Forbidden Mating With The Alpha

Chapter 2: The Discovery

Amidst the confusion and tensions weighing over her shoulders, Lucy, or rather, Rosalie, could not ignore the strange sensation that overcame her from sitting so close to a handsome man. Creed was straddling her, holding on to the reins with his arms stretched out to her sides. How was a 19 year old woman supposed to react when she had found herself in such a situation? Her face became flustered and the blood rushed to her head, but she tried to keep a level head during the entire journey to the kingdom of Helorith.

Lucy kept her gaze forward as the horse leisurely strolled through the fields. She could not bring herself to look back at Creed's face. They were traveling through a vast landscape of grass with the heads of mountains peering down at them from the distance. She assumed Helorith was either beyond or at the base of said mountains which were fast approaching. The sun was ready to go into hiding. The pale orange hue was enveloping the sky and with the change in color, a change in emotions occurred. The other horse riders unobtrusively rode on their horses a few feet behind the prince; none of them uttering a word to each other. The silence bothered Lucy beyond belief.

"What's wrong? You've gone quiet all of a sudden," Creed spoke from beside her, his voice reaching her ears from so close that it almost felt like a whisper. She gripped the bottom of her overcoat with her hands and refrained from turning her head to face him. His voice was as soothing as honey. Her back was only mere inches away from his front. She had never met anyone before who could make her feel that way. Having someone express such kindness to her in her mental state of confusion and vulnerability opened up her heart to Creed.

"I don't know... I'm not sure," she replied softly. Creed glanced down and searched her face. He had not expected Rosalie to be so meek and diffident when he met her again. It was understandable because she had a traumatizing past that changed her personality.

Nevertheless, he was still obsessed with her and wanted to marry her. She was truly and simply magnificent. Just looking at her was enough to arouse him. She seemed to have been bothered by something she did not want to disclose, but even then, her smooth skin and eyes that were the color of cerulean waters alone made her sad face too beautiful to describe. But her hair was the one thing that stood out the most. It was parted at the middle and draped over her shoulders like curtains; framing her chest and the exposed tops of her round breasts.

Any man would have wanted to keep her for himself, and Creed knew that. That was why he left the kingdom on a search for her immediately after he heard of a familiar, beautiful woman lurking in the forest so that he could turn her into his bride.

Nobody spoke a word and the silence was maintained until the sun had fully set and the sky had darkened to reveal the stars that were otherwise not visible to the eye during the daytime. A half-waning moon hovered above the group as the kingdom at the base of the mountains came into view. The fields were cut off at the beginning of a forest that surrounded said kingdom. The trees were so tall that one could not make out the scale of the kingdom unless they were to view it a distance.

Overhead, the large castle built with marble gray bricks that glowed softly due to the moon's light loomed over the rest of the kingdom of Helorith. Ahead, 500 meters past the beginning of the forest where the riders took a straight path onwards was a giant wall that surrounded the kingdom and an iron gate blocked off the entrance into said kingdom. As they came closer to the gate, a lump formed in Lucy's throat. She suddenly realized that it hadn't been an hour since she became fully conscious and already she was being sent off to be married to a man... no, a prince she had never met before.

"I should let you know that you'll have to spent the night in an inn within the town," Creed said as a passing statement when they reached the iron gates. There was no person in sight but the gates parted nonetheless to allow the riders entry.

"Why is that?" She asked, still looking ahead in awe as the first thing that caught her attention when the gates opened were the bright lights and the chitter-chatter of random conversations from the civilians roaming about the cobblestoned streets. It took her by surprise that the town was so bustling at that time of the day.

"Well..." Creed was about to explain the one thing that was bothering him since he found her but she was so mesmerized by the life in the town that he could not bring himself to ruin his own happiness.

"They are preparing for a festival. I announced my search for a bride a few days ago and will soon inherit the throne. The civilians are naturally thrilled," Creed said instead, however, it was still debatable whether he would actually be able to inherit the throne by marrying Rosalie.

Lucy enjoyed listening to Creed speak; so much so that she did not think to interrupt him at all though she had questions. She opted to watching the environment about her as the horse road down the middle of the street.

She looked up and stared mesmerized at the rings of floating lamps that gave light to the kingdom. They were lit aflame; flames that reminded her of the burning willow tree. Her interest in the lights soured when she thought back to what happened to the wolf that was trying to protect its home.

