KELEIGH’S POV
I couldn’t leave the hall fast enough. Any more time spent in the dining hall and I would have broken down. Even now, I found myself hyperventilating. My head felt light and my brain was fuzzy. It was all too much. Everything was happening all at once and I couldn’t stand it anymore. I needed to get away from it all before I exploded.
I had planned on going back to the room that Kara had assigned to me, but I couldn’t stay there. The room would feel too stifling for me and I needed space, I needed to breathe, I needed solitude.
“Keleigh!”
I turned back. It was Ryker calling out to me from the doorway of the hall. “Stay away from me!” I shouted back. “I need space.”
I moved about the compound on instinct, avoiding places where people were gathered in. Eventually, I found myself in an orchard. It was far away from the rest of the buildings and was quiet. Just what I needed. I spread my arms out and took in a deep breath, the deep aroma of fruit refreshing me, calming me down a bit. The torrent, the pain, the rage was still there, but it had retreated slightly. I could breathe some more now.
I wasn’t sure how long I sat there. The sun was already down by the time the dinner was over and now I could see pinpricks of stars in between the leaves and branches of the trees above me. It was a pleasant sight. I wished I could capture this moment and live with it forever.
Then I heard the crack of a branch and I jumped, looking around. “Who’s there?” I called out in a sharp tone.
There was rustling in the bushes. I picked up a sturdy branch from the floor and brandished it in anticipation. The figure burst out of the bushes, hands above head.
“Hold on, hold on. It’s just me.”
“Roman?”
“Yeah. It’s me.”
The branch fell from my hand as I ran into his arms. He hugged me just as tightly as I hugged him. I don’t know when it was that tears began to stream down my face, but I sobbed into his shoulder.
After what felt like hours but was probably like two minutes, we separated from each other.
“I can’t believe it’s you,” I said softly. “I thought I’d never see you again.”
“I thought the same as well,” Roman responded. “You cannot imagine my shock when I saw you. You’re a lot more grown now, but I still recognized you.”
We both had wistful smiles on our faces as we just took a moment to take each other in. This was incredible. Roman had been my rock at a point in my life, and then we had parted ways. I was still in shock that I was actually looking at him once more.
We talked about a lot of our shared past. The time we both pranked the old neighbour that lived in our street. Learning how to swim. Hunting in the woods. Pissing off our parents and friends. The thoughts of our past brought back memories of my past, the things that I had, and had now lost.
“How did you come to this place?” I asked, changing the topic. I sniffled a bit and blinked the threatening tears from my eyes.
He sighed with a smile. “That, my dear, is a very long story.”
“Well, I’d like to hear it.”
So he told me about his life, while we sat on a fallen tree trunk. About how after he parted ways with me when his family had moved, they had travelled from place to place. Then how he had separated from his family to forge a life in his own. And had met a lot of people, including the Alpha Twins. They had become friends and eventually, they had made him their beta.
“Wow,” I said, once he was done. “What a wild ride you must have had.”
He laughed it off. “Oh you don’t know the half of it. Anyways, what about you? How did you get to be here?”
My mood soured even more, like wine turning to vinegar. My heart raced in my chest as the memories threatened to burst forth from the box I had put them in. Should I tell him? He was my childhood friend, the only familiar face around here. But that didn’t mean he was trustworthy.
“I’d rather not say.”
There was nothing said for the next few minutes. I was so intent on holding back the emotions in me, so intent on not letting Roman see what a broken and damaged person I had turned out to be. My arms shook and my breath came deeper. The orchard began to close in. Even it was too small to contain my sorrow and grief.
“Are you alright?” Roman asked, his eyes filled with concern. He took my shaking hand in his and squeezed.
“I’m fine,” I said. “ Just feeling a bit tired. I think I’m going to retire.”
He stared at me for some seconds. I stared back. Then he stood up and said, “I’ll escort you.”
I was very grateful to him for not pushing. Hopefully, with time, I’ll be able to explain what happened to me, and he’ll either console me or hate me.
We arrived at my room and we both entered inside, making meaningless small talk that our minds were not on.
“Well, I should be going now,” Roman said. A part of me was relieved that he would be gone, and another part of me cried out for him to stay and hold me tight and comfort me.
“Ok,” I said.
He came closer to me and pecked my cheek. “If you need anything, just know that I am here for you. Oh, one more thing. Don’t let the brothers bother you. I know them well enough and I think you’ll be fine. I think you’ll get used to them in no time.”
I wanted to tell him that I wished that were true, but who knows? Maybe he might be correct. I wasn’t putting much hope in that, but still... Maybe.
“Alright. I’ll do just that. I’m going to get some sleep now.” I was going to cry my eyes out.
