Chapter three

OPHELIA

"My father – did what?" My voice came out in a shaky tone, as the thought of it unnerved me. Father would never do that. He knows better than that. This must be a sick joke.

I waited for Beta Barton to laugh out loud, or let out his amused chuckles. I patiently waited for him to say that he was just kidding and just trying to rattle me. But as seconds passed and no one said a word, I took it upon myself to break the icy, menacing silence.

"You're wrong." My voice echoed, and I hated how it was spiked with fear. I shouldn't be scared. Father would never do such a thing.

"About what, Princess?" Beta Barton scoffed.

"Everything!" I yelled, looking up to meet his gaze with the fierceness in my eyes. "My Father adores the Lycan King. He would never try to kill him…"

"I guess he had you fooled too. Just the same way he fooled us. Until we found out what a petty asshole he was!" Beta Barton cussed.

"Where is he?" I asked, blinking back my tears. "You have him, right? Where is he?"

"Where would a traitor be, princess?" He flashed me a monstrous grin. "You know the laws. So you tell me. Where should your father be right now?"

There's a level of taunting I can endure, but this bastard just overstepped his bounds. The tears in my eyes were almost spilling. I dare not think of what he's insinuating. I dare not think that Father was dead. He can't be. I saw him hours ago and he promised me to have dinner at the fanciest restaurant in the Pack. That was what I was getting ready for. No way can he be dead.

"He's not dead…" I said the words weakly, as tears poured down my eyes. "He can't be dead…"

"He should be. But yeah, he's not." Beta Barton closed the distance between us, squatting in front of me. "That's because you're here."

His warm whiff blew on my face, and I lowered my head to avoid it.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, clenching my dress. Goodness, I wanna hit his face. But that would only escalate things. And if truly Father did try to kill the Lycan King, then I was literally at their mercy. I had no choice but to get my acts right.

"It means…" He trailed a finger over my arm, and I flinched from his touch. I shot him a glare and he returned it, unwaveringly. A real jackass. "You'll have to pay the price for his actions."

The price? What's he talking about?

"I don't understand…" My voice wavers. I wish I could control the deafening thud of my heart. It's only making me seem affected by the situation. Which I was. But he doesn't need to know that. He'll only feast on my fear.

"Okay. Let me explain," He teased a stray strand of my hair, flashing me a cocky smile. Looking at him this close, I noticed his arms were covered in tattoos. His ears were pierced and had earrings dangling from them. He seemed laid-back, but at the same time, he was giving off a vicious aura. Like a Lycan.

"For starters, you can never leave this palace again. Ever." My eyes widened at his words, but he ignored me and continued. "I hope you said your goodbyes to your friends. 'Cause you just might never see them again."

"That's insane!!" I yelled to his face, almost going berserk but I was silenced with a smack on my face.

"Be quiet!!" He hissed, grabbing a handful of my hair. "You should be thankful I'm the one talking to you and not the Lycan King. He would have already clawed your heart out."

He let go of my hair and stood to his feet, stepping away from me. My sobs came out silently and my head remained lowered to the ground. If there was a doubt I had about the situation, it just went away.

The Lycans might be ruthless creatures but they would never treat an Alpha Princess like this without a good reason. Father was the reason!

What exactly did he do? Why didn't he tell me about it? I would have talked him out of it. Going against the Lycan King was suicide. I thought he knew that much.

"Take her away!"

"What?" I watched as two men came to grab me. Refusing to be dismissed so easily, I knocked them away from me. "I want to speak to my father!!"

"That's impossible, Princess. You don't get to talk to him. Now take her away!!"

I get dragged by two men, heading for a widely open door.

"Where are you taking me?!" I yelled, fighting to break away from them. "What do you plan on doing to me?!"

My questions remained unanswered as I got dragged from the hall. We went through endless hallways till I was tossed into a room.

I fell to the floor but that's not any of their concern as they just shut the door, leaving me to the silence in the room.

It's a room twice the size of my bedroom back in the Packhouse. The decor was lavishly exquisite, and for a brief second, I remained awed by it. But then, the door opened again.

I quickly stood and turned to see who it was. The two women who just walked in bowed to me. The elderly one was the first to speak.

"We're here to get you ready for tonight, my lady." She said politely.

My brows creased. "For tonight? I don't understand." I said in a rush, slightly panicking from the turn of events.

"We can't explain, my lady. All we've been asked to do is get you ready." The second lady gestured at the bag of ointments he was holding.

I nodded, feeling drained. Slowly, I sat on the bed, watching them as they disappeared into the bathroom. Tears rolled down my eyes as I recalled what the Beta said. I can't leave this palace. Did he mean that? Will I be locked in here forever? Will I never see Father again? It doesn't make sense.

"It's time, My lady." The voice snapped me from my thoughts.

I nodded weakly, not having the urge to be defiant. They helped me out of my formal dress and guided me into the exquisite bathroom.

"It's fine. I can bathe myself." I said, trying to dismiss them as calmly as I could.

"We're sorry, but we were asked not to allow you to do a thing. We have to take care of you so you don't feel exhausted for what you'll be doing tonight."

"And what's that?" I asked, growing more intrigued. They fell silent again. I nodded, allowing them to do their thing.

They helped me take a shower, and when we got back to the bedroom, they brushed my hair and took out a nightgown for me to put on.

It's a skimpy, see-through white lace nightgown. Dawning it on my body, it hugged my curvy frame perfectly, leaving nothing to the imagination.

I badly wanna ask them why I'm being dressed like this, and why I had so many rose petals in my bath. What were they preparing me for?

But then I couldn't ask, because they were already gone. I perched my butt on the bed, wondering what's gonna happen to me from here on.

Just then, the door bursts open, and with it comes an intense aura. I stiffened, staring blankly at the figure standing in the doorway.