Arabella's Point of View

“Daphne, what are you doing here so early?” I asked, stopping in my tracks when I saw Daphne sitting at the dining table.

“Good morning to you too. As you can see, I’m eating breakfast,” she answered, nodding at her plate of steaks.

I snorted and dragged my feet lazily toward the fridge. I reached for a yogurt before turning back to the dining table.

“Why did you come here to eat breakfast after ditching me yesterday?” I was referring to the detention, and I knew she understood what I meant.

Daphne grinned widely.

“I’m sorry about that, but I really had to look after my grandma because my mom wasn’t around, and my dad had to attend the pack meeting,” she explained.

“Hm,” I hummed.

“Anyways, how was the detention?” she asked.

Arthur choked on his food at the mention of detention. He started coughing, and I quickly reached for his glass of water and handed it to him, rubbing his back gently too.

He took a few gulps and slammed the glass on the table, then gave me a mocking look.

“Detention? Really? What are you? A high school student?” he asked, not even trying to hide his mockery.

“Ha-ha, very funny.”

He held his chin up slightly as if trying to recall something, then he hissed and shook his head.

“I’m a high school student, and I can’t even recall the last time I was in detention,” he smiled, giving me a thumbs up. “You impress me every day, sister Ara,” he mocked further.

I leaned across the table and punched his shoulder when I couldn’t take his mockery anymore. He frowned.

“How dare you hit the Alpha’s son?” he asked.

“Alpha’s son?” Daphne faced me, furrowing her eyebrows questioningly.

“Don’t listen to him. He’s just daydreaming,” I told her, and she laughed.

Arthur banged on the table lightly and faced Daphne.

“I’m not daydreaming. Alpha Jarek has a crush on my mom,” he said.

I wanted to scold him, but my mom beat me to it.

Mom dropped the bowl of cereal she was carrying and pulled Arthur’s right ear. He grunted in pain and tried to escape from Mom’s grip, which was obviously impossible—my mom is strangely stronger than most wolves.

Maybe it’s because she’s from the Gamma’s family.

“What nonsense are you spouting, young man?” Mom asked, still pulling his ear.

“I... I was just joking,” Arthur tried to defend himself.

“Joking with something as serious as that?” Mom asked, pulling harder, making Arthur howl in pain.

“Yes, yes, yes...”

“What?” Mom cut him off warningly.

Arthur quickly realized his mistake and shook his head desperately.

“I mean, no, no. I’m a fool. I’m a very foolish boy, and I shouldn’t have said that. Mom, I’m sorry,” he blabbed.

Mom finally let go of his ear. She pulled out a chair and sat next to me.

“Mom, you almost cut off my ear,” Arthur grumbled as he rubbed his ear to numb the pain.

“You’re lucky I didn’t cut it off. You mustn’t spread rumors next time,” Mom warned him.

Daphne and I were just staring at Arthur in amusement. From the sly smirk on her face, I could tell she was deriving great pleasure from Arthur’s pain—as much as I was. Call us witches, we don’t care.

Having Arthur as a brother is the worst curse in my life. He’s such a pain in my neck, and he never stops getting on my nerves. He’s so annoying—but I love him so much. Weird.

“You were already asleep when I came back from the pack meeting last night. How was your night?” Mom asked me.

“It was... okay.”

My night would have been okay if I had managed to see that guy’s face. It’s a pity I didn’t see it—all thanks to Arthur.

He stuck out his tongue at me when he caught me glaring at him. I gripped my fork tighter and sent him a quick mind-link:

Stick your tongue out at me one more time and I swear I’ll cut it off.

He quickly withdrew his tongue but huffed at me before focusing on his food.

“I bumped into Mr. Clovis at the pack house. He told me you’ve been dozing off in his class recently. Is that true?”

I sighed.

“Yeah,” I answered.

Mom raised an eyebrow at me.

“B-but it’s not every time. I only dozed off yesterday because I didn’t get enough sleep the previous night,” I quickly lied smoothly.

I can’t possibly tell my mom I slept in class simply because I found Mr. Clovis’ class boring—they’re siblings, after all.

“I know you’re lying, but I’ll just let it slide this time...”

Of course, you know, I grumbled mentally.

