My eyes widened, taking Alpha Faelen and Luna Cassandra. They stood tall, both with dark brown hair and hardened features. Experience weathered their skin and their dark brown eyes, like the color of chocolate, looked at me through narrowed lids.
"Alpha Faelon." I felt the vibrations as my lips trembled, smiling as warmly as I could, given the circumstances.
One of my hands kept my blanket in place while one extended to shake his outstretched hand. His fingers were cold from the air but his palm was warm.
"Ahem," Elena coughed behind me.
I glanced back at her and she mouthed, 'bow.' Turning back, I hinged at my hips, leaning my head down at Alpha Faelon's black leather boots.
"Forgive me, Alpha Faelon," I mumbled and averted my eyes to the ground. "I'm still working on -"
"Nothing to forgive, we are honored to be your first territory to visit." Pride radiated from his voice, washing over me like the strong breeze. I straightened up, finding the same sense of pride beaming in his eyes.
"My children however..." A flicker of annoyance flashed into his dark irises and his jaw ticked. "Owe you an apology for their absence. Raina is training, while Lucus is tracking the rogues who attacked your travel caravan. Both will join us for dinner later. We assumed that you'd want some rest after the travel, and now..."
"Now I'm a hot mess." My cheeks warmed as I stated the obvious. "But I'll give Lucus my thanks once I meet him."
That was a charming enough intro for a potential future father in law, right? Don't answer, Lumi.
My eyes lingered over my shoulder, throwing a look to Cole for his suggestion that security wasn't what Lucus was doing. Despite the pains that throbbed on the undersides of my feet as I stood on the bare gravel, I pulled my lips into a shaky smile.
"Zara, this is my mate, Luna Cassandra." Alpha Faelon placed a hand on the small of her back in a simple but powerful statement of his affection. She stepped closer, standing a good four inches taller, and took my hand. Unlike her husband, her hand was soft, warm, and smooth.
"Pleasure, Miss Zara." My smile tightened as I bowed again.
Her commanding presence stole my voice, impressing and intimidating me. As I gazed at her beautiful but hardened features, I wondered if all Lunas possessed her unspoken ability to render someone else as insignificant.
My current ragged appearance over influenced my reactions, but I felt like a meek little mouse confronting a lioness. Her face projected both sympathy and understanding, even as my naked butt still stood outside.
"Please, inside." As her hand slid up the back of my bare arm, her eyes lingered for a breath over the multitude of scratches licking my pale skin like crimson-red paint streaks. "Our healer is out with future Alpha Lucus, but we can get you cleaned up until he returns."
"That would be wonderful." I pressed my lips together against the chattering feeling that crept into my jaw. Tingles spread up my arms and legs as my skin pebbled with goosebumps from the wind lashing into my bare skin.
Alpha Faelen turned, then continued the introductions as we walked toward the pack house entrance doors. "This is Beta Anders." He gestured to the tall, broad-shouldered man on his left, who dipped his head once my eyes met his. His long dark hair was tied back at the nape of his neck. A quick screenshot glance to the other males present revealed this was a common hairstyle for this pack.
"And this is Gamma Jameson."
A warm presence brushed over my right arm. Before I had a chance to look at the source,a low growl rumbled behind me. My head swiveled back, finding Cole's eyes dilated to black and lips curled back in a sneer. I was surprised, and touched, by his simple action.
"My apologies." Gamma Jameson put two meters of space between us. "I'm not used to being drawn into the presence of such beauty."
"Thank you, Gamma..." My head swiveled back and met his gaze, my lips parting at his handsome appearance.
His long dark hair was tucked into a band behind the nape of his neck, which exposed his strong jawline and high cheekbones. A slight crook altered the otherwise perfect bridge of his nose, and a scar sat under his left eye.
After realizing that I was probably staring, I averted my eyes and replied, "Although I assure you, I've never looked worse."
He chuckled as we entered their pack house. My mouth dropped at the great hall's expansive, stone, thirty foot ceilings. Long black curtains hung, framing twenty foot tall windows, and puddled on the floor. A central banner displayed the Silverback sigil.
A large table and chairs were the main furniture items, but by the worn arm rests, this dining room was used by more than two.
"Cassandra." Alpha Faelen turned to his Luna. "Please see Miss Zara to her room."
