2. The Masked Woman

12 years later. 

Present.

The commander knocked on the door once as he heard an authoritative come in. Inhaling deeply, he stepped inside and was greeted by the king's powerful presence. 

Ragnar raised his gaze as his sharp eyes set on the commander with ease. 

"My Lord, all the preparations have been made, the guests have arrived, and the security is doubled," the commander said earning a lazy hum from Ragnar as he stared at the small mirrors on his table that had the paintings of the women his mother wanted him to pick from. 

"Very well, Nate, you may leave," Ragnar dismissed the commander who bowed in respect before stepping out. 

Nate was an Alpha himself. But he wasn't a dominant Alpha. There were rarely any dominant Alphas left in the world, while most of the majority were Alphas and betas. The only rare ones were the Dominant Alphas and the female omegas. 

It had come to the point that everyone believed that no female omegas were there in the world anymore. There were only male omegas. 

Just when Nate left, the door opened after a curt knock. The person didn't even wait for his approval, so Ragnar knew it was his mother. 

Chloe stepped inside, but to his dismay, she wasn't alone. Ragnar could scent a female alpha outside the door. 

"I want you to meet someone," Chloe said softly. He nodded and pulled to his feet, almost dwarfing his mother as he stepped outside with her, only to be greeted by a pretty woman. 

Ragnar barely glanced at her, but he noticed pure surprise flash in her eyes as her gaze swept over his scar, making his jaw tick. 

The thought of a certain female omega left a bitter taste in his mouth, his gaze turned darker as he glared at the wall in the distance. He could faintly notice his mother introducing him to the girl. 

But he was focused somewhere else, that little girl was fierce. She was something else. He had searched for her. That day she escaped. The only way she was able to escape him was because she ate the herbs to suppress her scent. But that wasn't the end of it. 

Ragnar made sure to search for her. That girl needed to learn a proper lesson from him but the irony was, he never found her. But he hated the fact that that little girl left a scar on him. On the king! 

He focused back on the girl in front of him. She was saying something. Ragnar seemed bored. He was done with getting all this female attention, which was annoying. 

He curtly nodded at the girl. "We can continue our conversation at the ball tonight." He said to the girl, who nodded with a smile as he faced his mother. 

"I need to tend to some work, mother. You can introduce me to people later tonight," He said, grabbed his mother's hand, and kissed the back of it, making the girl gape in surprise while his mother just sighed as Ragnar walked away. 

The castle was bustling with guests from the different lands. The decorations were unique and elite, as the whole castle was brought to life. 

Everyone was there in the ball waiting for their king to arrive. Chloe conversed with the few elites when, all of a sudden, the guards announced the King's arrival. 

Ragnar stepped down the grand stairs as he made his appearance like a king. The whole ballroom went dead silent as everyone gaped at him. Only a few had seen him. This was the first time he had agreed to celebrate his ten years of reigning the kingdom. 

As Ragnar sat on his throne, he noticed a bunch of officials standing near his mom and almost all of them had their daughters beautifully decorated as they introduced them to his mother. 

Ragnar glanced at Nate, his commander, who informed him that the security was tight and everything was going good so far. He nodded and raised his hand, a small gesture, but it meant thank you for coming, proceed with the celebrations, -or simply I'm not interested in talking- just go ahead with the celebrations- as everyone cheered. 

Soft music filled the air from the most skillful musicians. Everyone was enjoying their time, while Ragnar's trusted advisors dealt with the high people. 

People began to part as slowly the dancers stepped into the ballroom. They weren't just any dancers. They were the slave omega males, dressed so beautifully as they stepped into the middle of the ballroom. All of them had a choker wrapped around their throat, which meant they were bought by the kingdom. 

Omegas, either males or females, were treated like slaves.

The music changed, and the lights dimmed as they began to move to the music. Their movements were slow and beautiful like those of a woman, as the Alphas watched them with interest while the betas remained unaffected. 

Amidst all this performance. Ragnar's eyes noticed something. Perhaps someone, a woman more precisely. She was standing alone on the terrace, a mask on her face. Most of the guests have masks on their eyes. He didn't know why his mom chose that theme to begin with. It must be causing hinderance in the security. 

He was bored out of his mind, thinking that he could've completed a lot of paperwork, when he noticed someone approaching him. 

"Mother, I'm not-" He raised his head and paused when his eyes met the bright green eyes that looked at him with interest. 

Ragnar raised a perfect thick brow. This was the first time a woman had approached him so boldly. Otherwise, most of the women feared him, and that wasn't it. This was the same woman who was standing on the terrace. Just because he glanced at her, she got the confidence to walk over to him. That was some daring move. 

"May I?" Her voice was soft, feathery soft as she held out her small, creamy hand for him to take. 

He was once again taken aback by her boldness. 

Ragnar took her in. She was small, barely 5'4. The dress she was wearing didn't cling to her body, so he couldn't tell much, but she had pretty big eyes and some boldness rolled up her sleeves. 

Nate stepped forward, glaring at the girl. "Have you lost your mind?-" 

Ragnar raised his hand, stopping Nate as he got to his feet. He was so tall and big that the girl gasped, stepping back as he easily towered over her. 

Her hand wavered for a fraction of a second, and his hawk-like eyes noticed. Before she could pull her hand away, Ragnar grabbed her hand. 

The stark contrast in their hands was magnificently astonishing. His dark, calloused hands were so big that they covered her small hands with ease. 

"Lead the way, lady," He said. 

He expected to see surprise on her face, but she simply smiled, wrapped her tiny fingers around his hand, and guided him to the middle of the ballroom.