Chapter 7: Seven
SIENNA
He blinked, his eyes blank. I furrowed my brows, confused. It was strange. He was the powerful Lycan king who was feared by many. News of his reign of terror had spread over the years. What I didn't understand was how he'd successfully ruled his empire while blind.
"You won't accept my handshake because I'm blind?" Luca said, tilting his head a little.
Hesitantly, I held out a hand to accept his handshake. The moment his hand closed around mine, I felt the buzz all the way down to the tips of my toes. I hated that he still affected me so. He was my sworn enemy now.
Right before I could pull my hand out of his light grip, he brought my hand towards his face and pressed a kiss to my knuckles. My eyes widened, my heart beating faster than usual.
"Calm down already, will you?' I mentally reprimanded myself.
Luca turned away from me after releasing my hand. Slipping his hands into the pockets of his white pants, he walked towards the tables and chairs that had been set up in the inner court. He drew out one of the chairs and sat down, setting one leg on the other in a somewhat elegant pose.
I studied him curiously. If I didn't know better, I would believe his eyesight was perfectly fine. His midnight black hair was longer than I'd ever seen it. It's length was well past his shoulder. But, he wore it in his signature half bun.
His white long sleeved shirt and matching waistcoat definitely outlined his leanly muscled form.
"Will you stare at me for the rest of the day?" He spoke, a spark of amusement in his eyes.
Scoffing, I made my way towards him and sat down on the chair directly opposite him.
"So, you're Diane... also rumoured to be the queen of the wolves."
I rolled my eyes, leaning back on my seat with my arms folded across my chest.
"That's a little too much. I head a pack..."
"Still, that's something to be proud of. Especially since you're the first woman to head a pack ever since the war between Lycans and werewolves."
I stared at him, unfazed. Was he truly admiring the feat I'd achieved or was it something else?
"You see, I was curious about you. It's why I agreed to meet with you. Tell me, how did you manage to become queen of the werewolves? How do you manage to keep your people protected from me?"
He was starting to annoy me.
It was true that becoming an Alpha had been anything but easy. I'd once been a slave after all. Escaping from the Lycan kingdom as a helpless pregnant woman had been indeed tough.
**Flashback**
Eight years ago,
Tears pricked my eyes as I limped down the quiet streets with my feet bleeding. I'd long discarded the king's sceptre which I'd stolen from the palace. My eyes felt heavy and my body hurt. My exhaustion was starting to get to me. There was a high chance that Luca's men would catch up to me. I'd attempted to murder the king of the Lycans after all.
Dark spots swam across my vision, my legs feeling like jelly. Reaching out to steady myself against the nearest tree, I felt my knees buckle. I sank to the ground, huddling my knees to my chest.
The weight of everything that had happened crashed down on me and I broke down into sobs. I wanted to live.
Right before I lost consciousness, I felt the presence of a stranger.
When I awoke, I was lying on a small make shift bed. A pregnant woman with short red hair and green eyes was attending to me.
"You're awake. I'm Teyana. You're safe here" she said.
"Where am I?" I asked, puzzled.
"A small pack. We're mainly travellers" she told me.
"Thank you for saving me" I said, my voice cracking with emotions.
It didn't take long before I was welcomed into the pack. It was peaceful. But, this peace didn't last. Two weeks after I'd joined the pack, we had a rogue attack.
I was sitting in the tent with Teyana, Naomi, her four year old daughter, and Raven, another pregnant pack member.
Teyana was teaching us how to knit baby socks and caps when we heard the noise.
"It's a rogue attack!" Someone screamed.
Fear sank into me. In my condition, I couldn't defend myself. I'd never been taught. If somehow I ended up in the hands of a rogue, I would lose my life.
"What do we do, Teyana?" Raven asked, her eyes wide with fear.
"The Warriors are currently doing their best to protect us. But, I fear that they might end up being subdued" Teyana responded.
"If this situation worsens any further, we might have to fight for ourselves, pregnant or not" She continued, grabbing a silver knife.
I swallowed hard as she handed me the knife.
"I'm sorry, Sienna. You might have to fight as well. I know you're not strong enough, right now. But, we have no choice" she said, her eyes sad.
