Wolf Bait

Two

Papa Roach ft. Fever 333 & Sueco- Swerve

The person looking back at me is someone completely new. I am hurting everywhere. Laura and her cleaning crew did some deep cleaning. Waxed in place I've never been waxed before. My skin glistens from all the oils and s**t they put on me. That's how I ended up on the cold floor looking up at the mirrored ceiling.

"Perry," the Lycan King knocks on the door.

"Give me a minute," I groan.

"Silas is here,"

"Is that supposed to mean something to me? Who the f**k is Silas?"

"My beta," he growls. The guy loves his growling.

"I'll be out in a minute," I rub my face and sit up.

I look at the clothes on the counter and contemplate tying them together to make a rope. I think the golden shower rod is high enough to help me out right now. I slip on the black tights and the black long sleeve provided. I groan at the corduroy dress with overall straps.

"Seriously?" I roll my eyes and put my legs through it.

I have to wiggle a bit to get it up around my ass. I cross the straps on my back and buckle them. It's only then that I see that there is underwear provided. I look down at the matching set and push it into the sink before pulling the door open.

The Lycan King is a huge f*****g man. He has to be almost seven feet tall because I'm almost six feet and he towers over me. I mean it makes sense. Laura and company were all about my size and taller. They made me feel small. It's funny because back in Red Wood, I was always the tallest girl in the room.

His hair is as interesting as his eyes. It's dark gray almost metallic. His skin is tanned but there is a hint of something that gives him this really creepy glow. His build is sublime. This thing was made to be the predator that Lycans are made out to be. I wonder what he looks like in his lycan form. I bet it's terrifying.

"You look a whole lot better,"

"I hope so. I feel like I was skinned and then stitched back together. Thank you for that,"

"You're welcome," he says looking over my shoulder. I look back and then back up at him when he stares at the new underwear sitting there. "Not a fan?"

"Too lacy," I shrug. I'm not about to tell him that I didn't bother to check what was available.

"Noted," he nods. "Come. Let me introduce you to my Beta,"

"Do you have an alpha?" I ask.

"I have over two hundred alphas. None of them would be happy working for me here. We're not like wolves. Our alphas like to tear s**t up. A good King wouldn't deny them that,"

A good King. We'll see about that big guy. Silas is the big dark chocolate man who escorted me into the Jeep this morning. He's slightly shorter than the King himself. His hair is a simple buzz cut and he has these beautiful electric green eyes. Much like his King, Silas is a very pretty man. Dressed in a business suit that looks very expensive.

"This is Silas Jones. Sigh, this is Pernicious she will be our new acting Queen," he introduces us.

"I prefer Perry. No one calls me Pernicious," I say and hold out my hand. He smiles and takes it. My hand looks so small in his.

"You can call me Sigh," he nods. "I hear you're good with finances,"

"Correct. I hear you're okay,"

"That is an overstatement," he shakes his head.

"Get acquainted, Sigh. I've got preparations to make. Tell her what she needs to know," the Lycan King says without looking up from his phone. "Give her my information in case she needs anything from me. Let her see the Elder,"

"Yes, sir," Silas agreed without hesitation.

"Are you forgetting something?" I stop him. He stops and turns around to face me.

"What?" he demands.

"My name is Perry. This is Silas," I point to his beta. "And you are?"

"You don't know my name?"

"I had no idea who you were before this morning," I shrug. Silas presses his lips together and looks away. "Kind of big-headed of you to assume everyone knows who you are,"

"You have a very disrespectful mouth on you, little wolf," he growls. "Fix that,"

He still doesn't tell me his name as he walks away.

"Jonas Zachary Prince," Silas informs me.

"Never would have guessed that. I do believe I've never met someone named Jonas before,"

He leads me through the packhouse giving me a tour to buy whoever some time to get what I need together. This place isn't a house. It's an actual castle and I would know that if I had been well enough to look up at it when we arrived. Now that I've had some water, electrolytes, and food. I feel much better and I am taking in my surroundings properly.

The castle is carved into the side of a massive hill in the countryside. From my room, I have a view of the courtyard, but that small view does no justice to the grandeur of this place. It's twelve stories of elegance. The medieval-style structure has been modernized. The walls have been reforged to control the temperature.

The Victorian furniture varies in color on each floor. The first is a dark forest green shade. There are massive portraits of former kings and Queens all over the place. To say this place is a work of art is to put it lightly. This guy is an actual King. A dying breed stuck in an era where traditions are all squashed by technology and mainstream society. Poor bastard.

