The only time Ryssa had a moment's peace was at her birth.
Right before her mother died and her father never let her forget that she was an unfortunate mistake that he wished he could correct everyday.
A mistake he did try to correct once on her fifth birthday when she had foolishly asked him for a gift and he had wrapped his beefy arms around her neck and attempted to strangle her.
That moment taught Ryssa two things.
One… her father hated her with every fiber of his being
Two… Never ask for gifts or anything at all.
Ryssa watched as the man spoke to the guard in hushed tones now far away from her.
She knew what this meant for her but she was fine with it. It would not be the first time someone died on their eighteenth birthday, would it?
Maybe the next time she did return to this world, it would be as a loved child with both parents alive.
"What are we going to do with her?" She heard the guard say.
"The Alpha will decide but she is as good as dead. Take her to the dungeons"
The guard reached for Ryssa, pulling her up from where she sat.
She did not protest his use of force or the fact that she was bound when she had not even resisted arrest.
"Wait, why did she kill him? Did you manage to get that information out of her?" The man asked the guard who turned around and shook his head in the negative.
Ryssa was led deeper into the dungeons and as she walked past other cells, she could hear the catcalls and whistles of damned men urging the guard to give her to them for a good time.
The guard forced her into a private cell and locked it securely.
Ryssa located a spot in the corner and sat with her back against the wall. She closed her eyes and began counting.
It always calmed her to say numbers until she could no longer.
Today, Ryssa had turned eighteen and unlike the rest of her birthdays, she had been foolish enough to be excited about this one.
Ryssa had been day dreaming when she heard her father curse under his breath.
She had flown up to her feet and dashed to the kitchen.
One thing she knew about her father was that whenever he returned from his nightly drunken bender, he was always hungry and always demanded food.
She had made the mistake of oversleeping one day and having nothing prepared for him and he had slapped her so hard across the face that had spirit had taken flight from her body.
Safe to say, Ryssa never made that mistake again.
She dished his meal, still steaming hot from having been prepared some minutes ago and she listened for him, her ears picking up his heavy footsteps until she heard the creak of their worn-out sofa indicating he was finally seated.
Ryssa had dashed to the sitting room, placing the food in front of her father and trying so hard to not stare at him.
Why the hell is he naked? She had thought.
You heard that right, readers.
Ryssa's father was butt naked in front of his own daughter.
Ryssa had kept her eyes peeled on her hands as her father reached for the spoon and dipped it into his food.
A loud clank jolted her.
The guard was back and he had two more guards with him. Each of them staring at her with anger.
"Get the murderer out." One of them snapped.
The guard who brought her in opened the cell gate, advancing with ill intent.
Ryssa cowered at the corner of the room, her heart in her mouth as the man reached for her arm, dragging her to her feet.
She winced as the pain from being pulled reached her brain but she bit the insides of her cheek to keep from screaming out.
"I always knew something like this would happen in district 12. That place is filled with human scum." the rude guard muttered under his breath.
Ryssa was led out of the dungeons. She had no idea where they were taking her but she was more invested in the fact that this place, whatever it was, was stunning.
She had been born in District 12 and taught to always remain within the boundaries of the district. It had been hammered into any child from the moment they could understand basic words that the only place safe for human children was district 12.
Whatever district this was, it was nothing like theirs.
This place looked like the buildings were erected on moving clouds. Bridges arched between structures in delicate sweeps of gold and crystal, suspended high above open air. The railings were etched with glowing runes that pulsed faintly, as if magic hummed beneath the surface of the stone.
Even the air was different, it carried none of the coal, dust or stale alcohol scent she associated with home. It was the cleanest thing Ryssa had ever inhaled in her entire life.
"Walk" one of the guards pushed her forward when he noticed she had stopped to gape a store filled with people wearing clothes she had only dared to dream about.
They stopped walking when they approached a gate.
It was huge, fenced and golden.
"The Alpha is expecting us" The guard said to the other guard at the gate.
Ryssa swallowed when the gate finally opened and she was led inside and straight into what she assumed was the council room from all of her readings.
There was a man sitting on a very high throne and beside him the most stunning woman Ryssa had ever set her eyes on. She was wearing a white dress that clung to every part of her body and on her head sat a golden crown.
"She is but a child" the woman argued as Ryssa is forced to her knees in front of them.
"She committed a crime and will be put to death, child or not" the Alpha countered.
"What is your name, child?" the woman, no doubt his wife asked.
"Ryssa"
"How old are you?"
"Eighteen"
"See… an adult and a killer"
Ryssa was about to protest when she suddenly felt very cold.
It wasn't the kind of chill that happens when someone leaves the window open but bone numbing cold.
She could feel her teeth clattering against one another and she suddenly felt very afraid. It was almost as if something was sucking the air out of the whole room.
She noticed a man approaching from the corner of the room. She had not heard him come in and Ryssa could not even hear him move but he was moving… floating… walking towards her. He was tall…taller than any man she had ever seen. His broad shoulders strained beneath a tailored black coat fastened with silver clasps engraved in the shape of crescent moons.
A sword hung at his hip.
The air seemed to pull toward him.
Even the guards shifted uneasily, lowering their gazes as he passed.
He stopped in front of her and crouched with unhurried grace, long fingers resting against one bent knee.
His hair was midnight black, falling in soft, slightly unruly waves to just above his collar. It contrasted sharply against his pale skin.
A faint silver green streak threaded through one side of his hair near his temple. His mouth was sculpted in a firm line but his eyes… his eyes was what elicited a gasp from Ryssa.
One was blue like the ocean and the other molten green.
"What is her crime?" He asked, his voice washing over her with such fluidity that she wanted to cry but laugh at the very same time.
Ryssa had never felt such euphoria in her life
What is this, she thought to herself.
What is he doing to me?
"She killed her father" The guard answered.
"Why?" This stranger asked never taking his eyes off Ryssa who could not even move in the power of his aura.
"She did not say?" the guard responded, shifting his feet.
One could tell how uncomfortable he was speaking to the man.
"Did he deserve his death?"
He was speaking to Ryssa this time, asking her.
Ryssa nodded.
"Why?" He asked.
"He tried to rape me" Ryssa's eyes flashed in anger as the memory of what her father had tried to do flooded her mind.
The man's lips arched in a smile and very gracefully he was on his feet.
"I want her" He said.
"I cannot let you do that, Fenric"
Fenric.
The prince?
"She is going to be under my protection and will serve me personally. This is what I demand if you want me to ever go into the academy"
Ryssa raised her head and her eyes met Fenric's blue-green ones.
"Fine" She heard the Alpha king grudgingly accept. "But whatever she does, it is all on you"
"You have nothing to worry about, father. She will not be doing anything except please me"