I nodded slowly, bringing my free hand to my stomach.
"I just want to protect my babies" I mumbled.
"Let's do it together" Raven said, her voice shaky.
There was a loud thud coming directly outside the tent. The three of us exchanged bewildered glances.
"Someone's here" Teyana mouthed, quickly shedding her clothes. It amazed me to see how brave she was. Her baby bump was big enough to be unmissable. I wondered if she could fight in that state. She shifted into her wolf form and stepped in front of Raven and I.
We all waited quietly until the moment the intruder opened the tent. Teyana didn't hesitate to attack. He crashed to the ground, pinned under the weight of her wolf.
Six men soon appeared at the scene, all dressed in black. We all fought against them, but they were too strong. A child's cry tore into the air and my heart sank.
Naomi had just been dragged out of the tent. I'd never seen Teyana so enraged. However, these rogues were ruthless. They refused to show us mercy.
For the first time in my life, I desperately wished for strength. I wanted to save others. If only I had a wolf. If only I was gifted in some way.
The next thing that happened was a blur. A bright light blossomed on my chest and consumed me.
When I came to, I was standing in the midst of bloodied corpses, my body stained with blood that was not mine.
Teyana and other members of the pack were kneeling in front of me, weeping.
"It's her! The moon goddess has visited us!" They cried.
...
Present Day,
"You won't tell me your story? That's disappointing" Luca said.
"That's not why I'm here. You should know that by now," I stressed.
He nodded.
"Fine. Go ahead. Tell me why you insisted on meeting me."
"Few months back, my pack was attacked for the first time in four years. Five people lost their lives. There were no signs of struggle. They didn't bleed either."
"It could have been suicide" Luca said, tapping his fingers on the table.
"Maybe. But, these people had no reason to kill themselves. Besides, the attackers left something behind...as if to announce that it was their work," I continued.
Luca tsked, a blank look on his face.
"They left behind a white handkerchief. Written on it were the words: THE DAYS OF THE BLACK EYES BEGINS NOW."
"How is this my problem?" Luca asked, a dark brow raised.
"After further digging, we've realized that they are a much bigger threat than what we'd perceived. I need your help with finding them. They seem to have a knack for hiding. You're the only one I could think of."
Luca cleared his throat.
"I came to you because the Lycan Empire has more eyes and ears than the werewolves," I stated.
"That's it?" He asked.
"What do I get from it? I want to know why I should help you" he said, a cocky smile on his face.
I should have known. He wouldn't do anything that wouldn't benefit him.
"This was a waste of time," I hissed, rising to my feet.
It didn't matter. The Black Eyes was nothing but an illusion which I'd come up with.
Even if he refused to engage in my business, I would make him do it some other way.
I would exert my revenge one way or the other.
For now, I had to retreat.
As soon as I rose to my feet, he stood up and grabbed my hand. Startled by this, I lost my balance and started to fall backwards.
He reached behind me and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me to himself. The instant my hand made contact with his chest, I pushed away from him.
"For an Alpha, you're quite clumsy" He pointed out. He suddenly furrowed his brows, his body slightly leaning towards my direction.
"What?" I snapped, glaring at him. He stared at the space beside me with unseeing eyes. Then, he pulled away and shrugged.
"It's nothing. I was almost certain that I just got a whiff of an entirely different scent from you" he spoke.
I stiffened. Surely, he didn't...
A smug grin curved his lips as he took a few steps backwards.
"Why are you anxious?" He questioned.
I tightened my fists, gritting my teeth.
"What do you mean by that?" I demanded through clenched teeth.
He shrugged, his hands sinking back into the pockets of his pants.
"I can smell your anxiety, Alpha Diane."
"I'm leaving" I deadpanned, spinning around on my heels.
His next group of words stopped me.
"It's a deal."
Slowly, I turned my head towards him.
"Let's call a truce. I'll help you figure out who The Black Eyes are. In return... you must help me find something," he said.
This was it. The beginning.
Taking a deep breath, I turned around to face him.
"When do we begin?"
"However, there's something we must do before any of that" he stated.
I frowned.
"What's that?"
His lips curled upwards.
"A contract marriage."
"What?!"
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