Chapter 1 - Lost Virginities

▪️L E N N A▪️

“Let me get this straight, you let me take your virginity, but you do not want to accept my marriage proposal? I thought you loved me?” my best friend Berengar said.

His tone was unimpressed as his bright blue eyes looked at me with a slight trace of sadness.

“I do love you! But you have always known that I am not in love with you,” I replied, as we sat near a stream in our secret meeting place, deep within the forest near my home.

The light of the moon shone its watery, silver-white glow upon us, diminishing the inky darkness of the night, but not so bright as to outshine the stars that freckled and dazzled in the skies above.

I loved looking at the stars.

There was always something soothing about laying on the grass while gazing up at the sky at night, getting lost in its beauty.

“What’s the difference, Lenna? You know that to my kind, love is love,” he countered while throwing his hands up in the air before abruptly standing in front of me.

Naked.

His lack of clothes was due to the fact that he had come to meet me in the forest in his wolf form, as he always did.

“You always forget that I’m human! I’m not a werewolf like you, Berengar!” I stated, before continuing, “Just because you’re the son of the Vizra, you must not forget that the rules also apply to you.”

My voice wavered, while I forced myself to keep my gaze above his well-chiselled chest.

Since Berengar was the only male I trusted, it was only obvious that I would express my sexual curiousity to him. Not to mention where my skin conditioned was concerned, none of the men would come near me, much less touch me.

But Berengar had always made me feel beautiful, stating that he loved all the different shades of my skin.

So, it only seemed like the logical choice that he be the one to take my virginity. It did not matter that he was a werewolf. Though, one could argue that perhaps the fact that he was a supernatural being held some appeal to me.

Asking Berengar to take my virginity had been risky.

But eventually I had gathered up the courage and when I turned twenty, I approached him with my request. At first, he was hesitant, but in the end, he gave in. We had been secret lovers for almost two years now, so I did not understand why he wished to change our arrangement

Running a hand through his dusky blond hair, “Don’t be shy now, Lenna. Everyone knows that you aren’t just any ordinary human. You belong to the strongest healing family within the region! Also, let’s not forget your unusual powers. You are the first of your kind in over five hundred years.”

“Yes well, unfortunately even though I have had these so called ‘powers’ for the last three years, I’ve yet to gain proper control over them…” I reminded him.

Berengar moved to kneel beside me, “I have faith that in time, you’ll figure out how to use them to your full ability. As for us, we can always steal a boat and sail away to another island.”

I glared at his suggestion, “Run away? Are you insane? Why would I ever want to leave the security of the province? This is where I belong!”

“I don’t know, maybe because the Lycan King will be coming for you within the next full moon? You know the rules, Lenna. When a human becomes eighteen years of age, they are sorted and sent to serve. Whether it be between the various werewolf families or to the Lycan territory. Since you’re from a high-ranking healing family, you came to serve at my family’s residence. But now that we can no longer hide the existence of your powers, it’s only obvious that King Edric will want you for himself,” Berengar stated, his eyes locked with mine.

We lived in the Malvar Empire, a large landmass which was comprised of five provinces.

Each province was managed by the strongest werewolf family in the region. The head of said family was given the title of Vizra and they reported directly to the Lycans. These five provinces were only inhabited by werewolves and humans.

The Lycans lived separately in their own territory.

Since humans were at the bottom of the social structure, we were treated harshly. Tasked with various jobs such as housekeepers, farmers, concubines, and whatever else the werewolves and Lycans wanted us to be. Except for humans like myself who belonged to the healer class families and were seen as top tier humans.

But in the end, we were all slaves.

Berengar’s comforting voice broke through my thoughts, “Look, I’m just worried about your safety. Even though we both know that it’s inevitable, I don’t want to see you become a Lycan slave.”

“Oh you… Why do you always overreact? Such a thing cannot happen, if I was being sent to the Lycan territory because of my powers, I would’ve been taken a few days after my twenty-first birthday when the colour of my eyes suddenly changed. But it’s been over a year and there’s been no word of me having to go to the Lycan territory to be a slave. I would like to think that my father would have told me such,” I idly said while raising a hand to stroke his short beard.

“Lenna, I don’t exactly know why the Lycan King has waited so long to come and get you. But I heard our fathers talking this morning and it has been decided, King Edric is coming for you,” he stated firmly.

Though Berengar was only three years older than me, he often acted as someone twice his age. Between the both of us, he was always the more responsible one and had always looked out for me since we were children.

There had been a traumatic incident that occurred when I was thirteen years old and Berengar had vowed to do everything he could to ensure that I could defend herself. Since then, we had been secretly meeting in the forest where we would train together. In return, I taught him how to make various healing potions from plants found within our province.

Which was why the thought of King Edric wanting to claim me seemed ludicrous.

Lycans, unlike werewolves, did not need healers. They possessed such knowledge from the olden days and did not need our services.

Lycans were the superior species and could shift anytime they wanted, be it day or night, and did not suffer any hindrances to their abilities or strength. Whereas werewolves were weak against silver and could only shift on the night of the full moon.

Once upon a time, the three groups had lived as one, and there had been no fixed social structures.

But with King Eberhard’s reign, all that had changed. He was an ancestor of King Edric and was known as the Mad King who had enforced strict rules and created the current social structure. According to him, the three species should live separately, and as a result, interbreeding had become forbidden.

