Chapter 5

• Harlyn
• “Why do you look so down? Did something happen to you?”
• Ava asked. She was acting like she was concerned about me but I knew better than to buy her fake concern that was as fake as her nails.
• “I bet something did. You spent the night in my brother’s chamber, didn’t you? You sneaky piece of shit,”
• Sophie let out. I looked at her in shock wondering how she found out and then I remembered the guards at the entrance when I followed the king in and they were there when I left this morning. They must have told her. I couldn’t lie because I knew that would lead to me getting punished.
• “Yes, my princess,”
• I told her.
• “What were you doing in my brother’s chamber all night long? Were you fucking him?”
• Sophie questioned. I thought of lying and telling her no but when I looked into her eyes, I realized she already knew what happened and was just asking me questions and if I lied, she would probably punish me. The last thing I wanted right now was to be punished. I still felt sore from the night with the king and a punishment would make it all worse.
• “Yes, my princess, the king requested it,”
• I said, feeling sick when I thought of how I gave myself to him many times only for him to reject me the morning after. Tears welled up in my eyes again but I didn’t want to cry in front of the mean princess and her best friend.
• “How dare you,”
• It was Ava who spoke. Before I knew it, she was up and came to me. She slapped me hard across the face and I staggered back from the impact, holding my face as tears welled up in my eyes again.
• “You fucking slave. How dare you spend the night in my man’s chamber? How could you open those filthy legs and let him fill you? Don’t you have any shame?”
• Ava yelled and pushed me hard. I fell to the ground. I struggled to get back on my feet.
• “Let her be, it was just one night. I am sure the king just wanted a quick lay and the little whore made herself available, I am sure the king doesn’t see her as anything more than a quick fuck,”
• Sophia was right. She knew her brother so well. More tears gathered in my eyes when I thought of how true her words were. I was a quick lay for the king and all he wanted was release. All I wanted to know was why he chose me for that. Why didn’t he just pick any of those willing women, ready to serve him, and then it struck me that I had been willing too and had given myself to him many times. I let out a sick laugh as the thought ran in my head.
• “What’s funny?”
• Ava asked, charging towards me.
• “She is right. I was a quick lay, you have nothing to worry about. The king had his way and wanted me to forget about it,”
• I told them. I didn’t even need to look at them to know that they were mocking me.
• “Well, sucks to be you then,”
• Ava said and went back to her seat. I wished they would just let me go so that I could go and lick my wound in the darkness of my room but it seemed my bad day had just started. Sophie threw an envelope at me and I stared at her in confusion.
• “It’s from the king. He wants you out of the palace and out of the pack for good. The money in the envelope will ensure that you can start a life far away from here. Since you don’t have a wolf, I am not sure you will be accepted by any pack. Just go live with the humans, you are more or less like them. I mean why would you consider yourself a shifter if you can’t even shift? I am being extra generous because I have a car ready to take you.”
• I couldn’t say a word. I could only stare at her in fear and confusion. So, in the end, the king decided not to let me continue living in the palace. Maybe he thought about it again and wanted to get rid of me for good and he couldn’t even say it to my face. I wanted to match him wherever he was and throw the envelope in his face and cuss at him but I couldn’t do that. It would only expose me to more danger.
• “I can’t leave the Crimson moon. I have nowhere else to go. I have never left the pack and I don’t know how to interact with humans,”
• I pleaded. If the king wanted me to forget then I will. I couldn’t leave the pack. My whole life was the pack and I knew nothing of the outside world.
• “Well, you should have thought of that before whoring yourself to the king. If you had just stayed in your lane like you have been doing all these while then you would have been safe. Don’t take my kindness for granted. You have twenty minutes to go pack your things and get in the car I provided out of the goodness of my heart,”
• The princess instructed. I fell down on my knees in front of her begging and pleading with her to beg the king on my behalf not to send me out of the palace and the pack even went as far as pleading that I be sent away from the palace but not the pack but she didn’t listen. Instead, she called a guard and had him drag me into a waiting car. I begged to see the king to plead my case but Sophie told me the king doesn’t want to see my face anymore because looking at me makes him feel sick. She told me the king said I was so easy and that he didn’t have any trouble getting in my panties because I willingly gave myself to him the minute he touched me. I cried so hard as they dragged me to the car but no one listened to me.
• “You used up your twenty minutes to throw a pity party and now you can’t even pack. Do well to manage the money or risk dying of hunger. The outside world isn’t very friendly. Especially to people like you,”
• Sophie said as I cried and begged her to not send me away but she instructed the driver and the guards to drive me far away from the crimson moon before dumping me. I couldn’t hold back the tears. My life went from bad to worse and there was no one I could cry to.