“...Don’t let me get another complaint about you slacking off. You know what’s going to happen to you then,” she said icily.

My mind flashed back to the last time my mom punished me. I was bedridden and had to spend two months in the pack infirmary. I even took some of my exams there. Bad shivers rushed down my spine, and I shuddered.

“I swear, it’s never gonna happen again.”

“Good,” Mom nodded in satisfaction.

Daphne nudged me gently, and I leaned closer to her.

“Why do I feel like your mom was once a sniper?” she asked me in a whisper.

I glanced at Mom, sighed in frustration, and shook my head.

“I feel that way too. Who knows? She might not even be my biological mom,” I whispered back.

Mom cleared her throat.

“I can hear you, young ladies,” she said.

Daphne and I coughed lightly and adjusted ourselves on our chairs, pretending like we weren’t just gossiping about my mom.

“Right. How was the meeting?” I asked.

“Hmm. It’s about the selection parade—it’s been brought forward.”

“What?!” Daphne and I exclaimed at once, making Arthur jump slightly and spill his milk.

He glared at us through his eyelashes.

“Can you ladies have mercy on this little pup? Don’t you know I need this milk to grow healthy and strong?” he pointed at himself, but we ignored him.

“Mrs. Humphrey, why was it brought forward?” Daphne asked.

Mom shook her head.

“We weren’t told why it was brought forward. Alpha Jarek said it was the King’s decision.”

The King? Ugh. Then I guess it’s final—no one can oppose it.

“When is it now?” I asked.

“In two days,” Mom answered.

“In two days? Isn’t that the day after tomorrow?” I asked, and Mom nodded in reply.

Daphne and I exchanged looks. I believe we both had the same thoughts running through our minds right now.

Why was it suddenly brought forward? And here I was, hoping the day would never come.

“Hurry up, kids. You’re running late,” Mom urged us.

><

LEGENDS CREATION COLLEGE, BEVERLY HILLS

Daphne and I breathed heavily as we stopped right in front of our school gate. We missed the bus and had to race here—without our wolves’ strength.

“I didn’t know I’m a good runner. I always thought my wolf has been the one helping me every time we race,” she said.

I nodded.

“Yeah, I’ll never race with you again without my wolf’s strength,” I told her. “I had to use up all my strength just to keep up with you,” I complained.

Daphne laughed at my misery.

“Quit whining. Your wolf is stronger than mine, so I think it’s fair that I’m a better runner without our wolves’ strength.”

I narrowed my eyes.

“Are you saying I’m lazy?” I gritted out.

“Of course. Everyone knows that,” she answered.

I glared at her but didn’t say anything—because she’s right. My wolf is very strong, but my human (which is me) is very lazy.

Daphne threw her arm around my shoulder, and we started walking inside.

“Hey, another body was found in the Wizardry Forest last night,” Daphne whispered very lowly in my ear, and I tensed.

“Another body?” I asked.

The image of that handsome stranger appeared in my mind. Could it be he was killed by the Beast King? Could it be that handsome face and godly body have gone to waste?

I shook my head in denial.

“You gotta stop with all these gossips. I walked through the Wizardry Forest last night, and I didn’t see any beastly creature,” I told her.

Her eyes grew wide. Her mouth parted as though she was about to release a shriek, but she stopped herself when she took in our surroundings—a group of girls was walking behind us, at a safe distance though.

“You passed the Wizardry Forest last night?” I nodded. “What were you thinking? Were you trying to get yourself killed?” she asked in a scolding tone.

“Relax. There wasn’t any danger when I passed it.”

She inhaled deeply.

“Well, maybe the danger came right after you left. You’re lucky—who knows if that body would have been yours.”

I shrugged.

“Yeah, but the body is not mine,” I stated. “You better use your time for something meaningful instead of listening to gossip news.”

She grabbed my shoulder and made me stand still.

“It’s not gossip. According to the news, it’s the body of a vampire.”

I laughed at her, shrugged her hand off me, and continued walking.

“Now you’re sounding ridiculous. What would the body of a vampire be doing in our Wizardry Forest?”

“You don’t believe me?” Daphne asked.

“Of course I don’t,” I answered.

