♚ Aphrodite ♚
Rage.
That was the only emotion I felt running through me at this time. How could the people expect me to be a good ruler when they have Alphas like these controlling them? They blame me for being a woman, but look at the men?
"You are dismissed," I spoke to my guards, they looked at each other in concern and asked the question one more time.
"I said, you two are dismissed! Don't make that permanent." With that, they scurried off and allowed me to walk down the street. The sight was truly sad to see, and it brought tears to my eyes. It really breaks your heart even though you are not the one to contain a lot of feelings.
I decided that I will go and speak to the Alpha. I want to understand why his pack is in this condition, I don't want any feuds... I only want to help.
But doubts started clouding my head. Will he listen to me? Or will he just pass me off as a little girl and take no heed of my advice? What happens if he doesn't listen to me, should I declare this a Rogue pack?
I stormed through the streets, the gravel brushing against my gown creating a loud ruffling sound which definitely caught the attention of the people sitting there. I did not care, at least not now. My primary mission was to meet the Alpha and discuss these matters.
I felt slightly guilty for not informing my uncle, and I prayed to the Moon Goddess that the guards didn't snitch on me. I kept that at the back o my mind and went ahead, walking down to the end of the road where there was a big mansion.
Almost every Alpha had a mansion, where he and his family members lived. I wasn't quite pleased to see the fact that the house was well functioning whereas the outside wasn't. Nevertheless, I walked up the entrance of the mansion despite the security's protests.
I knocked on the door quite loudly making sure that anyone in the house heard it. I had waited for a while before I heard heavy footsteps descend down the stairs. The metal door was pushed open creating a cringeworthy noise, I still kept my face stoic.
There stood in front of me a man with a tall and brooding stature. He wore a well-fitted army suit and had the most intense look in his eyes. It seemed like his eyes were an ingrained truth detector. His grey eyes ran down through my body, and I noticed it's quick movement... he didn't recognise me.
"How may I help you?" He asked. For someone who looks ragged and about to kill you, this man in front of me was pretty well mannered.
"I would like to speak to your Alpha." I'm not sure what card I was playing here, although he seemed manly enough, I didn't think he was an Alpha.
"And who are, young lady?" His expression was that of confusion, he must be surprised by how a woman could walk up to him and be that bold. I smiled thinking of a way to drop the news to him
"Oh dear me," I said with fake exaggeration. "I completely forgot to introduce myself! Where are my manners? My name is Aphrodite, your Queen."
To say that the man in front of me had a paralytic feeling was an understatement. For a moment, he had forgotten how to breathe, although, he quickly recovered from that blow. He immediately bowed in front of me paving the way for me to enter the house. I climbed up the marble steps and entered his house.
I walked in to see to observe the modest situation of this house. It was not made of any grandeur like most of the other Packs and the Castle itself. It was an unpretentious environment, and I seemed to like it. Unlike other Packs, I felt like I was home and it created a warm sensation in my heart.
"Please take a seat, and enlighten me about your worries." The way he said it sounded very condescending, but I chose to ignore it and went ahead with what I had to say. He probably thought I had a minor problem that didn't require much attention, but I was here for strict business.
"The condition of your pack is deteriorating." I put forth my bold statement, the man in front of me simply let out a laugh as if he didn't believe what I was saying.
"And what makes you think that?" It was shocking to me that he didn't realise the condition of this place. He seemed a bit older than me, and I was sure he lived in this pack for a long time. I remember visiting this pack when I was younger and I also vividly remember that the scenery was quite different.
"I remember visiting this place ten years ago, it was much nicer and now it looks disastrous." I hadn't meant for it to sound atrocious, but the place really did look bad, and there was no other way to put it.
"Your Majesty, with all due respect," I wanted to roll my eyes so bad, whenever they didn't want to offend me, they always did. "This is none of your concern, don't you have other royal things to do?"
"This is my royal duty, and if you have a problem with that then I will take dangerous actions-"
"Perseus? Who is that woman with you?" A young lady walked down the staircase, carefully examining me. What she didn't realise was that I noticed her as well, and more importantly, the little baby on her waist.
