The First Queen: A Shifter Romance Read online

  “It's beautiful,” I thought out loud.

  “It’s human genius that created that place. Now a goddamn werewolf is running it,” my owner grumbled. “And here I am, wasting my day so that the king can take one look at you and cast you aside because no man of true class would want a slave.”

  “You never know; he just might find me charming and sophisticated,” I bit back. It was the opposite of what I wanted, but I refused to let him have a snide comment at my expense.

  “With that mouth, no man could possibly want you.”

  “Some men appreciate a challenge.”

  The man just grunted and kicked his horse hard, sending them both down the hill at a jagged trot. I sighed under my breath, annoyed with this man’s brash behavior but also horrified with what was to come. I could talk all I wanted, but I was so far from home, so far from my plants and my animals. I had never seen such sights in my life, never experienced such events. I hadn’t been to a selection such as I had been kept at work previously. But I had heard the horror stories. After being faced with a hefty fine for their defiance, my owners refused to let such a thing slide again.

  Now, it was my turn to live through the tragedy and tell all the village girls when I got back home.

  Or maybe I would be one of the unlucky ones and not make it back home at all.

  Chapter Three

  The castle was grander than anything I had previously expected, anything I could’ve dreamed up with my wild imagination. It was far beyond any manor house I had seen, and it was so much more elegant than the shack my owners called a home. For a brief moment, I couldn't fathom going back to sleeping in the barn, nestled in straw. Even just seeing the palace was enough of a taste to drive me mad with envy. It seemed impossible that such glamour could exist in the same world as my poverty.

  But here it was, with no expense spared. It had glorious gardens with flowers of every colour and shape and fruit-bearing trees I had never even heard of, which delighted me. Almost immediately, it was a sensory overload, and I became dizzy when my eyes darted from the gorgeous stables filled with gleaming horses to the glittering statues that dotted the perfectly green lawns to all of the other girls who arrived just as I had, crowding the space.

  But as the initial wonder wore away, I took a better look at the other young women, and my heart plummeted. Ladies held out their gloved hands with dainty importance as men and servants rushed to help them off their horses. Their large gowns glittered with opulence and all the gems that had been sewn on it. Even their horses were prettier than my masters’. They had mares and geldings of the finest breeding with well-formed bones and fantastically fit bodies while the plow horse beneath me was nearly napping after the long strenuous journey. I almost felt defensive for the poor beast and my flimsy dress.

  And even if the king did not care about having a financially independent and socially stable wife, there were women here that were far more breathtaking than I. Some women had corsets that made their breasts nearly touch their chin and their waists appear tiny. Others wore plain dresses like mine but had lovely hair that flowed down past their shoulders, gorgeously full lips, or bright, sparkling eyes. Optimism and warmth just rolled off of their beings, making them approachable and sweet. Just looking at all these women made me feel terribly insecure, and I could already imagine the awful things that the king and his men were going to say about me if his eyes were ever to lay on me.

  “Get down, girl. What on Earth are you waiting for?!” my owner snarled.

  His words startled me out of my unpleasant thoughts, and I shook my head and tried to slide off my horse with the grace of the ladies I had watched earlier. It certainly didn't work, and I was fortunate that my master was there to catch me; otherwise, I would've fallen directly on my face. Though that might’ve been better than having the vile man touch me. My master just grunted and thrust me away from him.

  “With any luck, this god-awful event will be over before the sun goes down so we can ride home. If not, I'll have to leave the beast in the stable so you can return home by yourself when you get disqualified,” he muttered. “I'll leave word with the guards that you are not to go near this horse until you are sent home. And you best come straight back. Men know that women will be travelling alone. I can assure you that you'd much rather have the life you live now than a life they would offer you,” he warned.

  When my face became clouded with fear, he just howled with laughter so loudly that the finer folk began to stare. He was too busy leading both our horses over to the stable to notice.

  After we passed the horses to the stable hand, we had to wait nearly an hour just to get into the palace. I stood in line with hundreds of other girls and their servants or masters, and we all slowly shuffled up the grand stairs to the entrance of the palace. I had still not been able to get over just how astounding the whole building was. Huge stone pillars, tall spires, daunting statues. It was like nothing I had ever seen before in my life, and I tried to take it all in and engrave it into my memory. I had a very strong sense that I would only see this palace again in my dreams. And what a wonderful dream it would be.

  The idea broke my heart at first. How could such a lovely thing be kept away from me? How come all of this belonged to one person? Not only was I barely able to live from one day to the next, I saw many other alongside me that must’ve been in the same position. Didn’t they deserve some of this wealth and comfort?

