JUNE
ME? I BELONGED TO THE LYCAN KING?
This time, I rolled my eyes. "Maybe that's going too far. I'm not anyone's property." Miss Fiona glared at me. "Yet." I added quickly.
"No, no, no." the man said, cutting between us. "It's fine. I am Colt Davies and I work in the Lycan King's court."
I smiled. You do? How interesting.
"As if I cannot already tell from the way you are dressed." Miss Fiona snorted. "Is that why you think you can go about bumping into people? You know if I was not so busy, I would have taken this matter up with the Council's court."
I pulled her away, mouthing an apology to the men. "I think that's enough. You are drawing more attention to me than I like." I grimaced as people halted to stare at us. Goddess, my first day here and I was already making a mess.
She huffed and with a flick of her finger went back to the perfect young woman she was before. Not that she had looked imperfect during that small tiff. I mean, was this woman capable of looking anything but perfect?
"Come, this way."
She led us through lots of hallways and steps and while I admired… well, everything in this place my feet was killing me. Just when I thought I could take it no more, Miss Fiona stopped.
"This is where your room is located. I hope you can get here on your own next time. They are five rooms on each side and the last door there leads to the common room which opens up to the dinning where you girls will eat breakfast, lunch and dinner."
I nodded, scanning the hallway then held my breath when my gaze landed on a group of ladies heading in our direction.
My jaw dropped to the floor. If Miss Fiona was perfect, then these girls were impeccable.
Plump red lips, gold, bronze and midnight black hair, and slender bodies that moved with a grace I could not even dream of replicating. The quality of their clothes told me they were not my class and it molded their curves without being revealing.
Compared to them, I looked like trash.
Damn, why did they have to force me here. Right now, I wanted to be anywhere – even back at my settlement – but here.
One of the females stepped forward. The buttercup yellow gown she wore complimenting her blonde hair. The only thing I had on her was height. I was taller than her by several inches. Too bad it was all I got. At 5ft 10, I was taller than most girls – at least, all the girls in my settlement.
"Hello," she said in the most beautiful voice I ever heard. "Are you one of the participants?"
"Of course not. I think she's one of the servants." One of the girls said and the other girls joined her laughter.
"Mariel, behave." The blonde girl who was obviously the leader of the gang chided. "I don't think she's a servant here. Besides, servants look better than this and we can tell which court they're serving by the color of their dress."
I was too busy taking note of the name of my first enemy to pay attention to what the girl was saying. Mariel. Nice name.
I'm Adeline." The blonde girl said. "What's your name?"
I pursed my lips. "I'm not sure you really care about that. So 'servant' will work just fine."
Goddess, I was just arriving at Warding and I already made a spectacle of myself and made an enemy. What was the worst that could happen now? Shit! maybe I shouldn't have asked that question.
"Well. These are my friends, Mariele and Anna. We are all Lycans and my father is the Chairman of the council. This is sort of my home. I Do hope you enjoy your stay, Servant."
My gut churned. "Thank you," I answered. "I'm sure I will see you around."
"Of course." Adeline dipped her head in an elegant farewell. "Until then."
She walked away, her friends striding past us to flank her. I allowed my gaze to linger for only for a moment before dismissing the trio and returning my attention to Miss Fiona who had conveniently removed herself from the conversation the entire time.
I tilted my head. "So, my room?"
She jumped, startled. "Oh. Of course. This way."
We both walked in silence, making several twists and turns before she stopped just outside a door. Dipping her hand inside the purse she'd been clutching, she produced a keycard and swiped. The door opened with a click and we were inside in another blink of an eye.
"This will be your room."
For the umpteenth time that day, my jaw dropped to the ground.
The room was bigger than my entire house. A queen-sized bed sat at far corner of the room, overlooking an entire wall made of glass. I squealed, running towards it. From here, I could see the bridge we had passed to this place. The waterfall underneath it and even the Council's court.
"This is…" I turned towards Miss Fiona whose expression still sported the same bored and detached look. My smile fell. She must be used to this sort of opulent lifestyle. She walked over to the doors I had not noticed and pointed to the one on my left first.
"This is the walk-in closet. Everything you need for the entirety of the Selection has already been provided. If there's anything you need that's not here and you would like to have, you will let me know and I will get it for you."
I frowned. "This isn't the last time I would be seeing you?"
Her mouth turned up into something that should have been a smile if she was not keeping such a straight face.
"Why? You thought you would be getting rid of me that easily? I am going to be your adviser for the duration of your time here. I will guide you through everything that's happening and at the end of each week, I am required to submit a report about you and how you are doing. All the girls here have been assigned one."
I rolled my eyes. "So, you are like a spy?"
"Whatever you like to believe. Just know that the Council are always watching you. If I am not here, they're cameras everywhere they can always use to monitor you. So, I'll advice that you be on your best behavior."
Suddenly I felt too exhausted. Every muscle in my body yearned for me to lie down. I moved to the bed and collapsed into it. My life changing and digesting all this new information in the space of two hours will do that to a girl.
Miss Fiona ignored me and pointed to the other door. "That is your bathroom. You can check it out when you feel much better. By 8pm, you are expected to join the girls for dinner.
Every morning, I will be here to give you an update on your schedule. You can tell me if you need anything by then. If you need me before that time, you can always reach me by pressing the button above your bed."
I stared at her once she was done. She sounded as though she had been reading all of that from a book. Geez. Was anyone allowed to have fun around here?