Alpha's P.O.V
The irony of today's events were almost as hilarious as Eric dressed in his royal golden robes, robes made for the groom. He was all smiles and laughter, his jewellery glittering each time he waved at the people who came to pay greetings to us .
I could feel the infectiousness in the air and shook my head. Indeed this was a joyous occasion, finally someone in the royal family had decided to get a mate.
The ball became quiet. I could feel the eyes of the people towards me. They were expecting my big opening speech for the ceremony. I turned and looked at my beta.
“Are you excited, Eric?” I asked him.
“not in the least, but a mate must be picked.”
I let out a harsh laugh and nodded. He had the spirit. Mates were necessary, but it was unfortunate they had to be women. I dreaded the day I'd be forced to finally pick mine. All they would cause was problems and more harm than could be accounted for. But for now, I could support Eric, as his alpha and cousin.
“Welcome, everyone, to the Royal Mate Picking. I'm as pleased as you all are that today, we shall find the one true mate of the Beta. She is here, and soon we shall know her…”
I ran my eyes across the crowd that stood waiting for the verdict of the ceremony and sighed. “And now, ladies and gentlemen, welcome the—” I looked up to see the women that were selected.
They all seemed to look the same. That was because the elders specially picked them to suit Eric's taste. Blond, tall, long haired, pretty…like dolls. But then, my eye caught one that was
different. She had on what seemed to be a blouse and had a very curvy small physique. I couldn't make out her face because of the mask, but her body stuck with me.
And there was just something about her. It made me unsettled. I couldn't see her, but I wanted to bite her.
I quickly shook my head to rid of my thoughts.
The contest ran on and I found it so boring, the elders would speak and converse in low voices with Eric and then scrutinise the girls. It went on like this for almost an hour as the crowd stood in anticipation. Murmurs and wishes coming from every mouth.
And still, my gaze kept going to her unwillingly. Which I didn't understand. I hated women, they never caught my attention. Yet, this one. I couldn't stop my gaze from watering down her face.
When finally, the contest was over, I looked over and to my shock, the winner was none other than the lady. Something disappointing churned in me.
As expected, she was meant to unveil herself, but she stood fixed.
“Is she not going to take off her mask?” wondered Eric aloud. It was tradition that once the mate was picked, she was to remove her mask.
“Perhaps she is in shock, it's quite a big achievement to become the beta's mate overnight…”
I decided to step in and said loudly, “Can the winner take off her mask, so the beta and the pack may see his mate?” I said, as I made my way to the center of the stage.
She seemed hesitant, then after being prodded by the guards, began to take it off slowly keeping everybody in suspense and finally when it was taken off, I was in awe of her beauty. Her blue eyes looked like a sea and had the power of drowning one in there. It took a while for me to notice that my subjects were in total awe like they had seen a ghost.
“isn't that bailey?” someone shouted out from the crowd. Soon the murmurs grew louder and everyone was saying the same thing. “bailey?”
“What Nonsense is this?” Eric screamed “ Is this an insult?”
I was still trying to process what was going on when Eric said,
“How can Bailey Gayle be standing in front of me as my mate?!” he thundered.
I finally understood, Bailey Gayle. She had quite the reputation of being a wild wolf with her foul behaviour and disrespect. I had never met her but all of the pack knew of her as a notorious and hotheaded trouble maker. All the admiration I had for her turned into disgust. Women who didn't know their place and tried to speak on things that weren't their business made my blood boil.
“What makes you think that I would even choose or want to be with someone like you, huh?” he spat out at her face.
“Your parents didn't teach you how to behave and that’s why you snuck your way in and you're trying to dig your way into the royal family.”
Her face wasn't down on the floor like i expected, she was looking at him straight in his eyes with disgust and I knew that fueled Eric's anger
“ I reject Bailey Gayle” Erin said, as the final nail on the head.
“Eric!” I thundered at him, causing the murmuring of the crowds to cease.
“Be quiet!” he certainly was crossing the line, as much as I hated women I wouldn't want anybody to be treated the way Eric was treating Bailey. And as members of the royal family, we were meant to have decorum.
“ Send her away and stop this drama. You are a beta, not a commoner.”
Bailey Gayle's eyes bore into mine with immense hatred that I couldn't describe. Then, she did something I never thought anyone would do, and turned and made to leave.
The guard stopped her from leaving with their spears together into an X because I hadn't ended the ceremony
“Move!” She mouthed through her teeth, as she clenched her fist like she was trying to control her wolf.
“You have to wait for the Alpha to give his speech before you leave”
“I said move!” she repeated it as a warning tone. The guards didn't budge and I really began to wonder how someone could have been rejected but instead of tears, was burning with anger. I could understand if it were a man but not a woman. What sort of woman was she?
