Chapter Sixteen

The first time Emily felt herself try to regain consciousness, she could only see the ground moving quickly beneath her, the sound of hooves clicking against the ground filled her ears. With each bump her abdomen was roughly thrown up and back down Against the animal she had been draped over. He consciousness left as quickly as it came.

It was some time later when Emily woke up. She was in a dark room and her hands appeared to be tied. She blinked her eyes several times as she tried to get a feel for her surroundings. She groaned as her head throbbed.

"Ah, finally awake?" A cold mans voice rang. He turned on a light very suddenly causing the room to flash into brightness.

"What do you want from me?" Emil tried to ask calmly but the quakes in her voice quickly revealed her fear. Emily couldn't see the man yet as she squinted against the light.

"From you? Not much. From the king however…" The man got closer and smiled.

Emily could now see the man. He was tall, blonde with a refined look. He wasn't someone she had seen before but he looked as though he could be royalty or at the very at least high class.

"What do you want from the king then?" Emily asked softly.

"What does anyone want from a king? Money, power. I imagine he'd give up quite a bit for his fiancé."

Emily was taken aback. "Fiancé? I'm sure I don't know what your talking about." Emily said.

The man pulled a sword and pushed it, lightly, against Emily's throat. "There's no point in lying to me, child. I know how long you've been staying at the palace. I know his majesty sent out the engagement announcements. I know you're a princess from The Rosebud Kingdom." The man said. He lowered his sword and put his mouth against her ear. "I know you aren't from here." He whispered.

Every muscle in her body tightened and the man noticed. His smile widened at her discomfort.

"W-who are you?" Emily choked out.

"Oh, you don't know me. The king does though. He knows what I want, and if he wants his woman back, he will give it to me. Until then sit tight huh? The less trouble you cause, the less injuries you'll receive." He said calmly. "Though it seems you heal pretty fast."

Emily remained silent. Angering this man wasn't in her best interest. She needed to outsmart him somehow. Maybe if she could get her wolf to cooperate… but she had tried that and had no luck. communicating with her beast was still something out of reach.

The man chuckled. "I know you aren't human. I imagined that man is the cause of that. You have been given something to suppress your powers. I don't need you escaping on me now."

"H-How…?" She asked. There was no way he could know such a detail. The castle contained plenty of humans and no one had guessed the royal families' secret.

The man's smile grew wider than it ever had been. "I'm not either. Nor am I like you."

Emily stared at the man in disbelief. He couldn't possibly mean he was something else. "Are you a… werewolf?" Andy had told Emily about werewolves. They were something like a mortal enemy to the Lycan. Werewolves being stronger and generally more veracious they detested the Lycans control. It seemed unfair that another species could have the power with the control.

The man laughed, a deep hearty sound. It made Emily uncomfortable. "I am no dog." He sneered. "Your keepers haven't taught you well if you don't know what I am, darling." He drew closer once more. His once clear blue eyes now seemed to have a red gleam. "Maybe next time I'll show you." His smile felt cold, like it was putting off an evil air.

The man left the room nearly as quickly as he entered. The room went dark again. Emily struggled heartily against her restraints, but whatever he had done to her had served its purpose. He wrists grew raw from the chains wrapped around them, her ankles the same. She laid on the cold, hard floor and stared up into the darkness. She wondered how she found herself in this situation. She just couldn't manage to stay out of trouble, could she? All she had ever wanted was respect, a basic human right, and yet it seemed it was something she wasn't allowed to touch.