6

Lisa’s POV

I couldn’t shake off what happened yesterday. I was frightened and couldn’t sleep. I tossed and turned all night, unable to calm my racing thoughts.

“Lisa, why aren’t you up yet?” My mother asked. “Aren’t you going to work?”

I opened my eyes to find my mother in my room.

“Mother, what’s wrong?” I questioned.

“Are you not going to work?” she asked.

“Oh, my goodness!” I stood up and dashed into the bathroom. I’d overslept and would be late for work. I quickly showered and changed into my clothes.

“Lisa,” mom called.

“Mum, I need to go.” I grabbed my car keys and drove off. I parked my car and ran inside the company.

“Good morning, Janet,” I greeted her. “Is the boss around?”

“Not yet. Good morning,” she replied. I sighed. I felt relaxed. I sat down and began doing my work.

“Good morning, sir.” Janet stood up and greeted him.

I stood up. “Good morning, sir.”

“Come and see me right now in my office,” he shouted, glaring at me. I gulped and followed him humbly, my heart racing in my chest. My palms were sweating, and my breathing was shallow. I had no idea what he was going to do with me.

“I’ll be back, Janet.” I closed my laptop and followed him. I knocked on the door and walked in.

“You called me, sir,” I muttered as soon as I walked inside his office.

“You’re fired,” he spat.

“What? Why? What did I do, sir?” I inquired. I knew it. I knew he wouldn’t honor his promise. He had been looking for something he could use against me.

“Nothing. You’re not doing a good job, so I don’t see the point of keeping you,” he hissed. He spoke as if he were the sole owner of the company.

“Sir, I am the company’s best designer. I’m not sure why you’re doing this to me,” I announced. “I’m unable to leave. I refuse to be fired.”

“If you can’t leave, then you will be forced to leave.” He picked up the phone. “I need you to come to my office right away.” When they came in, I was still arguing with him. The security.

“Sir, you can’t do this to me,” I begged. “Please don’t sack me.”

“I will. Just go,” he uttered. “Please, I need you to take her out right now.”

I was hauled out and shoved. I’d show him the stuff I’m made of. I’d make sure that they both dismissed us. My bag was hurled at me. I drove off after picking up the bag.

Rang! Rang! My phone rang. I picked up my phone and answered it. It was my boyfriend.

“Hey, baby. Where are you?” he asked.

“I’m on my way home,” I replied.

“Why?” he asked me. “Why are you not in the office?”

“My boss fired me,” I responded.

“You mean that perverted boss of yours?”

“Yes,” I muttered. “He sacked me.”

“I know you must be having a bad time. I’m sorry,” he let out. “I am home. Do you want to come?”

“I’ll be right there.” I turned around and drove to his house. I rang the bell when I reached his home.

“Honey, you’re here.” He hugged me as soon as he opened the door.

I walked in and took my seat. What a bad day.

“What should I offer you?” he inquired.

“Just give me a bottle of wine. That is all I need now.”

“Sure.” After a few minutes, he was back with the wine. I took it from him and started drinking. David started touching my body.

“Stop it. I want you to stop touching me, David,” I said. “Please stop.”

“Bae, why can’t I do that?” He stated. “You’re my girlfriend?”

“I’m not denying the fact that I am your girlfriend, David,” I blurted. “All I ask is for you to stop touching me.”

“Why are you doing this to me?” he questioned.

“We’ve been dating for five years, and you still won’t allow me to kiss or touch you. I want you to speak to me. What exactly is going on? Why is this happening?”

“David. Stop.”

“I have had enough of this, Lisa.”

Why? Where did it go wrong? I was fired from my company, and my boyfriend wanted to force himself on me. I stood up.

“I don’t have anything to say to you. I have had a bad day already.” I was about to leave when he dragged me back.

“Bae, please, I truly love you. Why can’t you sleep with me? Don’t you love me? You claim to.”

“Listen to me, David. I love you, but I am not ready for this.”

“When will you be ready? Tell me?” he asked.

“When we get married, we can do it.” I responded. “We can sleep with each other then.”

“Married?” he exclaimed.

“Are you not planning to get married to me? Why are you so surprised?”

He stayed mute. He sighed before declaring. “I will marry you. I love you, Lisa.” He pulled me into a hug.

“I need to go, David,” I announced.

“Now?”

“Yes,” I let out. “I’ll see you later.”

“Okay. Allow me to walk you out,” he said, pulling me into a hug. He walked me to my car. He hugged me again, and I drove off.

