�What the hell?� I exclaimed, rushing at him. My stepfather lay limp on the chair, blood gushing out of his neck in a mad frenzy. He held my hands which had been raised to attack him.

�Let us be on our way.�

He began to drag me away but I resisted, looking behind me at my mother who still sat, her eyes emotionless as she stared at her husband's dead body.

�He has children,� I cried as we stepped out into the open. My mind was a chaotic haven for emotions I could not recognize. I did not even know how I felt about the death of someone who betrayed me. Judas had been good to me once upon a time and I was not going to forget it.

�He doesn't deserve them,� the man said coldly.

�They need their father!� I exclaimed, exasperated. �How do you think they will react to seeing their father's dead body with a dagger to his neck?"

"I did not leave my dagger in his neck." This man has the guts to flash me a smile. "This is pure silver, too expensive to be left in the body of filth."

"You are unbelievably cruel."

"I would not use that word to describe me," he said, still dragging me towards the carriage. "I prefer to be described as someone who enjoys to mete out justice.

"You're despicable," I spat at him.

"That is no way to talk to your new master," his eyes flashed an angry red colour. "Get in!"

The doors of the carriage had been opened by a man in a peculiar uniform. There was another carriage behind the one I was shoved into with men wearing the same peculiar uniform. Curiously, I asked. "You are not a government official, are you?"

He said nothing and got in beside me, leaning against the walls of the carriage. The doors were shut and the carriage began to bump along the road.

Silence prevailed for most of the journey and I had no idea that I had slept off. When I awoke, it was to my horror that I had leaned against his shoulder and drooled on him. "I... I..." I began to stammer, my heart beating against my chest.

He gave a slight chuckle and then his expression turned serious. "You shall wash this shirt the moment we get to our destination."

Shrugging, I turned to the window of the carriage that had curtains drawn across it. Curious to know what time of the day it was, I drew the curtains aside and was met with pitch blackness and it seemed like we were travelling through the forest. "How long have we been travelling?"

"Long enough," came the cool reply.

"It is dangerous," I gasped, and as though to back up my point, I could hear the distant howl of a wolf. Fear gripped my chest. "Did you hear that? We should have stopped at an inn!"

The man shrugged. "You don't seem to be the type that is scared of anything Agnes."

He knew my name.

"I'm Cyrus if you are curious to know, but you shall refer to me as Master and we will get to our destination."

Swallowing hard, I pursed my lips and drew the curtains back but pulled them open almost as soon as I did. There had been an animal-like creature that suddenly seemed human in my eyes or had I been dreaming? Was it paranoia?

"Did you see that?" I asked, turning to face him. The moon had turned a different colour, and it shone through the window on him, and his eyes had a feral colour. He licked his lips briefly and turned away.

"Close the curtains," he simply stated.

I did as I was instructed, getting suspicious by the way his eyes had glowed when the moon shone directly on it.

Could it be that the rumours and fairy tales were true? That amongst us humans there were supernatural creatures?

I shook my head in disbelief, I had to be imagining things.

My stomach growled and I sighed. I had not eaten breakfast in the morning so the Found would be enough for the twins who had a ravenous appetite, and I had been whisked away before lunchtime.

"We will stop at an inn soon," Cyrus mumbled. "I can hear your stomach very loudly. Did you not have breakfast?"

His eyes were closed as he spoke and I could not help but say. "The curtains are closed."

"I know."

"Why are your eyes still closed then?"

He shrugged in response.

"What are you? You're not human, are you?"

"What makes you say that? Don't I look human?"

"You do, but your eyes are strange," I commented. "There have been rumours of the existence of witches, wizards and vampires."

"Have you seen any of them?"

"Nope but a woman was burned alive at the market two days ago. She was accused of being a witch."

"Did she look like one?"

"Not at all," I shrugged. "Her nose was crooked."

Cyrus chuckled, his eyes still closed. "If I wasn't human, what do you think I'd be?"

"A vampire? Your eyes... They flashed orange."

Cyrus snorted. "I hate to be compared to those extinct blood-sucking mosquitoes."

And for the rest of the journey, he was silent.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*

We arrived at our destination two days later by noon. The sun was harsh on the surface of the earth and I squinted as I stepped out of the carriage.

A stone palace stood erect in front, its tall figure loomed over everything menacingly and the shadows it cast in all directions were enough to send fear into everyone. I could see humans mingling fearlessly with wolves and as much as I did not want to, I clung to Cyrus.

A wolf charged towards us, and I screamed but was silenced with a hand over my mouth. The wolf that had run in our direction changed into a human as it got to us.

"Welcome to the Ghysem, the Pack of the Northern Wolves," Cyrus said with an amused smile.

There was only one probable explanation.

I was living in a dream, a funny and terrifying one. "N-n-northern wolves?"

"Yes," Cyrus said, then acknowledged the man in front. "Theo, has the crisis been averted?"