I don't understand how someone was able to get into this place to get to his mate. Where was he? Where were the guards? Who was in charge of protecting her? When we get to the top floor there's a section completely closed off with a barricade of furniture and other strange trinkets.

"What's that?" I ask pointing at it.

"I've shown you hundreds of years of history and this is what piques your interest?" Silas smirks.

"I mean, it's the only spot in the entire palace that isn't polished," I swipe up a fingertip of dust to show to him.

"It's Lady Eva's old studio. She was an artist. That is everything that belonged to her. Jonas had everything she painted and sculpted brought here so he never has to look at it again. What did you do with your mate's things?"

"Huh? I um- I piled it up in the Alpha's lawn and set it on fire. I used to drink, drink," some of this stuff looks like it belongs in a museum.

"How did that go for you?"

"Well, I stole his truck and was chased through the city. Made the news before the truck was totaled and I was arrested. They didn't press charges. All I got was a slap on the wrist and community service for a month,"

"Arson and auto theft. You would have been out of here before you could have set that yard on fire,"

"That's what I was going for, but guilt is a very powerful emotion,"

"You are one mean b***h," he laughs.

"You've got no idea, Silas. I learned from the best,"

"Your parents?"

"My mate,"

The two of us get back down to the first floor where there is a team of Lycans ready for us with packages and paperwork.

"Where would you like to set up?" Silas asks.

"I have options? I can't just stay in my room?"

"No, the King would like you at a more public location,"

"You got anything outside?"

"Plenty of places, my lady," one of the other Lycans nods.

"Show me the outside. Let me think about it,"

"All right," Silas bows and leads the way out.

The courtyard is beautiful from down here. The pillars have pretty vines growing around them. There are pretty flowers growing around the stone surroundings and the scent is out of this world. Past the courtyard is a massive stairway that leads into what I'm thinking is a village dedicated to those who work for the King.

"She doesn't have shoes on," someone whispers.

"What?" Silas looks down at my feet.

"It's cool. I don't like wearing them anyway," I wave him off and start the journey down the stairs counting as I go. "Eighty-six,"

"Sorry?" Silas asks.

"Eighty-six steps. That's going to be rough going back up,"

"We have a lift," he points to the wall behind us.

"That would have been great information before I ran down here, Sigh," I laugh. He grins.

"You scare me," he admits. "You have a very callous way of carrying yourself,"

"Don't be afraid to tell me to shut up or that I'm going the wrong way. I'm here to serve your King. Just his little pet wolf," I remind him. "I only bite if I'm threatened,"

"Good to know," he smiles and then looks down at my feet.

"Do you have a preference?"

"Vans. Hightops, slips-ons, anything with a pretty pattern on it,"

"We'll have some for you as soon as possible. I can carry you if you-"

"Don't do that," I wave him off. "I'm fine. I promise,"

"Okay," he nods.

"So, tell me about this place. How public a workspace are we talking?"

"Very. When the King told me you were interested in our finance division. I kind of had a place in mind. It's an old greenhouse on top of what we call the Vista. It used to be former Queen Alegra's greenhouse but she doesn't come here anymore. The plants died out, but with a little renovation, I think we can make it work,"

"Is Queen Alegra the King's mother?"

"Yes," he nods. "When the prince murdered the former King after he was banished. She went home to her former pack with what is left of her family there and to let her sons fight over the throne,"

"Understandable," I nod.

The walk up to what he referred to as the vista moves away from the village itself. When we get to the top of the hill, I get why it's called the Vista. The glass house is built on a hill right in front of the castle itself. Somewhere just outside the village. The view is spectacular.

This place is something out of a fairytale. It's ridiculous, but it's a hell of a place to die in. Maybe a little too good for me.

The greenhouse is a huge dome. It's been raining so, it's not too dirty on the outside. Silas leads me to the entrance and opens up a keypad. He types in four numbers and the entire thing quakes as the doors all around begin to slide open. My jaw basically hits the floor as he walks us in and the lights all start to come on.

There isn't a single plant in sight. In fact, the place looks like an empty observatory. Right in the center is a spiral walkway that leads to a platform at the top. The platform is held up by six huge iron pillars. There are glass shelves all the way around that connect some of the pillars.

What really intrigues me is the sprinkler system. The pipes are made of silver. I can feel the threatening sensation coming off of them as I get closer. She was really into plants because silver is really good for them. Helps prevent plant blight.

