FOUR

“Oh, it’s so lovely to finally meet you! Guards, fetch the maids so our guest can escorted to her chambers and allowed rest!”

The dowager Luna’s voice pierced through the air, forcing Eliza to meet her gaze. She blinked in confusion, the old woman’s cheerfulness almost unsettling as it was a stark contrast to rest of the audience.

“I’m Dowager Luna Pamela Storm,” she belatedly introduced herself then turned to the woman next to her. “And she is the Luna of the Storm Pack. Rebecca Storm.”

Eliza bowed her head in response, the confusion still flooding her veins. It still didn’t make sense. Nothing made sense.

“I-“

Pamela didn’t wait for an extra second before turning around to leave, her black shiny hair dancing around her shoulders as she spun. Her expression didn’t falter for a second as she left, slowly increasing her pace to match Alaric’s as he also walked into the palace.

“Your highness,” Eliza’s thoughts were interrupted by a maid’s arrival. She watched the young girl bow at the Dowager Luna before turning to face Eliza again. “Shall we?”

“What?”

“Go with her,” Pamela said though it sounded more like an order. “She’ll get you freshened up. Once you’re relaxed, we’ll talk better.”

Eliza didn’t need to relax first. She already wanted to talk. No, she wanted to scream. She wanted someone- anyone- to explain what was going on to her.

But no one was kind enough to do that, the dowager Luna walking out, leaving Eliza with no choice but to do exactly as she was told.

She hung her head low and let out a sigh, the maid leading the way into the palace.

Her first steps in was enough to leave her mouth hung open for a while. The palace was huge, way bigger than the one at the Gray Pack. The architecture was also different, easily telling stories dated back to centuries.

They walked through the front door, the living hall and past the corridors, Eliza’s awe increasing. For a while, she was able to distract herself from her thoughts but the minute she arrived at the room said to be hers, she was immediately plunged back into it.

The room was big and could easily fit two of her old room back at the Gray Palace. Not like she was complaining anyways- she couldn’t even if she wanted to- after all, she was nothing but an orphaned omega they took pity on by allowing to live in the palace. She was already grateful for a roof over her head so the last thing she could do was ask for her.

“I’ll help you with your bath.”

“What? No!” Eliza stopped the maid before she could touch her. She took a frantic step backwards then covered her body with her hands, shaking her head violently. “No, I don’t need you to help me with that!”

“Instead, i need you to help me with something else.”

She simply bowed her head in response, Eliza taking it as a cue to go on.

“Where’s the Alpha King’s room,” Eliza dared to ask. “Show me the way to his room. I need to see him now. It’s urgent.”

It was a bold favour but left with no choice, the maid had no choice but to give in. She escorted Eliza out of her room and directed her to his chambers, Eliza thanking her as she took to her heels to head to his room.

She needed answers. Explanations. Reasons. Just anything to make it all make sense to her.

With head hung low the entire time, she sneakily found her way to his chambers. It was on the third floor, lesser maids and guards crawling around the area.

By the time she stood right by the door, her heart rate had suddenly doubled. The confidence from earlier had vanished, now replaced with fear.

It took several deep breaths before she could take her final step towards the door. And another round of deep breaths and exhales before pushing the door to walk in, Eliza refusing to bother to knock.

A single step in and she immediately froze, Alaric standing in the center of the room. Even from a distance, he easily towered over her, his eyes locked on her like he had been expecting her presence for a while.

He looked the same as he did every single time Eliza could remember looking at him for longer than a second. Rigid, cold yet able to get her insides to flip, her whole body screaming for air.

“What are you doing here?” His green eyes narrowed at her when an entire minute passed without her uttering a single word. “I don’t remember asking for your presence.”

“You didn’t,” she swallowed and looked away from him, afraid her knees would turn into jelly if he stared at her for even a second longer. “I came here to talk to you.”

“You didn’t say everything you had to say on the ride here?” The sarcasm in his voice was painfully infuriating. “Right, maybe you finally realized you have an explanation to give.”

“Why would I need to explain anything to you?” Eliza ignored how our breath hitched and locked gazes with him again. “If anyone needs to explain anything, it would be you. What is going on? Why did you bring me here as your mate? When you already have a wife? A Luna!”

For a split second, his gaze flickered a foreign emotion appearing in it. Before Eliza could register what it was, it vanished again, his cold expression returning to his face.

“Because I need you.”

Her stomach churned. But she ignored it. “You need me? What for? What usefulness could I possibly possess that your Luna already do not possess?”

“Fertility.”

Eliza blinked. “What?”

“If you didn’t run away that night, I’ll have explain things to you better,” he massaged his knuckles, taking a step towards her. “But you did. Which forced things to happen this way.”

“What are you talking about?”

“My Luna is able to bear children,” he took another step forward. “Maybe it’s the moon goddess’ sick way of punishing me for getting married to someone other than the woman mated to me. But it doesn’t matter. I need an heir. And I need you to bear that heir.”

Her jaw almost dropped to the floor, Eliza having to take several takes to ensure she wasn’t hearing things. She wasn’t, his expression that remained the same more than enough proof.

“Are you insane?” The words left her mouth before she could stop herself. “Who do you think you are?! Why would I give birth to an heir?! Why would I even have anything to do with you?!”

“Alaric Storm, Alpha King of the Storm Pack,” his response came out coolly as he once again reduced the distance between them. “Because you’re my mate. You tell me.”

Eliza’s lips parted but no words came out, the air around her suddenly seizing as he got rid of all the distance between them to stand right in front of her. She swallowed, immediately reaching for the hem of her dress, desperate for any form of grounding.

A light breath escaped her lips as she looked away from him, her eyes falling to his chest. She swallowed then lowered her gaze even lower, her eyes tracing his torso all the way to his feet.

“I don’t need to remind you of what happened that night in the forest,” his breath hit her skin, hot and heavy. “So I don’t think I need to explain any further why I’m expecting a child from you.”

“What?” Her eyes widened in an instant, Eliza immediately meeting his gaze. Her guts curled in his response, sending a wave of regret towards her as she quickly looked away from him again. “I’m not- I’m- I’m not pregnant!”

“Then,” he moved his hands to her chin, forcing to meet his gaze again. “We’d simply have to get you pregnant.”

It had to be his audacity. It had to be his ridiculous confidence that made her stomach twist uneasily, a queasy flutter immediately rolling through.

“Unless,” every word from him suddenly made her dizzy. She felt nauseous and the room slowly began to spin, her feet struggling to find the floor as she tried to get away from him.

She closed her eyes then took a step backwards, her back hitting the shut door behind her. She swallowed a wince and immediately moved to the left, her attempt to turn around to leave the room failing as she was hit with a form of dizziness like never before.

It happened swiftly. Her legs turned and for a second, she was certain she was about to fall and hit the ground. Until she felt strong arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her forward until her hands slammed against his rock hard chest, his lips directly hovering against her ears as he whispered.

“Unless, you’re pregnant already.”