"Some even claim he's an alpha werewolf, one of the first and oldest. It's not impossible-some mages here can shift into animal forms and are what we call 'dual-faced.' Whatever the truth is, no one really knows anymore. But one thing is certain: Karadeylis has ruled for centuries, unchallenged."

Alaya sighed, brushing a strand of dark hair from her face. "To be fair, he governs wisely. Our people live well-no poverty, no beggars. He's a strong sorcerer and a proven warrior. Every few decades, foolish invaders from neighboring kingdoms try to attack us... and every time, Karadeylis crushes them. These days, such conflicts have nearly stopped altogether.

"The most remarkable thing," she added, lowering her voice, "is that the king never leaves his castle. Not once. When enemies come, he strikes them down with his magic from the tallest tower. Or he lends his power to his generals so they can fight in his name. For the last hundred years or so, he seems to have grown... bored. And that's when he decided to take a wife."

I sat perfectly still, like a mouse cornered by fate, listening to every word that might help me avoid becoming one of those missing brides.

Lost in my thoughts, I realized I had been sitting idle for far too long. Quickly dressing in the clothes provided to me, I went to the kitchen, where the lady of the house was already waiting.

"Alaya, please," I pleaded softly, "tell me everything you know about my upcoming fate-and... about your world."

"I figured as much-you're definitely not from around here," Alaya smiled faintly, unsurprised by my request. "Alright then, listen carefully."

From her story, I learned that everything here was vastly different from Earth, though there were also surprising similarities. Honestly, I felt this world wasn't exactly another planet, but rather a parallel universe closely tied to ours-too many details matched.

As we spoke, it grew dark outside-or at least as dark as it ever got here. The day here lasted twenty-seven hours, and the nights weren't truly dark, more like twilight. The light came from several moons and a sun that never fully set.

The brighter star, the one that completely dipped beyond the horizon, was called the Sun, while the dimmer one was Volar-it didn't disappear entirely, hovering low over the horizon even at night.

This planet, oddly enough, was also called Earth. The satellite seen at night was Luna, while the one visible both day and night in all its glory was Latz. Their year had twelve months too, though each month lasted forty-four days. Hours and seconds, thank heavens, matched ours. The week still had seven days with the same names. What a strange world... I still had so much to learn.

"As I mentioned," Alaya continued, "our king, Karadeylis, is a great mage." Her tone grew more serious. "He has ruled these lands for centuries-many generations of people have lived and died under his reign. How exactly he came to power remains a mystery. Some say he murdered the previous royal family and took their place. Others insist he's one of their secret descendants. And there are those who whisper that dark magic was involved-that he's an ancient alpha werewolf himself. That theory isn't far-fetched-some mages can take on other forms and become dual-natured beings. Whatever the truth, it's long been buried under centuries of rumors. What matters is that Karadeylis has remained the ruler for ages."

"To be fair," she added thoughtfully, "he governs wisely and efficiently. There are no homeless or starving people here. He's a powerful warrior as well as a mage, proven in countless battles. Occasionally, reckless fools from other kingdoms still try to attack us, but Karadeylis always emerges victorious. These days, conflicts are almost nonexistent. What's most curious is that he never leaves his castle. He doesn't need to-he can strike down enemies with his magic from the tallest tower or lend his power to his generals to fight in his stead.

"I suppose, after a hundred years or so of peace, he's grown bored. That's why he decided to take a wife."

I sat quietly, listening to every word, trying to absorb anything that might help me avoid becoming one of the "missing candidates."

"Once a year, throughout the entire kingdom, they gather young beautiful girls for him, hoping that one of them will suit His Majesty as a wife. But no one suits him, and afterward, no one ever knows anything about the girls. For some time they live in the palace, and with time there are fewer and fewer of them, until they disappear completely, every last one. And not all of them even make it to the palace - the road is long and dangerous, full of many threats."

"Strange... seriously, in all this time not a single one caught his eye?" I don't understand, because everyone here is so beautiful. A traveling modeling agency!

"Most likely not," the woman sighs. "If he's a shapeshifter, then he's most likely looking for his mate. Or maybe the king simply wants to find his love, and with his looks... Perhaps when he's angry, he does something to the poor girls." The woman's lip twitched, and her eyes filled with tears.

"And what about his looks?" I ask carefully, freezing inside.

"He looks very... specific," the brunette grimaced. "It's very hard to call him handsome - like, not at all."

"Listen, as I understand it, the king needs virgins for this... candidacy, right?" I ask cautiously, because maybe there's a way to solve my problem. "And I, well, haven't been one for a very, very long time..."

To this, Alaya only laughed bitterly and, scooting closer, lifted my shirt, examining my stomach.

"I don't know what happened to you in your world, but in this one you're still a maiden," the woman stunned me. "The drawings on our bodies are called karpits. They are unique to each person, and the design never repeats. They also show different stages of your growing up and the development of your body and life, so they change throughout your life. What you have on your stomach indicates that you are still untouched."

My eyes go as wide as saucers and move down to my stomach, examining it.

"Your bud hasn't bloomed yet, which means there hasn't been a man there - at least, not in our world."

For fuck's sake! And why the hell do I need this here?!

Alaya lifted her own shirt, and on her flat stomach I saw a beautiful, large, bright, colorful flower in the center, and next to it three smaller flowers and one very dull little bud. No matter how you look at it, it's very beautiful and interesting.

"Holy crap!" My eyes fly up to my forehead. "Why are there so many flowers?"

But Alaya suddenly grew sad and lowered her gaze.

"The central, biggest flower is my maidenhood. And the smaller flowers are my pregnancies and children."

"But... in the house you're alone..." My heart starts to clench as I realize how much grief and sorrow this wonderful woman has had to endure.

