Chapter Eight
1345 Words
I take my time in the bathroom. It had been ages since I'd been allowed to have heated water for a bath, not even when the weather was freezing.
In the Ravenwood pack, the weather didn't affect them much with their active genes, but it was hell for me.
My aching bones didn't hurt so much anymore, which was a relief. I never wanted to feel that pain again.
I avoided looking at myself in the mirror, afraid of what I would find.
I caressed the small of my back with my fingers, a heavy burden settling on my shoulders at what I could feel.
I couldn't stay here. They would kill me if they found out what I was—something even I wasn’t sure of.
I cleansed myself and got into the dress I was given.
It was a pretty green dress. It suited the color of my eyes—the lenses I had on.
I didn’t know what to do with my hair. There were no tools to detangle the mess it was in, so I tied it up as usual. I was never allowed to let my hair down at my former pack. Lucas hated it. He said it brought too much attention. And I badly needed to avoid as much attention as possible tonight, even though I desperately wanted to cover my face with it.
I took in a large breath before peeling the door open to meet the women outside.
“Took you long enough,” the female beta, Neila, muttered, but everyone ignored it.
“You look—great,” the female gamma, Aria, said softly, her eyes scanning my body before turning to Elder Isolde, who passed her a small shake of her head. I placed my hand in front of my body, my hesitation growing.
“All right, go on, ladies.” Unease began to creep up my spine.
“You’re not coming?” My voice sounded more high-pitched than I intended.
“I will, child, but after attending to something important. Go on, you’ll be fine.” She offered gently with a smile, but I didn’t think so.
I would not be fine. I knew her face more than anyone else’s around here, and for some reason, I didn’t think she would hurt me—at least not until I provoked her enough.
The women walked in front of me.
I could feel my anxiety and frustration trying to swallow me whole. It felt like I was being offered up to be slaughtered.
We neared a hall, and loud voices and laughter boomed from inside it. My shaking fingers gripped my dress tightly.
If I wanted to survive long enough to find a way out of here, then I needed to do this.
“Valerie.” I jumped at the unfamiliar sound of my name being called.
“Yes,” I answered, sounding choked.
“You don’t have to be nervous. Most everyone around here is nice and welcoming,” the female gamma tried to assure me, but I wasn’t buying it.
They were nice to those they considered one of them—not to a girl whose weakness could be perceived from miles away.
They would treat me like the mutt and outcast they believed I was. A werewolf that wasn’t exactly a werewolf.
An abomination.
I nodded blankly. My muscles and face wound up tight, and I could feel the beta female losing her patience.
“Let’s go,” I choked out.
Two broad and large men stood in front of the giant oak doors. I couldn’t smell them, but I was certain they were warriors, and more were scattered around the perimeter from the gazes I could feel on my back—assessing the new, unfamiliar presence in their pack.
The doors were pushed open by the warriors, and I found myself standing in front of the largest crowd of werewolves I’d ever seen.
They stood in different corners and circles, scattered around the room—men and women, children and the elderly—whispering, speaking loudly, laughing with each other.
“Y-you said this was dinner,” I whispered, my lips parting to let air into my lungs.
It looked like a feast.
“Every dinner is a feast in the royal pack,” the female beta, Neila, proudly stated with a sigh, eyeing me.
“This is usually a way for all pack members to bond after a long day. It’s like a tradition we’ve had for ages,” the female gamma explained gently, placing her hand on my arm and tugging me forward.
I was certain she noticed me flinch at the sudden touch, but she only offered me a blinding smile without comment.
As we walked past the crowd, the conversations began to quiet and turn to whispers. I could feel heavy, curious stares drilling holes into my flesh.
My heart slammed continuously. My eyes focused on my feet, afraid I might upset someone by staring too long or looking the wrong way.
I reined in the urge to turn around and flee from this room that made my skin itch. I wouldn’t make it to the door anyway.
I remembered how my senses heightened the first time I woke up in this pack. I almost missed it.
I couldn’t look up, but I found myself wanting to search for the Alpha King.
I was mortified by just the thought of it.
I must have gone crazy.
“Dinner will start in a short while,” the female gamma said, her attention returning to me after exchanging multiple greetings with a ton of people.
My body tensed. My back stiffened.
He was here—not too close, but I could feel him.
His heavy and unwavering gaze, different from every other eye in the room. I knew it was him because the now-familiar tingles danced across my skin like they were having a feast of their own.
His eyes felt like they were undressing me, exposing my soul to the entire room. I felt too much all at once.
Without permission, my head rose from the floor in search of the one man whose direction we shouldn’t dare look at.
I could feel my heart hammering beneath my flesh. I tried, but I couldn’t stop my body from searching for him—the same body that was terrified of him.
My head snapped to the side. My body didn’t feel like mine anymore, and neither did my soul. It felt like I was being pushed aside in my own mind.
When I couldn’t find him at the sides, my head tilted back, my eyes on the floor above us—but I still couldn’t find him.
My body twisted around in search of him. My skin crawled. My body buzzed. And the only thing that could calm me was a single glance—a need stuck in my throat, one I couldn’t explain or understand.
My racing heart slammed hard—and halted.
There he was, posed like the royalty he was, exuding so much strength and power, his eyes already watching me long before I found him.
I should look away, but I couldn’t. It was like he was pulling me toward him.
“Look away, Valerie,” I could hear the beta female whisper, panic in her voice, but I couldn’t focus on her.
I watched the Alpha King—the ruler over every single werewolf alive—roam his eyes over my body, his gaze darkening by the second.
“Look. Away. Girl,” the female beta ground out.
How do I tell them that I—I can’t?
A loud, ferocious growl echoed through the entire room, startling his people. Their unease grew in waves.
The female gamma pulled me toward her with a strength her soft voice never hinted at, knocking me to my senses.
Another growl echoed down the hall, and it didn’t stop until the female gamma took her hand off me.
In seconds, the King was down before us all.
- Writer
