Methis POV
“Flower arranging is an art form that expresses your emotions and personality.” She explained as she handed me a pair of scissors.
“Really? How so?” I asked curiously.
“Well, for example, roses symbolize love and passion, lilies symbolize purity and innocence, sunflowers symbolize happiness and optimism, and so on.” She said.
“I see. And what about these?” I asked, pointing at some purple flowers that looked like bells.
“Those are lavender. They symbolize calmness and tranquillity.” She said.
“I like them. They’re pretty.” I said.
“Me too. They’re my favorite.” She said with a smile.
We continued to chat as we arranged the flowers in a vase. She was very friendly and helpful, and I enjoyed her company.
We were almost done when a beautiful and noble-looking stranger appeared in the garden. She had long blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair skin. She wore a white dress that hugged her curves and accentuated her breasts. She looked at us with disdain and walked towards us.
“Who are you?” She asked me in a cold voice.
I felt intimidated by her presence and tone. “I-I’m Methis.” I stammered.
“Methis? What kind of name is that?” She sneered.
“It’s my name.” I said defensively.
She appraised me from top to bottom and shook her head. “You’re nothing special. You’re just a plain human girl.”
She turned to the maid and asked her in a haughty voice.
“Who is she? And what are you doing with her?”
The maid bowed her head respectfully and answered her in a timid voice.
“She’s Jamal’s wife, ma’am. And we’re just learning flower arranging.”
The stranger’s eyes widened in shock and anger. She looked at me again with disbelief and disgust.
“Jamal’s wife? You mean his bride?” She spat out the word like it was poison.
“Yes, ma’am.” The maid said nervously.
The stranger laughed mockingly and shook her head.
“No, no, no. You must be mistaken. Jamal can’t possibly marry someone like her.”
She pointed at me with contempt.
“She’s not his Luna. She’s not his true mate.”
She looked at me with a smug smile and introduced herself as a noblewoman of the wolf clan.
“I’m Laura. And I’m Jamal’s Luna.”
"What does that have to do with me?" I asked, getting a bit impatient at her rudeness.
It turned out to be a big mistake, because she absolutely let me have it.
She claimed to have known Jamal since childhood, and to have been destined to be with him.
She jealously mocked me, saying I was just a tool for surrogacy, and once I gave birth, I would have to go back to the human world.
She said Jamal did not love me, and never would.
She said I was a fool to think otherwise.
She said I should be grateful that Jamal had spared my life, and that I should not overstep my boundaries.
She said I should know my place, and stay away from Jamal.
She said a lot of things that hurt me deeply, and made me feel worthless and hopeless.
I wanted to fight back, but I did not know how.
I just did the only thing I could at that moment. I turned around and walked away.
I walked on, taking little notice of my surroundings, with my head spinning from all that Laura had said few minutes ago. I had always known it was a bad decision to be a surrogate mother for a man entirely of my race, but hearing the stranger say it out loud was disgraceful. I was sure that soon, the encounter would be all over the kingdom, further tarnishing my image.
"I wish I had vehemently opposed my stepmother when I found out what she had done," I said softly, tears threatening to flow down behind my eyes. I had always known the woman hated me, but trading me for a measly sum?
I raised my head to look at the sky, to prevent the tears from flowing out. That was never a good look. When I was sure the tears were at bay, I took in my surroundings for the first time this evening. I was outside the main house and in the garden. I did not realize that I had walked that far. I walked a little farther and found the long white bench, that was kept in the garden.
Sitting down, I kept asking myself "Why would Jamal want a human to bear his pups?" He could easily have any she-wolf here as his wife, and as many as he desires, but he chose me, a mere human. It just doesn't make sense. Maybe he needed someone he could easily discard once his pups were birthed.
"That must be it," I said, the tears coming down freely and forcefully now. I could not stop them now no matter how hard I tried. I let them flow, the sky is all dark now, no one would wander into the garden at this time of the night. The more I cried, the more I hated the place. Although the people were all nice to me, maybe because I was the king's guest, I was still the only human in the entire kingdom. I felt lonely most of the time, even though I had several maids tending to my every need. I could not wait to be out of here and back to my usual life and to my friends.
The tears kept coming even when I heard a familiar voice call out my name.
"Methis?" Jamal called in his deep, commanding voice. I did not answer, by now my chest was heaving painful emotions. He walked closer to me, his voice softening when he noticed I was crying,
"What's wrong, Methis?" I opened my lips to reply but the train of cough followed instead. He sat beside me and patted my back till the cough subsided.
"It is okay, darling" He said, and kissed my hair. "you're okay, now"