The Taste of Seduction

Meredith groaned as she sat up, her stomach churning in discomfort as she did. She felt horrible.

Flashes of last night came rushing back to her, and

at the same time she realized she was going to vomit.

She bolted to the bathroom and hurled over the sink watching the foul substance plummet into the sink bowl.

Meredith wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and groaned again. She flushed the foul substance and stared at her image in the mirror.

Her eyes were puffy from crying all night. Her eyes were empty as they stared back at her. She looked quite pale. Even her lips were pale.

She splashed cold water on her face just to feel something refreshing and instantly she wished she could wash her memories of last night. Ignorance was truly bliss.

It took her nearly an hour to brush her teeth, bathe

and get dressed. She put on baggy high waisted cotton sweatpants and a slim-fitting black tank top.

She threw her hair up into a messy bun on top of her head, without bothering to dry it first. She felt too lazy to hide her eye bugs and pale skin with makeup.

She didn\'t really care what she looked like. There was no one here she wanted to impress and didn\'t care if she didn\'t look princess-like right now. She put on her glasses and made her way into the main living area.

"My lady! God, you looked horrible, what happened?"

Maria stopped for a moment when she saw Meredith, her gaze dropping down her body and back up again.

Meredith was silent as Maria rushed to the kitchen and came back holding a glass of orange juice.

Maria crossed the room and handed her a glass of orange juice and a couple of tiny pills.

"The prince told me you will need this when you wake up in the morning. I didn\'t think you would actually need it!"

Meredith stiffened when she heard her.

"The prince?"

Maria nodded, "Yes! He brought you back last night, don\'t you remember? You ran to your room and locked yourself inside without even saying goodbye to him."

"Oh.." Meredith mumbled and swallowed the pills.

"Yeah. Did something bad happen on your date?" Maria asked worriedly.

Meredith rubbed her head and sighed, "I don\'t want to talk about it."

Maria arched her brows but said nothing. She took the glass from Meredith\'s hand after she finished drinking the juice.

"What would you like to eat?." Maria asked.

The thought of food in Meredith\'s stomach made her feel nauseous.

"I\'m not hungry, but thank you."

Maria hesitated, looking at Meredith in concern and then seemed to let it go as she said,

"If you want to eat anything just let me know! I can prepare varieties of food."

Meredith forced out her smile and nodded.

"Alright but for the mean time can I get a cup of coffee? I will be at the pouch." Meredith requested.

Maria gave her a soft smile and nodded, "Alright my lady I will bring it to you."

Meredith nodded and walked towards the pouch. Perhaps the fresh air would help her clear her head.

As she sat in the warm light of the morning sun listening to the crackling of the stone fireplace, she

tried to remember getting back to her room.

And then it came rushing back.

She remembered Marcus telling her about the mating ritual, marking ceremony, her running and him chasing him. After that she had told him she was tired and wanted to sleep. Being a gentleman he had escorted her back to her room.

Maria brought her coffee but Meredith was lost in her thoughts to hear what she had said. Giving her mistress some space, Maria left her alone.

Meredith\'s brain seemed to rewind and playback all of the events that had brought her here.

And every moment was filled with Atlas\'s presence. It didn\'t matter that he had been physically torn from her life, because she could still feel his touch on her skin, his deep voice commanding her body to pleasure and him kissing her forehead while whispering how much he loves her.

She could still smell the scent of his cologne and see the mischievous crinkle in his blue eyes when he would tease her and make her beg for it.

Those bittersweet memories were followed by the

harsh reality of her current circumstances.

She was soon to be mated with a man she did not love, and who did not love her.

She was tired, every muscle in her body was aching painfully.

But the physical pain was nothing compared to the emotional pain she felt.

She had been fighting it for the past few days, pretending she was okay just so she could stay alive and not lose herself in her torment but she had lost it now.

Her slight hope had been taken away from her making her broken. Despair clawed at her skin.

Meredith wanted to run away. But she knew it was impossible. She didn\'t even know her way around this mansion or palace.

She forced herself to stop thinking but she couldn\'t stop the tears rolling down her cheeks.

She wanted to talk to Atlas so bad but she was afraid his uncle would suspect something was going on between them and prevent them from being together.

****

Meredith came to awareness slowly. As she stretched, she realized she had fallen asleep and was lying down on the couch in the pouch.

She pushed herself into a sitting position groggily, and suddenly stiffened. She realized she wasn\'t alone. An intense gaze was fixed on her.

Her heart beat faster as she turned to look at the man seated on the adjacent couch.

"W-who are you?" Raw panic was in her voice as she asked.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and her mouth went dry as he stared at her without a word.

Whoever he was he seemed powerful and Meredith didn\'t want to cross him.

"Who hurt you?" Meredith heard the voice in her head and she stiffened.