“I’m back, Mother,” I grumbled, dropping my suitcase on the sofa. The house was quiet, and I couldn’t find her. “Mother, where are you?”

“You’re back, my daughter,” she said quietly, appearing in front of me. She looked unwell, and I could sense her anxiety. Something was definitely wrong.

“What’s wrong, mother?” I asked, drawing her closer. She gave me a sad look and remained silent.

“Sit down and tell me what’s wrong,” I urged, taking her hand.

“Lisa, everything that’s happening right now is beyond me. I thought moving away from the pack would solve everything, but they found me here,” she confessed.

“Who found you?” I asked, ready to defend her. “Tell me, I can handle it.”

“The Alpha werewolf king.”

“Werewolves? Are they real?” I questioned her, shocked by her revelation.

“Yes, Lisa. They are real,” she confirmed. “Every year, the king demands girls from different families and makes them his concubines. It’s a sick tradition, I know.”

“Sick isn’t the word, mother. It’s horrible.” I shuddered at the thought.

“Yes. Even more horrible because this year, it’s my turn to send my daughter to the king.”

“I’m not — you’re not referring to me, are you?” I stuttered, feeling terrified and overwhelmed.

“Forgive me, Lisa. But I am. You are the chosen one. You will become the king’s concubine,” she revealed.

“I will never become a king’s concubine,” I declared, shaking with fear and anger.

“We have no choice, Lisa,” she insisted.

“I have a choice, Mom,” I argued. “You don’t have a choice, my child. Whether we like it or not, you will not be able to escape the king. He’s more dangerous than you think,” she warned.

“It doesn’t matter to me. I’ll fight him,” I vowed. “I’ll send him to hell as soon as he shows up here.”

“You can’t do that,” Mother said. “You can’t fight him.”

“I need to know everything, mother. How do you know about them?”

She stared at me. “I have a secret I am keeping from you, child.”

“Okay, you can tell me.”

“Listen to me, child. We aren’t humans. We belong to a pack. We are wolves. Both me and your father.” The revelation was shocking. How could this be? A wolf?

“What!” I exclaimed.

“I’m sorry, child. I shouldn’t have kept this from you.”

“Mother, why do you keep this from me? I keep telling you about the strange voices in my head, but you don’t respond. You act like you don’t know what’s wrong with me,” I muttered lowly. “You should have told me. Why are you just telling me now?”

“I’m sorry,’ she apologized.

“You’re sorry. Why are you just telling me this? Answer me, mother?” I screamed at her. “Why?”

“He’s here. The king has come to see me. He wants you. I don’t know how he found us,” she whispered. “He wants you as his concubine.” She burst into tears.

My mother explained everything to me. Everything became clear to me. I was very angry that she kept it a secret from me. My parents were wolves. After my father’s death, my mother left the pack out of fear that I would be sent to the king.

“I don’t want you to be with the king, Lisa.” She held my hand and started crying. “He’s a monster.”

I pulled her into a hug before uttering, “You don’t have to worry, mother. I’m not interested in marrying him. Why should I be someone I don’t love?”

“Lisa, we need to run,” my mother suggested. “Far away from him.”

I could hear the approaching footsteps, heavy and deliberate, like the pounding of a relentless drum. My heart raced, and a cold sweat broke out on my forehead.

“Mother, can you hear that?” I asked.

“He’s here,” mother gasped.

As the door burst open, a massive figure stood at the entrance, shrouded in shadows. His eyes glowed with an otherworldly intensity, and the air seemed to thicken with his presence.

The Alpha werewolf king had arrived.

“How dare you, Mary?” he growled. His gaze was cold and menacing. “No. You will never escape from me. She’s destined to be mine.”

“No, I won’t allow that,” my mother snarled. “Over my dead body.”

“Then you have to die,” he hissed angrily. Mother’s face went pale, and her eyes were filled with fear.

Despite her fear, my mother still stood by my side. “You’ll never marry my daughter.”

“Stop fooling yourself,” he roared. “Stop acting high and mighty, Mary. You know I will never marry your daughter.”

“What?” I smirked. “Then why are you here?”

“I’m here to marry you as my concubine.”

“Lisa, we need to run,” my mother whispered.

I looked at her and then back at the king. “I will never be your concubine. I will never marry you. I will never be yours.”

The king’s eyes blazed with fury as he bellowed, “How dare you?” His voice echoed in the room, giving me chills. As his menacing figure loomed over me, little did I know his presence could destroy everything I had.