Chapter 3 Please, Have Mercy on Me!

Sybil's POV

The wedding ends without ever truly beginning. No vows. No rings. No kiss.

Just ancient words in a dead language and four men standing far enough behind me that they may as well have been shadows.

Transactional. Ceremonial. Political.

Romantic? Not even a little.

I barely saw their faces.

Every time I tried to glance back, one of the elders would clear their throat like I was breaking some sacred rule by being curious about the men I was apparently destined to share a life and a kingdom with.

Before I can even process that the ceremony is over, I'm being escorted away, not toward the grand reception hall glowing with music and laughter, but out the side entrance of the castle.

And parked at the bottom of the steps is- "...A minivan?" I muttered. Not a royal carriage that I was expecting, since I thought I was going out to greet the people, my subjects.

A very modern, very tinted, very suspicious minivan that looked like it belonged to a celebrity avoiding paparazzi.

"Wait," I say, digging my heels in. "Where are we going? I thought I was going to greet the crowd outside before going upstairs to change clothes for the reception."

"No, Your Highness," the Mistress of the Robes says smoothly as she opens the door. "Please get in. I will explain inside. It seems Her Majesty did not explain this part either."

Of course, she didn't. Why is my mother doing this to me?!

I climbed in. The Mistress follows, along with two attendants. The door slides shut, sealing me in.

The second we start moving, they're on me.

Cold cream wipes across my cheeks as the Mistress begins removing my makeup with efficient swipes. Another woman carefully unpins the jeweled combs from my hair. The third unclasps necklaces, bracelets, earrings, each piece disappearing into velvet pouches like I'm being dismantled.

"You said you'd explain," I said, not bothering to hide my irritation. "So what are you waiting for? Explain."

The Mistress nods, still working. "After the offering to the Moon Goddess and the wedding ceremony, the final rite is the mating ritual."

"It will take place in a secluded villa not far from the castle," she continued. "Guards will be stationed outside the perimeter. Servants will remain in a separate house beyond the walls. They are not allowed to enter unless summoned."

"Summoned how?" I asked.

"There is an intercom system inside the villa. You may call for food, fresh linens, baths, tidying the place... anything you require."

My frown deepened. "How long am I staying there?"

"A minimum of seven days."

"Seven days?!" My voice jumped an octave. "Why?"

"You will not be alone, if that's what you're worried about," she added gently. "Your husbands will join you after the celebration ends. During those seven days, none of you may leave the villa grounds."

I blinked at her. "You're locking us in? What the heck!"

"It is tradition."

"That's not an explanation, that's a prison sentence."

She ignored that. "The time may extend... if all parties wish it."

Oh Goddess. Why is this happening to me?

"How come they get to party while I get isolated?" I grumbled. "I'd like to eat and drink too, you know."

"There will be a feast prepared at the villa," she assured me. "Everything served at the reception-and more."

"Great," I muttered. "Romantic captivity with catering."

That made the attendants giggle.

I narrowed my eyes. "And why exactly is it seven days? What are we supposed to do in there, stare at each other?"

That was a mistake that I instantly regretted because the two younger women dissolved into the kind of laughter usually reserved for gossip about secret crushes.

"What else, Princess?" one of them chirped. "You'll be making heirs!"

Even the driver and the guard who sat in front snorted.

I sank back into the seat. Wonderful! I am officially the laughing stock of the whole kingdom for sure...

Then the attendant added, "Once the full moon reaches its peak tonight, the grooms will have insatiable hunger for their bride, and that could last for five to seven days. They will be possessive and might hurt or even kill anyone who goes near their bride. Thus, the seven days."

The Mistress shot them a warning look. "Enough. You'll frighten Her Highness."

"I'm already frightened," I informed her flatly.

She softened her tone slightly. "For unions like this, sometimes the bond is not completed on the first night. Some couples wait until the next full moon and use the time simply to grow familiar with one another."

That sounds... manageable.

Maybe we'll talk. Share tragic backstories. Establish boundaries like civilized people.

The driver chuckled again.

All four of us looked toward the front.

"May I speak, Your Highness?" he asked.

I sighed. "Go ahead. I want to know everything."

"It's not my place to worry you," he said, before looking at the Mistress of the Robes in the rearview mirror, "but Carmen... you're forgetting something."

The Mistress stiffened. "What is it, now?"

"Those grooms you're comparing them to," he said, "were hybrids. These four are pureblood and Alphas. It's a full moon tonight. They may have stood calmly during the ceremony, but I guarantee you that they took every ounce of control they had."

"When I met my fated mate," he continued, voice going distant with memory, "her scent alone nearly drove me mad, and I'm not pureblood. I couldn't think. Couldn't breathe. All I wanted was to claim her, to make sure the whole world knew she was mine."

I glanced at the attendants, and they looked... dreamy. And then at the Mistress, she tried to look stern and failed.

"So imagine," the driver added, "what four unmated pureblood Alphas must be feeling right now... sitting through speeches and wine when their bride is waiting somewhere else."

"But since they are purebloods, then perhaps, they might have stronger control," I uttered weakly.

He shrugged. "Control doesn't make the hunger and desire smaller. It just makes the wait worse, and I am sure it will accumulate."

I stared down at my hands in my lap, stripped of rings, stripped of jewels, stripped of everything.

Four powerful Alphas, who are nonetheless strangers. A locked villa. Seven days.

No escape without causing a political incident.

The women around me are practically vibrating with excitement, like this is some grand fairy tale.

I feel like I'm being delivered to four very patient predators.

I sighed, hard and heavy. "I didn't even get a good look at them earlier. It turns out four Alphas claimed that I was their mate, without even seeing me."

"The Queen informed us of your situation. But that is okay, because fated mates can smell each other. In your case, they smelled you, even if you can't smell them, and that's enough. They have proven themselves to the King and to the elders before you've arrived here; that's all you need. No need to worry."

"What do they look like?" I asked quietly.

The attendants perked up instantly. "Oh, Your Highness," one sighed. "You are blessed. They are all good-looking and smart."

"Terrifyingly strong. They are the guardians of the four gates of the kingdom," the first insisted.

"Each from a different dominant pureblood bloodline," Carmen corrected, though she was smiling. "Strength. Strategy. Ferocity. Leadership. Looked like the Goddess of the Moon favored you, and she chose carefully. You really are our savior."

So they're not just husbands. They're weapons. Future kings for me to use to fulfill my goals.

And tonight, I'm being handed to them wrapped in silk and expectation.

But they are in for a surprise tonight, something they won't expect.

The van slowed. Through the tinted window, I saw tall stone walls, wrought iron gates, and beyond them, a sprawling villa lit by warm golden lights against the dark forest backdrop.

The place was huge! It was not a villa, it was a mansion inside a walled mini forest. Isolated. Quiet. Waiting for me.

My heart started pounding again.

Just what on earth did I get myself into?!

Oh Goddess of the Moon, please have mercy on me!