The Lycan Series
Bullied By The Lycan King Chapter 12

Violet's POV

When my mother advised me to give my body to Axel for their freedom, it sounded wrong...

Yet, somehow it felt right.

I was ready to give myself to him. There seemed to be no one better off.

But when he refused me... my heart shattered a million times and even as I walked back to the slave quarters I felt a part of my soul break off with each step I took away from him.

Yes, it was crazy. The circumstances were wrong. But ever since I was little, all I had ever fantasized about was Axel and I pretending to be mummy and daddy.

Would it have been wrong to make it real?

A tear dropped from my eyes and though I quickly cleaned it away, it only triggered more.

My vision became blurry and my heart ached even stronger. I found an abandoned chair at the back of the slave quarters and I dropped onto it.

I needed to pull myself together. I didn't even understand why I was feeling so bad.

I let my hand rub gently against my chest-where my heart was beating.

I should be worried about my parents. I should be sad that I threw away the freedom I wanted so much.

Yet, none of that came closer to the pain I felt.

Why did his rejection hurt so much?

I looked up at the sky and let out a sigh as a small sad smile crept onto my face.

The air was windy and my smile brought back a memory long hidden in the sheets of my dreams.

My mind took me back to a time when Axel was just a boy and I could give anything to be with him.

That day, my nanny had made him take me to the forest to pick berries. A small chuckle escaped my lips as I saw little me skipping along the path with my tiny basket in my hands and a grumpy Axel behind me. "You don't ever smile, why?" I had asked him.

"There is nothing to smile about. Pick your berries. It's getting too windy," he grumbled.

Little me turned to observe his face and I cocked my head to the side. "Now, you sound like my daddy!" I snickered.

His green eyes looked slightly darker as he scowled at me.

I moved toward him and I pulled out a small berry from my basket and handed it to him. "You should try this, it always makes my dad happy. You will smile once you eat it!"

Axel took the small fruit in his hand and rolled it between his fingers. He looked at my face as if silently asking if he should take it.

Little me nodded and he took the berry and placed it between his tongue and teeth.

He closed his mouth and silently munched on the sweet juice.

I watched in awe as his face started clearing off the scowl that had sat on his features. His brows rose in surprise and like a small streak of light, he smiled. "You like it?" Little me asked with enthusiasm.

Why did his rejection hurt so much?

"I want more," he said and I quickly placed more of the berries in his hands.

Axel packed the fruits from my hands and shoved them in his mouth. He munched hungrily, allowing the juice to spill down his chin and onto his shirt. "More!" He said again and little me broke into laughter.

It brought me so much joy to see him smile like that and I wanted to keep seeing it.

-And even now, I would actually give all the berries in my basket to see him smile once again.

"Hey princess, did you get kicked out?" A sharp voice broke through my thoughts and I opened my eyes to replace Ash, glaring at me.

She was standing across from me with a basket of folded clothes in her arms.

I wiped away the stray tears from my eyes and got up. "Mind your own business, Ash," I hissed and continued to the quarters.

"Wait, did you run off?" I heard her gasp.

For a second, I thought she was referring to someone else. I stopped walking.

The sound of her feet behind me became louder and she hurried in my direction.

Her eyes were wild as she stepped in front of me, blocking my path.

"You ran from the mansion, didn't you? You lazy bitch!" She shrieked. "Don't you know that no one is allowed out of those stinking dungeons until a week! Or they die!"

At this point, I was certain Ash had lost her mind. I pushed past her and went on to pull the door to the quarters open.

There were quite several people in the general room but I paid them no attention despite the strange eyes they were giving me.

I was going to head straight to my room when Ash, loud shrieking stopped me once again.

"Do not allow that deserter to leave! She needs to be taken back to the mansion!"

"What?" I was surprised that she was creating a scene. Wasn't this supposed to just be a taunt or something?

She dropped the basket in her hands and came towards me. "Do not pretend like you don't know what I am talking about!" She hissed. "This morning, you were assigned to the mansion!" She turned to everyone who had now become very interested in the drama happening in front of them.

"We all know how long she is meant to spend there! What the hell is she doing here if she didn't run and abandon her duties for someone else to do?" She yelled.

Murmurs progressively grew among the people in the room and I was shocked as I realized that they actually believed her.

"You should go back before the King comes for everyone!" A young guy said and more people supported him.

Before I could understand what was going on, a small mob of scared Slaves had gathered around me.

"She came just a few days ago and she wants to play smart!" Ash shouted and a chorus of mumbles supported her. "Let's take her there before he comes for us!"

"Yes!"

"Take her out!"

Someone pushed into me and before I knew it, strong arms grabbed my left arm and they started pulling me toward the door.

That was when panic started seeping in as I remembered what Axel had told me. If I returned to the mansion and he saw me, he was going to kill my parents. "No," I suddenly muttered. "I can't go back there!"

"You think this is your father's little castle? The rules here are different. You are a slave like us! Wake up, princess!"

"You are wasting time, take her!" Ash yelled and the strong arms that had gripped me continued dragging me to the door.

But as we reached outside, Sam's large frame stood in the path. Sky was standing right behind him, her hands pulling at her apron.

"Where do you think you are all going?" He roared and the mob around me stopped moving.

Ash pushed past the crowd around her and stood at the center, "We need to take her back to the mansion. She ran away!"

Sam's face pinched into a frown as his dimmed eyes moved between Ash and me.

"What makes you think she ran away? Did you ask her? Did you see her?" He growled and Ash's puffing chest refused like a deflated balloon.

Seconds of silence passed and Ash stayed quiet with her head staring down to the ground.

"I asked you a question, Ash! Did you or did you not see her running off?" Sam roared. His nostrils were flaring as the anger within him increased.

"She was... She was sitting by the chair there," she said pointing to the concrete seat along the path. "I figured since she was assigned there, then she... ran off," she said with her head lowered. "Huh!" Sam scoffed. Then he moved his eyes to scan every other person standing around me.

The one holding my hand, quickly let go and they all moved their eyes anywhere but in Sam's direction.

"And the rest of you blindly followed her, do you all want to die?" He hissed, his voice shifting in the direction of the wind.

Another long string of silence flowed through the area and Sam once again broke it.

"Everyone, back to your duties. Now!"

Sounds of shuffling feet echoed as everyone rushed to return to whatever it was they were doing before Ash dragged them into her drama.

"Not you Ash!" He growled.

Ash remained frozen on the ground as she stared at her feet.

Sam waited till everyone had gone before he stepped closer to her.

"What the hell were you thinking?"

"I am sorry..." She whispered, her voice breaking as fear seeped into her.

"You are not sorry until you apologize!" He growled back.

"And she should promise to stay far away from Violet too..." Sky put in.