The Hunt

Chapter Nine

Waking to a new environment, Angelique was disoriented and confused. Slowly sitting up on the large bed, she examined the room she occupied. It was a large and majestic bedroom. Everything was sparkling clean and expensive that she wondered if it was even real. She had never seen such finery. The bedsheets underneath her were silky soft, Barsinie, a type of silk made by a silkworm found in the Woodland Kingdom. It was not peculiar, for the Sprites Kingdom governed underneath the Fae Kingdom were materialistic creatures.

Whimpering, when her head was pounding, she gently massaged her forehead.

'What happened to her?'

She thought as she glanced out the window where the sun was slowly setting on the horizon.

“I see that you have awakened, your highness.”

Giving a panicked scream, when a servant had made her presence known by drawing closer, Angelique pushed herself like a cat out of the water towards the head of the bed.

The servant apologetically bowed, worry flashing in her forest-green eyes.

“I apologize for startling you, your highness."

Rapidly nodding, Angelique hoarsely spoke.

“Who are?"

The servant took two steps towards her. With a small curtsy, she plausibly answered.

"My name is Carlotta."

"Where am I?"

"You are in the Sprites Land, your highness."

"How long have I been asleep?”

Angelique pushed herself towards the edge of the bed.

"You have not been asleep, your highness, but ill for twenty-one days."

Angelique gasped with widened eyes.

“That is not possible."

“You have been running a high fever ever since I brought you here, Princess. You were in a short induced coma. Crossing the Fae boundary has affected your body.”

Someone interrupted as they materialized from a portal into the room. It was Pearle.

"My Queen, you are welcome."

Bowing and stretching out her hands to form an open circle with her fingers, Carlotta respectfully acknowledged her ruler's presence.

With a bittersweet smile on her gorgeous face, Pearle dismissed her with a small nod.

“You have done well. You may go in peace.”

“Thank you, my queen.”

Bowing again, Carlotta walked out of the room with her front facing Pearle. The double doors flew opened by two guards flagging either side of the doors. As soon as the doors were closed, Pearle walked to sit on the bed near the slightly panicked Angelique. Grabbing her hands and gently intertwining their fingers together, she smiled.

“I am happy that you are awake. How do you feel, dear?”

Sighing heavily, she murmured.

“I have never felt this way before. It feels as if I was hit with a lot of stones and swallowed sand.”

Lightly chuckling, Pearle lifted a hand to pass through Angelique's soft but tangled tresses. Placing a stubborn loose strand behind her ears, she shook her head.

“That is not very good to hear, but you have gained back your color. There is still a slight fever, but it seems like you have undergone the dangerous waters of the illness.”

Producing a little covered white cup filled with a crystal clear liquid standing on the end table through a small portal with her other hand, she handed it with a smile towards the slightly confused yet curious Angelique.

“This is a liquid made from sugar plums. It is to clear and soothe someone's throat. Drink, before it dilutes.”

Taking it from her hands with a small smile, Angelique uncapped it and sniffing its pleasing and aromatic scent; she slowly drank the contents until the cup was empty. Feeling an instant relief from her dry throat, she was grateful.

Pearle's smile broadened, her voice soft and motherly, as she removed it from her hands and returned it to the end table.

“How does it taste?”

Giddy from the taste, Angelique became flustered.

“It tastes wonderful.”

Passing her hands through Angelique's hair again, Pearle suddenly lifted the thick curls and placed them on her other shoulder. With a frown on her face, she traced the pink but healing wounds around her neck. Ignoring the male name winding around Angelique’s neck like a chain, Pearle formed a ploy in her mind.

“What happened to me?”

Following the hands of Pearle, Angelique frowned when she felt her skin around her neck was bumpy and rough. She felt unsettled with the frown gracing Pearle's face.

“Your body was too weak to accommodate the mark before, but it seems to be doing well after your remarkable recovery.”

“What do you mean? What mark?”

Confused, as her eyes widened in size, Angelique's hands shook, for even if she asked out of curiosity, she feared Pearle's explanation would be distressing.

“Come with me. You should see it for yourself.”

Pulling her gently off the bed and towards another brown colored double door leading to a large bathroom; Pearle bit her lip, for the young Princess had no idea the horror she would soon face. Pushing one door open, she pulled Angelique towards the floor-to-ceiling mirror on the far side of the room.

Gasping, when she saw her neck in the mirror, Angelique cried in pure horror, for the name engraved on her skin was unfamiliar and frightening.

In bold italic letters and the color burgundy red, Ryanne, a male's name, was written for all to see. The nose of a giant black beast that stood out like a sore thumb was underneath the letters.

She cried out.

“How is this possible?! I...This is not real!"

Shaking her head, Pearle muttered.

Lifting her hands to unfast the buttons at the back of Angelique's dress, she gently turned her around. She watched with impassive eyes as the Princess gave out a scream, for the rest of the giant beast was seen covering every inch of the skin on her back.

“Because your body was trying to fight the venom from the Lycan's bite, your sudden illness lasted longer than we thought. This claim around your neck and back indicates that the Lycan is your lifemate."

Rapidly shaking her head, when Pearle quickly re-buttoned her dress, Angelique denied the facts.

“But I am not a Lycan! I am a pureblood Fae, Pearle! How can I be a Lycan lifemate?”

Hysterically crying, Angelique searched Pearle's eyes for answers, but the woman was as clueless as she was.

“I do not know, dear. Your body was resisting the bound at first, but when your heart stopped...”

Quickly interjecting, Angelique quickly latched onto Pearle's arm.

“My heart stopped?! Why am I not dead then?!”

“Because of the babe you...”

Sighing heavily, Pearle hurried to explain, but she made the situation worse.

"Because of the babe, you..."

Angelique turned a deathly pale color as she pushed herself away from Pearle, her back hitting the cold surface of the mirror.

“A babe? I am with child?!”

In a squeaky voice, Angelique felt her entire world titled on its axis.

"I do not know what to say."

Not entirely hearing Pearl's words, Angelique fell onto the ground with emotionless eyes.

"Princess. Princess?"

Hearing Pearle's voice echoing in her ears, she fainted from the shock.

The sudden news of being with child; and a Lycans lifemate was too much for her fragile brain to comprehend.