  But then I reminded myself of the consequences of becoming a queen. Never mind the social standing with all of the societal pressure, or all of the women who would envy me so deeply they would try to kill me, or even the men who would hate my ideas and wanted me hung. I would have to be married to a werewolf. My husband would be more beast than man with awful desires that I could never fulfill. He would be violent and animalistic in ways that even the worst human could not be. Now, from the whispers around me, I had deemed the rumor that his previous wife had left him to be true. How awful this man must've been to make a woman of grace run away into the night with all kinds of fearful creatures and humans lurking about. His previous wife had decided that facing bears, cougars, and thieves alone while being exiled from society was better than sharing a bed with him. I shuddered at the thought just as we finally made our way into the palace.

  I was breathless for a moment. I was just stricken by all of the beauty that surrounded me. Everywhere I looked, there was a mirror or a grand clock or a stunning painting. I could not turn my head without spotting something of luxury and tremendous value. And every one of those things was worth more than my master could ever bargain for my life. It was impossible to fathom and so crippling all at once.

  But before I could fully take it in and appreciate all of the art and technology, a large man placed a gruff hand on my elbow and dragged me towards a door. I looked around, immediately feeling panicked but saw other men doing the same even to women of finer birth. I was also oddly comforted by the fact that my master took quick steps to keep up with me, even though he was already out of breath. He might've not cared about me personally, but he certainly did care about my value which would drop should any harm come to me. I was strung along into a small room that was hardly decorated, which surprised me. The whole palace seemed grand; why skimp out on this particular room? But I said nothing and neither did my master. We both just stood very still while the large man shut the door behind us and turned to face me.

  “Is she a virgin?” the large man demanded, looking at my owner.

  “Of course,” he answered.

  “Very well, remove your undergarments,” the man ordered, now turning to me.

  “You're absurd!” I shouted.

  “Do it,” my master hissed from beside me. His face immediately became reddened with embarrassment. “My apologies. She is a young slave and knows nothing but her life on the farm,” he murmured before glaring darkly at me.

  I knew there was a good chance I would be punished later for my outburst—and his punishment
s could be quite brutal—so I decided to not make it any worse for myself. Even I was not brave enough to instigate a lashing with the whip across my back. I silently grasped my undergarments through my skirt and wiggled them down my thighs. It probably looked ridiculous, but I was doing my best to save my dignity at this point. Finally, my body was bare underneath my dress, and I kicked the clothing off of my shoes.

  “Very good,” the large man approved.

  He stalked forward with purpose clear in his eyes. I was about to take a step back in fright, but my master held my arm tightly, preventing me from moving and warning me without saying a word. I was to behave and keep my untethered mouth shut. An instant later, my dress was hoisted, revealing all of my bare flesh, and before I could protest, my master placed his fat hand over my lips. A soft scrapping sound drifted upwards from the floor, and my eyes darted down to a small piece of glass that was being pushed underneath my exposed body. And on the smooth surface, I could clearly see the reflection of my most intimate region. Then the man withdrew the mirror.

  I could do nothing. I stood there, horrified over the event that had just taken place. I was panting, and I didn't know if I should start attacking the large man for doing such a vile thing to my body or go after my master for letting him do it. But in the end, I did neither. I just stood there in shock with my mouth open and my chest heaving.

  “Her hymen is still intact. You may proceed to the ballroom. There, the king will have his first selection,” the man explained.

  He moved towards the door and opened it without a word of apology, and my master guided me out of the room just as silently.

  All the pleasant feelings that I originally had about this place vanished, and I deeply wished that I had never left the barn this morning.

  Chapter Four

  We were all completely silent when we entered the ballroom. When I looked around, I saw how I felt reflected on some of the other girls' faces. We didn't understand why we had been vandalized in such a garish way, considering we were in the house of the king. Someone in this very room would be his future wife, and yet he had ordered his guards to subject us to a loss of dignity. It was so ridiculous, it made my head spin with worry and confusion. If this was only the beginning, what could possibly come next?

  But some other people in the room didn't seem to care. My master was one of them. Though something emotionally traumatizing had been done to me, it hadn't affected my overall value. Therefore, he couldn't be bothered to care. And some of the women didn't look the slightest bit upset. Perhaps they knew this had been coming from the previous selection, but when I looked closer, I realized that it was only the finer women—the women born in the upper class—that didn't look upset. Maybe they had been alerted in advance or maybe it would be an insult to their status to be physically checked. Therefore, they had been left alone while the lower class girls had to be manhandled. Either way, their confident expressions made me feel no better. The lower class would suffer through the trials that the upper class was prepared for or exempt from all together.

  It was a reminder that I was not meant to be here, and my mere existence in such a place would only cause me grief.

  We all stood around for what felt like hours. I didn't look up at the lavishly painted ceiling while I waited despite the fact that I knew the intricate lines would keep me entertained endlessly. Nor did I look at the decorated walls that had gold designs whirling up and down them or the other women's gowns that were covered in jewels worth more than my life as a slave. I knew all of these grand things would fill this room, just like they had in the others. I would not be swept away again. Despite what this palace had looked like from the outside, I had decided that it was not a happy, lovely place. The wallpaper, the mirrors, the paintings were all a very elaborate cover up for the king and his awful henchmen. The sooner this whole ordeal was over, the better.

