SWORN TO THE ALPHA KING

[29.1] THE UNEXPECTED

[SILVER RAYNE WILLIAMS]

THE STUPID horse was nowhere to be seen. I had walked a good long way through the trees, finally resting upon the rocks. My knee was killing me and my brain swarmed with rabid thoughts.

I was supposed to be off the dang radar and here I was, drawing attention to myself, tripping in front of royalty.

I ran a hand down my face, taking my glasses off, and my hands rested on my knees.

I quickly jerked at the contact, remembering I had been hurt. Slowly, rolling up the sleeve of my trousers, I wasn't surprised to see a trickle of blood rolling down my knee.

By the time I reviewed the whole cut, I realized it was certainly deep. Sighing, and squinting at the pain, I rested back, leaning my head against the trees. Placing my glasses back on.

Great. I huffed.

Today could not suck more than it already had. From washing horses, and horse riding to standing around royalty all afternoon, injuring my knee, and losing the said horse, I was regretting my decision to confess to Lord Graydon about attending the ball.

Had I held out a little longer, I would have been back in the safety of my room, and I would have managed to visit Vella today as I had promised.

I allowed myself to breathe for a while and rest. My throat was dry and my muscles ached, accompanied by the sting on my knee but it was peaceful here

No Fang was nearby. I was too far in the trees and away from the meadows.

It was just me. My ears strained to the wood noises.

Me and the crickets it seemed. Listening to the gentle hum of the crickets I caught a gurgle of running water. I opened my eyes, and turned slightly, slowly limping to my feet.

My knee hurt, more than it had a second ago, but I managed to limp in the direction of the water, happening upon the creek hidden in the trees.

Sighing, I moved toward it, eyes trailing the crystal clear water.

I knew there could be a lot of germs in here but screw it. Germs were the least of my problems.

I needed some water. I cupped a handful bringing it to my lips.

The water was refreshing and I tried not to think too much about my biology classes and the many organisms that could be hidden in the water. I brought my knee to it instead, hissing as I washed the cut.

Yep, it was certainly deep.

Running some clear water over my face, I dried it off as best as I could, before rolling the trousers back down.

It still hurt quite a lot, but I had to admit, it felt better.

Letting out a loose breath, I glanced to my side, my eyebrows arching when I spotted that dreaded horse calmly drinking from the river.

My gaze narrowed on it, lips thinning. The bloody beast.

I froze being very quiet as I got up, slanting to the right as putting sudden pressure on my knee frankly hurt. I managed to adjust slowly, and when I was ready I limped closer, and closer, ignoring the pain in my knee.

When I succeeded to be at least a foot close without sending the horse on another marathon through the woods,  I raised both hands as if I had been caught in a stickup.

"Hold— I-I come in peace," I breathed, watching it steadily.

It seemed to do the same, trotting slightly further into the Creek and softly splashing.