Run! The Lost Princess of the Black Wolves

Chapter 22 - A great honor

Argen's cold stare fixed on Chloe's face, his eyes roaming over her features. "Do you really believe that Iron wants her to be his Luna?" he inquired, directing his question to Chloe's grandmother, Thora.

Thora scoffed in response, "Of course. Have you ever seen such natural beauty before?" She leaned in closer to Chloe, who felt increasingly uncomfortable under their scrutiny. Why were they discussing her as if she were some kind of product to be sold? And why were they even talking about her potentially becoming someone's Luna?

Chloe cleared her throat. "My primary purpose for being here is to attend the Winter's ball, and to help my friend Freya find her fated mate. As for myself, I already know who my fated mate is," she explained, feeling uneasy as the two continued to stare at her intently.

"We are aware of that," Argen sneered, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. "But unless I'm mistaken, you have no intention of mating with the villain you've been fated to."

Chloe shuddered at the mere thought of being mated with Nolan. "Of course not," she replied firmly.

"And since your parents clearly have failed to take action, we will step up and do it for you," he declared matter-of-factly. "First of all, we will match you up with a chosen mate. And luckily for you, the Praetor family has shown their interest."

Chloe's eyes widened in disbelief. "The Praetor family?" she whispered, a mixture of fear and confusion churning inside her. The Praetors were the most influential family in the North, known for their ruthlessness and iron grip on the pack territories. Her parents never spoke highly of them, but one thing Chloe knew for sure - they were not to be trifled with.

"We're going to fix what your mother broke," Thora interjected, a smug expression on her face. "The precious bond between the Crassus and the Praetor family. Your mother was destined to mate with Cato Praetor, the most powerful Alpha on earth. Now, we have the chance to fix this mistake, if his oldest son Iron would agree to mate with you."

Chloe's mind was spinning with confusion. This was all too much to process. "But... my father is my mother's true mate," she protested.

"Aurum's fated mate was Cato Praetor," Argen growled, his eyebrows furrowed in anger. "But she rejected him. If what you say is true, your father is her second chance mate. But I doubt it."

What? No, it couldnt be... But why would her uncle lie about something like this? Chloe's heart raced with anxiety. What were they planning? She had no desire to draw the attention of one of the most dominant families from the Northern packs...

Thora nodded. "If he is her second chance mate, it would be a punishment from the Moon Goddess," she declared, her wrinkled face bearing a look of disapproval. "Ever since Aurum met that vile man she now calls her true mate, she's been delusional, thinking she has to stay with him in the South."

Enough already! Chloe's anger flared up, and she raised, glaring at her uncle and grandmother. "What is wrong with you?!" she growled, her fingertips itching with the urge to unsheathe her claws. "My father is a good man," she continued through gritted teeth. "And I have no interest in being part of some kind of arranged mating."

"Please calm down, dear child," Thora held up her hands, glancing at Argen. "I apologize. Please sit down."

Their conversation was interrupted by the sudden opening of the door, and in walked a young girl with long platinum blonde hair in an intricate hairstyle. She was a few years younger than Chloe, with big blue eyes and a cute button nose.

"Father, you summoned me?" she asked Argen with a suspicious look.

"Cassie, my dear," Thora said, smiling brightly and beckoning her closer. "Come say hello to your cousin!"

Cassie looked Chloe up and down with a slight wrinkled nose before giving her a tight-lipped smile. "Hello," she said. "I'm Cassiopeia."

“I remember you,” Chloe nodded and extended her hand.

Her cousin shook her hand with a tight grip, her hand feeling like a bird’s claw.

“I’m Chloe," Chloe continued. "Or apparently, you all know me by the name Lovis.”

“Yes, but I think Chloe suits you better,” Cassiopeia tilted her head, looking at Chloe with a smirk. “I don’t think making your name more Northern is going to fool anyone. You don’t belong here.”

“Cassie!” Argen growled.

“What?” Cassiopeia feigned innocence. “Look at her, father!" She gestured towards Chloe. "Do you really think Iron wants her to bear his future pups? They'll probably have black fur, for Goddess's sake! And the Crassus and the Praetor families wolves are supposed to be white. We have always been white!"

