Waking Up

*Rose*

The room is deafeningly silent except for the rhythmic sound of my feet pattering on the floor as I walk around, lost in my thoughts.

I look up and see the luxurious bedroom, adorned with flowers in every nook and corner. It is an exquisite sight; I would normally find it romantic in any other context, but right now it is suffocating me.

The memories of last night’s passion that had momentarily left me fully satisfied are now evoking doubts and second thoughts. Did I please him? That’s all my mind can think about right now.

My thoughts are violently interrupted by the sound of the door opening swiftly. I turn around sharply and see Vienna making her way in with a tray of bath salts in hand.

She seems a bit startled to find me back in my bedroom, but I’m the one who should feel that way for being intruded upon.

“Good morning,” she greets me.

Is that a grin I glimpse on her face? Will everyone be looking at me like this today? The whole palace knows that last night I had a tumble between the sheets with Alpha Mark. How much more awkward could all this get?

Bedroom affairs are meant to be private, and it seems unfair that my bedroom schedule is out for the whole world to observe.

“Good morning, Vienna,” I say plainly as I turn my back to her. The mischievous leer on her face as she continues to gawk at me is making my face hot.

“I didn’t know you were back from… you know… ahem…. well, I brought you some Himalayan bath salts. They are great for reducing inflammation and irritation. I thought they would be useful to you after last night.”

I turn around in time to catch that naughty, lingering smirk on her face. Where did she think I’d be at this time? Sex wasn’t supposed to last that long, was it? Did I do something wrong?

“Any salts there that could just make me disappear for the rest of the day today?”

Vienna blinks at me as she makes a funny sound and starts coughing. I can tell she is trying her hardest not to laugh. I am glad she finds this amusing. It slightly eases the awkwardness until I realize I’m the one she’s laughing at, not with.

“My lady, forgive me for giggling. You don’t look bad in any shape or form. I can tell you that most palace maids envy you and this opportunity you get with these handsome Alphas. Although after your bath, we are going to have to use a bit more concealer than usual.”

I frown at that statement. I have never been one to need that much makeup. Why would I need it now? Had my first night with a man turned me into some sort of monster? Is that what happens when a woman gets with a man for the first time?

I rush to look at myself in the dressing table mirror. Has my nose grown bigger? Have my womb horns transferred to my face? Nowhere in those books had I read about transforming after giving up one’s virginity.

As I look at my reflection, I see nothing amiss except for my hair, which looks all roughed up. Well, my hair couldn’t be the cause of the need for concealer. A brush could easily fix that.

Vienna seems to sense my panic, and she walks over to me. She places the tray on the dressing table. “May I?” she asks as she lifts my hair, which is in a messy ponytail. My neck bare, she points at two huge red spots on my skin. I gasp.

Had there been mosquitoes in Alpha Mark’s bedroom? How big had they been to cause such huge marks? My eyes meet Vienna’s in the mirror. “It seems like Alpha Mark left his mark on you.”

I bring my eyebrows together. What did she mean by ‘mark’? Did one get marks after making love to wolves? No one had told me about this side effect. If I was going to be sleeping with four Alphas, and they all left marks on me, how would I look afterward?

I was definitely going to turn into a monster after all this. This is why I didn’t think I wanted to be with any other Alphas after Mark. If I only stuck with him. At least all the marks would look the–

The voice inside my head is abruptly halted mid-sentence as a cheery laugh from behind us makes us both jump.

“Oh, my word! Last night seems to have been hot. Rose has a hickey or two!” Shelby says as she makes her way toward us.

Vienna bows her head slightly toward her. She hurriedly takes the tray and retreats to the bathroom.

I turn to face Shelby. She is smiling from ear to ear. “Spill! How was it?” Her eyes roam over me as she winks at me playfully.

Suddenly, I am again conscious of myself. Every inch of my skin has a highlighted sense of meandering anxiety, derived from the way everyone seems interested in my sex life. How much more embarrassing could this get?

Shelby pulls me to the bed, and we sit next to each other. I smile at her. Well, somehow I feel like I want to tell her all about last night. I want to hear her opinion and any advice she can give me.

Also, she needs to tell me more about these hickey marks one gets from having sex. I know I can’t talk to anyone else about this. Not even my mother. Not that the woman is here. I haven’t heard from my parents since I left. They must’ve gotten the money, though, or else they’d be calling.

Memories of last night flood my mind just as blood rushes to my cheeks. I blush and immediately feel embarrassed. Mark’s face flashes in my mind. I can still feel the sensation of his pulsating rod inside me as my intimate muscles tightened around it, a wet pool beginning to form between my legs.