“But you believed me yesterday. In fact, you’ve been believing the Beast King has been the one behind all the killings,” she wondered aloud.

“Yeah, that was before I passed the Wizardry Forest last night. I don’t think it’s true that a body was found there.”

Actually, I believe everything she said—because I heard heavy footsteps approaching us (the handsome stranger and me) last night, before I took off.

I was just finding it hard to accept that the handsome stranger was wasted just like that.

I hope the handsome stranger managed to escape before the Beast King arrived. I don’t want that body they found to be his.

“I’m kinda baffled by something, though,” she said.

“What?” I asked.

“The Beast King’s palace is built on neutral lands, which is pretty far from our Wizardry Forest—but why does he always dump the bodies in our forest after killing them?”

“I don’t know. Maybe you should ask him when we visit his palace.”

She pushed me away from her and threw me a glare. I simply laughed at her expression.

“I hate you,” she said.

“I love you too, baby,” I replied and blew her a kiss, but she dodged it.

“Don’t talk to me.” She ran off, and I quickly chased after her.

><

Third Person’s Point of View

WIZARDRY FOREST

It was still daytime, but it was very dark inside the Wizardry Forest, and a mere human wouldn’t find their way in.

The whole forest seemed dead. The trees were all dead as their leaves had withered. Even the birds’ singing echoed throughout the forest as if they were ghost birds—and they kept flying from one tree to another as though being chased by a force.

No one in their right mind would step foot in the forest. It’s just so lifeless.

He stood in a very dark corner, his dark and emotionless eyes fixed on the royal investigators who were busy moving a dead body. His fists were balled at his sides.

“Your Majesty.”

His adviser called from behind as he jogged toward him.

He didn’t reply or even turn to face his adviser, but the adviser continued anyway—it was pretty obvious he was listening.

“Your Majesty, it’s done. The date has been brought forward.”

“Hm,” he hummed.

“But I have a question though.”

The adviser paused and waited for his response, which he knew he wasn’t going to get.

“It was way past sunset when you crossed paths. Are you really sure it’s her?”

His shoulders tensed when he heard his adviser’s words, but he still didn’t utter a word.

“You can’t perceive your mate’s scent or feel the mate-bond once it’s sunset. We can’t be sure it’s her—right?”

Still no response from him.

“Likewise your mate. She won’t feel you or perceive you. So I think we shouldn’t jump to conclusions yet and raise our hopes.”

He finally moved his eyes away from the royal investigators and faced his adviser—that darkness never left his eyes.

“We’ll see,” was his reply.

Arabella's Point of View

"...That's all for today. Have a splendid weekend," Ms. Marshall wished us as she packed up her big textbooks.

Daphne scoffed beside me, packing up her books angrily and recklessly.

"This weekend is gonna be anything but splendid," she grumbled lowly. "I can't believe I'll be sacrificing myself for the sake of other girls," she said aloud this time.

"Sacrificing yourself?" I asked.

"Yeah. The selection parade has been brought forward, and who knows—we might not come out alive."

I nodded in agreement. She had just reminded me how near we are to the selection parade—my heart is about to rip out of my chest in fear.

"I might as well start writing my will now."

She paused and tilted her head. A deep frown appeared on her face—I knew exactly what she was gonna say next.

"Do you think I should will all my allowance to Dante or put them up for charity?"

I twisted my lips and thought briefly.

"Judging by how much Dante has scammed you, I'd advise you put it up for charity. Those old people and orphans need your money more than Dante. He's earned enough of your money from his dirty scams," I said.

Daphne and I laughed as we found my words funny.

"Exactly my thought," she agreed.

We continued packing up, and finally, we were done and set to go home. This was our last class for today. We carried our bags and headed out.

My phone vibrated in my pocket just when we were about to take a curve down our class hallway. I reached for it and saw it was Pete calling. Pete is my manager at my part-time job.

"Hey, Pete," I answered the call, handing the big textbook I was holding to Daphne.

"Ara, your mom called and said you wanna quit your job," he said.

My brows furrowed instantly. I gave Daphne a questioning look, but she shook her head.

I don’t recall ever telling Mom I was gonna quit my job. Why did she say that to him? In fact, there’s no reason for me to quit my job.

