MATED TO THE NIGHT WOLF (MTTNW)

[24.1] THE KINGS GUARD

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The fates have designed your way, and Selene brought you forth from the earth and gave you life. As an Alpha you will live to rule, as a slave, you will live to serve, for always till fate and time reunite you in the fields from which Selene first brought you forth.

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[Shade Shadows]

Sweat littered my forehead in shiny sheets as I stepped off the ladder to examine my work. I had cleared one full row of shelves of books from top to bottom. The row spanned nearly half of the vast room, and my arms ached from the mere load.

I felt like I had worked 24 hours straight. But of course, time seemed to be held in suspense as there was no sun in the sky to tell me how long I had worked.

It felt like I was stuck in a timeless loop that was dipped in a pitch-black world.

No stars to litter the sky, and no bright moon either. If it weren't for the lanterns lit up by the soldier in the court, it would be impossible to even see the ground from this height.

Not that there was something to see. Trees had fallen from the storm and the soldiers and guards were hurriedly trying to clear the grounds.

Strangely, however, no matter how much I despised dark days I couldn't help but admit there was a certain calmness in them.

A safety perhaps.

Knowing that here in the darkness is where I thrived. That I blended into the shadows and for a moment I may not even exist.

That these feelings deep within me may just be dreams of realities I whip in this vast imagination of mine. That one day I would wake up from this nightmare and open my eyes to a beautiful garden filled with people who saw me as their equals.

Like all this, everything to this point in my life was nothing but a bad dream.

My back slid down the shelves till I sat on the ground, my dusting cloth sprawled before me, head in my hands as I yawned.

I was tired and my back ached from lifting books all day. Coupled with the darkness and seclusion, it felt like I would lose my mind.

I tried reading but even that seemed to wear me down after a few pages.

I closed my eyes longing for something more in this vast library. So vast I felt so alone.

I was beginning to doubt any other masters existed within these walls, at least not at this particular moment.

I hadn't seen a single one after my unusual master. The so-called King favorite. I longed to see someone, reassure me I wasn't alone in the vast darkness...Where time was void.

Even Diane had flown away this morning and hadn't returned in a few hours.

This had been a disappointment. I thought it was a peculiar bird but perhaps it had gone now.

My hands touched the floor stopping on something wet. I brought my fingers up to the light, realizing it was some reddish-brown mud. My eyebrows arched, noticing some scarce bits here and there, by the shelf, and even a handprint against it.

My eyebrows arched at this. How could wet mud have gotten into the library? Was it I that tracked it in?

A steady thud drew me from thoughts.

Cleaning my fingers off the cloth, I walked towards the large doors, faster than I normally would because I was dying to see someone else, even if it meant I would have to bow a thousand times and be called a Keffer and all and any manner of names that would fit.