She began to laugh and for a minute I thought she was mad.
“Helpless fools,” she continued, her eyes darting to and fro, “ puppets, walking zombies that what you are, I said MOVE!” Now she was screaming at the top of her voice but then she stopped in silence and turned to Eric.
“You—” she scoffed, “I have to tell you that you are quite delusional. You think I, Bailey, wants to be your mate? Even if you were the last man on earth I wouldn't even dream of it. You know Why because you're not man enough to hand me, Beta. So, you don't need to scream, you reject me, I reject you, you ugly beast.”Eric was in shock and couldn't move, and so was i.
****
She started walking towards me and when she got to where I stood, she stood in front of me staring into my eyes with no fear as she spoke
“The great Alpha, the ruler of this great pack” She literally spat on my face
“You disgust me. You call me a mad wolf, but your entire family are the mad ones, going insane. You are scared of nine women that you try to belittle one, although Eric is nothing . For your reputation dear king you would go to any extent. Your sexism shines forth in every thing you do, and you'd rather die than admit that the hate you harbour for women is indeed fear. You fear what you cannot understand and destroy.”
The crowd went insane from her words. Everywhere tumbled with murmurs and shock, and i almost lost it. She embarrassed me in front of my pack.
I gripped my chair, and tried to control my wolf. I could feel myseñf about to shift, and if I did, I was surely going to tear her to pieces. No one dared challenge me in that manner, but it was undignified. I couldn't let my anger get the best of me in public
“You're scared that we women are the reason you're in the world. WE BROUGHT YOU TO THIS WORLD!” She was yelling, “ and you're scared we would take you out of it. Well, you're not wrong to be afraid, coward!”
Rage was an understatement of what I was feeling now, I was beyond angry . I knew everyone was staring at me and wondering how I could let someone speak to me like that and I wondered how she could dare. If I didn't take care of this problem there would be chaos and women wouldn't know their place again. It took me some time to process and snap out of what just happened and decide on what best to do.
“Seize her and take her to the dungeon,” I commanded
The guards immediately grabbed her and she was fighting back screaming cowards and crying.
Eric was still in shock, he hadn't moved from his position and I scanned through the crowd and knew that this day would never be forgotten .
I was going to be dealing with her, in every way possible. And i couldn’t wait to break her, and deal with that smart mouth of hers. No one disrespected the Alpha. I was going to make her pay in every way possible. I stared at her figure as she was being moved around.
Oh, how I would enjoy breaking her.
Bailey P.O.V I had lost count of the days. It was always dark here, the sun didn't rise so I didn't know what mornings felt like again but I wasn't going to succumb and be weak. I was stronger than they thought and no matter what, I wouldn't break. I had known cowards all my life and I knew how to deal with them, that's how I got tough, by facing my bullies, one on one. My stomach grumbled, reminding me that I hadn't eaten for days. I crawled up beside the wall I could find with my hands waiting patiently for death and if not death, I just wish I could sleep and go to the lands where all my dreams came from. I didn't bother opening my eyes because the sounds of the iron gate creaking broke the silence around me. When it grew louder, I opened my eyes trying to see the shadow who was opening my cell and when he succeeded, he shined a dazzling torch on my face, blinding my eyes while my hands darted up to cover the light from my eyes “seize her!” The shadow commanded and immediately
I was sat atop the queen sized bed, the maroon colored duvet around me looking like dry blood against my dirty and dust stained dress. From the eyes of a painter or photographer, I looked like I was sitting in my own blood, just waiting to pass out any moment. Peeping from the lacy covers that bordered the bed, I found a vanity bigger than my mum's. Next to it was an even bigger mirror. I stole a quick glance and I felt repulsed. My blonde hair was a tangled mess, dirty streaks giving me new highlights I didn't ask for. By my right was a bedside table, a walk in wardrobe and a beautiful bookshelf, all in the same set. "Stop admiring anything, you moron." I facepalmed myself hard. I pressed my palm against my nose and only when I felt pain, did I stop. "You're trapped in here and you're gawking like a three year old on Christmas Eve." After Noah had walked out on me, the previous day, leaving me all alone in the room, I did nothing. There was nothing I could do. You know that feelin
"Leave." Noah's voice was the only one in the room. " All of you. I'd like to talk to my wife. In private." I thought I was dreaming. I'd been staring at Noah for a while so maybe I was imagining things. Maybe if I blinked or broke an arm, everything would go back to normal. Maybe. "Can you not hear me?" The Alpha's boom caused me to snap out of my thoughts. I shuddered as a chill ran down my spine. " I said leave!" The maids scurried out first, their footsteps like mice running from their biggest predator, the cat, in the hallway. I glanced quickly at the bed and cursed inside when I saw the silk dress lying on the bed, it's beauty taunting me. Why didn't they take it along? Noah, like a pest, followed my gaze to the dress too. His eyes darted back and forth between us before a smug smile rested on his lips. "You can't be serious." Eric broke our staring contest. He always seemed to know the right time to butt into our business. " Noah, you're joking, right?" "You're still her