Creed turned his head and motioned with a dismissive nod to the other rides, who recognized the gesture and rode along their separate ways towards the castle while Creed took a sharp turn at a nearby corner into a street that was even busier than the other. The idea of a festival being held because she was to be married to someone was peculiar, but she could not help but feel appreciated. And peculiar as it was, she came to enjoy the scenery, pushing aside the disturbance she felt for a fleeting moment until Creed pulled on the reins to bring the horse to a halt in front of their destination.

The sign above the entrance read 'Buckley's Inn', but the building looked far more impressive than a simple, common inn. It was nestled between two other buildings of a similar structure and lights swimming through the windows on the inside were so bright that it seemed as though a festival of its own was being held inside it. Creed unmounted the horse and, after doing so, assisted Lucy with getting down on her feet.

"Will I be staying here tonight?" She asked.

"Yes, you and the other maidens," his reply was so simple but it bothered Lucy. She did not understand what he meant by 'other maidens' and did not have the time to ask him when he opened the front doors to reveal a large banquet hall that was filled with people - men, women and elders alike - cheering and drinking away without a care in the world. Lucy's heart warmed up at the sight of the party and she smiled at seeing everyone having fun. she had only been in Helorith for a few minutes but that was more that enough time to know that its people were happy. They adored the prince if they were celebrating his future marriage so passionately.

"Don't mind them. We're going this way," Creed said, taking ahold of her hand to lead her to another door on the side of the hall before the people would notice his presence and swarm towards him. Lucy followed behind like a sheep; too stunned and excited by the notion of holding his hand to do anything else.

She watched his back as he lead her to the door. He was so dependable and kind to her. Her heart skipped a beat and her stomach turned on itself due to the excitement she felt. He lead her past the door and they immediately began to climb up a flight of stairs. The sounds of cheers from the floor below slowly died down to be replaced by the sound of yelling from what seemed to have been a heated argument upstairs.

Halfway up the staircase, Creed paused and looked down at her, releasing her hand, much to her disappointment.

"This is as far as I go. I have something to tell you before I send you upstairs," he explained, her disappointment growing. She pursed her lips and looked ahead at the door at the end of the staircase. She saw that he was not the only one who was disappointed. In fact, he seemed to be more upset.

He reached his hand out and she raised hers for him to take. She took to enjoying the feeling of his hand again and this time he was able to appreciate how soft and warm hers were.

"I want to make you my bride. Believe me, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever set my eyes on..." He paused, trying to find the right words to say. She looked at his handsome face and could not look away. It was possible that she might have been falling for him. The idea of marrying him did not seem like such a bad idea after all.

"By the order of the king, my father, I am prohibited from taking only one bride," he finished off and though she was confused for a second after he spoke, she soon felt her heart skip a painful beat before it sank into her stomach.

Creed held tightly on to her hand.

"W-What... What does this mean?" A lump had formed in her throat. She had only just met Creed and already she felt betrayed by him.

"You should head on upstairs to rest," he wanted to release her hand but held on to it a little longer. It pained him to have to tell her his story and the reality of the fact that he could not give her all of his love hurt even more. But he needed all of her love and could not disobey the king's orders.

"Will I see you again?" She asked with a hopeful tone after taking a second to think. Her heart was beating too fast for comfort. Creed gave her a sweet smile that slightly eased her disappointment, but she was overly upset.

"Certainly. I'll be here for you in the morning," he said. He could not take her to the castle to have dinner with her on their first night together because none of the maidens were welcomed there yet, especially Rosalie, whom the king had a deep hatred for. Creed hated having to part ways with a beautiful soul such as her but it could not be helped.

Without another word, he released her hand and he turned on his heel. He disappeared down the stairs, leaving her alone. When he went out of sight, she sighed heavily. She knew that having a handsome prince courting her to be his bride was too good to be true, but that did not change the fact that she was starting to grow fond of him.

He had been kind to her since they met in the forest earlier. He was also the only person who seemed to know her in a world where she only knew her name. She did not recall if she had a family at all or even friends to get her through any hardships. All she knew was that now that she had met Creed, the thought of parting ways with him seemed very unbearable.