I laid on my couch, legs pulled up to my chest; head in between my knees. My hands cocooned me from the winter atmosphere and my hair surrounded the entirety of my body, leaving me feeling full with tranquility and warmth that was somewhat unsettling at first but certainly easy to get used to.
The morning view was dazzling.
Mountains upon mountains saturated in scenery that sported the winter hues of white, pale blue and the occasional orange. The snow tipped trees stood tall— not the tallest I'd ever seen, but still, astoundingly taller than usual. Every now and then I would see a pack member leave the comforts of their own homes to put up laundry, pick up weeds and some; even paint the beauty that surrounded them.
Sure, I'd only gotten a solid 4 hours of sleep, but that was well more than enough. My wolf needed to witness the sunrise, she needed to be reassured that she would watch the sun set and rise everyday till she took her last breath and, to be quite frank— I did too.
A light knock sounded at my door, forcing my eyes away from the mundane wolves and to the large set of double doors.
I almost didn't want to answer it, my night gown too comfortable and my blanket emitting a warmth I didn't know existed.
"Come in," I mumbled, hoping their ears were perky enough to notice.
Once I'd heard the sound of soft footsteps echo throughout the door walls of my room, I turned back around and faced the scenery. There was something about watching wolves interact so— so normally that calmed me.
"Good morning, madame. I must ready you to meet the Alpha today at half past 12," The sound of Dalal's voice made my head turn to face hers at whiplash speed. Green eyes meeting bright hazel ones, "you made it. You proved yourself worthy,"
I nodded, sending her a bright smile, "Yes, yes I did,"
"What was it like?"
"She wasn't happy, that was sure, but I managed to convince her I was well more qualified than the white blooded males in this castle," Dalal slapped a hand to her mouth, shocked, "Clearly, it had worked,"
"I didn't think it was possible to talk back to a royal," Surprise laced her voice.
"Well, it isn't."
Her brows furrowed.
"But somehow, the royal guard did it," She giggled at my answer and gestured for me to follow her .
"We must get you ready, madame-"
"Please, call me Leila," I interrupted.
Dalal paused, an unrecognisable emotion flashing through her eyes before nodding back at me, a smile staining her peach lips.
"Do not look into the alphas eyes before bowing down on one knee. He will take it as a challenge and will quarrel you till you surrender especially because you are the royal guard. He is far from happy that he has what he calls a baby sitter. Do not speak unless told to and answer every question he asks you truthfully. Never forget he can hear the beating of your heart," Lara sat at her vanity as she spoke while Dalal tightened the straps of my boots, "He's a very traditional man, and considering he hasn't found his mate, he won't be delighted to have a female as his guard,"
My brows rose.
In confusion mostly.
"What is a mate?" I asked her, not missing the way Dalal paused at my question.
Lara turned around to face me, red hair flying in its volumes and face shocked.
"You don't know what a bond mate is?"
I shook my head, whispering a word of thanks to Dalal once she let go of my boot.
"A bond mate is someone the moon goddess plans to bind your soul with. You other half. They make you feel complete, fill a hole in your chest you didn't know you had," Lara smiled gratefully, most probably thinking of her male, "Not everyone gets one. It's the moon goddesses blessing to a deserving Lycan. The alpha is determined to find his woman— even travelled 4 kingdoms to look for her, but failed in his mission to even catch her scent,"
"You said he looked everywhere?" I asked. She nodded, "What of the untamed forests, did he look there?"
"I think it's best he be bonded to any normal female than his banished mate, not for his sake, but our mothers," Lara looked down, "that woman would send out an assassin and murder the poor girl if his mate held no status of royalty,"
"Your mother is the Luna?" My tone was nervous.
"Yes, but she really isn't a mother if you ask me,"
"Why would a mother not want her son to wed his rightful mate? She's his mother,"
"She's also thirsty for power,"
I pursed my lips.
"How do you know if someone's your mate?" I decided it was smarter to change the subject.
"Oh, goddess, there's too many signs," Lara gushed, "The first is their scent. All you can smell is them. Wether it's their shampoo, their incense, even their musk. You'll get dizzy of them. Somethings going to push you to them, either it be fate or just coincidence, but you will know, just by looking at them, that you're theirs and they're yours,"
Lara continued speaking but my ears drowned out the sound of her voice.
I feared I'd gotten to comfortable in my room— the castles room. The screening process hadn't ended, there was still a high chance I would be sent back to the cursed lands.
I winced.
That ringing was back. Every time I'd stare at myself in the mirror, every time I'd analyze the curves of my body too closely, thought about my future too clearly, I'd feel like I was slowly detaching. I'd feel my soul leave my body ever so slowly, so hollowly, until something around would snap me back to reality.