"Considerably so. We reached a compromise."

"They should know better than to mess with us," snarled Cyrus. "Greedy pests," he hissed.

"Who is she?"

"Ah, my new slave. I paid a fine price for her."

"Again? A fine price? For a human? Those lowly backstabbing creatures?" He asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yes."

"You have an obsession." The man named Theo gave a tight smile and let out an exasperated breath. "Let's hope this one survives," he whistled then turned to me. "And you are?"

"Agnes." I ignored the hand he had out to shake me. "What do you mean by your statement?"

"What statement?" He asked, his hands still hanging out, waiting for a handshake that was never going to come.

"Let's hope this one survives?"

"Oh, it was nothing," he responded airily. "And it is not polite to leave someone's hand hanging."

"Who am I to shake your hand?" I asked with a smile. "I, a lowly backstabbing creature. A human, shake the hand of someone as powerful and upright as you?"

Cyrus grinned but the grin was wiped away almost immediately and he shot me a look that would have frozen a furnace. "You are to regard everyone with respect," he hissed.

I raised my brows at him. "I was being respectful. Who am I to shake his hand?"

"That was very sarcastic," Cyrus hissed. "Apologize right away."

"I did not do anything wrong," I said defiantly, raising my chin. "I will not apologize."

His grip around my wrist tightened and in a voice that left no room for disobedience, he said. "Apologize, now."

*+*+*+*+*+*+*

"What the hell is this?" Cyrus spat out the seventh tea I had made for him. He had complained of the first one being too bitter, and then the second being too sweet. Then the third had a tangy taste. He kept on finding faults in the tea I had made for him. "Do you not know how to make tea?"

"Maybe if I was prepared for slavehood or I had one of your former slaves teach me the recipe for your tea this wouldn't be happening!" I snapped at him angrily.

It had not been up to an hour since I arrived here that I was being subjected to a lot of work. He had not even given me time to settle down at all. My bags had been carried to only the heavens know where.

"Do not speak to me in such a rude tone," he said in a cold voice that sent chills down my spine. "Control your smart mouth," he hissed.

I pursed my lips and gave the politest smile I could muster. "I apologize, Master. I shall learn to speak appropriately."

"You did not mean it."

Rolling my eyes, I let out a sigh. "Why should it matter if I mean my words or not?" I asked. "After all, I am following your instructions."

"You should serve me as though you want to."

"News flash, I don't want to! I was sold into becoming your slave, so my behaviour should not surprise you."

"I was under the impression you were well-mannered."

Snorting, I picked up the tray that contained the teacup. "I shall make you another one your majesty."

Then something occurred to me. With the way everyone seemed to cower in fear around him and lower their heads as he passed, was he a king? I have only called him 'Your Majesty' sarcastically. "Are you the king here?"

Cyrus gave me an evil side eye before he responded. "I am the Alpha of this pack. So yes, you can say I am a king."

"Kings are usually old," I shrugged. "You are pretty young."

"Get me another tea."

"Of course," I walked away, rolling my eyes. When I got to the massive kitchen, I poured the contents of the tea into a waste pot and sighed.

"Do you need help with that?" A girl smiled walking into the kitchen. She did not seem to be a maid based on the aura she gave off. "Cyrus can be difficult and picky when it comes to what he consumes."

"Who are you?" I asked, intrigued by her. It was also strange that she had called him Cyrus.

"No one of importance," she grinned. "Let me teach you."

I watched as she gathered the leaves and mashed them in a pestle together with honey. Then she added a squeeze of lemon into it and transferred the content to a bowl of hot water. After this, she stirred it well and strained it into a cup. "I'm sure you just boiled the leaves in hot water, added lemon and honey and that was it."

"Yes," I answered. "But what difference does it make?"

"Quite a lot." She placed the cup on a tray and handed it to me. "Go ahead. Cyrus hates to be kept waiting."

I smiled at her and walked as quickly as I could back to the study where Cyrus sat. He observed the tray in his front with a raised eyebrow and picked up the cup.

He scrutinized it slowly as he had done before and sniffed it twice, before placing it on his lips and taking a sip. "Adequate," he mumbled and drank the rest of it with a satisfied smile.

I smiled back, relieved that he had not sent me to make another one and also internally grateful for the strange girl who had helped me out.

His expression of satisfaction was soon replaced by an unreadable look. "You were not the one who made this tea, were you?"

"Should it matter?" I asked. "It was drinkable."

"If there's one thing I dislike, it is when I assign a duty to someone and they reassign it to another person.�

"Oh please," I scoffed. "The job was done. You had your tea the way you liked it. Why should it matter who made the tea?"

"I am telling you that in future, I will not tolerate such." It was when he said this, that I noticed he had taken off his tailcoat and his shirt was unbuttoned. I looked away quickly.

