5: Ridiculous Rumor

ROSENTINE

The sound of cutlery clanking against plates filled the silence as we ate our breakfast. I kept waiting for the Alpha to say something, to start the conversation, but he didn’t.

Not even a word.

I snuck a glance at Beta Owen, who was sitting across from me, and he, too, was quiet, his gaze firmly on his food. It was peaceful, in a way, but also unnerving.

I wanted so badly to break the silence, to say something, but the fear of being shut out was stronger. Back at my old pack, one wrong word had been enough to banish me from the table for good.

And as pathetically as it sounded, this was the first time I’d eaten with anyone since then. So, I kept my mouth shut and waited, hoping the Alpha would eventually speak.

“Did you commit a crime?” he asked out of the blue, causing me to jump in my seat. I looked at him, watching him dab his mouth with the napkin, before a maid hurried over to fill his glass with water when he gestured for it.

“No, I didn’t,” I shook my head, my mind spinning as I tried to figure out why he would even ask that.

“I read the list of the she-wolves that was sent here, and I saw that you’re a beta’s daughter. What did you do to make them send you away?” He sounded genuinely curious, and even though the question stung, I answered it anyway.

“They hated me because I survived.” He frowned, clearly confused, so I went on. “I was kidnapped by rogues on my 8th birthday. My older sister and I were both taken. But I escaped after a month, thanks to her sacrifice. After that, my family and the whole pack began resenting me.”

“Is your sister dead?”

“No.” The word came out fast, almost desperate. “I’m sure she’s still alive. My sister is strong and smart. I believe she got away from the rogues, and she’s living somewhere safe. I just… know it.”

“If that’s true, then why didn’t she come back to your pack?” Beta Owen’s question made my head whip around to face him. For a moment, I was taken aback, unable to find the right words.

Then, I managed to squeeze out a response.

“I don’t know, maybe because she’s happier where she is now,” I answered softly, my gaze dropping to the table as memories of Rosalia flooded my mind. I could still picture those precious moments when we were inseparable, like two pieces of a puzzle.

“I remember one time when we were kids, I saw her crying. When I asked what was wrong, she told me she felt so much pressure from the pack’s expectations.” I added, my voice trembling despite my best efforts to keep it steady. “Maybe she didn’t come back because of that…”

“She just… wanted freedom.” I finally lifted my gaze, locking eyes with Beta Owen for a moment before turning to Alpha Bastian when he spoke.

“Okay, finish your breakfast. We’ll talk more later after your test.” Alpha Bastian slid his chair back, the sharp sound of wood against the floor ringing out in the spacious dining hall. Beta Owen then did the same, rising to his feet and following the Alpha’s lead.

Just like that, I was left sitting at the table, the clatter of dishes and silverware filling the air as the servants began to clear away their plates.

“Could you hurry up with your food?” one of the servants snapped, glaring at me as if I were nothing more than trash. I clenched my jaw, but instead of responding, I kept my head down and focused on my meal.

Once I finished my meal, a woman stepped into the dining hall, causing the servants to bow their heads in respect. She was stunningly beautiful, with a sleek bob of brown hair that framed her face and deep, expressive eyes.

There was also something about her presence that reminded me of Beta Owen to mind. Perhaps, they were siblings?

“Are you Rosentine?” she asked, her voice warm and inviting. Though her steady gaze made me feel a bit uneasy, I managed to nod in response. “I’m Via, Owen’s younger sister. That jerk handed off his duty to me, so I’ll be the one taking you to the pack’s doctor instead.”

I nodded again, a bit clumsily, awkwardly pushing the chair back and getting to my feet. For a second, she just stared at me, her gaze steady and searching, as if she was trying to memorize my face.

“Damn, you really look like her,” she muttered, almost to herself, rubbing her chin absently. “Anyway, let’s go.”

There wasn’t much else to say, so I just followed her out, the silence hanging between us as we left the dining hall and main house.

