2. Arrival to black hollow

Jenny watched the first light of morning crawl through the tiny window.

She hadn’t slept. Even for a minute.

Every time she closed her eyes, she heard Lila’s voice again.

He breaks people like you to pieces.

Then Henry’s.

Some of them might be true.

That was somehow worse than anything Lila had ever told her since she met her.

If Henry had simply told her Maurice was a monster, she would have believed him. Monsters were easier to understand because you knew what to expect from them.

It was the uncertainty that bothered her and Jenny hated uncertainty.

She preferred knowing exactly how badly someone could hurt her.

A knock came at the door,

“Miss Maychild?” Henry’s voice called out

She looked down at herself.

The clothes he’d brought her were folded neatly on the mat. A simple dark dress, thick enough for the early morning cold, with a pair of boots that looked almost new.

Almost.

Nothing about her life was ever completely new.

“Come in.”

Henry opened the door and stopped when he saw her.

“You haven’t slept.”

It wasn’t a question.

Jenny folded her arms.

“Neither have you, apparently.” She threw back at him and he smiled faintly.

“I can do without it”

“I doubt that.”

He looked at her for a moment before glancing toward the small bundle beside her.

“You should get dressed. We’ll be leaving at dawn.”

She looked toward the window.

“This is dawn.”

“Then you should hurry.”

Jenny rolled her eyes.

She wanted to hate him.

It would have been easier. But Henry had been kinder to her in one night than most people had been in years, and she didn’t know what to do with kindness anymore.

She picked up the clothes.

“Where exactly am I going?”

“Black Hollow.”

“I know that but I don’t know why I am going there. At least the correct reason”

Henry’s expression changed slightly with a light frown

“Perhaps that’s for the best.”

Jenny paused at his words

“What does that mean?”

“Nothing.”

“People say things like that when it means something.”

He chuckled.

“You know, you ask too many questions.”

She shrugged “I’ve learned that people who refuse to answer them usually have something to hide.”

Henry’s smile disappeared and for a second, neither of them spoke.

Then he said quietly, “Get dressed, Jenny.”

It was the first time he’d called her by her name.

She noticed.

She noticed everything.

******

They left shortly after sunrise.

Jenny had expected a large carriage or perhaps several wolves surrounding her, considering she was apparently important enough for an Alpha to choose her as his mate.

Instead, there were only four horses.

Henry mounted the first.

Two guards followed.

And Jenny was given the smallest horse.

She stared at it.

“You’ve got to be joking.”

Henry looked over his shoulder.

“What?”

“This thing.”

The horse snorted.

Jenny narrowed her eyes at it.

“It hates me.”

“It’s a horse.”

“So?”

“So it probably doesn’t.”

“You didn’t see the way it looked at me.”

Henry laughed and it took her by surprise. Jenny hadn’t expected that.

She climbed onto the horse anyway.

It immediately moved.

“See?” she muttered. “Rude.” Looking at the guards.

The guards exchanged a look and didn’t say a thing but she saw the amusement on their faces.

They rode in silence for a while as Jenny watched the pack disappear behind them.

She had spent years dreaming about leaving that place.

Funny how freedom didn’t feel like freedom when you were being escorted away to become someone’s wife. A ‘tyrant’s wife’ for lack of better words.

She glanced at Henry.

“How far is it?”

“Four hours.”

“That’s a long time.”

“It could be longer.”

“Thanks. That’s comforting” she said in a sarcastic tone and Henry smiled.

Jenny looked ahead. Her mind drifting away as she watched the road stretch through dense forest, the trees growing taller and darker the farther they went.

She had heard a lot of stories about Black Hollow.

Everyone had.

It was the strongest pack in the northern territory. Their Alpha was ruthless. Their warriors were feared. Their borders were almost impossible to cross without permission.

Maurice Arthur. The feared Alpha.

Jenny had never met him of course, but she had heard enough.

He had killed wolves for fun and he had supposedly imprisoned an entire family because one of their sons challenged his authority.

Some stories said he had killed his previous Beta and that he had taken the man’s tongue before killing him.

Jenny didn’t know which stories were true but if they existed then there was an iota of truth in them.

“Henry.” She said riding her horse to meet up with his pace

“Hm?”

“What’s Maurice really like?”

Henry didn’t answer immediately.

“Why are you asking?”

“Because I’m going to marry him and I need to know what I’m up against, don’t you think?”

He smiled and kept mute.

“Please.”

Henry sighed.

“Alpha Maurice is…”

He stopped.

“He’s complicated.”

Jenny groaned.

“Everyone keeps saying that.”

“Because it’s true.”

“Is he cruel?”

Henry looked at her.

“Sometimes but he is a good man. A very good man”

She wanted to feel positive about the last part but she just couldn’t.

“Is he dangerous?”

“Yes.”

At least he was honest.

“Does he enjoy hurting people?”

“No.”

The answer came too quickly that Jenny turned to look at him.

“No,” he repeated. “He doesn’t.”

She looked ahead again and didn’t say another word.

*****

By midday, the tiredness had begun to get to Jenny but it didn’t stop her from noticing that the trees had began to thin out.

There were now people on the road. There were children running between houses and adults carrying baskets, walking around.

And then she saw the walls. Black as the night.

They had arrived Black Hollow.

The walls were enormous, built from dark stones. There were two large iron gates that stood open with guards stationed on both sides.

Jenny’s heart began beating faster suddenly. She had expected something ugly.

Instead, the pack was beautiful. Incredibly so.

There were houses everywhere, larger than anything she’d ever seen in her old pack. Shops lined the main street. Children laughed as they chased each other and adults walked around carrying baskets and talking amongst themselves.

Nobody looked frightened or sad or hungry.

Jenny frowned.

“This is Black Hollow?” She turned to Henry who looked amused.

“Disappointed?”

“I thought it would be worse.”

“Most people do.”

She didn’t say anything. Couldn’t say anything in fact.

“You know what they say,people are very good at making monsters out of people they’ve never met.” Henry continued and she looked at him.

“Is that what you think I’m doing?”

Henry’s eyes met hers.

“Perhaps.”

Before she could respond, the gates opened wider and they rode in and as if a shift occurred, the town suddenly fell quiet.