Bound To The Wicked Lycan King

ANNABELLE'S POV

"Keep your eyes forward, Annabelle. You're not a dog and you're not eating that."

I kept repeating that to myself as I stared at the plate of oatmeal and the cup of water the guard had tossed in through the locked cell slot.

It wasn't the fact that oatmeal was my least favorite food but the manner he had tossed it in.

I held my stomach, which wouldn't stop rumbling subtly, but it kept getting worse, as if I were dying of hunger. I had eaten a lot last night and didn't understand why this hunger persisted, but I couldn't ignore it any longer. So I crawled slowly to where he had dumped the meal, picking up the spoon from the bare ground, and forcing the food into my mouth.

Tears gradually rolled down from my eyes as I tried to make sense of the unexpected turn my life had taken. How my birthday party had turned into this nightmare.

It was just about time to cut my birthday cake, and I found myself looking around anxiously, hoping to spot Brian, my fiance. Ginny mentioned seeing him earlier at the event, so I wondered why he hadn't shown up yet. I wanted us to do this together like we did on his birthday last year, but then the countdown began.

"Three, two, one!" The crowd cheered as I cut the cake, forcing a smile to mask my disappointment. Tristan, the beta of our pack, stepped forward, singing the traditional birthday song to me as the crowd joined in. I nodded along, hiding my confusion while my eyes scanned the crowd, searching for Brian, my mate and fiancé.

Relief washed over me as I spotted him at a table in the back, accompanied by Ginny, my best friend. I guessed she was trying to get him to join me, but it obviously wasn't working.

"Where's Brian, by the way?" Tristan asked and I gestured towards where I had seen him at the back table.

"What are you doing over there, old geezer?" Tristan playfully teased on the mic. They were both cousins and best friends however Brian wasn't in the mood and frowned deeply, clearly unhappy. He almost stood up to leave but Ginny held onto his hand, attempting to persuade him to stay.

"Lemme guess, lover's quarrel?" Tristan joked, looking at me for an explanation, but I shook my head in response, not wanting to reveal our tension.

"He's sick of birthday ceremonies, but he sure can't run from it," I joked, forcing a smile as everyone joined me in laughter.

I walked straight to Brian, hoping my thoughts and suspicions were wrong however ignoring the reality before me didn't change anything.

"Hey," I managed to whisper as I took a sit beside his table. He avoided making eye contact and I could see the tears welling up in his eye.

"This is bad Anna, This is really bad," I muttered, trying to brace myself for what came next. He remained silent for awhile, so I tried to lighten the mood.

"You know, you shouldn't have come if you didn't want to." I blurted out, reaching across the table to touch his hands, but he withdrew them quickly as soon as we made contact. He was going to say it, and it felt like a bad dream.

For weeks, Bran had been avoiding me, neglecting my messages and phone calls. I saw this coming but chose to ignore it, foolishly hoping things would change very soon and now, I feel like an idiot. He was going to break up with me on my birthday party and I felt regretful.

Bran and I had known each other since we were kids. He was the son of Winston Steele, the alpha of the Nightshade pack and I was a guest in their home. Winston claimed he knew my mother but never shared any further details about her. He treated me like his own daughter and I had a happy childhood living with them.

Things changed when I turned fifteen as Bran and I became naughty. Claire his mom found out about our antics but seemed to encourage us instead of being furious. We got engaged three months ago when Bran turned 20, and today was my 18th birthday.

I figured I had to stay quiet and hear him say it because he was going to say it, sooner or later. Winston and Claire had been absent for more than a week, leaving Bran in charge so I feared there was no one to prevent him from cutting ties right now.

He took a deep breath, his gaze intense yet pained as he finally spoke out.

"Anna, I love you, but I don't feel the same connection I had for you anymore. I've... I've fallen for someone else, and I can't keep hiding it from you any longer. I'm so sorry, Anna. I never meant to hurt you."

"It's...... okay," I responded, whispering more to myself than to him.

Ginny sniffled, trying to compose herself and I felt a pang of guilt for her, knowing she was caught up in the middle of our break-up. Feeling deeply saddened, I tried to rise from my chair and leave, but instead, sat back, poising a question that was starting to bug me.

"This person... When did it start?"

He sighed, responding this time around with greater confidence.

"We've been seeing each other for over two months."

His words struck me deeply as I had known Bran almost his entire life, and now he was going to ditch me for someone he started seeing two months ago? I just couldn't wrap my head around the fact that this was happening.

"This person, do I... do I know her?" I asked again, my voice trembling.

His gaze fell momentarily, and I could see the struggle in his eyes. He looked me in the eye before glancing at Ginny beside me. It wasn't clear to me yet what was going on until she shook her head, silently urging him not to speak.

