Chapter 1

LENA

MISERABLE

Growing up has never been rosy for me all my life. I went from losing my parents to the cold embrace of death to being forced to live with my greedy uncle. Life took on a different course for me the very first day I commenced my stay with him; my cousins who were his kids often subjected me to all sorts of ill-mannered and dirty stuff. On rare occasions, I was granted the opportunity to leave the house for only a few minutes and I would always head over to my parent's tomb to pour out my pain to them. 

Life wasn't being fair to me at all, I was only comforted by the fact that there was still a family member who understood my plights and comforted me whenever I got scolded. "You will surely pass this phase." He would always say to me whenever he noticed my sober mood. Things were going fine for us until Uncle Liam's pack was attacked by a group of vargulfs, forcing everyone to go into hiding for the safety of their lives.

As for me, I was more than ready to die. After all, the torments that I had been through since the departure of my parents were more than enough to get a person dead. "Come with me!" Alex yelled, grabbing my hands as the far gulfs drew closer to us. We went into hiding in a neighboring cave which was not far from the pack. The vargulfs were known to be very poisonous by the nature of venoms that they secret in their mouths. 

The attack went on for days with the vargulfs making terrible sounds and threatening the lives of everyone. As there was no one to stop them from invading, we all remained in the confines of our rooms until they had left the pack. We all watched our lives slip off our fingertips as every passing day brought the vargulfs closer to us not until a strange man stepped in and scared them away, finally releasing us from their threatening noises.

Alex led me back into my room as the shock of the whole incident still engulfed me and I was scared to step foot into the hut again. "Thank you very much for this, my King." Uncle Liam stated as we walked in, he was referring to the man who had saved us. It was then that it dawned on me that he was a King. Unlike Alex, I seemed to be drawn closer to the discussion between the two men. I was bent on finding out where their conversation was headed because I knew who Uncle Liam was and I knew what he was capable of doing.

Their voices seemed to become less audible the more I tried to eavesdrop; all of a sudden, I heard the King's voice, and this time around, it was much more audible than before. They were discussing what and how Uncle Liam intended to pay him back for saving the pack from such great terror. "I need your daughter in exchange for my kind gestures." He acclaimed and my heart skipped a bit. I heaved a sigh of relief when I realized that he had two other daughters whom the King might be talking about.

I never wanted to step foot into the Alpha's palace because I had been hearing stories of how mean they could be to everyone staying around them. Immediately, Uncle Liam assembled his two daughters in readiness for the King to make his choice. He was beaming with smiles that finally, he was going to become a part of the Royal family. His two daughters had clothed themselves in their best dresses, appearing before the King in all elegance, ready to be made his bride but unfortunately for them, he rejected them.

"Are these all your daughters?" He quizzed, anger brewing in his voice and Uncle Liam nodded in affirmation, "Yes, these are my daughters. Aren't they pretty enough?" His face which was once lit up in happiness suddenly changed into a pile of frowns. The King looked around once again and seeing no one else with the girls, he began to lose his sanity, yelling on top of his voice. "I caught a glimpse of a beautiful maiden when I walked in, these ladies here are nothing close to that." 

I was still eavesdropping, standing right behind the door and when I heard his statement, it dawned on me that I was the maiden he was speaking about because Liam never had any other daughter. I waved off the feeling, promising myself not to conclude until he made his final judgment. "Alright then, I want you to assemble all the maidens who stay with you here in the pack. I'll find the maiden whom I speak about among them." The King ordered, confirming my curiosity.

"My King, I don't have maidens who work for me, the only maiden who stays with me is the only daughter of my late sibling whom I had assured that I was going to take good care of." Uncle Liam explained, trying to defend himself but the King was bent on achieving his aims. "Send for her at once!" He ordered and immediately, I could feel my heart jump out of its place.

This was one of the many nightmares which I have been wishing against all my life. In no time, the door to my room screeched open and my uncle walked in to order me out of the room. I couldn't help but plead with him to reconsider his decision but he turned a deaf ear to my plea. "I already promised the King that I was going to give him anything or anyone in exchange for his kind gesture towards us." 

I said my last goodbyes to Alex as I followed gently behind Uncle Liam, sobbing in a suppressed tone because I knew definitely that my happiness was just about to be taken away from me.