ODETTE’S POV:
What was I thinking asking him to stay with ? He is my captor, my torntor, and yet, just now he’d been my rock. The thing that grounded , when I felt hollow and faded. But when he practically read my mind with one word, it was everything in the world and then so.
Kalvin had always made feel seen and safe, but in Ambrose’s arms. It was sothing else entirely different. His heart beating against my chest, it was soothing, the sleep I found with him next to . It helped collect myself.
I felt guilty think like this, enjoying his company and the comfort another man offered. It felt wrong to enjoy it. But still sothing felt right.
Oh man, I’m so f’ing screwed.
Then there’s the fact he also summoned Emalea to help , giving a sense of privacy he denied of before.
He was acting like a completely different man from when I first t him in my cold damp cell.
Rembering my ti there made anxious instantly. I could feel the damp walls closing in on all over again. I could sll the mold and feel the chill that rested like a well-known friend on my skin.
They weren’t kidding when they say trauma is debilitating sotis.
"You’re shaking Odette. I won’t ask you what happened, but just know, I’ll listen if you ever do want to tell what happened after you left." She offered.
Emalea was a true gem. My only friend here. The only person I actually liked and trusted in this whole hellscape I was in.
"Thanks Ema." I replied.
I watched as she blushed, and a heart fluttering smile rested on her face.
"I don’t think you understand how much that ans to ." She said quietly stroking my hair, gently combing the knots from it.
The last person to comb my hair was my mother. Oh, how I missed her. How my heart yearned for ho.
"What do you an?" I ask confused by what she ant.
"A nickna, the last person to give a nickna was my pops. He used to call Lea." I looked back to find a gentle but sad smile on her face.
"I’m sorry you lost your parents. It must have been really hard." I tried to empathize, but that was a hard one for .
"It was the hardest thing I’ve been through. But Hector is from my village so after the rogue attacks he ca with so other soldiers and brought us back. He even got the job here.
I watched Emalea blush hard when she spoke of Hector.
"You like him...?" I asked already knowing the answer.
"No... no... I couldn’t, he would never. I’m just a lowly gamma wolf and servant girl in the palace. He is a personal guard to our King. It wouldn’t work out." She tried to beat down any hope she felt.
As if I’d let that happen. What are friends for? If not wing manning?
"Don’t say that. You are so much more than that. You’re best friends with a princess. Rember, if a princess thinks your worth it, then that’s all there is to it. What I say goes." I laugh looking back at her. She wiped small tears that started to form in the corner of her eyes.
"Am I really a best friend to you?" She asked shyly.
"Well yeah, but its not like I have any options, you’re kinda my only friend." I teased her a little before reassuring her. "Yes, I’d call you a best friend, and if there is one good thing to happen to since my kidnapping, it was eting a real genuine person like you. Like I said before, that’s so rare. Vampires aren’t the warst people, you know what I an."
She bust out in laughter. aning she got my joke.
"Vampires aren’t the warst, oh, goodness, Odette that’s too funny."
"I know, but oh boy, is it true." I paused and then turned around to face Emalea "Want to know sothing? My mother is warm blooded like . And she also has psychic abilities, she can read the minds of other vampires and even compel them without having to look at them. She could be one of the most powerful vampires if she cared to train."
"What’s your abilities? I’ll tell you mine. I’m a healer, any food I bake has the power to heal most wounds. But I haven’t gotten good enough to touch a wound and heal it, maybe one day..."
"That’s so cool! I now know you probably bake the best treats. I love to bake!" Avoiding the ability question.
"You’d really bake with ? Everyone thinks I’m weird, because I’m quiet and timid, unlike most wolves." She asked.
"Well, you grew up in the country, didn’t you? I heard people are usually nicer in the country than in the city. Sothing about the city hardens people." I answered.
"Makes sense, things were more peaceful before the attacks that’s for sure." She adds.
Emalea walks over to the cabinet and grabs two towels. When I stood up, water dripping down my naked body.
When she went to hand my towel she gasped. "You have a tattoo?"
"What? No?"
"Then what’s that on your inner thigh?" She asked confused.
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I looked down and realized she was talking about my birth mark.
"First of all, that’s awfully close to my lady bits, second that’s actually a birthmark. Cool huh? It’s in the shape of a crescent moon. You’re actually the only people outsider my imdiate family to know it exists let alone see it. If that doesn’t make us best friends than what will?" I tilted my head with a smile.
"Co on Odette, let’s get you into sothing, so you aren’t just standing in a bathtub dripping and naked." She joked helping out of the tub.