He stopped next to the bed, and picked up the dress in one swift motion. As I watched him pick up the dress, my heart started racing. I couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions: anger, confusion, and a strange attraction. He delicately twirled a piece of the fabric on his fingers and I saw it sparkle a bit. "This would have looked really good on you, you know," he said, breaking my chain of thoughts again. My anger flared up. "Is that why you sent your maids to play dress up with me? For your pleasure?" I seethed, clenching my fists. "Not necessarily," he replied, taking a step towards me. "I just wanted to get you in a clean set of clothes. You looking aesthetically pleasing to the eyes would just be an added bonus." I was so angry that I couldn't control myself. "Pervert," I let out through clenched teeth. "Not only are you proud, you're also a fucking pervert!" As he took a step towards me, I instinctively stepped back. He continued coming closer until my back came in contact w
A gentle breeze blew by, sending leaves rustling my way. I shut my eyes tighter as I padded the bed, frantically searching for the duvet I'd slept in last night. But instead of the soft warmth of the quality cotton material, my hand felt a hard surface, prickly prickles poking through my skin. I jerked up immediately and what I saw wasn't what I expected. Trees bloomed all around me, like it was spring. Songbirds flew around, their rhythmic chirps filling my ears. Flowers of different colors and types spread about with lush green hedges in between. And the sun was as bright as ever, the round celestial body glowing and giving warmth to my skin. Where was I? Glancing around my immediate surroundings, I surveyed what was supposed to be my bed. My fancy queen sized bed with lacy covers was no longer where I left it last night. Instead, I was sprawled on top of a flower bed. A rose bush to be exact. It's petals, I'd probably used as a cover and it's thorns were what pricked
Who.. who are you?" I stammered. My teeth were chattering as I raised a finger at him. " Who the hell are you?!" "I'm sorry I frightened you." He really did look sorry. " I didn't mean to. We'd been knocking at your door with no response, so I let myself in." "You haven't answered my question." I didn't want to hear any excuses. I just wanted to know who the fuck he was. " I'm not going to ask you again." "I'm Gustav." He stood straight, something glinting on his wrist. It was a gold bracelet. Almost every guard in the palace had one. I may or may not have snuck a glance at all of them a couple of times " Your personal bodyguard and royal escort." As I looked at Gustav, my heartbeat began to slow down. I could see the concern in his eyes, and I realized that my reaction to his presence was a bit extreme. I felt a bit embarrassed, and I hoped that he would not judge me for it. I took a deep breath and tried to compose myself. "Gustav," I repeated his name in a softer tone. "I'm sor
"Gustav?" I echoed, narrowing my eyes at him. "I've never heard of you before. What are you doing in my room?" "I'm one of your personal guards, your majesty." He replied, still looking apologetic. "I'm supposed to be on duty right outside your door." "I see." I muttered, feeling a little embarrassed at my outburst. "I'm sorry for shouting at you. It's just that I had a bad dream and I'm a little disoriented." "It's alright, your highness." Gustav reassured me. "Is there anything I can do to assist you?" I shook my head, still feeling a little shaky. "No, thank you. I think I just need some time to gather my thoughts." "Very well." Gustav nodded, before turning to leave the room. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to call me." As soon as he was gone, I let out a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. What was that dream about? And why did it feel so real? I got out of bed and walked over to the window, pulling back the curtains to let in some sunlight. Outside, I could
I sighed deeply, trying to ignore the infuriatingly smug expression on Noah's face. It wasn't the first time he had insulted me with his so-called compliments. I knew he didn't really mean them, but that didn't make them any less irritating. "I wish you wouldn't call me that," I replied, keeping my tone as neutral as possible. "You know I don't like it." Noah chuckled, a sound that grated on my nerves. "What, 'your highness'?" he said. "But you are my mate, my queen. Don't you think you deserve a little respect?" I rolled my eyes. He was mocking me and it was very intent. I hated it when he was all smug. He was too arrogant, and oh goddess, i hated him so much. I hated seeing his handsome face, As I looked at him, I couldn't help but notice the way his dark hair was slicked back, revealing the sharp angles of his face. His skin was bronzed and seemed to glow in the light, as if he had just returned from a tropical vacation. His tall frame towered over me, and I couldn't help but