"Alpha Faelen." Cole stepped forward, his face furrowed with another concern, "Beta Baron contained one of the rogues."
"Yes." Faelen's expression hardened as he nodded. "He escorted the prisoner down to the cells."
"May I have a word with you? Alpha Cassius has been contacting me." I looked at Cole sharply, but he ignored me.
My father asks about a prisoner, but not me?
A pit of disappointment settled in my chest. I tried to plaster a masked smile on my face, but inside my ego was hurt.
"Of course, Cole." Alpha Faelon's eyes glazed over as he led Cole in another direction. Anders and Jameson shared the same look and realized they mindlinked with each other. They blinked their eyes back to normal, and followed Faelen and Cole down the hallway on our left.
"This way, Miss Zara." Luna Cassandra led me and Elena down the hallway on our right.
"Luna Cassandra," I started. "This is -"
"Cassandra is fine." She smiled at me for the first time, her cheeks relaxing. "Now that the formalities are finished."
"Cassandra." I returned the smile and elbowed the other Naked Nellie with me. "This is Elena, my, uhh... historian."
"Pleasure, Elena. You've seen the main hall, our common gathering space. The east side of the pack house are the living quarters, while the kitchen, informal dining room, pack offices, infirmary, and library are on the west wing. Our training fields are off-site, I'm sure Lucus and Raina will be happy to show you those as soon as you've recovered."
My eyes traveled as she spoke. Strangely, for a castle with all-stone walls, the packhouse was quite warm and cozy. The rooms were small but intimate, every one with a view of the expansive blue-gray ocean and a wood-burning fireplace. Halfway down the east wing hall, she opened a door on the left and revealed a comfortable bedroom.
"Zara, this is your room, Elena yours and Cole's -" I glanced at Elena and smiled at the redness on her cheeks.
They didn't share a room in my father's house. At least not formally.
"- is across the hall."
Across the hall?
I was thankful they would be nearby but wasn't sure if they needed to be that close. In no position to complain about a lack of privacy, not to the Luna welcoming us into their pack house for a month, I pulled a tight smile.
"Thank you, Cassandra. This is lovely." Warmth caressed my bare skin as I entered the room.
"I'll give you some time to get... settled. Pack dinner, with my entire family this time, is at six pm, so you have a few hours." With that, she closed the door.
"So... " Elena walked over to the closet and gave the space an inspection. "Looks like all your personal items arrived. Glad I sent them ahead of time."
"I lost my phone and laptop in the car." I sighed, walking over the stone floors and taking in the space.
The small window had a ledge wide enough for me to sit on, and I smiled at the blue-gray water. The serene atmosphere was calming, despite what we went through to get here and the fact I still smelled like that sea water.
"Elena, do you think Lucus isn't my mate?" I leaned against the stone wall framing the window and gazed at nothing in particular. "I mean, wouldn't he be here? Shouldn't I feel something?"
"I don't know but maybe he felt so strongly that he got angry and chased after the rogues who attacked us." Her hands pulled out two dresses from the wardrobe and held them up. "So, which one?"
I didn't hear her, as my thoughts drifted to Ronan. I barely knew him, he was new on my father's security team.
He was seventeen, my age. His whole life ahead of him, gone.
Because of me.
I didn't feel like having any celebration dinners tonight, as tears welled up in my eyes then spilled over. My breath turned raspy and uneven as my guilt directed my stare to nothing in particular out the window.
"Zara... are you alright?" Elena draped the dresses on the bed and walked to me with concern in her eyes and voice.
"I... don't know," I sniffled as the tears tickled hot down my cheeks. "Earlier with the rogues, Ronan... I've never -"
"It's alright." Elena's arms embraced me warmly. "Death isn't easy to deal with."
She held me as I choked out heavy, uneven sobs. I appreciated how she didn't find the right words to say because I wasn't sure if they existed. She wrapped her arms around me until my sobs slowed down to quiet sniffles and back stopped pitching.
With one final sniffle, we parted. The finality of today's events sunk to the bottom of my very empty stomach.
"Zara?" Elena smiled as the gurgles from my hungry stomach broke through the silence. She picked up the dress hangers again. "Pick one."
"I don't care." I wrinkled my nose at both options. One was a bright red, ankle-length dress with three-quarter length sleeves and the other a light blue, knee-length cocktail dress with a scoop neck and short capped sleeves.
