HIS QUEEN

There was silence in our living room as we sat thinking of what the morrow would bring.

The time for the annual tribute had come. Every year, fifteen halfbreeds from the South, East and West were sent to the capital in the North. This was done to show loyalty to the King of the Alphas.- Alpha King Alcius Thane.

Unbeatable in strength and Wisdom, he was basically a god. A direct descendant of the moon goddess. A Lycan.

Over a millennia ago, a while after he became Alpha, he annihilated the system of packs.

The packs at that time were over a thousand in number. Some of them were remote and their alpha's were tyrants.

The pack system caused oppression and poverty. So all packs were destroyed and the territory system came in.

Each territory was headed by a sub-alpha while betas were in charge of the sections.

Each territory had fifteen sections in total and a capital.

The sub-alpha, his family and advisors lived in the capital.

The betas oversaw the welfare of each section and reported to the sub-alpha who in turn reported to the king.

This system also applied to the north but they had no sub-alpha.

The betas of the north reported to the royal beta and then he reports to the king.

Every year, after the delivery of half-breeds, there was a ball for the sub-alphas and betas in the north.

Alpha Alcius absolutely despised us.

He once declared that we should be killed but, werewolves and lycans began to find mates in half breeds. Killing them would take away potential mates and so the decree was reversed. We were to be used as slaves.

All halfbreeds at twenty and above were either sent to the territory capital or sent to the north. Of course a better faith awaited those who went to the territory capital even though we were maltreated there.

We were told at the central capital, we will be treated as scum by both werewolves and Lycans.

***

"Esme... You remember all you have been taught right?" I nodded

"You must ensure you follow all the rules and most importantly stay away from the alpha"

"I've heard you ma. Don't worry your head. I'll be absolutely good." I said dusting my skirts as I headed for the door.

I was from section 3. Our sub-alpha had selected from each section and as usual I was unlucky enough to be selected.

I was set to head out for the East capital along with my parents and the other girls from the other sections will also go there. We were to leave for the central capital in two days.

I trailed the familiar path to the stream. My comfort zone. Growing up I never had much friends. I was shy and Isolated myself most of the times. I fell ill quickly, took a special brew for my poor eyesight. I also bruised quickly and healed slower than a normal halfbreed. I was weak. Every time I was bullied by werewolves or halfbreeds, I came here to hide and cry. I wonder how I'm going to survive the north.

We left our borders by midday. The roads leading out of the east were bumpy and rough.

We were to reach the north in three days. I kept to myself most of the time and replied the girl beside me. Her name was Lily and she was from section 7.

She looked worse than I did......hair covering her face as she kept her head bowed at all times.

We made few bathroom stops and food was shared in the van but the drivers drove during the night. The other girls didn't talk much either. We all sat in silence like sacrificial lambs going to be slaughtered..... Of course.... we were lambs and the north was our place of sacrifice....

We reached the main borders of the north at dusk two days later. We were ushered into a small house.

We were given clothes to change into after taking a bath. There was one bathroom so we had to go in one at a time starting from the girl in section 1 till the girl in section 15.

There was an open space with beds were we lay down. That night I heard a few crying, I couldn't even cry. I felt numb. I prayed to the moon goddess that whatever may come, my parents would not loose another child. I was going to go home and see my parents again.

***

In the morning after our bath, we were given a white dress. It was the official slave dress. We walked out in a single file into a van. The other girls from other territories were present. We were sixty girls in total. This van was to take us to the central capital where the king lived. The drive to the palace was smoother and the roads were levelled.

When we arrived at the palace, some people were waiting outside. We were given dresses as we alighted. My dress was red and red was for cleaning. We were assigned to our bunks and given toiletries. There was a row call and we were given food. The matron instructed us to go to bed as soon as we were done because from the next day, sleeping would be a guilty pleasure. Tomorrow our duties will begin formally.

As I lay on my bed and turned, I kept thinking of my fate here. I prayed to the moon goddess to keep me safe and protect me from the wrath of the werewolves and Lycans alike.