I follow Silas up the walkway to see that the system follows along the sides where there is a single shelf that follows up to the platform. The platform is just an open space at the top with a small round room where the bathroom is. What's captivating are the open panels that let the sun in.

This place is built to be an amazing eco-friendly place. It recycles the rainwater. Most of the glass is darkly tinted. The temperature is controlled and all together it's a beautiful place to spend time. I say spend because there's no way any time spent here will ever go wasted.

"What do you think, my lady?" Silas asks.

"Sold," I turn around to face him. "This is where I want to take my last breath," I admit. "I bet it used to be gorgeous,"

"It was magical," he nods. "The entire place was subpar before Lady Evangeline came here,"

"You didn't like her?" I ask. He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly.

"Eve was a very careless person. She was eighteen when she married the prince and I'm sure she did it because of his status. She was here a year before the King returned from his studies in England. She destroyed our home and our leaders. Jonas and James were very close before she came along. She was charismatic and maybe she deserved more than what she got, but the price we all paid was too much.

"Once she was mated to Jonas things started to get better. Especially when she was with child. She was a lovely girl. Very pretty, but it's hard to love something that destroyed our kingdom. Jonas is my brother and what she did to them may not have been her fault, but you'll never see anyone speak of her here. The name Evangeline Porter will always be a blight to us. The sickness that brought down the most feared race of all,"

I don't press for anything else. I've heard enough from him and it gives me a better incentive to never bring it up with the King. It sounds complicated. I know very little about Lycans. One thing that is taught in our schools is that if we ever come across one, submit. Don't try to fight them. They're beasts with the kind of power that makes a wolf seem like a harmless domestic dog. This is definitely the right place to be for someone like me.

"So, we set up here?" I ask. He looks back at me and smiles. "Nice big desks. Some couches a little kitchenette for snacks. I think we can make this work,"

"Are you sure? You wouldn't like to see more available places? We have office space in the village,"

"If you want to give me a tour of the village, I would love to see it. But this place is perfect. It's secluded and an easy target. Red Wood has towers similar to this all around the city for vantage points.

"Darren had them built to be the first points of attack. Hit one and the entire city is alerted. He was seventeen when he came up with that plan. If I may, I would like a floor plan of the entire property. I want to see what I'm working with.

"I want to make sure the King gets his money's worth. Never been one to do things half-assed. And I'd love nothing more than to make an asshole who killed a pregnant lady squeal before pushing daisies,"

"Beta Silas. The shoes you asked for," a woman approaches us. He immediately goes over to her and takes the shoes from her.

"Thank you, Sarah. That will be all," he dismisses her. The girl looks me over before Silas gives her a little shove to get her moving. She takes a few steps back without taking her eyes off me and he growls at her. She sneers at him but then leaves. "Sorry about that. She's still very young,"

"Why didn't the King use a Lycan female for this? Your race seems a little more equipped to handle something this gory. Don't you guys have alpha females?"

"Yes, we do and it has been suggested a few times. However, females are rare. I'm sure you've noticed there are more males around,"

"I thought it was a preference," I admit.

"No, it's because there are very few Lycan women. Even those who mate with wolves bear males. It's very common for Lycan females to take more than one mate,"

"Why didn't the King and his brother do that?" I ask.

Silas comes over to me with a red box with the skateboard logo printed on top. He opens it to reveal a pair of blue, black, and white hightop classics. I smile taking them out of the box. I sit on the floor and take the pair of socks he hands me.

"It is not custom for the royal family to share their mates. Lycan royalty is not like wolf royalty. There are rules. The King's mate must only bear his mark,"

"Breaking his rules already. Sweet," I say lacing up my shoes.

"Not really. Your mate is gone. Just like his. I love him. He's my best friend, but Jonas can be a f*****g i***t,"

"You know," I say standing up. "I'm all for calling out the authority figures, but you shouldn't talk like that about your king,"

"Given how we met, you shouldn't be the one lecturing me about bad-talking authority figures,"

"Mm," I agree. "But my opinion doesn't mean s**t to anyone. You're the beta prince. Keep that s**t to yourself. I'm making a list of people I think are traitors and you are on it. Not just for calling the Lycan King an i***t, but for talking about your former Queen the way you did. I'm an asshole, Silas. People hate me because I say the things no one else has the balls to. I'd like to be up and running by the morning. Make sure to inform your squad of that,"