"Yeah, she said you needed time to get ready for the selection parade..."

I tuned out the rest of his words and released a sigh.

"Okay, thanks," I said and hung up.

I shoved my phone back in my pocket, and we continued walking.

"I think your mom is nervous. She must be scared of what’s gonna happen to us," Daphne said.

"Yeah. We don’t know what’s gonna happen to us in there. What’s gonna happen to whoever is selected this time? Are we gonna come back with our memories intact?"

Daphne simply shrugged, because that’s all she could do. She had no answers to my questions—she’s just as clueless as me.

"Hey, Ara!"

I heard the voice I dreaded most. Daphne snorted quietly, and we stopped walking. Daphne took a step forward and stood in front of me in a protective stance.

"Ingrid Michaelson," I said under my breath.

"What does this evil elf want this time?" she growled lowly. "I'll beat her up if she doesn’t filter her words."

I laughed.

Daphne is all bark and no bite. She sure loves me and is willing to fight for me, but she runs off at the very last moment. Like I said before, my wolf is stronger than hers.

Ingrid stopped in front of us, with her three minions standing behind her. I rolled my eyeballs. Don’t they have anything to do other than following Ingrid around?

"Ara, are you also going to the selection parade?" Ingrid asked.

"Yes. Am I not entitled to?" I asked her back.

She chuckled, looking at her minions to join her—and they did.

"I heard my dad saying the Beast King is secretly searching for his mate. That’s why girls are taken to his palace. I bet you didn’t know that."

"So? What are you implying?" Daphne asked.

"I don’t think you’re eligible. You’re just wasting your time because you can never be the Beast King's mate with this ugly face of yours," Ingrid laughed.

I pushed Daphne aside gently and walked around Ingrid as I was assessing her. Then I stopped in front of her and stared at her face.

A sigh left my mouth as I shook my head in disappointment.

"What’s with your expression?" she asked.

"You call me ugly..." I sighed. "...but I’m still more beautiful than you—even with your plastic face."

"What are—"

"Take a look at your body. You’re too straight. But look at all my curves," I gestured at my body as I made a sexy pose.

She looked down at herself. From the corner of my eye, I could see Daphne trying to hold back her laugh.

"Did your mama iron your backside when you were a pup?" I asked.

She quickly touched her butt.

"Your ass is so flat. But take a look at my heavy ass," I turned and twerked in front of her briefly.

Daphne couldn’t hold it in anymore. She burst into uncontrollable laughter—and even some of Ingrid’s minions joined in the laughter.

I turned back to face Ingrid and winked at her. Her face had turned crimson red from anger or embarrassment.

"Don’t worry, Ingrid. I’m not gonna snatch him away from you, because I’m too hot and beautiful to be mated with a beast."

My eyes trailed her body, taking note of all her flaws—both her physical flaws and her innermost flaw, which is her rudeness.

"He’s more suitable for mean, wicked, and evil elves like you. I believe the Moon Goddess already paired you two—that’s a perfect match for sure," I said.

"That’s right. Go, Ara!" Daphne hyped me, still laughing her guts out.

Ingrid pointed a finger at me.

"You’re... you’re... you’re..."

"I’m what?" I cut her off. "I’m too hot compared to you," I told her.

Her eyelids twitched as tears brimmed in her eyes. She threw her minions a glare, and they stopped laughing immediately.

I reached forward and held up her chin, because I’m a little taller than her.

"Ingrid Michaelson, you’ve forgotten I’m not one of those weak female elves in your clan who you mess with. I don’t take shit from anybody—not even the Beast King."

She slapped my hand away and pushed me very hard. I would have lost my balance if I wasn’t standing upright.

"Your words can’t get to me. You’re still inferior to me," she said.

I stepped closer to her and looked in her eyes, then released a short laugh.

"My words already got to you. Go home and cry." I turned away from her and faced Daphne. "Dolphin, let’s go."

I flipped my hair back and walked away, although I heard Daphne blowing raspberries at her before running after me.

Daphne threw an arm around my shoulders when she caught up to me. She kissed my cheek and howled shortly.

Arabella's Point of View

"You were so hot back there," she praised me.

"Of course, I'm Arthur's sister," I bragged.

