7

GEMMA

I gasped loudly and tried to remove his hand from my neck. But he was strong and I couldn't move his hand.

"Who are you?" He asked again, "Are you a spy? What did you come for?"

I tapped his hand to tell him that I couldn't breathe so I couldn't answer his question. He let go of me and took a step back.

I bent over, gasping and trying to drink in the air. When I had caught my breath, I straightened and looked at him.

He had curly black hair and equally dark eyes. He was tall but not as tall as Nate. His skin was white and it contrasted beautifully with his dark clothes.

How a man this beautiful could be equally so dangerous was above me.

"Why are you here?" He asked, folding his muscled hands across his chest.

I suspected that he must have seen that I could barely get a scratch on him so he didn't see me as a danger.

"I'm… I'm Gemma," I stammered.

He lifted his brows. "You're the Alpha King's mate?" He asked.

I recoiled at being called that but still, I nodded. "Yes, that's me," I replied.

For some reason, his eyes softened and he let his hands fall to his side. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm sorry about that. You just had a strange scent that I couldn't recognize. That's why I attacked you." He explained.

"It's fine," I said, even though it wasn't. I wondered if his fingers left a mark around my neck.

"I couldn't follow Nate yesterday or else, I would have known what you looked like. I'm sorry." He apologized again. It was weird. He was suddenly nice.

I began to walk around, tracing my finger along the spine of the books on the shelf. I was trying to distract myself from the fact that this nice guy almost killed me because he didn't know who I was.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"My name is George. I'm Nate's Beta." He answered.

I looked at him again. It made sense. I hadn't even heard him or caught his scent until he had wrapped his hands around my neck.

He was skilled, quick, and powerful. Of course, he was the Alpha King's best man.

"Wow…" I said, unable to come up with anything else. So I asked about the room instead.

"Are all these books yours?" I asked.

He nodded. He took his eyes away from me and looked at his shelves. "I've been collecting them for a few years." He replied.

I nodded, walking between two shelves. He stood where he was, watching me. It wasn't awkward, just slightly weird.

I took out a random book and flipped through the pages. It was a book about the history of the pack.

I quirked my brows at it. Maybe there would be something interesting here.

"Do you like books?" George suddenly asked.

I looked up to see him leaning against one of the shelves looking at me.

"Huh?" I asked.

"Books. Do you like that book?" He jutted his chin at what I was holding.

"I don't know. I've never really had the time to just sit down and enjoy a book. I was either always working or too tired to do anything but sleep." I explained to him.

He regarded me for a while. "Okay. You can keep it."

"But—" I started to argue.

"Return it to me when you're done. And then you can take another one." He cut me off.

I closed my mouth and shut the book, bringing it to my chest. I didn't want him to pity me. But on the bright side, this meant I would have something to keep me busy in this place.

"Thank you."

There was a knock on the door. George and I looked at it immediately as a maid walked into the study. She seemed to be surprised to see me in the place but she covered it up and bowed.

"What is it?" George asked her.

"The Queen requests your presence in the garden." She told him.

"Thank you. Tell her I'll be there in a moment." He replied. She bowed again and left.

I was slightly confused. The Queen? The Alpha King was already married? Then what was I doing here?

George must have seen the confusion on my face because he smiled slightly. "Do you want to come with me?" He offered.

I was too curious to decline. I nodded.

He gestured at the door and began to walk away. I fell into step beside him as we entered the corridor together.

Maids passed by us and bowed, each one busy with something. It was weird. I used to be like one of them, lower even. I was a slave and I worked without pay.

The only thing I received was food, clothes, and a roof over my head. I had nothing to my name.

But these maids, looked like they had a life. I could hear some of them laughing and gossiping with each other as they worked.

Life was so much better for them.

It only made my hatred for the Alpha King and his family grow. They had taken everything away from me; my childhood, my family, my whole life.

I felt my eyebrows pull down in a frown. As long as I was in this palace, I would find a way to get my revenge.

George said nothing to me as we walked. It took us a while but we passed through an arc and came into an open space. I assumed it was the garden.

Beautiful flowers and cherry blossom trees grew in abundance here. The place smelt heavenly and birds sang happily.

We walked on a cobblestone path toward the center of the garden. That was when I saw her.

She was surrounded by three maids, one of them was fanning her while the other was holding an umbrella over her head. The other one stood, waiting.

She had a crown of golden hair styled upwards with curls dangling down. There were flowers in her hair and pearls around her neck.

Although she looked elegant, she was down in the dirt, tending to a rose bush.

Her white dress was stunning and when she smiled, her eyes seemed to glitter. She was an older woman but she looked like age didn't have a thing on her.

She looked like she was carefully sculpted and painted by a contemporary artist. She was magnificent.

I couldn't help but stare at her. "Who is she?" I asked George. Even my voice was affected by her.

"She's Nate's mother, the Luna Queen." He replied.