I got onto the soft bed, and closed my eyes, waiting for him to leave so that I could finally release the torrent.
“Goodnight,” I heard him say softly. Then I heard him leave my room and shut the door gently.
ROMAN’S POV
That was an intense experience, I thought as I walked down the hall outside Keleigh’s room. I never would have guessed that I would see Keleigh of all people in the pack. The whole thing was so emotionally taxing and I could only wonder how she was feeling, how she was handling it all. From what I gleaned, she had just been found today and already it had been realized that she was the Alphas’ actual mate. Not Selene. I chuckled at that. If every there was a person that deserved to be taken down, it was Selene.
But I was worried a lot about Keleigh. It was very obvious that she had been through some really traumatizing stuff, and it broke my heart to see the person that was a young girl bubbling with cheerfulness and light become a shadow of herself. I swore to myself that I would find out what that was, and I would fix it. I would fix her.
“Roman.”
I stopped. The voice came from behind me. It was as growly and gravelly as it was slow in speaking. My breath caught for an instance, but I knew that this wouldn’t be an issue. I turned towards the sound of the voice and bowed. “My Alpha.”
Ryker stepped out of the shadows and towered over me. He seemed a far cry from the easygoing coolheaded man that he usually was. There was rage in his eyes.
I needed to tread carefully.
“I saw you coming out of my mate’s room. What were you doing there?”
He stepped closer to me, towering over me. I kept my head bent towards his feet. “Just comforting her, My Alpha.”
“Comforting her, you say?” I felt a sharp claw dig into my hair and lightly stroke my scalp. “And what makes you think that you, a beta, are in such position to comfort an Alpha’s mate?”
I forced myself to stay calm. “We were childhood friends. I know we didn’t reveal it at dinner but we are. I swear. I comforted her because I saw that she was going through a lot.”
Ryker sighed, and in that sigh, I could hear the Ryker that I knew. The true Ryker. The compassionate one. He retracted his claw from my head and stepped back. “Stand, Roman.”
I stood, relief coursing through my veins. When Ryker wanted to be scary, which was very rarely, he never disappointed in pulling it off.
“What do you know about her?” he asked me.
I told him a bit I knew of her background. The fact that she was a princess and that we grew up together in a pack, and several other small details. Ryker seemed both surprised and impressed by this knowledge. He nodded slowly to himself after I was done talking.
“I want you to do something for me,” he said finally, looking directly at me. I averted my eyes. It was very difficult to meet an Alpha’s gaze and keep it. “I want to know everything about her. Everything there is to know. And I want you to do it even if it means getting closer to her.”
KEIGEIGH’S POV:Blood. It was everywhere my eyes landed on. On the floor, splattered on the walls, and even on the ceiling.I saw my father’s corpse before me and my heightened tastebuds could taste the copper in the air, lingering like a reminder.Then I saw him.Alpha Jake, his face morphed into the semblance of a monster I didn’t know before.His face had been carved into with the dagger of darkness, revealing a hateful expression.He had found me..! How?!HOW?!I jerked awake, pressing my hand to my chest as I tried hard to take in breaths and exhale. It was such a hard thing to do that my chest hurt. My vision blurred and I reached up to touch my face. Tears.“Even in my sleep,” I whispered out hoarsely, my voice thick. “Even then, can’t you let me rest? Do I not deserve some reprieve from my mistakes?”I didn’t care for the darkness of the room, or if a monster hid beneath its depths. Memories flooded me, pushing through all my defenses that it felt like I would drown in them.I
SELENE’S POV:Her face alone pissed me off, and though I tried to contain myself and keep my pleasantness on my face, Ryker’s reprimands as the girl had left made me furious.I remembered what happened only minutes before I left the dining hall fuming.After my comment on the girl’s disrespect, I didn’t expect Ryker to lash out in the way he did.‘Be quiet. You have no right to treat Keileigh that way, much less act like you’re better than her. She has a higher rank than you, Selene. Don’t forget that,’ Ryker had said. I was dumbfounded then. Ryker, of all people, who was so slow to anger had become that new girl’s greatest defender. His warnings had bite to it, for unlike Arnold’s anger that could be easily soothed, his was like a hurricane that swallowed everything in its path when he lost it. And very rarely did he do so.Arnold came to my defense, rising up from his seat, and pointing his fork in his twin brother’s direction.‘You’re too hung up on this girl already, huh,’ he rema
KEILEIGH’S POV:Sounds of it’s chirping and the peaceful atmosphere didn’t deceive me or stop me from feeling stifled. Not even the sight of the pleasant sun’s rays streaming in through large windows could pacify me. My mood was spoilt since I had woken up, and the breakfast I couldn’t stomach, combined with Selene’s confrontation had soured my prospects for the day.My heels clicked on the floor as I walked forward, not having a destination in mind.This place was just as perilous as a lion’s den, I thought broodingly.If only I could find some rest. I paced around the halls of the large mansion, avoiding the eyes of people as much as I could. No matter how hard I may try to find some semblance of peace in this place, all it reminded me of was how much I did not belong in here, in this pack.The only one I knew and trusted inside this place was Roman.And he wasn’t close by. Where was he? Perhaps he was busy?I tried my best to not think about how lonely I was. Or how I was a strange