"I'm going with blue, for your eyes." She smiled like a mother who knew better than I, laid out a pair of nude three-inch heels, and pointed at the adjacent bathroom in suggestion that I needed to use it. "They're already drawing attention."
"They what?" I started when she giggled.
"I need to go wash this seawater off me." She threw another smile in my direction as she stepped to the door. "I suggest you do the same, and take care of your leg."
"Right," I replied with a sigh, looking down at the dark red rivers dried on my leg.
"Oh, and don't forget, tie your hair back and wear the chapstick." She winked at me, making me glad that the Art of Seductive Persuasive book was also at the bottom of the sea.
"Thanks, Elena."
After the door closed behind her, I let the seawater-smelly blanket fall onto the floor, and stepped into the bathroom to inspect my leg. I propped my heel up on the toilet for a closer inspection. The blood trailing down earlier had dried but the cut was still present.
To instant relief, I stepped under the steady spray of a hot shower. With soft, ginger brushes of my fingers, I washed my legs. Elena told me that one werewolf perk was a faster healing and recovery process, which explained how my injection bruises disappeared.
While my leg wound sealed up by the time I stepped out of the shower, the skin was still raw, red, and swollen. The surrounding muscles throbbed with tenderness as my bare feet padded into the room.
Wrapped in a fluffy, white towel, I raked a brush through my severely tangled hair, unwound a few hairballs built up in the brush, and threw them in the trash. As soon as Elena's dress choice scrunched down over my shoulders, I grunted at how uncomfortable the pretty choice was.
But I trust her judgment, so blue dress it is.
I paused in front of the bathroom vanity, the mirror edged in steam. I hadn't looked in a mirror since I punched the one in my bedroom. Now I felt like I was preparing for a blind date with Lucus where I also met his entire family.
Will he... like me? Will I like him?
My reflection offered nothing other than blinks of my eyes, round with nerves.
Butterflies fluttered around in my stomach as my palms clenched around the vanity top. I had no experience talking to boys my age. Once Cole and Elena started their mating process, other than her stupid book, they talked to me about werewolf history and punching things.
Werewolf history and punching things... still trying to wrap my brain around this new life.
As I looked in the mirror, the reflection I hadn't seen in six weeks startled me. Round and wide, my eyes looked back at me, with a low, simmering fire burning in the blue-green circling my enlarged pupils. My freckles faded, my pasty skin glowed, and my pink lips were fuller.
Pleased with what I saw, I applied a small amount of blue eyeshadow and mascara. After another visual inspection, I wiped off the eye makeup.
If I'm going to find a mate, then he'd better find me attractive as my real self than buried under makeup.
'Wolf perfume.'
Hearing Lumi back to her snarky self, I couldn't help but smile.
Not a chance. You behave tonight too.
'Maybe...'
I gave one second consideration over having my hair tied up, exposing my like Elena's book suggested, then decided against it. Tonight was a family dinner, after all. I had no idea what the time was, with my phone and laptop both being fish food at the bottom of the ocean.
A wry smile tugged on my lips as I gave one more look at my reflection. My lips curled up at the irony in that when I was able to choose my makeup, I wore none.
Exiting my bedroom, my right ankle wobbled once as my tall heels clicked on my way across the hall. My knuckles knocked on the solid wood surface of Elena and Cole's door, but no one answered. Muffled voices on the other side of the door revealed they were still in there.
My eyes slid sideways and scanned down the hallway.
Since this is going to be our home for the next month, what better time to find my way around?
The stupid heels Elena picked out for me wobbled over the uneven stone floors as I gingerly stepped to the great hall. The dress' form fitting became apparent within two steps. My waist was cinched in with boning and the pencil skirt proved to be too restrictive for my natural walk, so I narrowed my steps.
The bright, light blue number did coordinate with my eyes. But I was so uncomfortable ten steps down the hall that I was tempted to go back and change. Before I turned, the company ahead of me attracted my attention.
My eyes widened as they scanned over a small group of werewolves who were dressed in black and brown leather tops and black jeans. A loose circle gathered, speaking and laughing with Gamma Jameson. From their strong, confident stances, I knew they were some of the Silverback pack's warriors.
