Chapter 2. Banquet

Doris's POV

I ran from the rose gardens to the palace; thankfully everybody was busy tending to the ceremony that they didn't notice me. I don't know what I would tell them as to why I was half-naked, dripping with blood, and cold. At that point, I didn't even know what to tell myself.

I was still in shock over what had happened. Prince William attacked me and bit into me; he marked me as his.

He kept calling me his mate; or rather his wolf was calling me his mate. But that had to be the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard. I was a werewolf without a wolf, which also meant I didn't have a mate.

Tears flooded over my eyes, and I bit my bottom lip to keep from sobbing. I couldn't cry right now; I had to clean myself up.

I ran into my bedroom, throwing my ripped uniform onto my bed and grabbing a fresh uniform out of my drawers. I stumbled awkwardly into the bathroom and filled the bathtub with water that was so cold it would surely numb my body.

Looking into the mirror I saw the scratches outlining my torso; they were growing puffy, but they were no longer bleeding. I knew it wouldn't take long before I fully healed; by tomorrow the wounds would be completely gone and I can pretend none of it happened. I didn't want the marks to remind me of the brutal attack.

My body was still shaking as I stepped into the cold bath. I allowed the water to soothe away the pain from Prince William's claws. I could still feel his lips on my neck and remembered how obedient my body was to his commands.

I felt ruined.

My body was ruined, and I was disgusted with myself.

How could I have let something like this happen?

Before long, the bathroom door swung open and my best friend, and roommate, Beth stood in the doorway. She was breathless and staring at me with eyes that were alert, yet wary. I tried to cover my naked body with my hands, but it didn't really matter, she could see everything as she waltzed into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

"I've been looking everywhere for you, Doris!" Beth said, panic rising in her voice.

She grabbed a towel off the rack on the far end of the bathroom and strolled closer to me. I got out of the bath, allowing the water to drip from my body and puddle around my feet. Something I would have to clean up later.

It seemed so trivial to be worried about something as small as a puddle in the bathroom. Especially after what had just happened. She looked around my body as she wrapped me in the towel; her arms were warm, and I didn't realize how badly I was shaking until she was holding me tightly in her embrace.

"What happened to you?" She asked, keeping her tone low in case there were others nearby.

"I..." My voice came out as a raspy squeak, and I nearly flinched at how broken I sounded. I couldn't even speak; if I spoke, I would start sobbing and I didn't want to start sobbing in front of her.

I couldn't tell her what had happened. I couldn't tell anybody.

"It's okay..." she whispered as she held me tighter. "It's going to be okay."

--

Morning.

As predicted my wounds were completely gone by the morning; however, the wounds I felt internally would last for a lifetime. I thought if I couldn't see the markings on my body, I would be able to forget the events that had happened.

But I was wrong.

I had to tough it up though; I couldn't break down and continue crying. I spent the night crying. But this morning I was on tea duty for the Banquet, and I couldn't mess it up.

This was the first-morning Banquet since Lady Grace married into Royal House Arnold. It was a tradition that the royals have a feast to celebrate the new marriage and joining of the packs.

I held the teapot firmly in my hands until my knuckles had grown white, trying to keep my hands from trembling.

Melody, a fellow maid, stared over at me with a frown of disapproval.

She wasn't someone either Beth or I got along with. She was only a couple of years older than me and flirted her way to the position of the head maid. Though Mr. Carson was still her boss for he was in control of all the servants around the palace.

"Why are your eyes so puffy?" She asked in a harsh whisper. "Did you cry all night because you couldn't marry the Crown Prince?"

She sounded so arrogant, and I couldn't help but snarl at her. But I also didn't want to argue with her because I was on duty and needed to appear professional. I couldn't mess up this Banquet or else I would get in huge trouble.

"Fine, don't answer me," Melody said, turning away from me and staring at the royals in front of us.

They weren't paying much attention to us. Alpha King Charles was furious because Prince William was late. It didn't surprise me, or anybody, that he was late. He was always late. He had an "I don't care about anything" attitude and it drove the royals crazy. But his was an important event and their patience with William was wearing thin.

"Just answer this," Melody said, leaning close to me. "What made your eyes swollen?"

"I..." I paused to gather my thoughts. "I couldn't sleep last night."

It wasn't a lie. I couldn't sleep last night. But I wasn't going to tell her why.

She rolled her eyes and jammed her elbow into my side, I winced but kept my structure.

"Bullshit," she said with a chuckle; she spoke a little too loudly that time and Mr. Carson peered over at us with a disapproving gaze.