Chapter 4 You will serve the first prince Tonight

~Freya~

I had to do something. They already had my brother, and they were capable of ruining my life if they wanted to, and the only way to save my brother's life was to beg. "Your Highness," I whispered, my head bowed low, and I repeatedly struck it against the ground, feeling the pain and the warm trickle of blood on my forehead. I had never expected that they would be quick to use my brother against me, and I had fallen into their tricks, and now, my brother could pay for it, and it would be all because of me. "Your Highness," I sobbed, my voice trembling as I continued to hit the ground. "I was foolish. Please, punish me instead. Please..."

''I thought that you wanted to be the hero the other time. What happened to you now? Cat got your tongue!''The Luna Queen shouted at me. ''Have you now realized what you are!'' she yelled at me, and I nodded aggressively, agreeing with what she had said. ''This is why you should know your place. Remember that you are a nobody but a breeder that was brought here because of my son, so you should always remember that instead of trying to be a heroine!'' she paused and scoffed. ''if not for the useless prophecy, I would have ended your life in the blink of the eye. Consider yourself lucky, little girl,'' she seethed.

Tears streamed down my face, and I couldn't do anything but nod my head. I had no choice. If I didn't follow her orders, then it meant that my brother would be used against me. I had no other choice than to accept it.

''your brother will be spared for now, but the next time you try to question the royal family, then you shall watch your brother die in front of you!''The alpha king declared.

''Thank you, your highness,'' I shouted.

''high priestess and lord Benjamin, please take the girl away and prepare her for the mating tonight. She will serve the first prince tonight,'' the alpha declared, and my heart skipped a beat.

Was I serving the first prince? I didn't know it would be as fast as that. How could they be so quick to give the judgment? Most of all, I would serve a crown prince who didn't like me.

''yes, Your Highness,'' Both the high priestess and Lord Benjamin replied, and Amaya pulled me from the ground and led me outside the throne room.

Once we were far away and in the hallways, Amaya shouted at me. ''I specifically told you not to look into the eyes of any of the royal family, but you had to do that because you think that your life will be spared!''

''I......'' I tried to argue and explained that I had no choice. If she were to be in my shoes, I was sure that she would do much worse than that, but instead, I was slapped across the face by Benjamin.

''lord Benjamin, she is an important vessel. You can't treat her that way!'' The princess interjected. ''if she is going to be carrying the alpha prince's heirs, then she needs to be in perfect health so you don't have to treat her like that.''

Benjamin scoffed and pointed an accusing finger toward me. ''important vessel!'' he shouted. ''I don't care about that because she nearly jeopardized my hard work. How dare you behave in such a manner after being informed by Amaya that you must look into the eyes of the royals? You still went ahead to go against her. How dare you!'' he grabbed a handful of my hair and dragged me towards the room where I had been before. He pushed me towards the bed and chuckled. ''You think because you are going to carry the prince's heirs that you will be regarded as someone! You will always be nothing! A rankles wolf who got lucky and should have been blown away!'' he laughed. ''trust me, when the royal family has used you, I shall blow you as I did with the rest of the girls!'' he threatened.

''I......'' I tried to open my mouth but couldn't stop stuttering. He looked like he could kill me at that moment if I continued to speak, and I didn't want anything that could make him angrier, so I kept quiet.

''from now on, don't do anything against the royal family. If you try to act like you are someone, I will cut off your tongue without having to kill you,'' he threatened and then turned to face the priestess. ''Be with her now and take care of her and you, Amaya; come for her dress,'' he said and walked out of the room while Amaya walked behind him.

I remained silent, my head bowed down. Suddenly, I felt a comforting hand on my shoulder and saw the priestess smiling at me. I couldn't fathom why she was smiling while I was distressed. Even though I believed she was like the rest of them, her smile seemed genuine.

"My name is Kura," she introduced herself kindly. "The moment you walked into the room, I caught a glimpse of your future," she revealed, gently squeezing my shoulder. "I know you are mated with the princes."

My eyes widened in shock as I stared at her. She seemed mysterious, and then, to my astonishment, her eyes changed from hazel eyes to green, and then her dark hair changed to white. ''what.......''