The moment we stepped outside, the cold wind hit me in full force, blowing through my hair and bringing goose bumps to my skin. I drew in a breath and shivered, wrapping my arms around myself.

I knew it was supposed to be cold here in the North, but I hadn’t imagined it would be this intense, especially with no snow yet.

Among all the territories in the Elaris Kingdom, the north was infamous for its brutal weather—the coldest, the harshest. Life here was a test of endurance, and honestly, it made perfect sense that the biggest prison in the entire kingdom was here.

Being sent north was punishment enough, and surviving here was its own kind of torment.

“When were you born?” Via asked, breaking the silence as we walked side by side.

“Uhm, 1936.”

“Oh, so you’re 24 now? We’re the same age.” She smiled, and for a second, I felt my heart getting warm. After all, it was nice to be talked to like a real person, not the worthless thing I’d always been made out to be.

“Do you mind if I ask something kind of serious?” My words slipped out before I could stop them, after all, one particular thought suddenly crossed my mind.

“Sure, feel free to ask me anything.”

“Is it true that the ones who don’t get picked as the Alpha’s breeder get handed off to the warriors instead?” I watched her face, searching for any hint of judgment, but mostly I just needed to know. I needed to know what happened to the others last night.

She paused, looking at me like I’d just asked something outrageous, but then she laughed, shaking her head.

“No, that’s just a ridiculous rumor. The ones not chosen are sent back to their pack.” Via’s laughter eased something tight in me. “That rumor only got started because most of the she-wolves didn’t want to go back home; they wanted to stay here in the North.”

“Some of them even end up joining our pack, since their old ones basically abandoned them anyway.” She said it so matter-of-factly, and all I could do was nod.

We then kept walking, her words settling over me as she started to explain how the breeder selection actually started. According to Via, the Alpha and his mate were meant to choose their surrogate together. But since Alpha Bastian’s mate had collapsed and fallen into a coma, he’d ordered every pack to send a she-wolf to his territory instead.

And the reason he hadn’t picked anyone until recently? It was because he was searching for someone specific—a she-wolf with blue eyes, someone who looked as much like his mate as possible.

“Then why not just announce that?” I asked as we reached a big cabin near the main house.

“Well, he said it would make people wonder why he needed a specific eye color, especially for a breeder,” Via answered as she grabbed the doorknob and opened the door to the cabin, stepping aside so I could enter first.

“As much as possible, he wanted to avoid all that curiosity, because the more people wondered, the more they’d dig, and maybe find out he was hiding a mate.” She added as she closed the door softly behind us. “And all he really wanted was a surrogate to carry their pup, not an actual breeder, who he would have to mate with.”

I nodded, feeling the fog in my mind start to thin, as if everything was slowly making sense to me.

“Is that her?” A woman in her fifties appeared before us. She was wearing a lab coat, and that alone was enough for me to know who she was.

“Yes, her name’s Rosentine.” Via’s introduction made me instinctively straighten up, and I managed a small, polite smile. “This is our pack’s doctor; you can address her as Mrs. Jane, since she prefers that.”

“Hmm, the resemblance is really uncanny,” The doctor remarked, almost absentmindedly, but the words dug into me.

Now, I couldn’t shake the curiosity about how much I resembled the Alpha’s mate. Besides my blue eyes, I found myself wondering what other traits we might share.

Suddenly, my stomach tightened, and a strange feeling swept across my chest.

“Uhm, may I know the Alpha’s mate’s name?” The question slipped out before I could reel it back in. I glanced down, embarrassed, and then forced myself to look up again.

For a moment, Via and Mrs. Jane exchanged a silent look, the kind that said there was more being spoken than I could hear. Then Mrs. Jane’s eyes settled on me, calm and unwavering.

“Her name is Arabella,” she said, and a strange sensation stirred inside me again, something I couldn’t fully understand. “Now, let’s go and begin the test.”