Royal Trap

******

Amaya dismounts from her horse to hunt as hunger overwhelms her. After securing her things at the side of the white horse alpha Armani gave to her, she shifts into her wolf form and goes in search of prey.

She is already inside Santol and isn't supposed to stop riding until she gets to safety, but her starvation fails to adhere to her reasoning. Amaya wanders in her wolf form for a while and finally sees a squirrel. After managing to sneak up behind it, she is about to strike it when something happens.

Before she can react, Amaya's foot is already clasped tightly by a trap that is fixed there. She whimpers in pain and shifts back into her human form. The traps has a strong grip on her ankle and with every pull she attempts, cause the iron to dig more deeply into it. She strives to stand to get her sword from her horse not too far from her, but the pain is too excruciating. When she realizes she doesn't have any possibility of getting out, she screams out in outrage and anguish.

The seconds turn into minutes, minutes turn into hours and she still doesn't have any hope of getting out. Her ankle bleeds profusely as a result of how deep the iron clamped it. The fear of losing her leg to this shoots through her and she can't help but panic.

At a point when she assumes all hope is lost, she glimpses a young tall slightly sturdy man, by her horse, ransacking through her things. He is probably a thief, but Amaya doesn't care. The only thing she worries about is a way to get the angry metal away from her ankle.

"Hey!" she calls out, but the brunette man doesn't turn to look at her. This pisses Amaya off as she groans in frustration.

"What are you doing through my stuff?" she yells at him. He finally turns to look at her with a smirk on his face.

His green eyes grin at her, watching her for a while before finally speaking. "Forgive me milady, just going through some stuff to aid my journey," he says and returns to rummaging through her bag. He picks up the wrapped arrow and slowly undoes the cloths, revealing the silver arrow.

Amaya grits her teeth in anger. "Don't you dare" she speaks in a deadly tone. If only she wasn't stuck in the trap, he won't be standing.

"You would kill your kind?" He furrows his eyebrow at her.

"That's not of your business and my stuff is also not your business" she shouts at him, but he doesn't look affected.

"I'm taking this. Just this. Assassins will kill for this" he wiggles the arrow at her and she can't help but boil in anger.

"Can you at least let me out of here?"

"Not a chance"

"Damn you!" She curses at him as the pain adds to her anger. "Who even puts a trap in such a place?"

"Only the royals do that. It's a measure to prevent people from getting into the kingdom unapproved. An approved traveler wouldn't pass this route. Except" he walks towards her and slopes to her level."You are an imposter"

Amaya spits on his face in annoyance and watches as he groans in revulsion. "You see I was just considering releasing you from there, but you ruined your chance with your bratty attitude" he walks back to her horse and hops on it. "Maybe the Royal will be the one taking those irons off" he shrugs at her.

"What are you doing get down from there" she warns him.

"Save your strength darling. You'll be here for a long time. The lavender herbs around you might knock you out, so try not to breathe in too often" he chuckles at his own words. " Goodbye princess" he gives a dramatic bow and kicks the horse to start.

Amaya can't do anything. She only gawks from where she lay, trapped. Her lips come off as too heavy to scream. However, the need to cry shoots through her, but she subdues it.

Just as he said, the lavender herbs around her begins to get to her and she slowly drifts into a deep sleep.

****

The pain in her legs is what wakes her up. Moaning in pain, she flicks her eyes open with the hope of still being in the woods, but that isn't the case. Instead, she is situated on a bed, and not just any sort of bed, but a queen sized exquisite bed. Even her clothes is changed into a silk dress that screams wealth. She rapidly sits up despite the pain, gazing around at the room she is in. The room is just too elegant to belong to any regular personnel.

What if? She gasps as the thought comes to her. What if the royal caught her and brought her here? If this is the case, she needs to get out as quickly as possible. She slips out of the bed and takes a look at her leg. Surprisingly, it is draped. The moment it makes contact with the hard floor, it sting in pain. The pain is vast, but she is willing to dismiss it as long as she can get out of this place successfully.

The room is quite enormous and it takes multiple painful strides for her to get to the door. Before she can twist the knob, someone twists it from outside and she stiffens with widened eyes, scampering away from the door to prepare for anything. Her eyes dart around and she grabs a rod that lay on the floor.

The door opens and before the man can get in fully, she charges for him, but he is swifter than her. He snatches the rod and yanks it away from her hold. After the failed attempt, she calms down a bit and takes a look at him. Her mouth drops.

It is Lucan. The fierceness in his brown eyes didn't change a bit. He looked manlier now and gravely stunning. His well-sculpted nose and chiseled jawline all scream perfection, but Amaya doesn't get lost in his intense gaze for long. Although he appears stronger than her, that doesn't stop her from slapping him across the face in bitterness.

"Why did you bring me here Lucan?" she snaps at him through gritted teeth.

Lucan doesn't react or try to attack her back. Instead, he rubs his cheeks which she slapped. A confusing smirk emerge on his face which only pissed her off. "You still remember me?"

"That's not the point. Get me out of here now " she demands still in a rage.

"I'm sorry, but I can't, dear mate" he speaks calmly and she gasps