KING THANE's POV
"Is it necessary to attend the banquet?" I asked my beta, Hermes.
"It's thrown in your honor. Kaden is throwing this banquet for you"
"He wants to get on my good side"
"You should attend. You've kept away from the people for a long time and I think this would be a way to show the people Grace you still care about them. Other Alphas will be in attendance"
"That makes me not want to go at all" I grumbled and Hermes sighed.
"It's just this one time. If you won't go then can we at least have a party here in the castle?"
"No" my answer was instant. I hated parties, especially after what had happened.
They all knew it. There was no way I would be throwing a party in the castle for any reason.
"The people are talking"
"It'll interest you to know that I do not give a fuck about what they have to say"
"They are your people"
"Enough with the talk Hermès. I have no interest in attending a banquet but if I happen to change my mind, I'll let you know" I snapped angrily at Hermes. He didn't take that as his sign to leave.
"The banquet is in a week. We need to inform them of our acceptance to attend. I know you don't want to hear this but please, let the people see their king"
I thought about it while he stood there watching me. I had no reason to attend. I didn't want to. But he was right. I haven't been seeing my people lately. I haven't attended any parties or events in the last few years.
"Accept the invitation but make arrangements. We would not be spending a night there"
"Of course my lord. And Hannah? Will she be accompanying you?"
"No. I do not need her. She is to remain in her father's home until I send for her again"
"She..." Hermes started but decided against it and just bowed before leaving my office. I had an idea of what he was about to say. She would be disappointed that she wasn't attending it with me.
But she wasn't anyone to be attending a function outside the pack, standing by my side. People would get the wrong impression and make assumptions. That I was going to take her as a mate. Which was completely untrue.
I had no desire to take a mate. Not even the one given to me by the moon goddess. The idea of mates sounded like a trap to me. And the fact that women were selfish, having an interest in only what I could give them. What they could be if they were by my side. I had foolishly let down my guard when I was younger and I was taught a big lesson.
I had learned and knew not to trust them in their entirety. They were all the same after all. Hannah tried to act obedient and pretend to be the perfect woman to stay by my side but she couldn't fool me. She had not realized that yet.
Hermes only returned to inform me that he had sent the message across and that we would be traveling by the end of the week for the banquet. There wasn't much to prepare for our travel since I wouldn't be spending the night but the servants still fussed about much to my annoyance.
The day of our travel came and we set out, arriving at the pack after mid-day.
The pack was sizable. Not as big as the other packs surrounding the capital or the capital itself. But it was large for a pack that was still developing.
"My lord, welcome to the pack" he bowed in greeting and I grunted.
"It's a pleasure to have you here" his mate curtsied, fluttering her eyelashes at me and acting coy. It was disgusting. She was already mated, with her mate just beside her and she was trying to make advances at me. The last thing I would ever do would be to get involved with a mated female.
"When does it start?"
"The decorations will be finished in a shirt while now. We prepared a room for you so you can wait until it's ready"
I looked at Hermès with annoyance and he instantly stepped forward.
"How many hours are we talking about?"
"Two hours" I walked past Kaden and Hermes followed.
"I'm sorry. I must have mixed up the time" I glared at him and he didn't bother to say anything.
Two hours flew by and we were sited at the banquet. For the second time that day, I regretted listening to Hermes and coming here.
There was nothing interesting to see or do. Alphas who were in attendance kept coming to greet me and try to make conversation. Halfway through the boring festive, Kaden disappeared, and shortly after, his mate followed him.
"I think it's time to leave," I said to Hermes.
"It's not finished yet"
"What else are you staying for?"
"The end of the banquet"
"Inform the guards. We're leaving now" I said to him and stood up.
I was waiting for the coach to pull up when a commotion attracted my attention. I studied the situation from where I stood and I could tell there was chaos.
I was ready to leave so it wasn't of any interest to me. But for whatever reason, my wolf wanted me to go there and see what it was all about. He was restless and I blocked him out but it didn't quench the desire he invoked to see what was going on there.
Hermes was delaying with the rest of the guards and before I knew it, I was walking in that direction. The closer I drew to the place, the more my nerves came alive. It felt like I was expecting something but I just didn't know what it was.
And then, the most intoxicating scent hit me. Lavender and wild roses. My mouth watered at the scent and I was itching to find the origin of the scent.
The crowd noticed my presence and they moved away. And then I saw her.
Battered and half-naked, sitting in the middle of the angry crowd was her. My mate.