"Leila!" My head snapped to the sound of Dalal's voice, my hand rising to my sword, looking for any sign of danger.
Lara stood in front of me, her hand waving in front of my face as Dalal's hand remained shaking my arm. She looked startled, whereas Lara looked more confused than anything else.
"Did you get enough sleep?" Dalal asked, placing the back of her hand on my forehead before shaking her head, "you've got a fever,"
"Now isn't the right time. Dalal, prepare her herbs for when we get her back to her section of the castle,"
"If, I get back to my section of the castle," I corrected Lara.
"Shut it, sweetheart. You managed to convince the Luna who always manages to look like she's got a stick up her arse," Lara looked into my eyes reassuringly, "those green eyes were enough to convince me,"
I gulped, fear slithering down my veins.
"Dalal, darling, prepare those herbs, I'm going to take the royal guard to the Alpha, okay?" Lara said and Dalal nodded urgently, running out of the changing room to get to her new task.
We were alone in the room. The tension was thick with unwanted angst, but we had a job to do.
"I'm going to take you to the Alpha. You will be alone with him in that room. It wont be easy, much harder than it was with the Luna. All you have to do is accept the fact that you are the Royal Guard. It is the Luna that elects her, not the Alpha. Understood? He has no right to fire you, regardless if how much he will dislike you," Lara's words were more than comforting, but an Alpha was an Alpha. He was the king of all wolves, i was positive he had the ability to banish a rogue.
"Thank you, Lara," I nodded gratefully.
"Anytime," She looked into my eyes, searching for any sign of doubt before nodding to herself, "Follow me,"
I followed her out of the room until we stood in front of a hallway that led to a large set of glass doors. Two guards stood in front of each of the edges of the arch of the hallway, their swords stabbed into the ground and no matter how much I looked at them, no matter how much my eyes stared into their own, their expressions didn't falter.
How was I going to become that?
"This is where I leave," Lara looked at me with a sizzling emotion beneath her eyes before bowing down to me, surprising me, "Good luck, royal guard,"
She left, leaving me standing in front of a long hallway.
I seriously considered not walking through it, but fought that urge. Just barely.
Become the golden warrior your father trained you to be.
I strode into the hallway, posture perfect, head held high, ignoring how the walls would whisper my name. How they would look at me as though they could close in on me any second that moment. I walked for what seemed like hours until I stood in front of those glass doors.
Those damned glass doors.
Behind them sat a broad shouldered man, his eyes smoldering as they looked into my soul. Never had I seen such a color; a bright amber. If I'd thought it was hard to breathe before I didn't know what to do now. I'd completely forgotten how to breathe.
I gulped, not moving my eyes away from his.
Slowly, I rose my hand to the door and knocked three times. I hoped he couldn't see it shaking, because of him.
"Come in," His voice oozed like honey to my ears.
I pushed the door open, walked to the middle of the room and got down on one knee, bowing down to him shakily.
The sound of his desk chair scraping against the stone floors echoed throughout the walls of his office. I heard him walk to me, till i felt his presence right in front of me like a pair of boulders on my shoulders.
My knees felt like they were digging into the ground, I felt heavy, burdened almost. There was too much going on. Was it the fever, the alpha, my fear? I couldn't tell. I really couldn't tell.
"Rise,"
I did just that.
There was no escaping his command.
His eyes met mine.
Amber and green. Interconnecting like two stars forging an unforgettable supernova.
I could hear my heartbeat.
I could hear his heartbeat.
It wasn't nearly as fast as mine.
His eyes analyzed the bumps of my face, the slope of my nose, the tips of my lips. They looked at me like I was the only thing that existed.
His hand rose slowly and rested on my cheek.
I leaned into his touch, involuntarily. I wanted to step back, I wanted to push him away, but I couldn't. I was sure he noticed the complete and utter turmoil that sat beneath my eyes, I was sure he noticed how my eyes would stutter in front of him.
He was warm, so extremely warm.
I loved warmth.
He broke the void of silence and spoke three words that took the breath out of me.
"I found you,"
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GUYS, VOTE AND COMMENT PLEASE
I LOVE COMMENTS, I LOVE REPLYING TO YOU GUYS.
What did you think of this chapter? Was it nice? I wanted it to radiate the chaotic energy Leila was feeling ahaha 🥴🤚🏽.
Mwah, bizou. Ily hoes.
Also, I made a graphic for the Alpha, similar to that of the one I made for Leila. It's coming next chapter!