*Rose*
We walk down the hallways with Shelby right by my side. She points at a wall to our right.
“Those are the past rulers who once lived here and ruled in these walls. Some ruled for decades. That is King David, he ruled for almost fifty years. He was a very young boy when he became king. That picture was taken during his heyday. Wasn’t he a sight for sore eyes?”
I keep looking at the wall of fame, wondering which of the dozen pictures she was pointing at belongs to the king who was apparently a sight for sore eyes.
We don’t stop long enough for me to ask any more questions. This castle seems to be rich with history. The décor and armory that stands as decoration along the hallways tell stories without the need for words.
If this is the same path we had taken to my room, then it seemed like it had increased in length since, because I don’t remember it having been this long. I am already tired and wonder how much we still have to walk.
I’m hoping I won’t have to stand through a full tour of this monstrous residence in just one day.
As we pass a french door that leads out to a balcony, I catch a glimpse of one of the men I had met earlier. He is flipping through some pages of a book and his head is preoccupied looking down at it.
Shelby stops and grabs my wrist. “That is Tristan Stone. He is the Alpha of Hill pack. He always has his nose in one book or the other. People sometimes nickname him Einstein. Despite his intelligence, don’t mistake him for a weak nerd. He is a very powerful leader and one of the Alphas that you will breed with.”
I keep staring at the well-built man through the glass doors. I seem unable to tear my eyes away from the brooding biceps that are quite visible through his starched shirt.
“Is he a sociable person?” I ask before I can stop myself. Was it a good idea to be looking for personal details about their characteristics? Well, if I was going to be sharing a bed with these men, I was definitely on a need to know basis now.
It didn’t matter how afraid of this situation I was. I was here–it was happening. I needed to find a way to be practical about it, at the very least.
“Well, he is somewhat quiet. Only choosing to speak when it’s really necessary,” Shelby replies as she takes my hand and we continue with our tour.
“Can you…uhh tell me more about all the Alphas that I am here for?”
Shelby looks at me and gives me a mischievous look. “Umm, you seem to be quite the curious one. I think I would be curious too about anyone I have to get intimate with. You will soon meet all of them though.” I see a weird look flash across her face. It looks like pity.
I clear my throat. She probably pities the girl who is going to have s*x with four men in succession. Well, I don’t need her pity. I pity myself in bucket loads enough already as it is.
“Tell me, Rose, why are you doing this?”
Her question catches me off guard. Why does everyone else do this kind of thing? It rarely is just because they have a double horned uterus.
I wonder if I should be fully honest with her. We hardly know each other, but I figure honesty could lead to a solid friendship with her. After all, she has been nothing but nice towards me…a bit weird…but nice.
“My parents could use the money that comes from me being the breeder,” I answer simply. Shelby gives me a sideways glance. I pray she doesn’t give me that look laced with pity again. Somehow that look pushes me to the brink of a breakdown making me reflect on what I was actually tasked to do here.
“Isn’t your father an Alpha?” Shelby asks. I chuckle a bit louder than I meant to. It seems she had done a background check on me. Not a very thorough one though, or she would have known that my father’s title was just glorified without the financial success to back it up.
“Yes, he is technically an Alpha, but that’s the end of it. The financial success never seemed to be able to catch up to his title.” And now… he’d sold me. I would never be able to forgive him for that.
Never.
Shelby nods, and I think she is going to give me that look again, but instead she smiles gently. As we walk, we enter into a room where two men are sitting, seemingly in a heated debate about whose wolf form was faster than whose.
“Rose, meet Alpha Reece Gold of Canyon Pack and Alpha Mark Gray of Rapids Pack. Gentlemen, this is Rose.”
I blush when I realize I had actually run into all these Alphas earlier. I had counted three so far and wondered if I had met the fourth one as well and just hadn’t realized .
They are all very handsome. I doubt sharing a bed and spending a night with any of them would be so bad actually. There could be worse punishments…. I feel my face grow warmer as my trail of thoughts has already led to a bed with these dashing alphas.
“Ah, the beautiful woman from earlier graces us with her presence,” Alpha Mark greets.
I feel like a fire is just burning directly on my skin now. Had this man just referred to me as beautiful? I glare at him as I shift my weight from one foot to the other. He follows my unlady-like swaying with his eyes. He doesn’t appear to have impaired vision, so why did he think I was beautiful? Was he just being polite?
I smile back at him regardless of my suspicions at his compliment. “It’s nice to actually put names to the faces. It’s an honor to meet you both.”
“Oh, I had no idea you had already met,” Shelby says as she looks at all of us in succession. Her mischievous glare is back again.
Damn could my face get any hotter? The answer is yes, yes it could.
“Don’t be a stranger, sweetie. Come and perch on my lap, and tell Reece here that you think I am better looking than his spoiled ass!” Now my face was on fire.
I smile politely at Alpha Mark but make no movement towards him.
I am relieved when Shelby cuts in, “Right now, Rose is all mine. You will get your chance to have her later on.”
Although she has just saved me from having to satisfy Alpha Mark’s request, I feel like these Alphas only see me as a toy–a possession–who everyone here is going to have a turn at owning. Or should I say, f*****g.
I bow my head slightly at the two men, and can feel their gazes on me as we walk out of the room. This whole setup is going to be interesting to say but the least.
For some reason my mind is focused on the pragmatic details of how I can possibly sleep with four different men right after another. Like is there a sleeping schedule? Is there some sort of rule I have to follow? Do I need to sign a contract?
Shelby leads me to what looks like a patio. It is paved with pea gravel that seem to glitter under the sunlight.
A beautiful woman is laughing at something a tall, broad shouldered man is saying. I c**k my head to the side to listen in, but I can’t make out the conversation.
The rays of sunlight on her hair makes it look like there are little sparks of fire on her head.
Now she was the definition of beautiful, not me.
I look at the man she is with and wonder who they both are. His looks are a bit plain compared to the hunks I had already met, but something about him is magnetic. He has a…kind face.
As if reading my mind, Shelby says, “That is Eli Silver. Alpha of Beach pack.”
I nod and say without thinking, “Is he one of my Alphas?” I realize how I had just called them ‘my Alphas,’ and rush to correct myself. “I mean, is he one of the four Alphas I am here for?”
Shelby throws her head back and laughs. “Yes, dear. Don’t worry, for the duration of your stay here you can go ahead and call them ‘your Alphas.’ They will all be yours anyway.”
I like Shelby. She always has a way of making me feel at ease…that is when she is not ogling me while I bathe.
The man looks in our direction. His eyes shift and focus directly on me. I can feel the pull of his stare even from this far. I can’t move. He raises his hand and waves. We both wave back.
“Who is that with him?” I ask.
Shelby nudges me playfully. “Is someone jealous already? That is just his sister.”
“Oh.” I feel relieved when a realization hits me. I need to blink to snap myself out of the fantasy that is playing out in my mind.
Am I actually feeling possessive over these men? I was just here as their breeder; they were not really my alphas in that sense.
But, why did I want them all for myself?