He did not lie to her when he told her she could roam freely around his house.
But Castiel forgot to mention that two guards would be following her wherever
she
went.
It was annoying but she chose to tolerate them and pretend like everything was
A-okay.
“I can kill them now if you want,” Onyx offered with a chuckle. “One is a bear, and
one is a fox. We snap the fox’s neck first and then deal with Paddington.”
“Just leave them be,” she said to her wolf. “They are doing their job and also
there are cameras everywhere here. It’s not the time. Not yet.”
She cringed at the thought that Castiel could be watching her with the help of his
hidden cameras. She had to take a shower and change, knowing that, but she
had to act as if she wasn’t aware. Riannon needed to underestimate her at least
a bit, so she acted naturally at all times. But she still learned where the cameras
were and where the blind spots could be. She did not plan to stay here for long,
so she chose one of the many dresses in the wardrobe that he provided. No
pants were there and her own clothes disappeared. So, she chose a black dress
with sequins, long sleeves and a plunging V cut at the front. It wasn’t what she
would prefer to wear while on the enemy’s territory, but other dresses seemed to
be even more revealing.
The mansion she was at was exquisite, filled with pieces of art and expensive
decorations. Castiel definitely did not spare any money and had an expensive
taste. But at the same time everything here felt a bit too much. As if he was
proving something. As if he was proving that he was a real king... Even the
clothes he provided for her seemed like a doll’s wardrobe. He probably saw her
as a new pretty possession.She remembered her mate. Gideon did not have to prove anything to anyone. He
never felt that need.
But thinking of him now was hurting her. She wished she could just tell him how
she felt and why... The Red Eden. building was empty and barely anyone lived
here. But soon her ears picked up a strange buzzing noise. She decided to follow
that and in a few minutes she found herself in front of huge wooden doors.
“What is that?” she asked one of her guards, the taller one, and he seemed
uncomfortable hearing this question.
“We’d better go somewhere else,” the shorter one said, mirroring his colleague’s
expression.
Now she just had to enter that forbidden place.
“I thought I was allowed to walk anywhere I want in this house,” she quirked her
brow up and the men looked at each other, both of them tense.
“You are,” the tall one agreed uncomfortably, “It’s just... This place...”
“Open the doors!” she commanded, and they obeyed. At least, she had some
kind of power here.
To her surprise, they walked into a balcony and she saw that it was just a part of
the building. This part was closed, with many doors on both sides. And at least
four floors. The huge square was enclosing the ceilingless courtyard in the
centre, where there was a small fountain. She saw girls in red dresses playing
and laughing there. More women were standing here and there at other
balconies nearby and soon Riannon realised that she was standing at the central
balcony. A huge chair stood next to her. Almost like a throne...
“What the...” she mumbled.
Two staircases at both sides of her were connecting all the floors and going all
the way down to the courtyard.Slowly, other women were noticing her. And she was not sure that she liked that
attention they were giving her as none of them looked friendly.
“I will repeat my question,” she said to the guards, “What is this place?”
“It’s a...recreational...” The short one was looking for excuses and she knew now
that he was the fox onyx mentioned.
“It’s the Harem,” the taller one sighed. The Bear.
That made so much more sense now. The red dresses were hardly covering
anything. Each was different but they were all branding the women as... what?
What were they here in this place? Slaves? Concubines?
She wanted to observe them for a while to make some conclusions but was
quickly disturbed. Three girls appeared next to them. Two of them tackled the
guards with ease, while the third one, a very tall blonde whose hair was as white
as snow grabbed her throat and yanked her to the wall.
“So it’s true!” she hissed, scanning Ria’s face and body. “He has a new pet!”
The air was leaving her body fast and she struggled to take a new breath as she
met the woman’s gaze full of hate.
There was only one way to get out of this and Riannon pierced the rival’s foot
with her sharp metallic heel, making her shout from the pain and release her grip
on her. Next, she dislocated her knee with one sharp blow and twisted the free
hand, freeing her own neck and making the woman scream.
Both her friends were struggling with the guards and glancing their way with
worry.
“I am not his pet!” Ria spat the words. “And I am not his! Choose your words
carefully when you speak to me and keep your hands to yourself! If you want
Castiel – he is all yours!”
