Bound to the Alpha King

Chapter 7

Aurora's POV

“Ha! I guess you're not his mate then. The slap he just gave you proves it all,” Iris said with a smug look on her face. Staring at her I felt the urge to attack and rip her apart, but I knew that would only end badly.

I fell back on my seat and rested my head on the table as tears fell out of my eyes.

“Hey, don't cry,” Clare consoled as she placed her palms on my back. “I told you not to listen to what the others say, you'll only end up hurting yourself,” she continued.

“Yes, rather than focusing on the bad things, why not join us for some afternoon activities outside the mansion,” Stephanie suggested with a smile.

I slowly raised my head as I heard her. “Wait, we're allowed to leave the mansion?” I asked silently.

All three girls who sat before me smiled, “Of course we're not. The Alpha knows we hate it here and is very sure we're going to try escaping one day, so he has guards everywhere around the mansion to prevent us from leaving. He's also threatened that if we tried to escape he'd come for our packs and destroy them one by one,” Claire explained.

“So, how do you do your activities outside the mansion without getting caught?” I asked again, sounding a little befuddled by her words.

They all leaned forward and silently spoke one by one. “We know a secret passageway in the mansion that leads straight into the forest and another that leads to the city."” Lizzy said.

“We usually go hunting or just go out to have fun in the city through those tunnels,” Stephenie added.

“And then return before the guards even notice we're gone,” Claire concluded with a slight mock.

I stared at the girls for a moment, then let out a sigh, “you guys are going to get me killed, but what the heck, anything to get out of this boring place,” I said, then smiled.

I grabbed the handle of a cup of coffee that sat before me and gulped it all down, then got up from my seat. “Alright girls, let's get going,” I said.

We all walked gracefully out of the cafeteria, holding up our voluminous skirts with our index fingers and thumbs.

Immediately we exited the cafeteria, all the fanciness we had exited with vanished completely. We began running through the hallways and each time we passed a warrior wolf in the mansion, we stopped so as not to look suspicious.

After a while, we got back to our room. “Phew, that felt a lot further than I expected,” Lizzy said as she fell on her bed.

“Well, we're about to do something bad, everything will naturally exaggerate itself, even time…” I responded, sitting on mine.

“But, we're not doing anything bad, we're being held here against our will, so it's only natural we leave at least once in a while to get a feel of the outside world,” Claire said in a measured tone, loosening the thick ropes that held her dress together from her back.

“Well yeah, but if we get caught?” I asked worriedly.

“Don't worry, we are young and healthy, we should be living our lives to the fullest. Staying in this mansion has really held us back. Everyone of us here dreams of meeting their actual mates,” Claire continued, putting on a leather jacket and a pair of black gloves.

“Not me, I already met mine,” Stephanie said as she pulled on her dark brown boots.

“Wait, seriously?” I asked in shock.

“Well, of course. The only problem is that we can only meet in secret, the alpha king would get really upset if he found out about us,” she replied, standing up and packing her long hair in a ponytail.

After a few minutes, the girls were ready to leave. They were all dressed in black leather clothing.

Lizzy wore a brown shirt and a brown leather jacket on top, trousers of an even darker brown colour and a pair of brown boots.

Stephanie was wearing a pair of red gloves and a black hat. She wore a blue jean jacket and a dark red shirt inside, and on her lower half she wore a jean skirt and a pair of red leather boots.

Claire on the other hand was dressed in a black leather jacket, a pair of black leather gloves, black leather trousers and a pair of leather boots of the same colour.

“You guys don't plan on going outside like that, do you?” I asked, staring at them in disapproval.

“Of course we are. Dressing in dark clothing will reduce the amount of attention drawn towards us, thereby making it easier to roam the city,” Stephanie explained.

“Is this supposed to reduce attention? The leather outfits certainly draw attention to us, especially since they are so monochrome,” I queried, sounding a little upset.

“Well, we found these clothes a few days ago and they fit perfectly. And how come you know so much about fashion?” Claire asked, raising a brow at me.

“Well, there were a few instances where I sneaked out myself when I was still with my pack,” I replied, thinking back at my escapades when I was feeling isolated in my stepfather's pack because of my identity and my looks.

“Oh, so you're a bad girl already,” Lizzy jested, placing her left palm over her lips. I smiled a fake smile, not wanting to explain the reason behind my sneaking out.

“Well, I have some clothes that'll look a lot more normal. You can have some if you want,” I said, letting out a sigh and getting up from my bed.

“Okay, let's see 'em…” Claire said in excitement as she rushed toward me.

***

“Jason is going to be out for a while, doing his alpha king duties or whatever. So, we have all the time to do whatever we want!” Claire said with a smirk as we exited the tunnel that led to the city.

We all came out through a sewer drainage in an alley and walked toward the road.

“So, what do we do first?” I asked.

“Well, we can go to the nearby pub and have some drinks,” Claire replied. "What do y'all think?"

“What about a park that lies close to the city so we can ride those fast swirly thingies,” Lizzy suggested.

“You mean roller coasters?” I asked, puzzled.

“Yeah, those things…” she replied with excitement written all over her face.

We rushed to a nearby amusement park in a cab and ran through it, doing all the activities that were to be done. We filled our stomachs with sweets and cotton candy, and won various prizes in contests.

Most of the contests that involved heavy lifting were relatively easy for us to do because we were werewolves, so winning was very easy. After we had gone on all the rides in the park, we went to a nearby restaurant to get some actual food.

“My stomach hurts so much!” Lizzy said in agony as her stomach growled.

“Don't worry, you'll be fine. Normally, as wolves, we're supposed to be on a strict diet of meat to keep us strong and healthy, so I guess we should tone down the candy eating a notch,” Stephanie said.

As we waited for the waiter to bring our food, three handsome guys walked to our table. They waved in unison and said, “Hi”

“We're married!” Claire said with a stern look and the guys walked away, feeling a little embarrassed.

“I thought you were out here to find your mate?” I asked.

Clair let out a sigh and replied, “Well, there's no way my mate's a human, it's just impossible. And even if my mate's hiding amongst them, I would sense him immediately.”

“I guess you're right there. It's almost 4 so we better get going,” I said, staring at a clock that hung on the wall in the restaurant.

“But we haven't even had our lunch yet!” Lizzy whimpered.

“Let's go, we can eat when we get to the mansion!” I said, pulling her off her seat.

***

After getting lost a few times in the city, we finally arrived at the mansion late at night. We snuck through the gardens, following different paths to make sure we weren't all caught at once.

As I walked through a rose garden close to the entrance of the mansion, I got a whiff of Jason's scent and my entire body froze.

“Aurora,” His cold voice sounded, and I slowly turned to him, awaiting my imminent doom.

As I turned around to face him, he asked, “What are you doing outside your quarters?”

“Your highness. I… I was just having a stroll,” I replied, shaking in my voice.

“You had better head back to your quarters. People who still believe you are my mate may spring out and attack you. Personally, I can't have my property getting damaged,” he said, with his usual cold tone.

I nodded gently, then turned around and walked away as fast as I could.