3: Monumental Hotel

 

ARABELLA

While I was still trying to figure out what to do and what the mysterious tatto meant, I heard a faint creak from the door.

My head snapped toward it.

The door slowly opened, and a figure with red hair slipped inside before quickly locking it behind her.

My best friend, Sandra, turned to look at me, sadness and worry filling her eyes.

“She locked you in again?”

A storm of emotions collided inside me.

Sandra.

She was here.

She was alive.

Once again, just as she always did, she had picked the lock like a professional burglar so she could sneak inside and spend time with me and keep me company. Then she would leave very early before Martha came in to open the door.

I sprinted across the room and threw my arms around her, hugging her so tightly that I nearly squeezed the life out of her.

“I missed you. I missed you so much, Sandra,” I cried as tears streamed down my cheeks.

When I finally pulled away, she stared at me in complete shock.

“Missed me? Arabella, we were together yesterday, before you left with your husband.”

“No. You died, Sandra.”

Her eyes widened. “What?”

I knew there was no way she would understand unless I told her everything, so I did.

I explained everything that had happened after her death. I told her about all the pain and suffering I had endured alone, how I discovered that my stepmother had been poisoning me, the accident, and how my stepsister and husband had betrayed me. I told her about my death and how, somehow, I had opened my eyes again and found myself back on my wedding day.

By the time I finished, Sandra was staring at me as though I had completely lost my mind.

“I know. I know you don't believe me. Nobody would believe what I'm saying. You probably think I'm crazy.”

I ran my fingers through my hair as I began pacing again.

Surprisingly, Sandra grabbed my hand and made me sit beside her.

“No matter how crazy it sounds, I believe you,” she said. “Because I know you, Arabella. You wouldn't lie to me about something like this.”

Relief washed over me.

I was so happy to have Sandra back that I almost started crying again, but there was no time for that. We needed to come up with a solution.

I held her hands tightly. “I need your help, please. I need you to help me get out of here.”

I explained that I needed to see the Northern King, but my stepmother had ordered someone to check on me occasionally to make sure I hadn't escaped. If anyone came inside and discovered I was gone, they would immediately raise the alarm.

“So I need you to lie on the bed and wear one of my wigs. Cover yourself properly with the blanket so that if anyone checks through the door, they'll think I'm still here.”

Sandra's eyes widened. “And where are you going?”

“To the Monumental Hotel. I need to see the Northern King.”

“Arabella…”

“I'll be back before sunrise,” I promised. “Before my stepmother comes tomorrow, I'll already be here.”

Sandra hesitated for a moment before finally agreeing. I could see the fear in her eyes, and I understood why. If I didn't return in time, both of us would be in serious trouble.

But I had no other choice.

Sandra climbed onto the bed while I moved toward the window.

I had been given another chance at life, and I wasn't going to waste it.

I climbed through the window and jumped down from the third floor, twisting my ankle when I landed, but I couldn't care less about the damn pain at that moment.

…

NORTHERN ALPHA KING KYLE

“I'm sure you must hate that Adrian guy for stealing your bride,” Ryder said with a grin as he took a sip of whiskey from his glass.

“She was never my bride. The former Alpha King only proposed that she become my bride for the sake of the alliance, but the arrangement never went through. And now that there's a new king, we simply have to continue the discussion with him, without the bride, of course, since she's married to him,” I told Ryder.

The Southern Territory was known for its fertile soil and the abundance of vegetables and crops it produced, while the Northern soil wasn't suitable for such production. We needed their agricultural resources just as much as they needed the crude oil our territory produced. Tomorrow morning, I would be meeting with the new Southern Alpha King to discuss our plans and hopefully continue from where we had left off with the former king.

“I saw the way you looked at her, Alpha. She was your type, you know. Curvy, full breasts, and all.” He grinned wider. “You were practically salivating.”

“Stop it.” I glared at him. “I wasn't looking at her that way.”

“You can lie to him all you want, but you cannot lie to me. I'm inside your head. I know everything you're thinking, King,” Fenrir, my wolf, said. “You want her.”

“Yes, perhaps for one night, just like every other woman I've wanted. After the pleasure, I'll get over her. I'm sure whatever attraction I felt would disappear after spending one night with her.”

Although that was impossible now.

She was married to someone else.

Of all the men she could have married, I wondered why she had chosen Adrian. Hadn't she done her due diligence before marrying him? His father had been a compulsive gambler who had gambled away almost everything he owned, while his mother constantly drowned herself in alcohol. Adrian himself had picked up his father's gambling habits before somehow finding his way into the palace and winning the heart of the woman who had been chosen to become the future Queen of the Northern Territory.

“What are you going to do now that your proposed marriage to the Southern Princess has been annulled?” Ryder asked. “What about Nana's request for you to take a bride? You know she won't shut up until you finally marry someone.” He chuckled. “And knowing you, Kyle, I don't think you're ready to commit to one woman anytime soon. Man-whore.”

“You dare disrespect your king in that manner?” I growled, my eyes darkening, but Ryder didn't even flinch. “I think I've been too lenient with you, and that has to change.”

“Oh, come on.” He rolled his eyes. “Can you blame me? You know there's nothing but truth in what I said.” He raised his whiskey glass toward me before downing the rest of its contents.

Well, he wasn't wrong.

Women were relentless. They constantly threw themselves at me because of my position, and they always came with one strategy or another. Some wanted money. Some wanted power. Others simply wanted the privilege of saying they had slept with the Northern Alpha King.

I never slept with the same woman twice, yet some of the women I had been with had still tried to pin pregnancies on me. I had always been careful, so I knew there was no possibility of that happening. Still, I'd spent more money, energy, and time than I cared to admit running DNA tests just to prove their claims were false.

But Nana's requests were becoming more persistent.

My grandmother wanted me to take a bride, and her demands had been growing louder with each passing day. I needed to find a way to shut her up.

Perhaps I could find a woman willing to enter a contract marriage with me. It would get Nana off my back without forcing me into something I didn't want.

Because I didn't believe in love.

And I certainly didn't think I would ever find my mate. It had been seven years of searching, and I had long since given up hope.

Yet, for some inexplicable reason, my thoughts drifted back to the Southern Queen.

Damn it.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't seem to forget that beautiful figure my eyes had been blessed with.