  Even though the energy in room seemed to berevent and patient the entire time we waited, I was surprised by how everyone froze when the double doors were swung open by two guards. It was like an ungodly stillness had fallen over everyone. Was it fear or respect? It was impossible to tell and presumably varied between each individual.

  “King Archer!” someone shouted. The voice was male, but I couldn't tell if it had come from one of the guards in announcement or if it had come from one of the guests in a rash act of excitement.

  I couldn't see the king, and I can admit that I wasn't really looking for him either. There was truly no point. I was a lowly slave, and there were women here of much higher birth than I. And I did not want to see the man who had ordered such an indecent ordeal. I simply stared straight ahead and kept my mouth shut for once, like any good slave would do.

  “I want them all lined up,” the king suddenly bellowed, shattering the silence. “I can't see any of them, nearly lying on top of each other like this! And I want all the men removed from this room; their presence is not needed at this point. The women who are not selected will be rejoined with them in a few short moments.”

  His voice was heavy and loud but somehow so charismatic and charming. My first thought, though unwelcome, was that only a handsome man could bear such a powerful and smooth voice.

  At his command, the whole room was in a mad fury to follow his orders. For a brief instant, I stood completely still, jaw dropped as everyone raced around me in a frenzy. I was certain that no one in the world would respond to an order from me with such speed. I was a slave; I hardly expected anything more. However, these people moved like the best trained animals. All for the chance to please another human being. Women all desperately tried to get in line, standing shoulder to shoulder and grinning broadly at the king while men slithered out of the room, dejected but hopeful that the lady they had brought with them would be chosen to be the next queen. I just awkwardly squeezed my way in between two women, nearly as far away from the king as I could get. The only thought that ran through my head was that it was quite impressive that this many people could be in a single room together. If we tried to squeeze this many women into my master's whole house, I'm sure it would explode. The thought made me giggle a little.

  Then there was silence once everyone had found a spot in the line, and the king began making his way down. The women on either side of me arched their back so their breasts were pushed out more and smiled so wide, it was actually quite frightening. I noticed that they were both women of noble birth as anyone with a less expensive upbringing would not have such extensive confidence. Thankfully, when I surveyed the room, I noticed that I was not the only one in a simple dress who kept her head down and didn't bother with better presentation.

  I kept my eyes trained on the floor, only aware of the king’s position through the sound of his slow, calculated steps. They sounded from the far side of the room, gradually coming closer. The king neared my position in the line, and during the brief moment that I looked over at him, I noticed he halted his stride while examining a girl.

  My first thought had been right; he was handsome enough to match his voice; so much so that it was almost painful to look at him, yet I couldn’t tear my eyes away. For a fraction of a second, he looked puzzled and almost surprised, like something had delighted and confused him all at once. I watched his brown eyes widen slightly and his lips part. Then he was moving down the line faster. Instead of looking bored, he now looked driven, so eager that he almost appeared angry, and I found myself taking a step back, hoping the two women would hide me. I had heard garish things about this man, and if this was the beginning of a war path, I would rather be skimmed over.

  But luck was not on my side.

  As the king passed women, they would relax into normal postures and would shot each other concerned looks. He hadn't said a word, neither accepting nor rejecting anyone immediately. Most of them, he hadn't even stopped to look at for more than a millisecond. They were left disappointed and dejected. It didn’t seem to matter. He passed women with grand gowns and flowing hair just as quickly as he p
assed those in rags who appeared sickly. However, as he got closer to me, his strides became slower and his eyes narrowed with concentration. He now searched each girl with intensity that some women found to be a good sign while it made others look frightened. I took another small step backwards, falling in the latter category.

  He stared long and hard at the woman on my right, running his eyes over every inch of her in the process, and when I peered over her shoulder, I noticed the beginnings of a scar tissue peeking out from under his shirt. I almost took a step forward to get a better look, pulled by some strange force towards his tall lean body. Through some odd impulse, I wanted to reach out and touch him, whether it be his hand or chest. I could almost feel the firmness of his flesh under my palm already. But then he moved on to the woman on my left and rational thought fell over me once more. I let out a sigh of relief, thankful that my poor slave attire had not been worthy of his attention. I was not what he was so determined to find today.

  But I heard his boots stop hitting the floor and then the steps coming back, towards me. I held my breath and jammed my eyes shut, telling myself this would all be over soon and I would be back on my old horse again, this time riding home.

  A hand closed around my wrist, sending a wave of euphoria up my arm, and when I opened my eyes in surprise, I saw the king staring back at me. His dark eyes were ablaze with something I couldn’t read, and he looked as if he was trying to say something to me.

  Then his expression shifted to one of darkness and control. His grip on my wrist tightened like he was afraid I would vanish.