Chapter 5

~BELLA’S POV

I wake up to the ray of sunlight creeping through my window, groaning I turn around and cover my face with a pillow. I am beyond exhausted and I don’t even want to get started with how angry I am; mostly at myself. I still can not believe I went ahead with what Matt said and left Layla to spend the night alone at the hospital. I mean, she’s just thirteen years old, god knows how scared she will be when she wakes up and realizes I’m not there with her. She’s gonna freak out about it and she already has enough to deal with - her illness, the treatments, and now this. Oh my God, I’m such a bad sister, I shouldn’t have left her alone like that.

I swear to god, if Layla freaks out about this, I won’t care what the doctors will say, I will stay with her all night whether it means sleeping on the waiting chairs or sleeping while standing, I’m just not gonna leave her alone.

I sit up from bed with a sinking feeling in my chest. The guilt gnaws at me, amplifying the anger coursing through my veins. I let out a short yawn, take the covers off, and stretch my arms. I head into the bathroom to take a quick shower, now that I got fired, I plan to spend my day with Layla while I check newspapers for job applications. I would have gone back to the cafe and begged my boss for my job back but one thing I know about my boss is that her words are her bound which means she never goes back to whatever she says so I just have to kiss my job goodbye permanently.

Once I’m done showering, I throw in black faded jeans, a blue top, and black flat shoes. I don’t have enough money to get myself better shoes so this will do. I head to the mirror to pack my hair into a ponytail tail. And while I do that, I catch a glance at myself in the mirror. My eyes say it all, I feel slightly much better and even though I was dead worried about Layla, I slept like a baby. Maybe it’s because I was extremely exhausted or because I have hope that the doctors will make sure nothing happens to Layla or because this is the only night I get to sleep without having to wake up very early for work.

I open the mini cupboard and grab my locket from inside. My parent gave me this locket as my tenth birthday present. I run my fingers over the smooth surface and I carefully open it up, revealing the old photo tucked away inside; It’s a picture of me and my parent. I smile caressing the picture, this locket means the world to me, it’s the only thing I have of my parents. I hold the locket tightly in my hands as memories of my parents flood back to me - their warm smiles, their loving embrace, everything. I wish I could've had more time with them, I wish I had more time to show them how much I love them. I wish they were still here.

My parent passed away when I was thirteen and since then, everything flipped upside down. Life made no sense again and well, all my dreams were crushed and I realized that life is a big whole mess that you have to deal with no matter how young you are.

I release a heavy sigh and put the locket around my neck. "I love you, mom and dad. Always did and I’ll always will." I mumble holding the locket tightly to my chest.

I kiss the locket and then take my sweater off the hook and slip it over my shoulders. I make my way out of the room, I grab an apple for a snack on the way to the hospital before heading out of the house but as I swing open the front door, my heart skips a beat when I come face-to-face with two intimidating bodyguards standing guard right in front of the door. Startled, I slam the door shut, unsure of who they are or why they are there.

I quickly retreat into the house, my heart pounding in my chest. I peek through the window, trying to figure out why there are bodyguards outside my door. I see two black jeeps parked by the side of the road, those cars belong to the Alpha. Something must be wrong, the Alpha never sends two jeeps of bodyguards and even when he sends one, it's usually to handle serious threats.

My mind races with possibilities - could there be danger lurking nearby? Could they have found a serial killer nearby? But even if they did why are two bodyguards standing in front of my door? Are they suspicious of me or do they think I'm involved in whatever is happening? My mind goes miles thinking of several possibilities but comes to a halt when I hear a knock on the door. Releasing a deep breath, I decided to gather my courage and open the door.

I walk to the door and as I reach out to grasp the cold metal doorknob, my heart races with uncertainty. I sigh and open it "What do you want?"

"Miss Bella Arthur." He says

"I’m not involved in anything."

"I’m afraid you are Miss Bella." He responds

"No, I’m not. Whichever criminal you are looking for is not here neither am I working with anyone." I tell him confidently. My heart is beating out of my rib cage but I can’t let him know that I’m slightly intimidated.

The guard looks like he is about to speak but before he could, the other bodyguard standing next to him speaks "The Lycan sent us here."

"Oh shit!" I screech. I have totally forgotten about him and the stupid contract.

"We were sent to get you, Miss Bella. You need to come with us." He says

"I can’t, I have to go to the hospital."

"We understand that but you need to come with us. That’s the Lycan’s order."

"My sister is in the hospital alone, and I need to be there for her," I tell him

"Miss Bella, this is important."

"There is nothing more important than my sister," I say. If the Lycan thinks making me sign a stupid contract means he owns me then he is wrong. Layla means the world to me and I have to make sure she’s fine.

"Miss Bella-"

"No!" I state

"If this is about your little sister then you should know that she is at the Lycan’s palace."

"What!" I exclaim "How is that possible!"

"Her treatment was transferred to his home this morning. There, she will get everything she needs."