Being Arthur's elder sister has taught me a lot, and one of those things is to be brave enough to stand up for myself.

"Let's go home and get ourselves ready for the selection parade," Daphne said.

★★★★★

TWO DAYS LATER – SELECTION PARADE

We've all (the eligible girls) gathered at the entrance of the Wizardry Forest. This is the road leading to the Beast King's palace—weird, right?

Our families were standing beside us, consoling us and giving us advice about how to behave when we get to the palace—what to do and what not to.

Every girl was staring at the Wizardry Forest with great fear. In fact, one could tell how scared they were from how they were trembling.

I'm not scared of going through the forest because I've gone through it before. I'm just scared of what's gonna happen at the Beast King's palace.

"Are you even listening to me?" Mom's question snapped me back to her.

"Yeah," I answered.

"Don't talk to anyone when you get to the palace. Don't ask too many questions—in fact, don't ask any questions at all, because I know you too well," she said sternly.

I nodded.

"And don't run about. The King is very ruthless to rule breakers, and he kills for fun."

"Hm," I hummed.

Mom sighed and pulled me into a hug. She patted my head gently.

"I know the Moon Goddess wouldn't pair you with him. I just can't help but worry, though," she said.

I smiled.

"I'll be fine, Mom." I pulled away from the hug and held her hands. "I have a way to make them disqualify me from the selection parade."

"What?"

I nodded.

"Let's get to the palace first. I'll make sure I get disqualified," I assured her.

Mom glared at me but didn't argue with me. She leaned forward and kissed my forehead.

"Just be careful and come back to me in one piece," she said.

"I sure will."

Arthur cleared his throat and stepped forward. He stared at me for a moment.

"Well, I'm praying you die there because I'm not gonna miss you..."

Mom smacked the back of his head for saying such words, but I simply smiled because that's exactly what I was expecting him to say—but I know he's indirectly telling me to come back safe.

"...What? If she comes back alive, she's gonna disrupt my plan of becoming the Alpha's son," he said.

"Hush," Mom hushed him and quickly looked around to check if anyone heard him. Fortunately, everyone's minding their business right now.

"I can play matchmaker between you and Alpha Jarek when she's gone," he grumbled further.

I reached forward and ruffled his hair, but he quickly slapped my hand away and frowned at me.

"Not the hair, please."

"Don't worry, Arthur. I'll come back intact," I told him.

He scoffed and shoved his hands in his pockets. He leaned against a tree as he tried to keep a cool expression.

"I don't care whether you come back intact or not. I'm not gonna miss you anyway," he said.

I laughed and shook my head.

"I love you, Arthur."

He scoffed and looked away, but I heard him grumbling, "I love you too, sis."

Mom and I exchanged looks and laughed at his naughtiness. I hope I'll come back to my happy family. I don't want them to be sad because of me.

"Alright, it's time to leave. Everyone, be in a straight line," a man dressed in some sort of uniform commanded—an army uniform, I guess.

Everyone (I mean the eligible girls) started lining up at his command. I also leaned forward and gave Mom a goodbye kiss on her cheek when I saw Daphne rushing toward me.

Mom patted my shoulder and gestured for me to join the line. Daphne, who had already gotten to us, linked our arms and smiled at Mom.

"Bye for now, Mrs. Humphrey. We'll be back real soon."

"I know, dear," Mom replied.

Daphne and I hurried up to get in line too. I groaned when I realized the girl standing in front of me was Ingrid.

"Humph, some people don't know where they belong," she said.

"I know, right? Like I'm too hot and too sexy for that old beast. I might ride him to death," I replied in a whisper, putting emphasis on riding him to death.

She turned and glared at me.

"You're such an uncultured swine."

"Oh, thank you," I replied.

She scoffed and didn’t say any more words to me. Daphne tapped my shoulder, and I leaned back to give her my attention.

"She's scared of you."

"She's supposed to be. I'm a wolf and she's just an ordinary elf—I might bite off her long ears if she steps on my tail again."

Daphne cringed.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side."

"I'll keep that in mind," I assured her. We laughed briefly.

Soon, everyone was done lining up. Some men who were also dressed in army uniform moved around and shared a piece of cloth with each of us.