The woman had her hair onto one side of her face perfectly curled, she had no makeup on which resonated her pure, natural beauty. She was wearing a modest summer dress and boots to protect her feet from the sharp gravel outdoor.
However, what I couldn't stop noticing was the child in her arms. She was just as gorgeous as her mother, and maybe her father too. She held a certain poise and charisma that I had never seen any young child do. Her physical features resonated that of her mother's, striking shiny blonde hair and the most precious deep-sea blue eyes. The way the child stared at me was intense, it seemed like she knew all the issues happening around her.
"You have a lovely daughter," I said as I walked over to the woman and the child. I bent down to carefully observe the child and the way she looked at me. I could tell that this girl was being positively spoilt right now and will be in the future. When I came close to the baby she started crying, it was no surprise as I always had that effect.
"You're not really good with children, are you?" I looked back at the man who put on an amused face, he was enjoying seeing his Queen fail at something for once.
"You're not really good with managing a pack, are you?" I mocked which caused the woman beside me to let out a soft laughter, but when I turned to her, she immediately stopped and bowed down in respect.
"Your Majesty," She said as she stood up, she looked at me directly and let out a broad smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, how are you finding it here?"
"I'm finding it quite comfortable around here, but let's all put that aside and tend to your child," I said as I slowly walked back and into their kitchen room, the beta and his mate following me quickly behind.
"You're majesty, you don't have to help us." The beta said as he tried to stop me from grabbing utensils from their kitchen. I merely shrugged him off as the top priority was keeping that baby's mouth shut.
"Nonsense, I can see you two are tired from tending to this child," I said as I began to prepare the meal. "I would gladly help you out."
"Thank you, your Majesty." I nodded and proceeded on to what I was doing as they watched me in awe. This had never been done, no monarch walked into a Pack house and cooked for the Beta and his family. But I was unlike my ancestors, I wanted to create a difference in this Kingdom.
I handed the mother the baby's food, and she gently began to feed her child, eventually calming her down. I checked the time and saw that it was quite late my uncle, and probably everyone in the Castle would be worried about me.
"Thank you for letting me stay here for a while, but I must go back to the castle." There was a sudden flicker in his eyes that I could not comprehend, but I could hear his breathing become erratic, there was definitely something he was not telling me. I decided to leave it for now and find it out myself later.
With that, I walked out of their house into the streets of the 'Bloodrose Pack'. What a fitting name for the way the pack looked. Out of nowhere, I felt a sudden sense of fear wash over me, I didn't know where it was from, and I certainly couldn't control it. I stopped at the place where the guards were, and we started the journey to the Castle. As we drove away, I heard the voice that I dreaded to hear... I heard his voice.
I will be waiting for you when you come to your Castle, my Queen.
I immediately recognised this voice as being threatening, this man didn't refer to me as his Majesty and the way he did it was quite informal, which only meant one thing. He was challenging me and possibly trying to rid of me from my position.
Before I could act upon this dangerous situation, we had already reached the Castle but the situation was appalling. We were under attack from Rogues, I prayed to the Moon Goddess that these weren't the same Rogues that uncle told me about... I prayed to the Moon Goddess that my uncle was alive.
"Aphrodite!" I heard my uncle's agonising scream, and for a moment, my world stopped. "Get out of here, we're under attack!"
Before I had time to react, several wolves came out of the shadows and attacked the guards next to me. The guards immediately shifted and began a blood bath, providing me with ample time to run. Within seconds, I vanished from the premises and into the dark forest. I was terrified for my life, and it couldn't have gotten worse until I heard him speak to me again.
You will be mine.
❌❌❌
Have any idea what is going to happen next? Let me know in the comments.
I finally had the chance to post this chapter, yay! Feel free to vote and comment on this chapter. It would mean a lot to me.
I have my exams coming up and I haven't even started revision, I just procrastinate way too much!
Other than that, feel free to check out my other book 'Resurgence'
Thank you lovelies,
-Addiction_xx