She really helped put at ease. I started to feel normal again, less lost and shallow.
"The king left this for you, try it on." She handed a dress the color of garnets.
I unzip the back and slide into the dress. It felt a lot better, and it was a lot less revealing. It still showed a lot of cleavage with low cut square neckline; it hugged my curves and flowing in waves that reached the floor. The sleeves short clinging to my shoulders. Only aiding the elegant allure of the dress.
"It’s a little fancier and classy than what I’m used to, but it’ll do. Much better than my previous option." I laughed looking at the discarded rag of a dress that now laid at Emalea’s feet.
"You look elegant and graceful, like a swan!" Emalea gazed at with admiration.
"It feels really good to have a friend." I said out loud without even realizing it.
Emalea gasped and then jumped giving a massive tight squeeze. It was like the hug she gave said what her words couldn’t.
Pulling back she wipes small tears from her eyes and looked at with nothing but love and said, "I know what this dress is missing." And just like that she pulled a silver belt with delicate chains adorning the sides. It was stunning truly.
"Where did you even pull that out from?" I giggled lightly. I was enchanted by the piece she was holding. It looked unique and out of date.
"It’s my mothers. When Hector ca to fitch he was holding the dress, I knew sothing was wrong and though this would look so good with your dress, I don’t have anything to wear it with or wear it to, and you could probably use a reason to smile than I could use this belt." She smiled another tear ford in her eyes. She wiped it quickly and with a sniffle she continued "Just promise you’ll treasure it forever and keep it safe? It’s priceless to ."
"This has just beco my most prized position, even if I get out of here soday, I’ll take it with and keep it always."
"Did you know the king has a lot of books in here maybe you can take a look at a few. Find sothing you’d like to read? I don’t know how long we’ll be here together, but I don’t think we can leave." Emalea ntions as she gestured towards a corner of his room near his desk that was filled with different books.
I strode over, intrigued by what kind of things he reads. And to my surprise it was lined with real books, knowledgeable books, as well as literature from all over the world. I traced my fingers across the spines of the books as I read their titles: Ancient Fyre Works (a book on old fire magic, The Ways of Water and Storms (A magic book on wind and water), Fae Rings and Portal making (teleportation magic), Frankenstein, The Iliad, The Odyssey, One Hundred Years of Solitude, even Lord of the Rings. There had to be over 100 books on the shelves, maybe being caged in his room instead of mine isn’t all that terrible.
I pick up Frankenstein and take my place on the pillow bed he ordered I sit in last ti.
Emalea didn’t touch the books instead she took to cleaning the bathtub and bathroom. I was about to ask her to pick out a book, but stopped realizing it could cause problems if soone saw a servant girl touching the king’s things. Instead of opening my mouth I looked down opening my book and dove into Mary Shelley’s world of horror. The Queen of horror, so would say.
I don’t know how long we were left in Ambrose’s room, but I was a third through the book when I felt soone watching . I look up and nearly jump out of my skin when I see Ambrose leaning back in his chair, and Emalea was nowhere to be seen.
He had this sinfully beautiful face that wore a look of amusent. Then I notice his smirk, I felt this sudden urge to punish it.
"I see you’re back in reality and left Mary Shelley’s Transylvania. Welco princess." He sneered at .
"Well, the horrors in here are easier to face than the ones lurking in your castle." The words slipped from my mouth before I could stop myself. Why had I said that out loud? He might think I’m ready to talk about it. I just wanted to pretend it didn’t happen.
The idea of saying anything out loud. I started to feel my skin crawl again, I felt dirty again, in all the places his grimy hands touched .
Glancing over at him, his amused expression dropped, giving way to sothing darker and more dangerous. The aura that surrounded him grew colder and heavier.
"Follow ." His words firm and sharp holding this sense of finality to them, one that made scared to argue with him.
Without argunt I followed closely behind him.
I had no idea where he was taking , but I could tell wherever it was, it wasn’t going to be good.
Did he figure out what happened, like he threatened too? Was he mad at ? Was he taking sowhere to punish ? I started shaking, my heart pounding relentlessly in my chest hamring against my ribs.
We walked toward the dungeon cells he once held .
I started to slow my pace. He was going to lock again. Lock up because I probably hurt one of his people.
No, I wouldn’t tremble, I did nothing wrong, and if I had to do it over again, I would, except I’d kick the son of a bitch one more ti before leaving.
However, when we finally arrived at the destination, what I saw made freeze dead in my tracks.
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