CHAPTER TWO

It has been two weeks since I began my duties and so far I've managed to avoid trouble. To be honest, the way the north was described was far from how it was. Through there were a few that spiteful towards us but we were treated as paid slaves. Today I was to clean the library in the south wing. The alphas wing. The matron said the king was not around this morning but if he came back while I was still up there, I was to make myself invisible until he left.

I pulled my trolley up with me to the

south wing. The place was quiet because no other person lived on this side of the palace. I unlocked the library doors and pulled the trolley inside. The library was so fucking large. Some of the shelves were so high a ladder was required to reach them. I decided to take one key out of the bunch of library keys. I could spend my free time here since it was rarely used. I began to clean and arrange the books that were lying about. After four hours I was done, I left the library to return my cleaning supplies and the key to the library. I went to the lunch hall were the other slaves had gathered for the midday meal. I had made few friends including an older maid Althea who had taken me under her wing. We shared the same bunk and I sat bedide her as the meals were distributed. Our table consisted of girls from the same room as I and Althea. A few were older girls but majority of us were the new girls.

My duties end at lunch each day and I spend the rest of the day in my bunk hiding away from the rest of the palace. Today the hallways were quiet. The yellow sash slaves were preparing lunch for the prime alpha.

I opened the door of the library and

slipped in. I quickly locked the door and ran to the shelve at the far end of the room that held romance books. I picked one and looked for where to sit. The only chair here was the alphas and I couldn't risk sitting there. There was an open space behind a shelf with a single couch and a table. A cabinet holding what I presumed to be liquor stood at one end and a window. I peeped through the window and saw three men discussing. As a half-breed I couldn't hear what they were saying but they looked like they were in deep discussion. One of the men looked up at the window I was standing out and I moved away immediately. I quickly ran out of the library and back to my bunk.

It has been four days since the incident at the library. Nobody mentioned anything about a girl in the library and so I continued to go there everyday for the last three days and I made a mental note to avoid the window. I lay on the couch with a new book in my ha

hands. I've

lost count of the number of I've read so far but I made sure to keep them back exactly as I had seen them. Fear gripped me at the sound of the doors opening. I stood up quickly and went to a corner to hide. From the voices I knew they were men and one seemed to be extremely pissed.

"Don't fucking tell me that. I gave you a fucking instruction and you disobeyed" man one yelled

"I'm sorry man. I was a bit occupied with Nala. You know how this things are" man two said. A loud powerful growl was heard.

"I'm sorry alpha" oh my fucking goddess. The alpha. I swear my blood pressure fucking skyrocketed.

"Sort your shit out as soon as possible. I don't need a distracted second in command"

"I will alpha" the sound of the door opening and closing with a loud bang almost had me sighing in relief. The faint sound of shuffling papers and a loud clang still had me rooted at my spot. Somebody was still in here. "Come out half breed" oh my goddess. Did he mean me? Was there someone else here?

"NOW" my feet began to move even before I could register the command. I walked out and saw the man from four days ago. He was among the men discussing below the window. The one who looked up.

"Eavesdropping are we?"

"No sir"

"You should really be careful. I saw you the other day you know?." My eyes widened. He had seen me. But why didn't he say a word.

"Others won't ignore you or be forgiving as I am. Especially the king. He would execute you if he found out you spent time here" he held his hand out. "The key" I placed it on his palm. He nodded towards the door. I bowed slightly and left. Once I was in the corridor I ran as fast as my legs could carry me and didn't stop until I was in the slave quarters.

I was panting as I entered my room. A few of the girls sat talking but as soon as I entered their eyes turned to me.

"Why are you panting like you just ran a marathon" Fiona asked. I had learnt their names but we really didn't talk much.

"Nothing. Just thought I should run a bit" they returned back to their conversation as I sat on my bed. Althea wasn't back from her duties yet. I was thankful that I wasn't punished and on the other hand, vexed that I couldn't use the library anymore. I'll have to wait until I was assigned to the library next time but I don't think that'll be happening anytime soon.