33

Almost dancing, I found my way to the large closet that was opposite the bathroom door. I opened it excitedly with a smile on my face and my expectations were not disappointed, on the contrary.

On a gleaming silver rod hung clothes that looked far too beautiful to wear. You should paint them, each one separately, and I particularly liked one. I took it carefully in my hands, which were shaking with astonishment.

It was dark blue, almost black and glittered slightly on the long sleeves. Putting it on my body, it went up to my ankles. There was no cut-out at the front, but it was so wide open at the back that it was cut out just above the buttocks.

I carefully put it back on the hanger and tucked it right in the middle, ready to wear first thing in the morning. Couldn't wait to turn Damien's head.

To the side of the closet were underwear, long sleepers, and socks. Everything smelled freshly washed and was neatly stacked on top of each other, a perfectionist must have admitted it.

I quickly put on everything I needed to sleep and then looked through the window to the courtyard again. This time nobody was to be seen, I only saw myself in the window glass, smiled at myself and was about to turn off the light when there was a soft knock.

"Yes?" I asked, hoping to hear Damien's voice, but it wasn't him, and I was beginning to wish my instincts would go away and take the connection to this man with them.

The door opened slowly while I stood curiously next to my bed and my heart started to beat faster from the tension until I exhaled in relief and walked towards the little one.

"I'm so glad to see you," I hugged Emma, shocked to discover that she felt even more fragile than she looked. Behind her was Aiden, who gave me a half-hearted smile and then disappeared. I quickly closed the door, gave Emma my hand, and pulled her onto the bed with me to sit down. "Are you alright?" I asked her while gently stroking her hand, wanting to inspire her trust. "Yes. But Aiden said I'm not allowed to be here. It's an exception." She breathed weakly, as if the air in her lungs was restricted. "I promise you, you can stay with me as long as you want, and now you go for a swim. I'll find you some new clothes." Smiling, I let go of her hand, wanted to get up, but she held my arm. I looked at her questioningly. "I... I've never been allowed to take a bath." Tears welled up in her big blue eyes, and I had to pull myself together not to lunge at the man from the small village.

I picked out the smallest sleeping things and led her by the hand into the bathroom, in the door of which she suddenly stopped and showed the same expression on my face as I had when I first saw that large tub. "I'll put these things here for you. Take as much time as you want."

She beamed at me, but I could see inside her that lay deep and showed me that she was being broken, over and over again. I smiled at her encouragingly and left the bathroom, quietly closing the door and sitting down on the soft bed.

The moon outside was so bright, the night light seemed unnecessary, so I pushed the black button and slowly got used to the darkness that surrounded me, making me close my eyes and fall asleep soundly.

The next morning I was woken up by a sickly sounding rooster. It sounded like he was ready to be slaughtered immediately. suicidal.

"We could put him out of his torment.", Saphir answered. Her wicked sense of humor always put a smile on my face. "We can't. Let the poor rooster do his job with dignity," I gave her back, giggling. "Where's the girl?"

This question startled me. Emma wasn't lying next to me, but her scent surrounded me. I quickly threw the covers aside and ran to the bathroom, but she wasn't here either. I ran to the door in a slight panic until my closet opened loudly and I let out a scream. A heart attack would definitely have been possible in this situation.

My hand rested on my pounding heart while my lungs had to recover, and then I saw Emma, who looked at me in shock and suddenly started to cry. "I'm so sorry. I... But-" "It's okay," I walked towards her. She was shaking like she was scared to death. "Come sit down.", I took her next to me on the bed. "What were you doing in the closet anyway?" "Well, that's the sleeping place for people.", she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world and I was a small, ignorant child that needed to be explained.

"No, stupid people told you that and from tonight you'll sleep with me if that's okay with you.", I gently stroked her back, where you could feel her spine. "Thank you Melody." She hugged me, wiping her tears from her face.

A loud knock made me look annoyed at the door, which also opened immediately. Blonde Aiden stood in the doorway looking at us pityingly and I immediately understood why when I saw a guard behind him.

"Never mind, Aiden! She can stay with me!", I cried out in a trembling voice as I stood between the bed and the door. "Orders are orders, I'm sorry."

The guard slowly walked past him into the room, grinning obnoxiously at me, sending chills down my spine. "Not a step further! I want to speak to Damien immediately." I commanded, hand outstretched.

Aiden and the guard exchanged looks, and when the blonde nodded at him, the guard disappeared down the hall. Emma had wrapped my blanket around her body and was staring blankly at the floor, which broke my heart. I was always strong enough to protect myself and not break, but she was definitely out of strength and needed someone to take care of her.

Damien was walking down the hall with the guard and he looked great. "Let's get him and lock him in the room together." Sapphire's sentence in my head made me blush and I was so embarrassed that I had to look down to collect myself for a moment.

"What's the problem?" Damien was right in front of me now. His black hair was perfect, his smell indescribably soothing and the clothes he wore fit like they were made for him. "Um..", I suddenly widened my eyes, he had managed to make me speechless, this handsome idiot! I shake off thoughts of him and clear my throat.

"I want Emma to stay with me," I said assertively, but he just laughed stupidly, looking at Aiden, who was also grinning stupidly. "She's a human, Melody. What do you want with her here. She has to work, otherwise she's worthless." The three men laughed out loud again.

