Chapter 183: Chapter 183: Dining With Ghosts
SONIA’S POV
"How do you know about mum’s book, Seth?" I pressed, my voice steady even as my fingers twisted the edge of the blanket in my lap.
He wasn’t just going to glaze over it. I wasn’t accepting anything other than the truth.
"What are you talking about, Sonia? I just mentioned a book, nothing about it being mum’s. Why do you think she left you a book? Who have you been talking to?"
He was twisting everything, but he had forgotten I knew him more than the rest of my siblings.
There had never been a time he was a good liar.
I could see through the facade. He was trying to bury the truth.
"Don’t lie to me Seth. Someone very dear to me handed me a book. I flipped the first page and it was mum’s dedication to me. She explicitly wrote my name. Don’t lie to me, Seth," I pleaded with him, my eyes locked on his face, searching for any flicker that might give him away.
He sighed as he looked at me. "Sonia, there are a lot of things you don’t understand. A whole lot of things I can’t explain yet, because it’s not clear to me either. I’ll need you to just be a little patient with me. I promise, you’ll know the truth when I figure it out, okay?"
I wished I didn’t feel like I was being lied to. It felt like I was being dismissed, and I hated to feel that way. The weight of it pressed on my chest, making each breath feel a little harder.
"Please, don’t lie to me, Seth. You’re one of the few people I think I can rely on. Don’t lie to me."
He pulled away from the wall, and walked over to me.
Dragging my head to his hips, he hugged me, his hand resting gently on the back of my head.
"You’ll be the first person I tell when I figure things out, Sonia. I promise you. But for now, we have to focus on getting your wolf back."
Evening came, and I dreaded it with all of my heart.
Seth had left after we talked for a few more hours, the door clicking softly behind him as he slipped out.
I had buried my head in my bed, hoping the days would just go by, as I remained there. The soft sheets smelled of lavender and home, but they offered no comfort. My mind kept drifting back to Bloodmoon, to the simple wooden bed, to Ivy’s quiet presence, to the way Ramon had looked at me like I was the center of his world.
It was time to go for dinner, but I still didn’t feel like eating.
Alice came into the room, the rhythm of her steps detailing a woman on a mission. Her boots clicked sharply against the floor, each step purposeful.
Before I could open my mouth to speak, she shook her head firmly.
"No, Sonia. No excuses. Your father will come in himself if you refuse to come out. I’m not going to be banished, or worse, lose my head because of your stubbornness. Do you understand?"
"But you said you’d help me, Alice. Was that a lie?"
"Oh no, princess. Trust me, I am helping you. That’s why I need you to go to the dining room, okay!"
I pouted, but nodded anyway. There was obviously nothing I could do to escape dinner.
I could just attend, and pray it was the last time I would be forced.
Lydia handed me a simple evening dress, and I muttered my gratitude.
I discarded my clothes, and she collected the discarded clothes from me.
Stepping into the fresh gown, I walked over to the mirror, and viewed my appearance. The fabric felt soft against my skin, a familiar blue that used to make me feel like royalty. Now it just felt heavy.
Everyone that had noticed a change in me was definitely right.
It wasn’t just in my physical appearance. There was just something different about me.
I felt different. I felt weird. It was like I suddenly didn’t fit in.
It didn’t make any sense because this was my home. I had grown up in this very room.
These walls had been my companion. I had known Lydia since I was a child.
Why then did I feel so out of place? And was I ever going to fully return to normal?
The future seemed bleak, mostly because I couldn’t see or feel it.
I couldn’t predict what would happen, and it worried me to no end.
"You look stunning as usual," I heard Lydia say behind me, and felt her hand on my hair.
I stood still as she brushed out my hair. It had been a long time since anyone did that for me. The gentle strokes were soothing, but they could not quiet the storm inside my chest.
"Thank you," I whispered when she was done.
"Common, let’s go," she replied.
I took a deep breath, because it was the first time since I returned to the pack, I would be stepping out of my room.
My stomach was knotted in ties, and not even the butterflies in there could survive the tension.
It could go any way. Dinner I meant. It could go smoothly, or just become a disaster.
What happens when I see the food, and feel like throwing up.
If the thought of eating was enough to make me feel nauseous, then the food itself would probably send me over the edge, right?
The corridors were still as I remembered. Lightened up with gold.
It was like paradise, and I was princess here.
"That should be enough for you, Sonia. You’re a princess here."
"Good evening, princess."
The maids that walked past Lydia and I, stopped to greet.
I heard them whisper within themselves when they had created a distance from me.
I was probably the major gossip in the pack. I was back from the den of a beast.
Remarkable that I survived right? Although not without the imprint of his hands, forever in my heart.
I shuddered at that thought. Wherever did that come from? I questioned in my heart, as we took a turn, and arrived in front of the dining room.
Lydia stopped, and turned to me.
"Are you ready?" She asked.
"I am," I replied as confidently as I could muster.
It wasn’t true though. I was a nervous wreck, and my twisted fingers were a testament to that fact.
The guards opened the door, and Lydia stepped aside, as I walked in.
"Now remember Sonia, you’re a princess. Chin up, straight back, gaze sharp, haughty, and prideful," I heard the voice of Lydia’s mother in my head.
She taught me the way to be a true princess of the pack. I couldn’t wait to sneak out and go see her.
I was about to apply these instructions, when my eyes caught an image.
I blinked twice, and yes, it was her. Her knees were on the ground, and she was made to eat with her tongue on the ground, like a dog.
"Freya?" Her name slipped out of my mouth, as I gasped in surprise.