It finally clicked when he confirmed it, saying, "She's... right beside you." His eyes fixed on Ginny, who quickly looked down the moment I glanced at her.

I scoffed, not believing what I was hearing.

"Wait... what? You're leaving me for Ginny, the porter's daughter?"

I couldn't believe it. He mentioned they began two months ago which meant Ginny had been sleeping with him long before our issues began, all while giving me advice whenever I complained about him not responding to me. Anger surged through me, and I was torn between wanting to confront him physically or not.

"Listen Anna," he continued. "I've known you my entire life, and that's why you felt so special to me. You were like the only woman my age I could connect with easily. But I can't continue this relationship with you anymore. I've known you all my life, and now I need something different. I'm bored of you. Please try to understand."

Wait, what did he just say to me? That I'm boring to him now? I sat there, completely stunned, trying to process everything he had just said to me.

My mind raced with disbelief as he had always been the one to pursue me, to make the first move. What happened to all the promises he made to me? Did he ever truly love me, or was it just because I was the only one his age he could flirt with?

"I think... I think I should go," I said finally, my voice barely audible. He remained silent, avoiding eye contact and with one final glance at him, I stood up, my legs feeling shaky beneath me. I walked away, still carrying the weight of his words echoing in my mind.

**********

"Anna! Wait up!" Ginny's voice screamed from behind me. "You can't abandon your event because of this."

Because of this? You've been sleeping with my fiance without remorse stupid b*tch, finally got what you wanted, and now you're calling it 'this'? I said nothing, continuing to walk away. The thought of facing her made my blood boil but ignoring her seemed like the best course of action as I didn't know what I would do if I ever had to see her stupid face again.

"Just leave me alone, Ginny!" I yelled over my shoulder as she chased after me.

"Would you listen to me Anna? please!" Ginny panted, catching up as I halted, waiting to hear what she had to say right now.

"You can't leave Annabelle." She said breathing hard. "Bran doesn't want this made public, at least not until his dad returns. Please, for the sake of our friendship, please consider this. You can still be his Luna, get married to him if you want to, just as Alpha Winston wanted. However, I'll be his lover, and you could find your own true love..."

Heaven knew I was struggling to control my temper. I could have easily knocked her teeth out if it weren't for the occasion we were at. I managed to stay silent, saying nothing to her because I knew very well that the only words that could come out of my mouth right now were not pleasing.

I turned to leave, realizing she was deliberately trying to provoke me however Ginny grabbed my hand, calling me by my name. "Anna, you have to listen..."

I pushed her away angrily, causing her to fall on the bare grass with a loud thud. I had given her enough warning that I wasn't interested, but it seemed like she wasn't taking me serious enough.

I turned to leave, however Ginny's scream quickly startled me as I halted in surprise, turning back towards her.

Ginny was crying, clutching her belly which I didn't even touch but what really caught my attention was the blood seeping through her dress.

"What have I done?" I asked myself as my hands began to shiver.

Ginny was pregnant the entire time? Why didn't she tell me? Why didn't Bran say anything? My conscience began to weigh heavily on me as I slowly bent down, feeling the weight of what had transpired.

"Are you okay?" I managed to ask, but she didn't respond.

Slowly, she touched the blood on her gown and let out a piercing scream that drew everyone's attention towards us. I stood there, tears streaming down my face, at a loss for words.

"I'm sorry, I'm very sorry Ginny," I kept whispering while she cried out for help. Bran pushed me out of the way suddenly as he took Ginny into his arms.

"Hey, what happened?" he asked her, noticing that she was bleeding.

Ginny wasted no time pointing at me while screaming, "She did it... she killed our baby!

I wanted to say something, to explain myself and claim that I didn't, however, I couldn't voice a single word. All I did was watch Bran slowly stand up while some of the ladies present at the event rushed to Ginny's aid. He walked up to me, clenching his fist, pulling his hands back and punching me in the face.

It hurt so much that I slowly fell to the ground. I could even taste my own blood as everything began to turn blurry until I realized that I had fainted.

ANNABELLE'S POV

"It didn't happen Annabelle, it was all a dream."

I kept telling that to myself with my eyes closed as soon as I woke up to the sound of the heavy iron door being slammed shut before me. I couldn't believe it, I couldn't believe that Brian had locked me up, or that any of that had actually happened. It felt like a bad nightmare, but at the same time, I knew it was real.

As I opened my eyes, sunlight flooded into the room, blinding me momentarily. I shielded my eyes with my left arm before surveying the cramped cell I was locked in. Tears gradually rolled down my cheeks as I couldn't hold them back anymore. I had actually slept in a cell instead of my bed, and I just couldn't believe it.

My moment of agony however, was soon interrupted by a mocking masculine voice teasing, "I guess what goes around does come around, Annabelle."

I looked up in shock, realizing who he was.

"Here's your food," he said mockingly