Unexpectedly, my heart stuttered a beat at Jameson's appearance. He had changed into black dress pants and a black sweater with a plunging v neck. The collar line was deep enough and showed off his chiseled neck and shoulder muscles while outlined the rippling chest muscles underneath.
My heart pounded against my chest walls as his scent permeated my nose. Earthy and rich, he smelled like the woods. Which, I realized in one twitch of my nostrils, was the most sexy smell to a werewolf.
Lumi wasn't as impressed as I was.
'Not mate.'
I blinked my eyes, censored my thoughts, and took in a female facing Gamma Jameson. Despite her smaller stature than the males around her, she stood with her hands on her hips, chest protruded, and chin lifted. Even from my distance, I sensed the pride and self-assurance she projected.
My eyes also caught interest in the glint of a gun holstered to her leg. Her long, black hair was slicked back in a long braid and her dark eyes narrowed at Jameson as she berated him.
"Look I don't care who fucked up that security assignment, Gamma." She jabbed a finger into Jameson's chest. "But I'll stab them with silver myself as soon as I find them."
"Raina, we don't know who -" Jameson stopped as his eyes shifted in my direction.
With swiveling heads, all eyes bore down on me, wide and curious. Raina glared at me like she wanted to punch me in the ovaries.
"Raina?" I gave her a smile that I hoped reflected how happy and excited I was to meet her. "I'm Zara, I -"
"I know who you are. You look like a fucking flower." Her eyes scanned me up and down as if she both sized me up and prepared to rip me apart. "Whose stem I could snap right in half."
"Don't pay attention to her," Jameson interrupted, his lips twitching up at the corners. "We aren't used to being in the presence of such beauty, Miss Zara. Feminine beauty, that is."
My cheeks warmed, not from the compliment but the intensity of his gaze. He stared at me like he'd never seen a woman before, his eyes tracing a curve from my shoulder, cinching in at my straight-jacket constricted waist, and flare of my hips.
Err, female werewolf. No, let's go with female.
His 'feminine' comment didn't seem to have any effect on Raina, since she hadn't even blinked in response.
"I'm glad I don't smell like your ocean anymore, no offense." I gave Jameson a smile, referring to my earlier appearance.
I'm sure the whole house knows I smell better.
"How did you get out of the car, exactly?" Raina's hands stayed planted on her hips.
"My wolf saved us," I murmured, in awe of Lumi's heroics. "She clawed her way out the bottom of the SUV, then swam to shore. She's amazing."
I paused but noticed that I still held Raina's attention.
Best time to ask.
"I was... I mean, I am hoping..." I shifted from one foot to the other as one hand's fingers twisted in the other. "Could I train with you? In wolf form. We both would like that very much."
Not that I expected Raina to jump for joy and braid my hair, but her response wasn't quite what I had expected. Her eyebrows furrowed into a frown and her glare intensified into an incinerate-Zara level.
"You look like you couldn't swat a mosquito, Flower," she scoffed at me as if training wasn't worth her breath to consider the idea. "Sure you wouldn't be happier getting an embroidery lesson from one of the seamstresses?"
"No." I looked in her eyes and tried stroking her ego. "I heard you're the best, so I want to train with you."
"I'd never hear the end of it from my father if you got one scratch on you, Flower."
She managed to find a nickname worse than Princess.
"I can handle a scratch or two." I slid the hem of my dress up my leg three inches and showed her my wounded thigh. "Got that climbing out of the car."
"Ooooh-kaaay... then." Raina stared at my leg with her eyebrows scrunched together and lips pursed. then headed down the West wing corridor. "Follow me."
"We're starting now?" The clomps of my heels echoed as I jogged a few steps to keep up with her. That speed was difficult in the tight skirt and heels and I must've looked like I hopped up and down like an idiot.
"Shouldn't I change?" This was confusing, since we couldn't train right before dinner.
Could we?
Lumi's interest level stirred, but she was still wounded and preferred to rest tonight.
"I'm taking you to the healer, Stupid Flower." Her voice tightened and her eyes rolled.
Her mouth pressed shut like she considered what to say next. Once alone, she stopped and grabbed my upper arm, snapping my attention. I stared right into those dark eyes, watching as they darkened.
"And I don't know what you're playing at but I suggest that you not lift up your skirt in front of unmated males," Raina's voice was laced with venom. "If not for your dignity and respect, then for my brother's."
