Alpha King & his Trophy

08. Not your friend

HANNAH

I was sure Garrett only tried to scare me due to his sudden disappointment of losing me as his new bed toy. I couldn’t resist the itching in my hand and waved to him cheerfully as I was hopping in the King’s SUV. That look on his face – priceless. I was a bit surprised when I noticed that King did not join me but took a different car. Never mind. At least I could stretch my legs properly.

“Who are you?” The woman’s voice filled the car and only after that did I see a small figure sitting on the passenger seat next to the driver. She had short mahogany hair with bangs and her skin was as pale as sheets.

“Hi. I’m Hannah. I was invited by the King.” I responded and she turned around on the seat to face me. She was wearing sunglasses although it was cloudy today.

“I got that far. But who are you and why is the King interested in you?” She stared at me with total contempt, and I could sense it despite her sunglasses. But I decided to remain polite. If I wanted to survive this whole trip, I should make some friends.

“I guess that’s the question for him. I honestly don’t know. I wandered here by accident and would truly like to go home.” She now took off her glasses and I almost yelped when I saw her eyes. The eyes had a very unusual color – dark purple with a few black margins. So odd, yet fascinating.

“And where is your home?” She arched her brow at me, and I already disliked this hearing.

“Yukon…?” I said hesitantly. She froze for a moment and pronounced a simple “Huh”, turning back in her seat, switching on the radio and ignoring me. Um, hello?

“And you are?” I leaned between the two front seats, seeing how she covered her eyes back with sunglasses. “Willow.” There was something strange about her. I secretly sniffed her, and she definitely wasn’t a werewolf. Yet there was something supernatural in her, even divine. I wondered what species she was, but that would be rude to ask during our first meeting.

“So, Willow, what is your occupation in the kingdom of Alaska?” Maybe her job description would tell me more.

“The correct name is Amaroq kingdom. Alaska is just a country. There are realms of other species.” Whoa, what a smarta$s, this Willow chick.

“Noted. So, what do you do?” I tried again and she sighed sharply, obviously not in a mood for a chit-chat. But I was determined to get at least some information from her.

“I am King Shane’s personal advisor.” Alright. So, his name was Shane and this lady, whatever she was, was his advisor. Witches were quite popular for cooperating with werewolves. Werewolves could grant them protection, while they provided their services of witchcraft. I bet she was a witch, too.

“And what does an advisor do?” I would not give up that easily.

“You’re asking too many questions.” She frowned and turned the volume up. That was a hint for me to shut my mouth, but I knew better than that. “C’mon, Willy. I want to know what type of dragon’s den I’m jumping into.” She put down her sunglasses again and turned around abruptly, her eyes shining bright purple like a stone of amethyst and her voice jumped a few octaves below, giving me chills all over my body. The atmosphere in the car got very dark and depressing, it felt as if someone had died.

“Don’t. Call. Me. Willy.” She pointed out each word separately and I gulped hard.

“Sorry. I was just being friendly.” I lifted my hands in an apology and her eyes changed to their regular color. Which was in fact quite irregular. The driver exhaled loudly. He must have felt the tension in the car, too.

“I am not your friend, Hannah. Nobody in this kingdom is going to be your friend. Remember that.” Ouch. That was harsh. I hugged myself around my shoulders. She was right. Even though I tried to keep my cool, deep down I was worried sick. I had absolutely no idea what kind of future was waiting for me. In Yukon I was a ranked wolf, respected thanks to the hierarchy of our packs. But in Alaska I was nobody. Worse than that. I was an outlaw. An enemy. They could have enslaved or even executed me. Therefore, it was very strange that the King decided to take me with him.

“Don’t forget that you are his fated mate.” Cleo reminded me. Right. I was his mate. But he did not seem to be thrilled. Basically, he pretended as if I was some random she-wolf. “Maybe he only wanted to get you away from his sick brother.” Cleo tried to come up with some good explanation, but I was not very convinced. Garrett’s words somehow stuck with me. What if King Shane was even worse than his rapey brother? What if he wanted to torture me or use me in some sick game? Hundreds of conspiracy theories swirled in my mind and my level of stress only increased.

“We’re here.” The driver announced and turned off the engine. I got out of the car and took a good look at the castle in front of me. Well, I called it a castle because this was supposed to be a kingdom. But it looked quite the opposite. A monstrous black building with dark windows looked nothing like a fairy-tale castle. And I had a strong gut feeling there was no prince charming either.

We were first to arrive. The King was nowhere to be seen. “Follow me.” Willow clicked her fingers at me and headed to the entrance. I didn’t have anything else to do, so I just walked behind her. Gee, those looks on the faces of all the castle servants. They were staring at me with pure disgust and hatred, and I could swear that one of them even cursed under her breath, calling me a ‘filthy Yukoner’. Just what the hell? Well, Willow was not far from the truth. I was certain that finding new friends or even allies in this kingdom was a mission impossible.

“Perhaps you should wash yourself.” Willow measured me from top to down and I must have admitted that I was not at my best appearance. I was still wearing the oversized and dirty t-shirt and my hair was a nest of dead leaves.

“I could kill for a hot bath with jasmine oil and Himalayan salt.” I intertwined my fingers and sighed dreamily. But Willow only snorted and killed all my illusions. “This is not a 5-star hotel and you are not a VIP guest. You should be thankful for a basic shower.” Thank you, Willy. What a nice welcome.

Nevertheless, I was very much relieved when I found a nice smelling shampoo and shower gel in the bathroom. I got a small plain room with a tiny little window, but at least I had a private bathroom. Finally, I could clean myself. I still felt violated by Garrett and needed to wash off all his scent from my skin. I spent significant time in the bathroom taking a shower, brushing my long raven hair, and massaging some lotion onto my skin. A minor spa treatment for Hannah. Why not.

I walked out of the bathroom, just wrapped myself in the towel as I didn’t have any spare clothes and mentally burned Garrett’s t-shirt. I would rather be naked than wear something that belonged to him.

“Finally. That took you long enough.” I jumped an inch high on my feet when seeing King Shane, sitting on my bed with his arms crossed on his chest.