The blonde was staring at her now, trying to understand whether she was serious
or not. But then she clicked her fingers and her two friends let the guards go,
stepping away.
“You are one of those,” the blonde rolled her eyes and folded her hands on her
chest. “He does enjoy this act but not for long.”
“Please, ladies,” the two guards were at her sides now, “Don’t cause trouble.
We don’t want to let the king know about this.”
They all raised their hands with smirks on their faces as if to tell that they were
“innocent”. But their eyes were telling a different story. They would kill for
Castiel’s
attention.
and it’s not your king. I am not interested in him. All I want is to go back home.”
Now they looked at her with sadness. As if they knew something that she
didn’t.
“Your mate is as good as dead then,” one of the trio commented. “When Castiel
wants something, he gets it.”
“Not this time,” Riannon stood her ground. “I am an Alpha myself. And my mate
is the western Lycan King.”
“Whatever,” the blonde scoffed. “He has been planning to kill the lycan king for
years! You are just lucky that he wanted you here. But as I have already told you,
don’t get used to this treatment. He will get bored of you fast.”
“Onyx, who is this girl? What species?” Ria asked her wolf, as she was curious
about her opponent.“She seems to be a bear,” Onyx replied at once, “but there is something odd
about her. Her scent is a bit different. I am not sure why.”
She wanted to tell something else to the girls in red but the doors behind them
shut open and a very angry Castiel walked in. They all got silent at the sight of
him and lowered their heads in submission. All but her. She did not care.
“What the hell is she doing here?!” he growled angrily at the two guards and
walked straight to her, grabbing her to check if she was alright. He checked her
the way a seller checks his goods and she tried to distance herself from him.
However, the fox king only pulled her closer, possessively.
“We apologise,” the taller guard said. “She was curious and...”
“You said I can walk wherever I want in your house!” Riannon interrupted and
everyone looked at her, slightly shocked at how daring she was.
“House was the main word in that sentence,” he groaned, shifting his attention to
her. “This is The Eden. It’s not a part of my house.”
“It looks like one though,” she retorted, “It’s adjacent and...”
“Riannon, let’s not speak about semantics,” Castiel did not look pleased. “I don’t
want my Luna here!”
thing. Apparently, it was a big deal and Ria felt sorry for all of them.
“Then how lucky are we that I am not your Luna!” she chuckled and forcefully got
herself out of his grip to his displeasure.
“Let’s go,” he said through clenched teeth. “This is not the place to speak of
anything. Time to have that dinner of ours...”
He took her hand and pulled her behind him, walking out firmly of this place and
not even bothering to look at any of the dozens of pairs of eyes following their
every move.“The dinner will not be served at The Eden tonight!” he growled right before they
left. “I think the girls forgot how to behave and they need to think about it!”
She walked after him, thinking and analysing everything that she saw. She knew
one thing for sure – she would have to go back to the harem. Even if it was risky.
He took her to a room with a small table served for two and slammed the doors
behind them. The two guards stayed on the other side, and she did not like this
development at all.
“Sit!” he ordered and everything inside her screamed to throw something at him.
Yet, she knew that this would not be wise.
Slowly and taking her time, she walked to one of the seats and he followed her,
helping her with the chair.
She did not thank him and became stiff when she realized that he wasn’t moving
away. His hands were still on the back of the chair, almost touching her.
But a knock on the door disturbed them. “Come in!” Castiel ordered, and a guy
with curly red hair entered the room.
“Excuse me,” he apologised, bowing his head in respect, “but I have urgent news
and you told me to inform you at once.”
“Not here!” the fox king stopped him, clearly not wanting to discuss anything in
front of Riannon. “Follow me to my office. It’s soundproof.”
He gestured for the redhead to join him in the adjacent room and they closed
Ria relaxed into her seta, disappointed that she couldn’t overhear them.
But then she clearly heard both voices as they joined in a conversation.
“How?” she asked Onyx in awe.“The blessing of the Moon Goddess gives us more than we are aware of now!
Let’s not question the gifts and use the wise,” she could feel her wolf smirking in
their mind...
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