Shelby is watching me with pure fascination on her face. I can feel my face flushing. I raise a palm to my cheek and come to the realization that I am smiling like a love-struck puppy…. Well, maybe I am love-struck.

“That good, huh?” Shelby giggles.

I wish the ground would open up and swallow me right away. I haven’t even said a word about last night, but my facial expressions seem to spill the tea hot and furious.

I nod in response to her question. “That good and more,” I answer, and Shelby shrieks in delight.

“Well, I can see that.” She points at my neck as affirmation.

“What is a hickey? Does it last forever? Do you get it from every sexual partner you encounter? I mean with four men leaving hickey marks on me…. I only have so much skin on my small body.”

I can see a look of confusion on Shelby’s face. She purses her lips as she watches me. I can see tears form in her eyes as she makes a funny sound in her throat.

Is she going to cry? What have I said? I wonder if she is trying to stop herself from breaking into sobs. Does she perhaps feel sorry for me getting these hickey marks from all these Alphas?

I nearly fall off the bed when Shelby burst out laughing. I look at her perplexed. What is so funny? Is this hickey mark thing common knowledge to every woman except me? Perhaps I should have tried to study more about these things. I probably sound very dumb right now.

Shelby’s giggling dies down. She takes my hand in hers as she smiles at me. I can tell she is trying her best not to burst out laughing again.

“A hickey, my dear Rose, is a hot kiss a man gives a woman. The kiss burns with such passion it leaves a mark. Well, that and the sucking. It is also known as a love bite. It’s just proof of the passion you shared with Alpha Mark last night, that’s all.”

I look at her intensely as more questions begin to formulate in my head. Was this a frequent occurrence then?

As if sensing my questions, she explains, “It is not something that happens all the time. Just once in a while, it can be thrown in during the waves of passion. If you don’t get one, though, that doesn’t mean there was a lack of passion.”

I nod. I think I understand. I feel the corners of my mouth curving into a smile. Mark gave me a hickey.

Ah, for a newbie I should treat this as a medal for a job well done then. Why would I have to hide this under some concealer? I would love for Emily to see it. I smirk when I think of how she would react. It will surely wipe that stupid smug look she always wore.

I shake myself from my thoughts. I have more things I need to tell Shelby.

“I was so scared, but Alpha Mark was gentle. He made me feel like the most precious woman to ever walk the earth.”

Shelby kicks her feet out of the sandals she is wearing and reorients her body to face me. She brings her feet up onto the bed. Now sitting cross-legged next to me, she bats her pretty eyelashes.

I giggle. She looks like a kindergartener getting comfortable for story time.

“How is he in bed? Is he as big as I assume he is? Did you lie on your back with your legs up afterward? It betters the chance of the seed reaching the egg.”

I feel my face burn up. That is a very intimate question I didn’t want to answer. Some secrets are best kept for my eyes and heart only. However, I will keep the ‘lying on my back afterward’ thing as handy advice for next time.

“I have nothing to compare him to,” I remind her. “I was scared of spending the whole night with him,” I confess, directing the conversation away from her prying question.

I am glad when she doesn’t push the matter. Instead, she replies to my confession. “Why? Did you think he would eat you while sleeping?”

If by eat she meant to eat my… I shake my head. I can’t believe I am now having such dirty thoughts. Well, Rose is surely no longer a virgin even in the head. I am a woman now. Mark’s woman.

“Ha, I usually kick people out of the bed in their sleep. Wouldn't that be a major problem? To kick one of my suitors….” I unveiled one of my deepest secrets.

Shelby nods with a grin plastered across her face.

Then, I continue, “That’s one of the reasons I could never go to slumber parties as a child. I once went to a sleepover at this girl’s house when I was nine. I kicked not only her but everyone else who had come for the slumber party. When I woke up the next morning, I was alone in her big bed. Everyone else had decided it was safer to sleep on the floor. Imagine spending the morning with everyone complaining of painful ribs and giving me the dirty eye. I was mortified.”

Shelby bursts out laughing again, and this time I join her.

“Hey, we all probably were kickers as children. But, you are an adult now. I am sure you grew out of that phase. In fact, you are a woman, as of last night.” She winks at me, and I can’t help but giggle.

Yes, she is right about me being a woman, but I am not so sure about the kicking part.

I shift on the bed, and my stomach growls in response. I am hungry. I didn’t eat properly last night, and now my belly is yearning for its daily quota.

“You need to take a bath now and then have some breakfast. We still have a wonderful day ahead of us, before another eventful night.”

My stomach drops. Partly because she is here, and I don’t want her to be a spectator as I bathe, and more pressing, I really don’t want to be with anyone else tonight. I want Mark.

My Mark.