"Don't do it!", Saphir growled in my head, but it was too late for that.

A bang. His red cheek. My aching hand

So I stood there in shock at myself, wide-eyed at Damien, who was glaring at me angrily. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aiden and the guard move towards the prince to hold him down, but he growled at them menacingly. "Everyone out now!" he yelled, eyes fixed on me with hatred.

Emma got up and ran past me, crying, out into the hallway. The two big ones followed her and closed the door. I was alone with him, for the first time, and at the same time I felt fear, but also a feeling of security. A fatal mix.

"You will never raise your hand against me again, do you understand that Melody?" he said calmly. It took a lot of effort for that, because his fists were clenched and the beautiful lips that adorned his face were trembling with anger.

"If you never talk about women in such a derogatory way again, otherwise I'll be happy to do it again!" I retorted bravely, trying not to show my fear on the outside while everything inside me was shaking. "She's a me-" "Shut up! I don't care if it's human or wolf. She's a young girl, don't you have a conscience?" He walked past me to the window and looked out thoughtfully, contemplating the inheritance he was about to inherit.

"Do you think humans would consider you? If Emma were a wolf and in her hands she would be dead already." He explained, still looking out the window. Did he really think that would change my mind. Of course he was right, I knew that too, but fighting fire with fire didn't do anyone any good. Still, none of that justified his arrogant demeanor, which suggested that he enjoyed torturing people. "It's not Emma's fault we're at war. Please let her stay with me." I lifted my chin pleadingly, thinking he would comply with a request rather than an order.

He turned back to me, looking deep into my eyes, causing me to experience emotional chaos and Saphir squirmed with joy, ready to submit to him. "I can't do that. Even if I wanted to, my father is in charge." "Then take me back to Calvin's immediately, then I'll take Emma with me!" I hissed angrily and yanked open the closet to rip out all the clothes.

"What are you-" "Bring me a suitcase right now!" I roared, so close to tears I still had the strength to hold them back. "Wait, I don't want you to go," he turned to me and grabbed my arm. "Get your hands off me! You have Camilla, and I have my own life!"

Before I could get past him to put the things on the bed, he pinned me against the closet. "But I don't want them." He whispered in my ear, only to look at me excitedly afterwards. My little heart was jumping up and down with excitement, even my breathing quickened at the feel of his closeness to my body. I could now see in his face the excitement that just arose between us, making us forget everything else. I longingly wished for his lips, so beautiful to look at, on mine. Only a few millimeters separated me from him, and my she-wolf immediately wanted to be marked and make herself his property. An inner struggle arose within me. Resistance to desire, how much longer could I resist the connection.

His beautiful eyes closed, his arms slowly loosened as if he didn't want to let go of me, and then he quickly walked through the door, where the others were still standing, giving me confused looks. "Let her stay here." Damien turned to Aiden. "But Nero?" "I'll take care of it."

Without looking back, they disappeared, leaving Emma paralyzed. I winked happily at the little one, didn't want to show my inner turmoil on the outside. I wanted to give her confidence in a better future. Show her that life can also be beautiful and that you should never stop dreaming.

"Pick a dress, whatever it is," I prompted, grabbing my black one from the closet to head to the bathroom.

A pair of hair clips and a perfect dress. It didn't take more to make me look beautiful. " He's going to freak out !" " That's exactly what we want." Grinning, I shut Saphir out of my mind and prepared for a breathtaking performance. Camilla will make eyes. I didn't stand a chance against her in the last meeting, as exhausted as I looked after everything, but now she would see what a competitor I was.

"You look beautiful." Emma stared at me with wide eyes as I spun around gracefully a few times. Of course, her transformation was also extreme. Her white dress and tied hair made her a completely different girl. There was nothing left to remind her of her past, just her smile and bright blue eyes.

"You look adorable Emma." Her cheeks flushed and she played shyly with her hands. "Let's go."

Excitedly I took her small hand and together we walked down the large corridor, stopping in amazement at the various paintings until we finally reached the stairs that led down to the courtyard.

When we arrived at the bottom, there were several stalls in a circle around the large square. There was everything your heart could desire, from chickens to books. Many women stood here, bought all sorts of fruit and vegetables. The men looked annoyed, they had to pay for everything.

I no longer noticed the looks of the others around me, who were watching me curiously. Just kept looking at the little beauty and leafing through the old books that were covered in dust on one of the stalls. "Who do you think you are?!, someone suddenly pulled me around by the arm. "Good morning Camilla, you look good." I teased provocatively, looking at her not so beautiful dress. Either she had no taste , or Damien preferred to spend his money on me now.

She angrily dragged me with her. I winked at Emma and then found myself at the other end of the square with Camilla. "Keep your dirty hands off Damien! I'm warning you huh..." "For a princess, you have quite a vulgar pronunciation. But don't worry, Damien should decide for himself. You against me. His girlfriend against his mate. Let's see what happens." I grinned. Even if I didn't want him, only my she-wolf lay drooling under him, I didn't begrudge her this triumph. "We'll see Melody." She stomped past me angrily, leaving me giggling.

Pleased with my quick-wittedness, I looked up briefly, wanted to look at the cloudless sky, but then two eyes at the window met me. damien A quick smile on his part, an annoyed roll of my eyes, then I went back to Emma, who was sitting by a small fountain and was curiously watching everything around her.