They mean no harm

The journey to the pack house was shorter than Emberlynn would have wanted. Even though she had thought of escaping, there was no way she could with the way the carriage was moving.

"We are here, ma'am," Roy, the man who had run after her, had called the man in front of her.

Emberlynn stepped out of the carriage with the help of Roy, and she stood, awed at the sight of the mansion-like building in front of her.

Perhaps because she had barely left her pack, she had barely seen a house as large as this.

It stood tall, with several smaller buildings flanked beside it. The walls were painted in a red brick color with several high windows.

It was the largest pack house she had ever seen as far as she was concerned, and it was ancient-looking as well.

She couldn't tell how long the pack house had been here, but it was definitely not in the last two decades.

"Ma'am,"

Emberlynn halted as Roy stopped her. She raised a brow as she faced him.

"Betsy, the beautiful plump woman coming towards us will show you to your room. "My name is Roy, ma'am, and I am happy to be at your service."

Roy bowed lowly to her after introducing himself. Even though he didn't need any introduction, as she already knew his name, she wondered why he was showing her so much respect when it was evident he could be older than she was.

She wanted to tell him that it was fine and he could address her by her given name, but Betsy reached them, stopping everything she had to say.

Betsy curtsied prettily in front of Emberlynn, who sighed.

"Come with me, ma'am," Betsy said, and Emberlynn nodded, following her. It wasn't as if she had a choice; it was the only feasible thing to do in an unknown pack.

Betsy's stride was long, surprisingly, for a woman as small as her. She was graceful as well, and that Emberlynn liked about her.

"I heard so much about you," Besty started.

So much? Wondered Emberlynn as she thought about what Betsy had heard of her exactly.

She had only known them for a few hours. It was weird they had already discussed about her. Emberlynn was tempted to ask what she had learnt about her, but the whispering around her gained her attention.

She looked around. She noticed she had garnered some attention from the pack members. They gathered, looking at her in awe. Well, not all of them had such fascinated looks on their face.

A few looked disturbed and disgusted, while the rest didn't bother to show their feelings. Maybe they didn't care.

They continued to stare at her as though she had just fallen from the sky.

Betsy cleared her throat, making Emberlynn snap her thought back to her.

"They mean no harm. It's common here. It's very rare to see a new pack member coming to our pack house. We believe the Silver Woods pack is a pack filled with tightly knitted members. It's not as if we are not welcoming; of course we are, but no one has come here to stay permanently. They all leave soon afterwards." Betsy explained.

She continued, "Again, the fact that the alpha had taken an interest in you makes it even stranger because it's been a while since such a thing has happened here."

"A while?" Emberlynn whispered. She couldn't tell if Besty heard her. But she took it as though she didn't as she didn't respond to her.

"You are very much special to the alpha; Roy told me that. And I already set aside the best place for you."

"And oh, no one knows about how special you are, so don't worry; I am keeping it a secret since Roy said not to tell anyone," Besty rushed out.

Emberlynn rolled her eyes. She didn't care about how special she was to the alpha; she could care less about the alpha as well. All she wanted to know was why he had brought her to the pack house.

Even though the answers were ringing in her head, it was one of the first reasons she had run away from him after seeing him. She wanted to hear him say it.

The room Besty had prepared for her was better than she had imagined. Spacious, bright, with a queen-sized bed at the center, a white and blue curtain was draped over the two large windows in the room. They were the main source of light.

The light from the chandelier did little to nothing to illuminate the room. Well, maybe because it was daytime, Emberlynn mused.

The wall was painted in an ugly brown color; likewise, the furniture in the room has the same colour. They were an eyesore, and Emberlynn wondered how long she was going to survive before she got suffocated by the ugliness.

Aside from the colors, she realized only a large brown sofa was by the side of the room, in front of the fireplace that wasn't functioning at the moment. A floating bookshelf was beside the nightstand, and she counted three books in total on it.

That was the only significant thing in the room. Perhaps she should be less bothered about it since she didn't plan on staying for long.

"I'll prepare your bath as well as food, but then, I guess the alpha is on his way, so I don't know if both of you would be interested in dining together. Perhaps asking Roy would be best; I'll be right back," She said and dashed out of the room.

Only to return a while later, a frown etched on her round face, and she looked at her with uncertainty.

Emberlynn frowned, mirroring the same expression on Betsy's face.

"The Alpha is back, and he requests your presence," She said, then added, "I doubt you'll be needing this room."

Betsy walked to the door and halted, "Follow me."

She followed her to a large brown mahogany door. Her nose crinkled as the smell of pine wood wafted into her nostrils. It seemed freshly done else; it wouldn't look as new as this.

"Keep in touch," Betsy bowed before stepping away.

Emberlynn stood by the door for a long while. Betsy didn't tell her what to do, but she believed the only reasonable thing to do was knock.

Her hand raised to knock, but she halted as she heard a deep voice at the other end.

"Come in," The voice said. It was commanding, and Emberlynn didn't need to see who had spoken to know who it was.

She knew it was the Alpha, and even though they weren't facing each other, he still had a strange effect on her.

The door opened slowly, and Emberlynn stepped inside.

She breathed out as the scent of freshly cut flowers wafted into her nostrils. She looked around to pinpoint exactly where the flowers were, but she couldn't find any.

She noticed two guards were positioned at the door; they looked stoic and unmoving. If they hadn't opened the door for her, she'd have thought they were statues.

Emberlynn stepped towards the centre of the room and stopped. She gasped softly, looking around.

The room was bathed in a soft, ethereal glow emanating from a cluster of shimmering crystals suspended from the ceiling. Each crystal refracted the light in a mesmerizing pattern across the walls, casting intricate patterns that seemed to pulse with a life of their own.

Emberlynn felt a sense of calm wash over her, one she had barely experienced before. The air seemed charged with energy as if the very essence of the room was alive and pulsating around her. She reached out tentatively, her fingertips grazing the smooth surface of one of the crystals, and a tingling sensation shot through her, sending shivers down her spine.

Then she spun around wildly as she smelt him and heard his light footsteps behind her.

The Alpha appeared in front of her, tall, dark, and brooding.

Emberlynn gasped, lurching at the suddenness of his appearance. The voluminous skirt of her dress wrapped around her legs, preventing further movement, and she flailed her hands in the air, shutting her eyes while preparing for the impact of her fall.

But instead, a strong arm wrapped around her, yanking her upward and towards a rock-hard chest.

Instinctively, she splayed her hands on his chest before clutching his shirt, holding onto him for dear life.