His eyes were sad, displaying a gut-wrenching emotion that I would rarely experience. Maddox regathered himself and stood up straighter, but did not let his hand fall out of my grasp.
"I want to introduce you to my family, and then make the news of me finding you public."
Whatever I thought he was going to say, it wasn't that, as if noticing the alarmed look on my face he kept talking,
"Most Luna's have been crowned within this time, Elora, I just want everyone to know that I've found you and see your perfect face." He persuaded, "The wolves are beginning to get reckless, I'm usually out there, taking my own part in the community but I also make public addresses. Since I found you, I haven't been able to do any of that. They're beginning to get suspicious,. but I want them to meet my mate, their Luna Queen,"
My mind was going a million miles a minute, "A ball? Well, who would be there?"
"Alpha's of some of the other packs, along with their Luna's, Gammas and Beta's. Perhaps a few high ranking officials, and then, of course, my parents. But my announcement will be broadcasted for everyone here in Gyabo to see." He explained, leaning against the wall.
Ball's were quite common, something that the Werewolf Royals adapted from the Royal Human Families. They were thrown for any occasion really, but a whole ball just to introduce my name and face? It seemed a little preposterous.
He was watching me intently, his eyes not leaving mine. I opened my mouth at least three times to say something, but nothing came out.
I had no idea what I wanted to say in response to that,
"Will it be here?" I ended up saying, taking a visual gulp.
"Out at my parent's estate, It's a five, maybe six-hour drive from here," Maddox replied intently,
"How long would we be there?" My mouth was dry as I asked questions, I didn't want to say yes or no. Neither seemed right.
"We would leave tomorrow morning, the ball would be the next day, and then maybe another day or two. Then we'll come back, I promise it won't be too long."
You're his mate, just do as he wants, my subconscious scowled at me. I was fine, this wasn't a big deal.
"Sure," I whispered, "Of course, whatever you need."
He smiled brightly, though the smile seemed fake, and the pain in his eyes did not fade. "Thank you dove, I appreciate this so much. I promise, you'll enjoy yourself, even if it's only a little bit."
Before I could reply, he pulled me into his embrace, his body crushing itself against mine. I took a deep breath before tentatively wrapping my own arms around him, squeezing him tight. I heard a sharp intake of breath before a soft kiss was pressed on the top of my head.
"I love you," He whispered softly, his voice raw with an emotion that sends shivers down my spine "But don't say anything. I fear that if you do, my heart would shatter beyond repair. But I wanted- no, needed you to know that. Thank you,"
I was paralysed for a moment before I carefully pulled away from his arms,
"I, ah I should, um, I should go pack. I'll see you at dinner." I stated awkwardly, my legs shaking as I shoved a rogue piece of hair back behind my ear.
"Do you need any help?" He asked anxiously, studying my movements closely,
I shook my head, "Nope! See you soon!"
I ran off in the direction of our room. My heart pounding and my body swaying with pure adrenaline mixed with fear. My hand was on my head, and the only thing I could hear was the clacking of my shoes against the tiles.
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"So that's what he said?"
"Yep,"
"Just out of the blue?"
"Yep,"
"He just said it? What colour were his eyes?"
"No idea, why?"
"It's just so unlike him! Maybe it was his wolf, it's happened you know, the wolf just starts talking and the human part can't do anything about it. Verity, what do you think?"
A huge, half-filled suitcase laid out on my bed. Verity, Haven and Faith were all in Maddox and I's room, transferring half of my closet into the bag which was to be taken with me to the ball. Haven sat on my bed with a gobsmacked expression on her face as I answered her undying questions.
Verity finished folding another pair of pyjamas and placed them in the bag, "I think it's highly likely, The Alpha would know better then to say it so soon, maybe if you were a wolf, then I would see nothing off, but no, I think there is definitely a chance of it being his wolf."
A scoff came from inside my wardrobe, "Who cares! Most of them have only just started working on your dress Elora! It needs to be done by tomorrow morning. Every seamstress in the castle is in complete peril! Your dress needs to be spectacular, this is the first glimpse of the new Luna Queen and right now, all you are wearing is a piece of hastily cut out material!" Faith complained,
Haven rolled her eyes, "Faith, you don't even work as a seamstress! You have no reason to be stressed!"
"I will if they decide they need more people to help! They've made me do it before, and they will have no problem in doing it again. Side note, do you want this jacket?" Faith shouted, poking her head out from underneath the masses of clothes.
"Maybe they won't since technically you're one of my ladies in waiting?" I suggested, "And no, the lighter we pack, the better."
"Put it in there anyway Faith, it'll be freezing out at the estate," Haven said. Faith shrugged and though the jacket over to Verity.
I ran a hand through my hand in frustration, "I don't love him, I can tell you that, but this stupid mate bond, it's certainly making me feel something!"