"Oh please," I scoffed. "The job was done. You had your tea the way you liked it. Why should it matter who made the tea?"

"I am telling you that in future, I will not tolerate such." It was when he said this, that I noticed he had taken off his tailcoat and his shirt was unbuttoned. I looked away quickly. 

"Oh, how nice!" I exclaimed, my voice laced with sarcasm. "Maybe in the future, you should get someone to train me to do certain tasks that I am not used to doing."

"What have I told you about respect?" He stood up coolly and walked to my front. I took a step back and he moved forward. "I am the Alpha of this pack. Your master," he hissed. 

With shaky legs, I moved backward until I was against the wall. Previously, I had a comeback for everything he had to say but suddenly, his aura felt too intimidating and I could not respond. 

He leaned against me, his angry eyes boring deep into my soul, daring me to defy him. I whimpered slightly, trying to shrink into the wall behind me. 

His gaze softened a bit and his eyes dropped to my lips. Instinctively, I bit on it and avoided his eyes, swallowing hard. I could feel the warmth emanating from his body and my eyes traveled to the lines of abs on his stomach and the v shape that went down his trousers.

Something strange stirred within me as I observed his physical features. I wanted to reach out and use my fingers to trace his body. Those were urges I had never felt before. 

"What are you staring at?" His voice was husky as he asked this question and his eyes were clouded by something that I could not fathom. 

He did not give me room to answer. His fingers were on my lips and he dipped his head, his lips only inches away from mine. Realizing how compromising our position was, he cleared his throat and stepped away from me.

"Get lost."

*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Cyrus demanded me to be by his side every time. 

I had thought that as his slave, he would exclude me from certain things. Like when he had political conversations with people but that was not the case. 

"Their government will pay a fine if any strays are caught here. A heftier fine if they should attack the humans amongst us. I seriously wonder why these wolves can't stick to eating animals and decide to go for humans.

“It is a cowardly move,” Cyrus agreed. “Imagine attacking defenseless creatures.”

There was a bit of silence before Cyrus spoke again. 

"The same goes for us does it not? If there's a stray wolf in their lands."

"Yes," Theo sighed. "It took a long time to agree. The argument was that a stray Northern wolf was more dangerous than a stray Southern wolf."

Cyrus snorted. "We won't be dangerous if those greedy bastards did not steal our slaves and kill them just to taste human meat."

"I suppose so."

"Another thing," Theo said. "One of their men needs your blood for healing."

"Why would I give them?" 

"We are trying to avoid a war here Cyrus," Theo groaned. 

"Which wolf did he try to kill? That is the reason right?"

"He didn't try. He and Ava got into a squabble and she scratched him. His blood is contaminated with the chemical she uses to manicure her nails."

Cyrus chuckled. "Then Ava should give him her blood."

"She's being difficult as always. Please."

"Fine," Cyrus rolled his eyes. He pulled out a golden dagger from his pocket and stabbed his finger, allowing blood to drop into a wine glass. "That should do."

I was amazed at how the blood suddenly stopped flowing. 

"I believe we are done here." Cyrus stood up and then turned to me. "I am going to hunt. I shall be back in a few hours, make sure a bath is prepared for me by then."

Cyrus's POV

I had no intentions of hunting but I did not want to be in proximity of Agnes for a while. It had only been three days since we met, and a day of her being here, and somehow she had managed to stir feelings that I had not experienced in a very long time. Feelings that I had not experienced in a hundred years.

I tried to play off the sparks that had been between us earlier in the study. During my meeting with Theo, I tried my best to ignore her presence and act like it had never happened but a part of my subconscious could not get her off my mind. There was something about Agnes that intoxicated me. 

Could it be her smell? Or the way her * shaped blue eyes called me. Or was it the way her pouty lips moved when she spoke? Or the grace with which she walked? I had no idea. 

I walked away from the castle as briskly as I could, shooing the guards who tried to follow me away. I needed space and time to clear my mind from her. 

The evening breeze was cool against my skin as I walked towards my garden. On getting to the gates, I pushed them open and walked towards Agatha's grave standing in front of a fountain. 

It had been a long while since I had visited her grave and a wave of guilt washed over me as I remembered the feelings that I had experienced today. I felt guilty, as though I had betrayed Agatha for feeling that way about another woman. 

After Agatha's death, all forms of romantic feelings or feelings of lust left me. Despite the constant pressure of the elders to find a mate or wife who would give me an heir, I could not stomach romance. 

She was the only woman I had ever loved and I had prayed for years for the moon goddess to bring her back to me but my prayers had not been answered. Since then, I had given up hope and told myself to only cherish memories of her. However, those memories were painful to recall because of how it ended so I stopped visiting her grave. It was too painful for me to do so. 

"Forgive me," I whispered, plucking a rose from a nearby flower and laying it on the ground gently. "Forgive me," I whispered again.