“Cassie, we’ve been through this already. You are going to mate with Arnulf,” Argen sneered. “It's Cato’s wish. And Iron doesn’t want to mate with you, and you know it.”

“That's only because granny has been bragging about Chloe here for years,” Cassiopeia scoffed. “You've made him infatuated with something he knows nothing about! Well, guess what... maybe he will finally change his mind.” Cassiopeia curled her lips into a vicious smile. “Because my cousin here will clearly be a disappointment.” She turned her gaze back at Chloe. “Welcome home, cousin. We’ll see if you get what you want here, taking what should be mine.” With that, Cassiopeia turned on her heel and bolted out of the room.

Argen let out a groan and rubbed his face. "Well, that could have gone better," he grunted.

Thora's eyes softened as she looked at Chloe. "Please forgive our manners. You see, Cassie has long been infatuated with Iron, but to him, she's just a child. It's already been decided that she'll mate with his younger brother, Arnulf. Cato has two sons, and Iron will take over after his father. Arnulf will eventually take over from Argen, when he and Cassie have mated... We are just waiting for her to turn eighteen. And so it happens, Iron heard about you, and was intrigued enough to convince Cato to give you a chance."

"You're very fortunate," Argen sighed. "I've known Cato my whole life, and he was furious with Aurum for rejecting him. I never…” He gazed pensively into the fire.”I never thought he would accept Aurum's daughter as a possible mate for his eldest son, but I suppose Iron was very persuasive," he continued.

Chloe felt a mix of emotions; confusion, frustration, and a great deal of of anger as she struggled to come to terms with what was happening. "I… I don't know what to say," she clenched her jaw. "But I'm not interested. I'm not some kind of prize to be auctioned off to the highest bidder!"

“How dare you? This is a great honor!” Argen snarled, looking utterly menacing with his Alpha aura radiating from him.

"Argen, that's enough," Thora chided him. "Lovis, my dear child, you've had a long journey. Please, go with Gunda to your room and rest. We can discuss everything later, at dinner."

“Please,” Chloe groaned. “Don’t call me that! My name is Chloe.”

“Then Chloe it is,” Thora sighed. “We just want you to be happy and feel at home here. Now go rest.”

Chloe felt relieved to have a way out of the tense situation, not wanting to spend another second in that room! But still... There was so much that she didn't understand, feeling uncertain about what was going on. Her thoughts were racing as she stared blankly in front of her, following Gunda back to her room and walking in silence.

So... Her grandmother and her uncle were scheming to make her mate with Iron Praetor. She shuddered at the mere thought. Not that she knew much of him, she didn't knwo anything at all actually. But his father Cato was renowned for his cruelty and ruthlessness... She was not interested into mating with someone from that family! Not at all. Did her mother know about this? Her father? No, they couldn't. They would never have sent her here if they knew, not without telling her about it. Right? She had to call them. Her mother had some serious explaining to do. Why hadn’t she prepared her for this?

As soon as Gunda had dropped her off and left, Chloe dashed into her room and began searching for her phone. She checked her handbag, but it wasn't there. She looked for it on the bed and on the furniture, but no. Where did she put it? Maybe it was in her other luggage, that hadn’t yet been delivered to her room?

But no, she remembered having her phone in the car. It should be here somewhere. It should have been in her handbag. So where was it? A chill ran down her spine as the thought occurred to her – did someone take it? She needed her phone! But why would anyone...? Unless...

She rushed towards the door, her heart racing with fear that it might be locked. To her relief, the door swung open easily, but she found herself lost in the maze-like corridor, not knowing where to go.

“Hello?” she called out. The only response was the eerie echo of her own voice bouncing back at her.

She scurried back and forth, trying every door, but they were all locked. The castle was enormous, and she felt like a tiny ant trapped in a labyrinth. After some time, she gave up, and with shrugged shoulders she tried to make her way back to where she thought her room was located... However, to her dismay, she quickly realized that she had no clue where she was, and she was hopelessly lost.

“f**k!” she groaned.

“Looking for something?” a dark voice snickered from behind her, causing her to spin around, her eyes wide with surprise.