Verity chuckled, "That's it's job Lora, especially now that you're sharing a room. The bond doesn't fade, the moment that you're mated, you'll feel it at full extent, so think of these feelings as a practice run, preparation for that."
I sent her a glare, "Not helpful."
"She does have a point though, Maddox admitting that is only the beginning," Haven admitted.
I let out a loud sigh and flopped down on the bed, "Also not helpful."
"Any preference for clothes for dinner? I think it's best if you head down now and we finish this for you." Faith called out, clearly over her moping.
"No," I replied miserably,
"Then get up and come get this dress out of my hand and go get changed." Faith ordered.
Reluctantly, I stood up and walked over, grabbing the dress from her hand.
Faith gave out an exasperated gasp at my expression, "You'll be fine, just say hello and talk to Zina or the kids or whatever. He knows he's made a mistake"
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It had been getting colder in the palace, a bitterly cold wind swept through the hallways and chilled my bone and the tiles underneath my bare feet. Snow would be settling in soon, but apparently, it was even colder at Maddox's parent's estate.
It was a long, sweeping gown, much to fancy for a simple car ride. The dress was a rich royal blue colour and it covered every inch of my body excluding my head and hands, the neckline raised to my chin. My hair was elegantly piled onto the top of my head, and my hands were covered by a fur, snow-white muff.
When I had asked why I was dressed to this extreme, I was told that I was to be meeting his parents on arrival, and that looking anything less would be an embarrassment.
Apparently, Maddox had chosen this outfit, I already knew that I would be spending the rest of the day cursing him for it.
"Elora, it's time to head down," Haven called out, breaking me out of my trance.
I sighed, "Why did I say yes to him again?"
Verity chuckled, pulling one of the large suitcases of my bed and placing it upright on the floor, "Because the mate bond is slowly making you fall in love with him and seeing his smile makes your day a hundred times better," I shot her a glare, "Or you were too scared and polite to say no?"
"That sounds about right, the second part, the first is preposterous," I sighed, stretching a little before walking over and helping Verity with my suitcases, "Tell me again why you three can't come with me?"
"I wish we could, it would be better than staying here," Faith grumbled, "Because you will have Zina, Peyton and Callie there, so our services aren't required."
I let out a breath, "Right, well, I'll take this one, everyone grab a bag, Maddox will have a freakout if I don't get down there soon."
I grabbed the largest bag, but it was quickly taken off me by one of my guards who entered my room after hearing my words. In total, I think I had six bags, five more than necessary. I ended up grabbing a small show box, the smallest parcel out of all of them. I started walking, following everyone that was in front of me, hoping and praying that I didn't trip over the edge of this dress. It didn't take long at all to reach the courtyard, were four cars were parked patiently, waiting for its occupants. At first, I didn't see anyone, I only heard them. The loud screams of the toddlers, the hushing from Peyton and Callie and desperate coos from Zina to baby Seraphine. Dakota and Cassius were piling suitcases into the back of two separate cars. Maddox, however, was leaning against the largest car, nervously tapping his arm, his jaw clenched. The moment he saw he us, he rushed over, quickly taken the tiny shoebox from my hands with a smile and bringing it back to the trunk of the car, mimicking the same actions as Dakota and Cassuis.
The two guards, Haven, Faith and Verity placed the bags that they were holding over near the car before coming back in my direction.
"It makes him feel like a mate, they don't ever let the females do anything like this," Verity giggled, referring to how only Maddox was piling the luggage into the car, allowing no guard to help him.
I held back a snort, "That's stupid," And kinda cute,
Verity shrugged, still smiling, "Well they certainly don't think so. We need to go, good luck. You'll be fine," She embraced me one last time, quickly followed by the other two girls before letting go and disappearing from view.
Seeming to be finished, Maddox came back up to me, "You look beautiful dove, do you like the dress?"
I nodded, "I do, though I feel quite overdressed..."
"Compared to the others my dove, you are quite underdressed."
I spared a glance over to the other girls, quickly realising that Maddox was right. Their dresses were bedazzled, huge fur coats covered their shoulders and their clothes were lined with fur. Maddox, Cassius and Dakota were all in suits, as were Beau and Teo, except the two toddlers were wearing small bow ties. Even Arya and Tayla seemed more dressed up than me, each in tiny ball gown dresses that seemed to have been sewed by the Moon Goddess herself.
"We always dress like this when it comes to travelling, if it's any consolation, you can take the heels off in the car." He murmured, "Come on, we're about to leave."
He opened up the car door for me, and I realised very quickly that this was not the car usually used for travelling.
