We entered the manor to be greeted by a large staff. The outside looked simple compared to the way the interior was designed. It looked like a museum exhibit.
The majestic staircase was larger than my house and had a material, black and gold carpet that looked too delicate to walk on.
Tapestries of fancy insignias I didn’t recognize lined the walls, welcoming you like you had just returned from war. There was a wet stone and metallic scent that drifted through the corridors.
I was amazed at every turn as they directed me through the halls.The man who brought me disappeared as several women dressed as maids took me to my new chambers.
They told me they would be preparing me for my introduction with Alpha King Grayson, though I didn’t know what that would entail.
I was nervous but a little excited. I was living the fairy tale most people dreamed about. I went from a single two-bedroom home to a real-life fortress where maids were waiting on me, hand and foot, and dressing me in expensive clothes.
My chambers, as they called it, were dark but girly. A four-post bed frame, carved from dark wood sat against a wall opposite a barred window with heavy curtains. Lavender flowers were in various vases throughout the room filling the space with its scents. There was a solid pedestal across from a full-body mirror with a vanity nearby. A thick layer of dust sat on every surface, making it clear I was the first to inhabit this room in a long time.
The women got to work, moving like a single, silent organism around me. They were coming in and out, busy with their duties. One swept the dust around, trying to clear the room of it. Another brought in plate after plate of vibrant-looking foods I’d never seen before that tasted like magic.
They filled the room with boxes and piles of dresses and necklaces and accessories of every kind. They draped things across me and switched them out in a dance of elegance. A silver tray appeared and layers of gems were placed to weigh down my neck. Each glinting in the dim lighting making me gasp at the beauty.
I stood still, arms slightly out, letting them turn me into something expensive and untouchable. The reflection in the mirror didn’t look like it belonged to me. A distorted version of my mother looked back at me and I realized how much I was missing her already.
My father was frightening, his authoritative demeanor made my pulse stumble. So I was glad he gave me away to whoever this king was, but the thought of home pulled at my heart.
I wouldn’t have argued with my father even if I could. I’d rather this Grayson over him, since I had no choice. I would be living like royalty in a place that looked like a castle. It was a blessing.
One thought was nagging at the back of my mind, a stubborn thought pressing against the edges of my composure. I just hoped Grayson Bale would be kind.
I asked the maids about Grayson after they chose a dress of flowing cream that was decorated in a gold mid-piece, but I was ignored. They hung the chosen matching jewels on my arms and neck. I felt like a medieval badass princess. They finished the look by putting a tiara in my hair.
My mom would cry with joy if she saw how I looked, it was so different than anything I’ve ever worn. It didn’t only fit, it was made for me. The beauty didn’t cage me, it crowned me.
The maids stepped back and I again tried to ask them about what Grayson was like, but they still wouldn’t answer. Some giggled and others gave me pitiful looks. I wondered, based off their reactions, if he was going to be ugly or deformed. If I wanted the gossip, I would have to earn their trust.
I also wondered what my duties would be here.
The contract betrothed me to him. He had a claim over me and could do whatever he wanted to me and I couldn’t stop him. Would he force himself on me? Would he ask me to...do things?
I had boys I liked throughout high school but never a boyfriend. Once I kissed Cody Miller at a football game because Rebecca Hayes dared me to, but it was awkward and we never talked again after that.
The contract had also mentioned the completion of the Binding Rite. Was that a sex thing?
I was surrounded by women who lived in this very manor, yet had no one to ask these questions. I missed my mother dearly and wanted to go home. The thought made me start to tear up and the women began to hush me.
One older brunette brought over a chalice and urged me to drink. The taste was fizzy on my tongue but not unpleasant. I sipped it slowly as I could taste the hint of alcohol.
In my previous life, that didn’t feel like it was only yesterday, I was filling every slot in my planner: club meetings, volunteering, birthday activities. Now I didn’t know what the next minute would hold and was heating my belly with sweet liquor.
When I was ready, the women whispered as they ushered me out the door. Two guards stood outside the door. They wore black leather armor and had knives sheathed at their side. I couldn’t imagine why they would need protection in a place like this. What enemies could they have?
I was led to a pair of doors that nearly reached the top of the vaulted ceiling of the hallway. The walls were a smooth white rock with crown molding and pillars around every corner. Statues and grand paintings decorated every empty space and outside these doors was the head of a snarling wolf made out of stone.
The guards knocked on the doors and a vibrating voice, clear and cut, answered. "Enter."
The doors were opened and I stepped inside as if crossing a border. It was the most magnificent room I’ve ever seen. Gold, black and red were mixed together across the room in decorations and accents. It wasn’t crowded, more perfectly tailored for the king, and it didn’t feel like a bedroom but more like a throne room disguised as one.
One wall was entirely made up of stained-glass windows. Iron sconces holding open flames were placed on each of the walls, offering a slight glow to the daylight that bathed the room.
In the middle of the room held an entirely too large bed with red and black velvet curtains draped in twirls across thick pillars. It was raised on a low platform, as if the floor wasn’t worthy of it. The sheets were a dark red silk that bled over the edges in waves.
At the foot of the bed stood a very naked man, ripples of muscles were traced by shadows as if he were sculpted from stone. My eyes fixed on the broad shoulders, the narrow waist, the way the sweat glistened on the dimples above his buttocks. I was mesmerized for a fleeting moment before realizing what I was truly looking at.
His back was turned to me, he didn’t turn and he didn’t need to. The room was his. He knew I was here and he was showing his true self as he was pumping himself into a white blonde beauty who was screaming in pleasure beneath him.