"Yes," the brunette whispered, a tear slipping down her cheek. "I had a husband... and besides Sariya, two older sons. After my daughter disappeared, my boys couldn't bear the loss and set off toward the capital to search for her. But they never returned. You see, the road to the capital is long, difficult, and at times deadly. We also have seasons of earthquakes in the mountains, caused by wandering stone giants known as gorts. It was during one of those seasons that my sons were on their way back... when the gorts were nearby. There was a massive rockslide. They all died."

"Alaya..." I whispered, embracing the grieving mother who had lost her entire family. "I'm so sorry."

"And this small bud," she said sadly, touching her stomach, "it represents a pregnancy that never came to bloom-a life that never had the chance to grow." She stood up quietly to prepare some kind of herbal brew for us.

After a few minutes of silence, I finally asked, "Alaya, why are the markings on everyone's bodies colorful, but mine are black?"

"That," she sighed, "I truly don't know. We're all born with colorful carpits. Maybe it's because you're from another world."

More questions, and still no answers...

"Tell me," I asked carefully, "just theoretically-if I were to... sleep with a man, would that mean I'm no longer a suitable candidate?"

"Oh," Alaya smiled faintly, "that won't be an issue here. Manar gave strict orders-no man in this settlement will even dare to look at you that way. And once the king's scouts for brides arrive, they'll either cast a special spell to prevent such things, or watch you very closely. So..."

"I was just asking for reference," I muttered awkwardly, realizing I had no idea who I could even sleep with here-and, honestly, didn't want to with just anyone. But still... better to know my options.

We continued talking for a few more hours until I began to yawn.

"Iza, you should rest," Alaya said gently. "The scouts will arrive any day now-it depends on how long their journey takes. Gather your strength for the trials ahead."

The next day, Alaya showed me around their settlement in more detail. It turned out to be quite a large community, with temples dedicated to various local gods, a market, a school, sports sections for children, and even a park for active recreation.

That last one struck me as a bit strange-after all, they already lived surrounded by breathtaking nature. But, as Alaya explained, parents felt their children were safest in the park, since the surrounding lands were home to plenty of wild and dangerous creatures.

There were also wandering werewolves, though Alaya assured me they weren't truly dangerous. They left their own packs in search of mates, traveling enormous distances, sniffing out everything in their path. They didn't attack humans or other beings unless provoked, and were mostly harmless. But-if one of them caught the scent of his mate on a girl, there would be no escape. He would drag her back to his den... and love her to the point of madness. So, young women were advised to be careful and avoid wandering too far from home. How I managed not to run into one yesterday was still a mystery.

After the long tour, Alaya needed to tend to her household chores, and I offered to help. It wasn't difficult for me, and I could see she appreciated the company.

"Come on, it's time to feed the hens and Fastik," she said cheerfully, and we headed to the backyard where the barn and shed stood.

Taking some grain and scraps of meat, we first went to the chicken coop. The chickens here were similar to ours, except for their bright and unusual feather colors. After feeding the birds, we walked toward the barn-where strange, muffled sounds were coming from.

The moment Alaya opened the door and we stepped inside, I nearly fainted.

"THAT'S A DINOSAUR!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs when I saw what was inside the pen-it looked exactly like a velociraptor.

I jumped back as if from fire, while Alaya, surprised by my reaction, calmly approached the creature and began stroking its long neck.

"Well, yes," she said with a smile, pulling out the scraps of meat and feeding the reptile. "You have these where you come from too?"

"They used to exist," I said slowly, still unable to believe my eyes. "But they went extinct millions of years ago. All that's left of them are fossilized bones that scientists sometimes dig up."

Overcoming my first wave of fear, I stepped closer, unable to tear my gaze away.

To be honest, the creature looked a bit different from what I remembered from documentaries. Fastik had dark-green scales mixed with lighter green, almost like a watermelon pattern, and even a bit of feathery covering. His powerful hind legs ended in sharp claws, while the forelimbs were adorned with bright green feathers, and on his head grew a funny little feathered crest.

"Don't be afraid, he's domesticated," Alaya said softly, smiling at her favorite pet-who, to my complete shock, actually leaned into her touch like a cat.

"And what do you even need a dinosaur for on a farm? More importantly-are there any larger ones around here?" The last thing I wanted was to bump into a T-Rex or some other prehistoric nightmare.

"No, this is the largest kind," Alaya laughed. "The others are smaller. Fastik helps us like horses do where you're from. He plows the fields, hauls carts, guards the farm-he's way better than any dog-and you can even ride him. Want to try?"

"Oh, no! Thanks, but no thanks," I refused instantly. "Riding a dinosaur wasn't exactly on my bucket list! They were terrifying predators in their time."

"Well, in the wild, yes," she chuckled. "But this breed is intelligent and easy to tame. They're quite affectionate, too-especially when you scratch their backs. They can't reach that spot with their claws, you see," she explained, amused.

I'd already been living with Alaya for several days, and she continued introducing me to her world. During the day, I helped her with household chores, and in the evenings, we sat together, chatting warmly over tea.

If not for my questionable future, life in their settlement would actually be rather nice-even cozy. I'd even grown fond of Fastik, and now I could scratch his funny, toothy snout without screaming in terror.

But today hadn't started well from the very beginning. It had rained during the night, and I'd managed to stain the dress Alaya had kindly given me while feeding the animals. To make things worse, I'd already been wandering around the local market for forty minutes, trying in vain to find paparita-a dark-blue vegetable that tasted a bit like zucchini.

When I stopped by the stall where Alaya usually bought it, the merchant regretfully told me they'd run out and suggested I check a booth between the last two houses on the square.

But I never made it there.