Her words sent shockwaves through me as I realized how I must've looked. My move had been innocent, to show her I could take a hit. Both my palms clapped down against my warm cheeks.
I wasn't trying to flash skin like some kind of... What a terrible first impression.
"I'm sorry." I lowered my eyes. "I don't... have a lot of interaction with werewolves. Or many people, either."
"I know." She huffed but released my arm. "Everyone knows the story of Cassius' princess locked away in a palace. What we don't know is how come it took so long for your wolf to appear, unless your father had the confirmation documents forged."
My mouth dropped, without an answer for her.
Thankfully, she spun on her heel and led me into the infirmary, where two werewolves were working. Mounted shelves of medical supplies lined the stone walls. Nearest to us was a counter and shelves of medicine bottles, all displaying a familiar 'Lykaios' pharmaceutical label.
The sight of my last name hit me like a punch in the gut.
The royal blue logo on the white boxes stared back at me like a haunting reminder of my father's presence. Behind the shelves were white linen hospital beds. A younger girl stood at the counter, surrounded by opened white boxes and stocked the shelves while an older man separated pills out into a bottle.
"Aha, Miss Zara." His head lifted up and his eyes smiled at me from behind his glasses. With one sweep of his hand, he scooped the last pills into the bottle and twisted on a lid.
"I have your birth control pills right here."
That's... beyond embarrassing.
"Oh..." My cheeks paled, like they drained of color as I took the bottle he extended to me. Based on the warmth that rushed up my neck, I assumed my skin was now flushed bright red. My fingers circled around the pills, concealing them in my palm.
"Umm... thank you."
Birth control wasn't not something I wanted to hang onto during dinner, or have brought to Raina's attention. Of course, she used it as another opportunity to pounce on me with a snort. "Eager already?"
"My father." My thumb pad ran around the ridges on the edge of the lid. "He's quite... controlling, to say."
"We need some wound care cream, Aldin." Raina nodded at the doctor.
He reached into a cabinet, pulled out an unlabeled jar, and handed it to me. I opened it and sniffed at the thick, white lotion inside. It was odorless but looked like mayonaise.
"Finest treatment cream from the East." Aldin's crooked smile revealed the age lines around his mouth.
I pulled up my skirt and applied a large goop on my leg, which cooled and soothed my raw wound. Aldin finished by taping a gauze pad over my leg.
"Thank you." I smiled then pulled my dress back down.
He nodded at me, then Raina, and disappeared behind a stack of boxes. "Raina, vaccinations start next month."
"Right. Thanks Aldin." She dismissed him with a wave, then exited the infirmary. I felt the weight of her eyes as her voice trailed off, "So, Zara..."
I suspected she wouldn't let me off the hook about Lumi and she proved me right. "You didn't tell me about your wolf."
I hesitated, unsure of how much information to share on my father's decisions. This was a new, unfamiliar place, and my first meeting her. She spoke frank and straight-forward but I was still unsure of her intentions. Raina's 'heart on the sleeve' vibe made me doubt anything I said would shock her.
"He had the pack doctor suppress her." I lifted up the birth control pills into her view as an example. "Among other things."
Her eyes widened. "I didn't know that was possible. How long have you known your wolf."
"Six weeks," I whispered with slumping shoulders and my chin dipped down. Now that I knew Lumi, I wished we'd met sooner so that our bond was stronger.
I want to make it up to you, Lumi. We'll get the best training from Raina.
'Not weak.'
Raina stood silent for a few seconds, pressing and releasing her lips as she palmed her hips. Hope glimmered in me that she considered my shared information.
She surprised me with her first compassionate words, "No wonder you want the training."
I let out a slow breath, realizing she understood without me having to go into detail. "Please."
She rolled her eyes at mine softening, then sighed as if in defeat against doing something she didn't want to do. "We'll start after the competition, Flower."
My hands clasped at my heart, which throbbed faster. "Thank you."
"Only you and me, I don't want any trouble if you break a nail."
"Deal." I grinned so wide that my cheeks pinched.
My victory short-lived, my grin dissolved at her next words. A short breath hitched my chest and my pulse quickened, sending soft throbs through my veins. Twitches curled my fingers into my warm palms.
She paused, her eyes glazing over, then nodded. "Good. Now, let's go meet my brother."