"I see you with all three of them seated on a throne," she continued with a heavy sigh. "But, I must warn you, little girl. Until the princes feel a genuine connection with you, never mention that you are their mate, or else you will face a terrible fate," she cautioned, her voice filled with concern. With that, she released her grip on my shoulder just as the door swung open, revealing Amaya entering with two maids, the same ones who had attended to me when I first arrived.

"Take care of her and get her ready for the prince!" Amaya ordered the maids. Startled, I jumped and instinctively moved backward, desperately trying to distance myself from the girls. Their cruel treatment during my previous bathing experience had left a lasting impact on me, and I never wanted to endure such humiliation and pain again. "Why are you moving backward?" Amaya shouted at me.

"I..." I stammered, unable to form a coherent response.

''Number 9!'' she shouted, the name given to me, and my eyes widened in shock. I had a name, yet they chose to call me by such a dehumanizing name.''You will listen to me,'' she grabbed my ear and pulled me closer to the girls. ''Bathe her and get her ready in thirty minutes. She will be serving the prince tonight!'' she pushed towards the girls, and I landed on the ground at the feet of the girls.

Their grins sent shivers down my spine. When I tried to speak, my voice seemed to have deserted me. The events of the day had rendered me mute. Everything was all happening at once, and I had thought that if I begged, then they might change the girls.'' Plea...'' I finally found my voice, but it was ignored as Amaya and Kura walked out of the room, leaving me in the hands of the maids.

''Stand up, Number 9,'' the girls shouted at me, forcefully pulling me to my feet. ''You are lucky to serve the royal princes, but I have seen many girls like you who ended up dying in the end,'' one of the girls muttered, shaking her head with pity.

They dragged me towards the bathroom, and I braced myself for the agonizing process that awaited me as they scrubbed my body harshly, making me feel as if my very existence was being erased. Silently, tears streamed down my face as I endured the pain, both physical and emotional.

Once they were done, I was dressed in yet another pretty dress, this time in blue, as it was supposedly the prince's favorite color. Everything was meticulously prepared, leaving me no time to look around and take in my surroundings. My mind was consumed with thoughts of the first prince and the unknown horrors he might subject me to. But amidst my fear, my heart ached for my brother, and I couldn't help but worry about what he was enduring at that very moment. I prayed that he would somehow be safe and protected, and soon, we would be together again.

Benjamin and Kura took me to the prince's room when I was ready, and on the way, Benjamin began to tell me about the princes and their personalities.

''The first prince, Nolan, whom you will serve tonight, is ruthless. Do anything to anger him, and your life might end. It would be best not to speak when he is with you. Just be like a log of wood until everything is over. The second prince, Jeremy, barely talks, but he is also evil, and the last prince, Prince Ethan, who everyone knows as the charming prince, is very tricky and would ruin you if you tried to play smart with him. Do you understand what you are in for now, Number 9!''

''yes....yes sir,'' My voice came out as a whisper. ''I understand.''

When we arrived at a golden door, Kura announced our arrival, and the door swung open from the inside. ''Don't you dare mess this up,'' Benjamin warned as he pushed me into the room.

It was pitch black, and I couldn't see a thing around me, but I knew I wasn't alone. The mate bond pulled me straight towards a unique scent. It smelled of flowers, but I had no idea what kind of flowers it was, but I knew it belonged to the prince. But I couldn't sense his presence in the room. Standing in the middle of the room, I waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, hoping the light would be turned on, but it never came on. I could only hear my racing heart and hug my body as I waited for what could happen next.

Then, the door closed behind me, and my heart rate spiked. "Hello?" I called out but received no response. Suddenly, I felt a cold hand grab my shoulder, making me scream out in terror. The hand pressed hard on my shoulder, but then I felt the prince's breath on my neck.

"We haven't even started fucking yet, and you're already screaming," he muttered into my ear.

I shivered at his deep voice and let out a whimper as he wrapped his arms around my waist. I couldn't believe how he managed to enter the room without me noticing - I couldn't even smell him.

"Shall we?" he nibbled on my ear, and my legs weakened. "Let's begin," he chuckled, his tone laced with evil intent.

I knew then that I was done for.