppose it could be worse. Come along dear, dinner awaits."

Dinner was a very silent affair with my aunt, greeting different men, some humans, some vampires, and most were werewolves. They all asked about me and after being told my name, the vampires scoffed, then retreated, making my aunt more and more irritated by the end of the meal.

Vamps were pretentious. Well, not all of them. But the ones here certainly were. Vampires and werewolves had a tenuous peace. For the pale jerks to snub my aunt to a member of royalty. They either had a death wish or they were sure of themselves.

But my aunt had too much class to make a scene. We ate our food and made small talk with who ever came along to

Later, when we were in the car, she turned abruptly to me. "This dress is getting burned when we get back, understand?"

I looked at her, aghast. "But it's the only one I have."

"You will have more by tomorrow evening. No more yellow, its. atrosiouse, You look like you're here to compete in the Miss Idaho darling pageant or whatever. It's embarrassing."

I bit my lip and looked away, watching the scenery pass by without really looking at it. I had embarrassed yet another relative, one I had only known for less than a day. It seemed hopeless. My mood darkening I wondered if not for the first time if it would have been better if I had died. Werewolf pups were very rough. They constantly wrestled and fought for dominance. Injuries sustained during their play would heal in minutes. Being human any injuries I would have received would have been fatal. On more then one occasion I nearly lost my life. Some of them didn't mean to hurt me so bad and others did. Prompted by their families to do so.

My life brought shame to my family and now I would be despised by yet another member. Dear sweet moon goddess above, can't you show me some mercy?

"I'm sorry Lilly."

I turned back to my aunt and saw her looking at me sadly. "There is a lot going on and your father sent you to me because he believed you would have the best fighting chance with me. I look at you in your little yellow dress, and I feel like I may not even succeed."

"I don't want to marry Dimitri. Why is it so important that I marry him?"

My aunt took a deep breath and then released it, "It isn't just about you marrying the King, Lilly. I'm sure your parents left all the explaining up to me."

"I guess. Because I don't understand."

My aunt made a face and muttered under her breath before turning back to me. "First, what you need to know is that for six months you will be courting the king, along with two other girls."

I was stunned. I didn't know there was going to be competition. My heart raced faster in hope. All Damien had to do was reject me and then presto, I got my life back.

"I will live with you. This puts you at a disadvantage, because the two other girls will be seen as strong and independent. I am afraid you will be viewed as weak."

"Then why live with me? Why do I have to compete? I thought I was already betrothed?"

"Obvious reasons being you're human and far more fragile than the other two. You are engaged to him. You're the only legitimate match. But when you were born and news of your status reached the other noble packs in the kingdom, the two most powerful betrothed their daughters as well. While You are betrothed, he can still choose another mate. Technically."

She shifted uncomfortably as the limo stopped in front of the hotel, but she didn't move to get out.

"There is another reason, isn't there?"

My Aunt nodded, "I'm there also to make sure you stay alive. It wouldn't be out of the question for the other betrothed to kill off the weak little human to better their chances. Remember, you have the true legitimate claim to him."

"I might not live through this, then." I shuddered at the thought. I felt relief rather than fear. I could just let one of the other females take him off my hands and I could go back to living a happy human life.

"But don't you worry dear, I am here for you. And our first order of business is to investigate the competition and develop a strategy accordingly." And with that, she flung open the car door and got out, practically skipping as she went inside.

The next morning was spent out on the patio. My aunt placed a set of photos in front of me on top of my coffee and pointed to it. The photo was split into three sections, each holding a photo of three very beautiful women, all my age or close to it.

The first had long black hair, very much like my mother's, except it was cut with razor bangs and she was pale with almond eyes. The first woman had a small nose and very narrow lips.

The second had a long nose with thin full lips and honeydew eyes. Her hair was long rich auburn. Both women had lean figures and both looked far prettier than me.

"That is your competition. The first woman Yuki is from Japan. Exotic seeing as she's among the last of the Japanese shifters. She'll be your biggest competition. The second woman is Elizabeth, she's British. distant cousin to the royal family. Both these women know proper werewolf etiquette and they are from noble or in Elizabeth's case royal blood. "

I tugged on a chestnut curl and frowned, " When you are introduced to the King, as well as the council you must be wearing something revealing."

I choked on my coffee, spending a few minutes coughing before I croak out, "What?"

My Aunt sighed and looked down as if asking for assistance, "The council and the king will have to see your body, it used to be that you would be naked. But thanks to modern trends transparent lingerie is in style."

"But why?" I screeched. It was bad enough that I had to be mated to him. Now I would have to be ogled by him and his cronies too?

"Tradition to see if you have any defects. Noble and royal bloodlines keep it in the family too much. Inbreeding is a serious problem. The rulers of our kind have never tolerated inbreeding. The worst cases could be identified by bodily defects. If there were no defects then the mating would happen."

Never in my life did I actually wish I had a hump or some kind of growth. Despite my curves and plump figure, my skin was smooth and unblemished. At least the other two would have to strip as well. It was a small comfort.

"Now!" My Aunt stood up and ushered me back into my room to quickly change into a light dress of black that she must have bought last night while I slept. She circled me and nodded approvingly. "Perfection. I took your measurements while you slept and had my personal designer make this dress for you. Come on time to find you something to were for your royal interview." She wrapped an arm around my waist and ushered me out of the penthouse.