"But why the hell did he take her and how the hell did the hospital give him that permission."

"He’s the Lycan and I’m afraid that’s the only information I’m allowed to share with you." He says

"Let's go to the palace!" I command, stepping out of the house and slamming the door behind me.

He really messed up, taking Layla out of the hospital without my permission and now he's going to pay for it. I march down the street, my anger fueling every step. The guard opens the door for me and I enter the car.

The Lycan shouldn’t have done this. It’s bad enough I have to spend 182 days with him but him invading my personal life is just too much. Layla is not part of the contract so he has no right, absolutely no right to take her to his home without me knowing.

I look out the window as the car speeds towards the palace, my mind swirling with thoughts of how to confront him about his reckless actions. I know I signed the contract but that’s between me and him, Layla has nothing to do with it, she’s not part of this and I swear to god his he tries to harm her or even touch her, I won’t spare him. I will murder him and right now I don’t care if he’s the Lycan or the gods of the land, all I care about is my sister.

Nothing must happen to Layla otherwise things are gonna go down.

I take a deep breath, determined to let the Lycan know exactly how furious I am.

After a few minutes of driving, the car pulls up to the grand palace. I rush out of the car and run over to the front door. I knock and impatiently wait for someone to answer. I know I'm walking into the lion's den, but I don't care right now. All I care about is satisfying this anxious feeling deep within me. I need to know if Layla is okay.

The second the maid opens the door, I push her out of the way and walk inside. The maid tells me to come back but I didn’t listen to her. I head for the stairs, but something catches my attention before I get there. Someone's talking. I walk toward the sound, and my brows pull together as I find Jacob and a doctor inside a room.

Driven by a mix of worry, frustration, and anger, I storm towards Jacob, my heart pounding in my chest.

"Jacob." I shout his name "Where the hell is my sister?" I inquire but he doesn't say anything, but his gaze lingers on me, scanning every part of my body. I don’t know if it’s me or not but something about Jacob seems different. He just doesn’t look like himself, he looks more sophisticated and more confident maybe it’s because he changed the color of his hair, or maybe because he got his right ear pierced.

I wave away the thought of him as I yell "Where is she!" I inquire yet no response. "What did he do to her!"

"I think my work here is done Lycan Austin, I will give you guys some privacy." The doctor says

I look between the doctor and Austin; startled by his words. I don’t understand, why did he just address Jacob by the title Lycan?

"I will see you tomorrow." He replies. As soon as I hear his voice, a wave of shock washes over me. He's not Jacob; he's the Lycan! Maybe that’s why he looks so different and Jacob did say he is twins with the Lycan. He just didn’t mention that they are identical twins.

Austin crosses his arms over his chest, patiently waiting for the doctor to walk away. Once the doctor is gone, he speaks "You were saying?"

"Where is my sister?" I ask "What did you do to her?"

Without uttering a single word, Austin quietly steps aside, revealing Layla lying on the bed peacefully. My heart fills with warmth as I reach out, delicately clasping her hand in mine and pressing a soft kiss upon it. "I’m so glad you’re okay." I murmur, planting a gentle kiss on her forehead. I don’t know what I would have done if something had happened to her.

"Okay, I think that’s enough," Austin says from behind me. I turn to him, ready to speak, but he surprises me by grabbing my hand and swiftly pulling me out of the room.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I yell tugging my hand out of his once we were out of the room.

"She needs to rest more than your petty talks." He says

"Why did you take her from the hospital? You have no right to do that." I growl

"You do not dare to speak to me in that time." He says; his voice calm and firm

"Well, you left me no choice. Layla isn’t part of this, she is my sister, not yours!"

"I don’t think you know anything about this contract." He says in his thick British accent; I am slightly surprised that he and his brother don’t have the same accent.

"What do you mean?" I ask

"You belong to me which means all of yours is mine." He simply says

"What!" I exclaim

"I think I have to explain to you how living with me will work." He says turning around and walking towards the window. "There are rules here and you have to obey each one of them."

"What kind of rules?" I ask

He scoffs ignoring the question I ask he says "Rule number one, you do not dare disrespect me, talk to me in a high pitch or even interrupt me as I speak." His voice echoes in the room "Rule number two, you do not dare speak about the contract to anyone."

"Rule number three, you are my Luna so you are bound to act like one and you do not dare to associate yourself with your old friends or whatsoever."

"Rule number four……" He halts mid-sentence. Releasing a heavy breath he continues to speak "All this is bullshit, the main important rule is.." He turns to look at me. taking steps closer to me, he stands mere inches away from me "The contract states that you will be living here for 182 days, and in those days I own you and you are not allowed to leave the house no matter what." He says. "There is no escaping the house for any reason and I’m afraid your sister is bound by the same rules."

His eyes sparkle with dominance as a smile tug around the corner of his lips, he declares "Welcome to the Lycan’s Palace Bella."