41. I promise You.

When Winifred was finally untied and allowed to get out of the room, she broke down right outside the alpha King's door. "No no no! I have to get out of this castle, I have to get out of this world and it has to be now!" She whispered to herself while she sobbed.

"Uh? What are you doing here crying, human slave?" A feminine voice sppke causing her to look at who had spoken. It was the lycan Princess,  Alice.

On seeing her, she decided to simply bypass the lycan and go her way until she was stopped yet again by her, "Oh, don't... don't tell me that you're being shared by both father and son? Whaoh, did you just finish with my father? Are you proceeding to give the remnant to my brother too?" Alice questioned in a mocking tone that just seemed to aggravate Winifred even more.

"You! Your father! Your brother! All of you in this so called castle! You all are monsters,  every single one of you deserve to be casted into the deepest pit of hell!" She snapped.

Alice was shocked at her outburst towards her but managed to compose"Excuse me?.. and then she suddenly acted like she remembered something, "oh! He forced you? Oh dear? Welcome to slavery, guess what, you have just started, you dontneven know how many will have their way with you before they decide that oh, there's nothing in this one anymore, let us just burn her! That time is coming and you'll be the one to burn then not me."

Winifred was about to keep responding to her when someone suddenly grabbed her, the hand got hold of her and threw her over his shoulders. It was not too long for Winifred to know who it was.

Who else had such cologne if it wasn't Arthur.

Arthur had just returned from an errand his father sent him on when he started to hear different rumors about Winifred and the alpha king.

"I'm sure even the crown prince would sleep with her soon, she's such a whore! The way she acts, one would think she's so prim and proper. It's all a facade." A feminine voice had said catching his attention.

"But how do you even know this, Winifred is just misunderstood most of the time, I think. And she just doesn't want to take some things she has to as a slave and that's where she keeps missing it." Another voice responded.

"Oh please. Misunderstood my foot! She's proud, pompous and rude. She thinks she's the luna or something? Just wait till the icy prince gets tired of her, she'll be less than trash."

"Oh, she already is! She's being shared by father and son already! Well, I don't mind joining in the fun though!" A masculine voice contributed this time and then Arthur lost it!

He sprinted towards the voices and grabbed the nearest male amongst them by his neck, "what did you just say?" He snapped, in a very threatening tone.

The lycans were startled and shocked, they hadn't thought that any of the royalties could have been listening to their conversations. "Uh... uh?" The man in Arthur's grip choked and stuttered.

"Is any of you going to speak or do I have to snap about three necks before you do?" Arthur asked again causing one of those standing to immediately get over her shock and start talking, "we are sorry, prince. We only said that she's misunderstood..."

"No, not that part, the part that includes me and the alpha king!"

"Uh.... Winifred is in the Alpha King's quarters right now and... and... a lot of rumors have been circulating that she's servicing the king too... sir..."

On hearing what he wanted to pick, he dropped the man in his grip and ran towards his father's quarters, on getting there, he met Winifred almost screaming and even daring to pounce on Alice and he quickly rushed towards her, grabbed her and thre her over his shoulders. As he passed various lycans, they kept looking at both he and Winifred who continued to flair her legs and scream as he carried her away, as soon as he was in the comfort of his quarters, he dropped her on the bed and went back to lock his door.

"Do you want to die?" He threw, immediately he locked the door.

Winifred rolled her eyes and then glared at him, "Maybe?" She said.

"You either want to die or do not want to die, there's no in between. And before you can do any, you need permission from me, you can't just decide to die! When my father asked for you, why did you wven bother to go?"

"Oh, I'm supposed to say I can't meet the alpha king? Or am I supposed to say to hell with the alpha king? You know what,  that asides! I'd rather die than remain in the your clutches, any of your clutches! You all are monsters,  your father is a monster. He treats humans like chickens, he draws blood like he's drawing water. I'm so tired and I just want to go back to my world. I... I..." Winifred stopped, as tears started to roll down her eyes for the umpteenth time that day, she truly was tired of all she had seen in a world she didn't understand,  a world that wasn't even where she was supposed to be.

Arthur on seeing her breakdown immediately calmed down and went to her side, he sat beside her and drew her closer tonhis chest as he began to console and pacify her while she continued to cry, deep down, he couldn't help but hope that his father hadn't done anything to her, anything like rape or abuse her. He decided that if that happened, his father had better expected a confrontation because he made it very clear when he said that he didn't share.

When he was sure that Winifred had finally calmed down and stopped crying in his arms, he directed to speak, "what... what did father do?" He struggled to ask, as a lump formed in his chest as if not wanting to hear something bad from her.

"He did the worst, he... he... made me witness his cruelness and then he threatened me with it, he threatened to take me away from you, he threatened to kill me and he did all of that in the most gruesome way." Winifred explained in a very low tone that even Arthur struggled to hear and he was speechless, he couldn't help but wonder what could have gotten her to scarred and scared, he wondered what could be making so cry so much.

He felt her raising her head to look up at him and he looked down at her too, their heads at a very close proximity to each other, "Ar... Arthur, promise me that you won't ever let that happen, promise me that rather then letting any other man make me their sex slave, you would rather let me go my way, promise me that I would never be given to your father. Please, Arthur, promise me." Winifred said, almost pleading.

The tears in her eyes made Arthur's heart tug in his chest, even without her saying all of this, he was already doing that, "I promise you, I'd rather die than let all of that happen. I'll protect you, Winifred. I promise." He said.

On saying this, he felt her relax in his arms and he finally admitted to himself what he knew but never wanted to admit to, he liked Winifred,  too much.  It was almost as if she was his mate, but then the moon goddess would never make a human and wolf mates, would she?