Crisp, white leather seats, this part was blocked off from the front seat, a small t.v screen embedded into the dividing wall. The two chairs were separate, a panel of controls setting them apart, the area was huge, I could spread my legs out and not even touch the divider wall. The windows were tinted, no one could see through them, but when I looked out of them, everything seemed as clear as day.
I carefully climbed in and once again marvelled at the comfort of the seats. It seemed Maddox spared no expense. Ever.
The moment that Maddo climbed into his chair, the car started moving, starting the slow, endless drive out to his parent's estate.
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I knew we were near when I looked out of the window and saw something other than trees. We had been driving through the dense, green forest for the past couple of hours, but finally, the trees were becoming scarcer and scarcer, the dirt pathway slowly morphing into a paved road. Then I saw it.
It certainly looked the part, an ancient castle that miraculously survived the werewolves taking over. Tall, towering turrets that seemed to look as if they had been carved out of clay. Large windows and a beautiful design, I couldn't take my eyes off it.
The car slowed down as the large gate opened up, letting us into the castle's courtyard. It was so different from the one back in Gyabo. There were no wolves prancing at batting among the short cut grass, no, in fact, there wasn't anyone at all. While it was beautifully done, the road lined with palm trees, imported straight from the warmer regions that were the Southern Continent and a gracious fountain in the distance, I saw no one. Not one person.
But perhaps that was because of the settling cold.
It looked freezing, my own window was fogging up. I could hear the ice shattering as we drove over it and the delicate carpets of white that covered the green that I would usually see. The further we got to the castle entrance, the more clear the two figures standing outside the door were.
And then the car stopped. Suddenly I felt like being sick.
My car door was opened for me, and a gust of cold air hit me like a punch in the face. Goosebumps erupted on my skin, and I couldn't bring myself to get out of the car. I felt Maddox grab my hand and gently pulled me out of the car. It was so cold, I thought that my arms would turn into blocks of ice. It was cold in Gyabo, bitterly, bitterly cold. But nothing like this. Memories flooded back of Elijah, Isaiah and I huddling around our fireplace, covered in thin blankets that had been eaten away by the rodents that claimed our home. Even those harsh winter days didn't feel like this. On instinct, I dived into Maddox's chest, which seemed to be the only warm thing in existence.
"Please tell me you're just as cold as I am," I said, my teeth chattering.
He chuckled, "Not really dove, werewolves have a higher blood temperature, also it's easier to adjust to the harsher climates."
Maddox wrapped his arm around my waist and started walking towards his parents, everyone else had gotten out of their cars and were standing with the two wolves as well.
No one else seemed bothered by the cold, the children only wearing light jackets, everyone except Zina, who seemed to be in the same boat as me. Harshly wrapping the fur coat around herself and standing up against her mate. Of course, she was from the southern continent, where winter was simply nonexistent.
"Maddox, is this her?" A soft, curious voice asked.
Maddox beamed, "Mother, Father, this is Elora Reed, my mate."
Margaret and Charles Lancaster did not look nearly as old as I had been told they were. Only a few streaks of grey were visible in their hair, and their only wrinkles were smiling lines. Charles looked like Maddox's older brother, except his eyes were a calm, hazel colour. His shining green eyes were identical to his mothers, that were now currently locked on me.
"Lovely to meet you," I shivered, my voice quiet and broken up.
Suddenly, I felt myself being pulled out of Maddox's arms and instead into the ones of his mother, "I'm so happy to meet you, Elora! God knows we've been waiting long enough for our little boy's mate!"
She squeezed me one last time before letting me go, "Goddess, you're freezing! I'm sorry I completely forgot about how you humans can't handle the cold that well, come in, come in."
Those words were music to my ears, and I quickly followed Margaret into her significantly warmer house, though my heart was still thumping, and my mind was still racing. In the few minutes since we had arrived, everything seemed to be going well, but that could all change very quickly.
I made a silent prayer, hoping that nothing went wrong.
Whether I wanted to admit it or not, I was surrounded by wolves, wolves of very high status. Things could go catastrophically wrong very quickly, and I didn't know how I would cope if they did.
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IM SO SORRY, IM ACTUALLY THE WORST!!!
So yes, this update is a day late, I am so freaking sorry. I had a pupil free day and completely forgot it was Friday and not actually the weekend (srsly, I rely on school way to much) I seriously feel like the worst author ever, so I hope this chapter is good enough to make up for it?
I actually can't believe it, forgetting to update when you guys have been so good to me! I mean, 400 reads are you kidding? I legit just reached 300. So to everyone new, welcome to the story, and I swear I usually remember to update.
Here's a little reminder to vote! I would love to reach 50 votes, and all it takes is just one reader voting. Seriously though, it means the world and if you did vote I would be eternally grateful.
Again, super sorry for forgetting, it won't happen again! Please forgive me <3
See you in the next chapter,
Eryn