Eunice's face morphed into an angry one while Camilla looked at us in shock. Kaden slowly disentangled himself from me and buttoned up his pants."You fucking bitch" Camilla marched towards me and grabbed me by my hair."After everything Eunice did for you. You had to guts to seduce her mate"Seduce Kaden? Did that look like a seduction to her or did she just want to act blind?"You ungrateful whore" Eunice joined the attack, pulling at my hair. Both of them dragged me from different directions and I just wanted to get away. I had been lying on the floor with my clothes torn, Kaden over me and holding me down and I was the one they attacked?"I've had enough of your slutty ways in this pack. I'm going to kill you with my bare hands" Eunice dragged me outside while Camilla kept hitting me. There was a small group of people outside and the spectacle instantly caught their attention.I wasn't liked by anyone in the pack. The moment Camilla let it know that I had been with Kaden, the rest
I didn't know when I slept off. I felt so tired and cold. If it wasn't for the coat Hermes had given to me, I wouldn't have even a little warmth. My thoughts drifted to my mate and my stomach turned.He was a powerful man. A very powerful man. I had hoped for a mate but I didn't expect someone with so much power. From his stare, it was obvious that I disgusted him. And what they had said, he believed them completely.His attitude already gave me the impression that he wouldn't be accepting me. But why then did he want me to go back with him? I was unsure about everything, but grateful that I was far away from Kaden and his evil pack. Where they would never be able to touch me again.The coach came to an abrupt stop and I fell forward, hitting my face against the wall of the coach.The door flew open and Hermes was standing in front of me. I caught sight of my mate, he was walking away from the coach at a very fast pace. He didn't even look back for a second to see if I was down from t
I didn't get much sleep throughout the night. I was turning and tossing all through the night. My situation seemed bleak to me and I couldn't get the look on his face out of my mind. The looks on all their faces. I had been assaulted constantly in that pack. And even tonight…the way they had seen us. They knew…Eunice knew that it wasn't consensual but she acted like that to save face. I couldn't even defend myself in front of all those people. I sighed deeply. It was already too late to think much about it. They had all made their conclusions about me. There was nothing I could do to change how they thought about me. Again…my mate. If I'm being honest, I'm still bewildered that I had gotten one. 'He's not so much to us' my wolf reminded me and I sighed again. I forced my eyes shut but the sleep didn't come still. By the time the rooster crowed, I figured I had to get up. Since I was still in the tattered clothes from yesterday, I grabbed the cloak Hermes had given me and put it on ag
I never got the chance to see that girl again or ask her to explain her words from that day. Roughly a thousand servants were working at the castle. That was almost ten times the size of Kaden's pack. I would never meet all of them one-on-one and the chances that I would meet that girl again was very slim. There was no one else that I could ask about what she had said so I let it go. That day, it took me six hours to scrub the laundry room clean on my knees. By the time I was done scrubbing and washing, my knees felt sore and my arms were trembling. My stomach had been cramping because of the lack of food and I remember feeling very dizzy as I tried to find my way to the kitchen after my tedious work. A meal was waiting for me and I gobbled it up. One of the women was nice enough to inform me that I could ask for my meals whenever I wanted it. The days went by and I healed completely from the attack of that night. I didn't run into Martha and only received the list of my duties at t
As expected, the issue from dinner didn't end there. I knew there was no way I would get out of a punishment after my reaction. And even though I shouldn't feel disappointed or let down by my mate's reaction, I still was. It was so disgusting to hear. That it was okay to be touched against my will because I was wearing clothes that were too tight or too short. And it wasn't even my fault in the first place. I had nothing to wear. I had been taken from my pack with no belongings. The only thing I had on me was the tattered clothes and the coat beta Hermes had given to me. Martha didn't want me to wear that and gave me little clothes. Maybe it was my fault for not speaking out and requesting for new and better clothes, that could size me perfectly. But who could I have possibly asked? Anyway, I was given the tiniest brush ever to scrub the whole of the ballroom. So on my hands and knees, I scrubbed the massive ballroom. I didn't get anything to eat because I was upset at everything an
KING THANE’s POV Hermes couldn't stay at a place. He kept pacing the office and muttering something. His agitation was upsetting my wolf and my wolf couldn't be calm. "My lord we need your approval on this" One of the men in the office handed a paper over to me and I glanced through it. "Why do they need my approval to hunt?" "It's crossing into another's pack territory" "And they can't discuss it with the alpha of that territory?" I snapped at him. "I'm not giving permission to intrude on another alpha's land. He can if he discusses with the alpha of that territory" "What next?" Hermes chose that as the perfect time to say something. "I don't get how mates act crazy" There was a long pause as we all stared at him. He probably didn't realize that he blurted that out loud. "Out everybody" I commanded and they grabbed their things, fleeing from the office. "What was it that you were saying about mates?" "It didn't use to be like this in the past. Everyone loved the mates
The days were running by quickly and so were the tasks that I had to handle. In just a couple of days, I'll be done with the punishment I'd been given. I stayed out of everyone's way and nobody showed up in front of me, except for Helios. Since that first day we met, he made it a mission to see me every day. I was unsure about him because no matter how nice and kind he acted, I was convinced that there was something about him. My wolf agreed too. Often times when he would drop by and try to help me in any way that he could, I would start to think again that he was a nice person and I was just overthinking it. But I'll dismiss that thought as fast as it came. It was better to trust your instincts. I tried to get him to stop coming but he was insistent. It was simply like he was redoubling his effort to be around me each time I tried to get him to leave. He was too forward to completely ignore his existence so I just had to endure for a while, make up a silly excuse, and be on my way.
She didn't stop pulling me along until we were far from the supplies room. We went into the kitchen and she let go of my hand, holding the counter and breathing rapidly. "Fuck. If he finds out I lied, he'll be fucking furious and he'll try to find me. I just risked my neck for your sake" "Thank you," I said sincerely. If she hadn't come, I wouldn't have been able to get away from that man and I'll probably still be pressed against the wall praying to the damned goddess to get me away from there. "What's your issue with him anyway? Everybody knows that Helios is bad news...most of the men in the king's circle are. We try to stay away from them" "I was doing just that but somehow, he found me. I don't even know how he did" Nobody knew that I was going to the library today or did he see me while I was going to the supplies room? "It's bad news if he has his eyes on you. You have to report" "Who could I report to?" "Martha" I couldn't stop the scoff that left my mouth. She looked