Ryker:I watched members of our pack mill about from the window of our study, waiting for Kara to return.I had sent her to check on Keileigh. My worry for her was incredulous to think about, because I had formed such an attachment to her at such a short time since she was brought here.How else could one explain how protective I felt over her?I was made aware of the knock on the door and turned around just as Kara stepped into the study.“Yes, Kara?” I addressed the older woman. She was one of the only ones I could trust, as she had been responsible for Arnold and I when we were younger. Therefore my brother and I had made it clear to everyone who came in that she was of the highest rank that any servant could ever attain.“Miss Keileigh is safe,” Kara said, which made me frown at her wording. Had my concern for her shown that much? Kara stared knowingly at me as she then added, “The Beta is with her currently.”Roman?I remembered the deal I made with him and nodded. It had been wh
Keliegh“Hello, darling.”I smiled as I heard Roman’s voice as he walked up towards me, and pressed a small kiss on my temples, before taking my hand.Every day since I found out Roman was the Beta of this pack, we had spent time together. It was something i looked forward to every day, for many reasons. Whenever I would be apart from my best friend, i was always bombarded with the less than welcoming air of disdain and disgust from Selene and Arnold. They didn’t speak to me much during any meal times, perhaps because Ryker had jumped to my defense more than once in a row.But the both of them would show the hatred they shared for me through their looks and mocking smiles whenever something innocuous happened. Once I coughed lightly due to drinking water too fast and Arnold made a comment about how I lacked table manners.A part of me longed to defend myself constantly to them, to stand up for myself and make sure my voice was heard and they wouldn’t disrespect me.But just as quickly
Keliegh“Thanks,” I chirped in a little bit of amusement to my best friend, wondering how my smile made him that clearly happy.Nevertheless I enjoyed the feeling of having him next to me. If I didn’t have him around, wallowing in my deepest, dark thoughts for the entire day would have been a regular occurrence.“I’m sure you must be terribly bored here,” Roman stated with certainty, changing the subject as he sat up to reach for the sweet, non-alcoholic wine that the maids had brought in for us earlier.The wine was courtesy of Ryker, the maid had stayed. I didn’t know whether to feel flattered or uneasy by the Alpha’s actions. It was hard to figure out exactly what emotion I felt towards Ryker, especially when my thoughts of getting a man’s attention now was just a burden. I didn’t want Ryker to treat me specially and I hesitated to even partake in the wine because he might end up taking it as me accepting the attention he was giving me.“Not really,” i said whilst shaking my head a
KelieghI sighed as Roman finally left my bedroom, and I was along once more. The feeling of loneliness always creeped in whenever he wasn’t around and I wrapped my arms around myself and went back to sit on the edge of the bed.I wished that Roman would be able to stay by my side every single day and base away all those nightmares when I was sleeping.But he was the Beta of the Pack, after all. And I couldn’t stop him from doing whatever he had to.Another sigh left my lips.And in the next moment, a knock came on the door, followed by a door opening.I stiffened at the sound, as a maid walked in and bowed a little to me out of respect trot a guest.“Miss, dinner is ready,” the maid said to which I pressed my lips thinly and looked aside.I couldn’t help it; the feeling of always going to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at the dining hall where I would face more taunts from Alpha Arnold and Selene, was pretty depressing. It would always rattle me, even when I tried to not let things
Selene“No, i don’t like this one,” I snapped at the maid who showed me the silver necklace topped with emeralds. Was she trying to incite my anger? Everyone knew that gold was my color and I didn’t like silver.It was such an inferior metal compared to my tastes.I thought of Keileigh, that GIRL that still hadn’t left the house despite my warning her to. She was more deserving of inferior things.“Tomorrow, send all my silver pieces to that girl,” i ordered one of the maids. “She will accept it as a show of goodwill.”If she didn’t accept it, that would be a sign that she don’t like me and I could use it as a ruse to throw her out, and defend myself from her.“Yes, madam,” the maid bowed, while I closed my eyes as another patted eyeshadow onto my lids.I still had no idea why the party was being held. Ryker - who usually didn’t host parties like Arnold did - was the one to order Kara to prepare for the gathering. I had only been informed of it afterward.Perhaps Ryker had something t