Hearing Berengar sigh, I shook my thoughts away and refocused my gaze on him.

I watched as he slowly lifted a hand to touch the white patch of hair by my left temple. It was something I had been born with and was as a result of a skin condition the locals called the white disease, which was known to us healers as vitiligo.

Like many commonly-occurring physical traits, this ailment caused pale white patches to develop on the skin and oftentimes white streaks in the person’s hair. Unfortunately, most people saw the inconsistent pigmentation as a bad omen and many avoided being around me.

It was yet another reason why I had preferred hiding away behind books: the old pages never judged me and I could simply forget my problems while getting lost between the words.

Berengar’s hand moved to entwine our fingers and I watched the contrast of colours.

With the darker shade of my skin against his lighter complexion, I admired how the white patches of skin on the back of my hands looked; the pale areas continued up my forearms, disappearing under my sleeves.

There was a time when I would not have dared to leave the house without wearing gloves. Now that I was older, I embraced the blanch spots that could be found on certain parts of my body and made no move to hide them anymore.

While tracing his thumb over the back of my hand, his voice lowered, “Like I said, I don’t know why King Edric hasn’t come for you yet, but the moment your eyes changed, your father had no say in the matter where your life was concerned.”

Turning away from him, I looked down at the calm surface of the water.

My wavy, dark brown hair had been braided and pulled away from my face, allowing for the sharp facial features of my light-brown skin to stand out. I briefly admired my high cheek bones before I locked gazes with my own reflection.

Eyes so light blue that they were violet in colour eerily stared back at me.

“An abomination if you ask me,” I muttered harshly while turning to face my best friend once more.

Shaking his head, he countered, “No. They are beautiful, just like everything else about you. Besides, you know that legend claims that people with your eye colour are special. I suppose it’s a good thing I taught you how to fight, at least you can defend yourself somewhat when I’m not around.”

“Uh huh, you know very well that everyone in this province is too scared of your father, the Vizra, to even contemplate acting out of turn,” I said, thinking about the powerful werewolf.

“Yes, but I will not always be around to protect you, and now that you are going to live with the Lycans at least I can feel more at ease knowing that you can defend yourself a little. Maybe not against a Lycan, but at least against the other humans that reside there, in the event they seek to harass you,” Berengar stated with certainty.

My scowl deepened, “But, King Edric has never had a human slave. Only Lycans are allowed to serve him, what need will he have of me exactly?”

“Rumour has it that his brother Einarr seeks to wage war against him and you might be the key to giving him an edge,” he replied.

“That’s ridiculous! How can I, a human, help fight a war? Sure, I may have some sort of magical power, but I don’t know what I’m capable of!” I countered.

“Times are changing, Lenna. Your eyes are definitely proof of this. And with the increasing random attacks from the Lugarhou, it’s safe to say that war is coming and your safety is of the utmost importance. What safer place for you than among the Lycans?” Berengar proposed, his tone serious, as he continued to my hand.

As I tilted my head upwards, I hated to admit how much sense he made.

The Lugarhou were a united group, consisting of Lycans, werewolves, and humans, that did not belong to the Malvar Empire. They were the descendants of those who had fought back during King Eberhard’s reign. The group had left the empire and formed their own colonies beyond the Soljord Mountains, which marked the Empire’s border to the East and South.

It was rumoured that King Edric’s older brother, Einarr, had left to go join them a few years ago.

Since King Eberhard’s rule, everyone within the Malvar Empire was branded on their left wrist.

A reminder that we were property.

As I looked down at the marked skin on my wrist, I could not help but wonder why my father would keep such a secret from me. If what Berengar said was true, then I would be leaving the province in less than a week.

I would definitely confront him about the issue tomorrow at dinner.

Sensing my growing irritation, Berengar then said with a sad smile, “If you don’t want to run away with me, I respect your decision. If I had to lose you, I would rather lose you to our King, as I know that with him, you’ll definitely be safe.”

I did not want to even think about what Berengar was trying to insinuate, but before I could say anything, he rushed on.

“I honestly think that it won’t be as bad as you may be anticipating. Besides, King Edric has the largest library in all the empire, and we all know how much you love getting lost in a good book. I’m sure you can get to use it in your free time. After all, your eyes should grant you some sort of privileges as well as safety from any mistreatment,” his sad smile widened and turned into a genuinely happier expression.

My face perked up slightly at the sound of books.

Chuckling, he continued as he teased, “Besides, the King is rather handsome, and you know how humans just love having sex with Lyca–”

I punched him in the shoulder before he could finish his sentence, “Ew, I’m not like that, such things don’t interest me.”

“But you have had sex with me…” Berengar’s words trailed off.

“Yes, well, our situation is different! Plus, I have never seen a Lycan before and, while I heard that their human appearances are Godlike, just thinking about being near one scares me, much less having to think about sleeping with one!” I admitted, before adding softly, “I really don’t want to leave the province.”

Deciding that I rather not spoil the rest of my night, I shook my head to clear my mind of all negative thoughts as I moved to straddle Berengar.

I smiled as his strong hands moved up my thighs, gliding over the soft material of my pants before gently caressing along the curve of my waist while his fingers grazed the hem of my shirt.

“Enough talk of this madness, we have some training to do,” I said as I pressed my palms against his chest.

Growling low in his throat, he replied, “I live to serve you.”

His words made my smile falter, for if they were heard by the wrong ears, they could easily get us both killed.