"Now put on your blindfolds," the man who commanded us to line up earlier commanded again.

We all obeyed him. We quickly put on the blindfolds and waited for his next words.

"Hold onto your neighbor’s shoulders and start walking ahead," he said.

We quietly and obediently did what he told us. I quickly told Arthur and Mom goodbye through our mind-link before we embarked on the journey.

★★★★★

KING'S PALACE – 50 MINUTES LATER

"Stop and take off your blindfolds!" the army man commanded after we had walked for a very long time.

Without wasting time, I took off my blindfold and looked around me. My eyes met with two big gates.

I raised my head to take a proper look. I couldn't help but awe because the gates were incredibly tall—I never thought they were so tall, and I had never seen any gate as tall as these. Though it looked like one of those ancient gates.

Which made me wonder... how old is the King exactly?

"Ara," Daphne whispered. "What do you think we're gonna face behind these gates?" she asked lowly.

"An old beast," I answered.

The army man cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"We're about to go inside. Just set your gaze on me alone as I lead you in, and don’t look around or..."

He trailed off. His eyes moved around, which we all followed—only to find guards standing beside each of us.

"...or these guards won’t show you any mercy," he said.

I gulped and cursed mentally. Here I was, thinking of how to rub mud on my face to make me look ugly and get disqualified—how am I gonna do that now?

"Come with me," the army man said.

The gates slowly opened up, and we trooped in after him. I wanted to look around, but remembering the army man's warning wouldn't let me.

★★★★★

We stopped at a door after walking down countless hallways. He pushed the door open and stepped in before inviting us in too.

I had taken a sneak peek at some of the hallways on our way here, and strangely, there were no portraits of the King—which kept me wondering.

Why are all the hallways so plain? Where are the Beast King's photos? Why isn’t there any portrait of him? Is he that ugly and too unpleasant to the eyes?

"Your Majesty, the girls are here," the army man said with a bow.

I looked to the front and saw a man sitting on a small chair with a small table in front of him—though his back was facing us.

"Hm," he hummed.

Is he gonna keep backing us like that? But my thoughts were interrupted when he turned around.

My jaw dropped in shock. Isn't this that handsome stranger from the Wizardry Forest?

What is he doing here? How did he survive the Beast King? Wait—was he captured by the Beast King and taken to his palace to be a slave?

That’s right. He was captured by the Beast King. I must find a way to rescue him. After all, he saved me that night, and that’s why he was captured.

I cautiously took a few steps back and moved away from the others to a position where he could see me. Then I waved at him.

"Hey," I whispered-yelled, but he didn’t hear me. "Hey," I whispered-yelled again, but he still didn’t hear me.

A few girls heard and gave me weird glances, but I quickly muttered "sorry," and they turned their gaze away from me.

Is he ignoring me? Or he really can't hear me? Maybe I should just continue waving until he looks my way.

I started waving at him, but I quickly gave up when I realized he wasn't sparing me a glance. His attention was on the other girls. Maybe he's scared of the Beast King.

I couldn't come up with any good plan, even after much thought, on how to rescue him from here. I felt a sudden surge of frustration, and I couldn’t help the next words that left my mouth.

"My darling!" I blurted out very loudly.

All heads turned toward my direction, and my eyes grew wide like a deer caught in headlights. Embarrassment swallowed me, and I felt like disappearing into thin air.

Daphne rushed toward me. She grabbed my arm and leaned closer to my ear.

"Why did you call him your darling?" she whispered.

"I... I... I know him," I answered her loudly.

"You know the King?" one of the girls from the crowd asked.

My head turned back to the handsome stranger. I took a closer look at him, and I started taking note of things I had overlooked before.

The chair he was sitting on—it might look small, but it's made of gold. His extravagant clothes and his posture—he looked so majestic.

"He's... he's the King?" I stuttered quietly.

"Yes, that's the King," Daphne answered.

I pulled Daphne closer to me.

"You mean he’s the Beast King?"

"Yeah," she answered.

Then I recalled how the army man had addressed him earlier—"Your Majesty." I also recalled his words back at the Wizardry Forest—looks can be deceiving.

It's over.

My legs suddenly became jelly, and I found myself falling to the ground and was instantly drowned into the abyss of darkness.