"Well you're useless as a body guard. You're hardly bigger than I am! I still don't see why you need to be here!" I snapped as I aggressively as I shoved his shoulder with one hand while the other held tightly to my covering.
"There are guards watching the house my Luna," the omega informed me in a small voice without reacting to the shove. "I'm meant to be your companion, so you don't feel outnumbered with those beta's outside. Can I do anything for you? I didn't mean to cause offense," he continued, baring his neck to me as he nervously bit his lip.
"No," I mumbled and turned away, feeling horrible about myself.
I'd never had another omega bare their neck to me, aside from when the entire pack had done so during my mating ceremony, but this was different. I was in control of this omega's existence and he knew it. He knew I wasn't happy and that made him afraid of me. The sense of superiority I'd first felt began to wane. I was so lonely. Maybe if I was nice, this omega could be more like a friend to me? Maxwell seemed to think he was suitable company so I could try, couldn't I? It might be nice to become close with an omega.. maybe? Just as I was about to apologize the man spoke again.
"Luna, please accept my apology for disturbing you. I can see now that it was a mistake to seek you out. I'll give you some space. Are you hungry? I could-"
"I don't want your food!" I interrupted with a little growl.
I felt unable to offer up my own apology now that I knew he wanted to leave. I'd scared him so much he didn't want to be around me. Fine! I was doing great on my own! Friends were stupid anyways! I slammed the door shut in his face and locked it for good measure.
Part of me knew that if Maxwell was here, he probably wouldn't have approved of my behavior but I didn't have it in me to care. Not when I'd woken up alone and in a vulnerable mood. I hated how abandoned I felt right after my heat, on the heels of stupidly attempting to comfort my alpha with sex and then failing spectacularly. I felt so angry about being left behind that I stormed around the room, kicking the paper bags over in my rage.
I hated not knowing where my mate was. I hated that another omega knew where he'd gone when I didn't! I hated that my mate wasn't here to protect me, that he'd watched me cry myself to sleep but hadn't stayed! I hated that I failed to be able to keep him around, especially when I had wanted to be the one to comfort him! It was like he didn't need me at all!!! Where was he?!
In my anger I swiped his nightstand clean of all his little nicknacks, smiling bitterly to myself when the glass of a small hand mirror shattered into a million little pieces. It was then that I noticed a slip of paper with my name on it. I watched as it fluttered to the floor and stared at the letters hungrily, recognizing Maxwell's handwriting. I quickly snatched it up and as my eyes scanned the words, my heart throbbed happily in my chest and I was finally able to calm.
Willow,
Please know that there's nothing I'd rather do than stay curled up next to you. The Lotus Queen is demanding a meeting and after everything you've been through, I couldn't bare the thought of waking you to sit through it. I hope to return before you wake but if I do not, I'm having my father's journals sent to you. I trust no one more than you to learn of my father's secrets. Please read them when you get the chance and be nice to omega Anderson.
I'll see you soon,
Max
I felt relieved to finally know where Max had gone and even a little touched that he wanted me to get some rest but I would have rather been with him. It was my job to serve as Luna by his side, especially when it was to do with another pack. I was also a bit annoyed by the implication that I wasn't nice but that feeling was quickly overturned by the knowledge that my alpha really did need me. I smiled to myself as I carefully folded the note. Then I took it back to my room for safe keeping, noticing that the other omega was nowhere to be seen.
I felt sad about that for a moment but shrugged it off and continued on to my room. I hid the note in the same small box that I kept the roses and the teacup from my first night here. I was slowly growing a small collection of things that meant the world to me but I hoped for the sake of my own pride that Maxwell never found out about it. If he did, I'd probably die of humiliation. My wolf told me I was being dramatic and that my alpha might like my box but I hushed him. It was way too soon to be thinking like that. Max didn't even love me yet.
I slowly made my way to my closet, searching for something pretty to wear. Part of me just wanted to show off, in case that omega was still hanging about in another part of the house. The other part of me just wanted to look nice for Max. Despite my irritation with him for being gone, he'd been the perfect gentleman when I had a panic attack over being touched. In fact, Max had been so sensitive to my needs and feelings since I'd come out of heat that it made me want to do something nice for him, starting with my clothes. My wolf whispered to me about how whipped I was when I cast aside several outfits, labeling them as trash for not seeming good enough for my alpha. I did my best to ignore him but at the same time, I knew it had been years since I tried this hard to look perfect.
I eventually settled on a pair of black, fitted, high-waisted shorts with a mid-thigh hemline and black stockings that ended just below my knees. Next I pulled out a black blouse with flowing sleeves, long cuffs and a ruffled, button up collar. Then I added a navy blue waist corset, tied up with black ribbons, over my blouse. Next I donned a navy vest blazer with a long waistcoat and silver buttons. To tie everything together I added a silver and black brooch to my neck. Finally I ran a brush through my hair and pulled it back into a sleek ponytail, complete with a matching black ribbon tied in a bow.
When I was finally satisfied with my appearance I went back to Maxwell's room to dig through King Alistar's memories. I groaned when I realized just how many books there were to go through, as the old king seemed to have documented everything from the time he could hold a pen. I quickly identified his childhood and school year writings and, after briefly scanning the pages of the first seven books, I felt safe in moving onto something far more interesting and rather strange. Alistar had just come of age and the pages beneath me were suddenly beginning to sound like that of a star-crossed love story. I became entirely invested.
"It started with nothing more than a glance, a smile, and a warm cup of coffee," the first line read.
The former king then went on about how he first saw her, how beautiful her long dark curls were and how he could look forever into her hazel eyes. However, he also spoke of how she was the forbidden fruit and how that made him want her even more. He went on and on about her for many pages. It was crazy to read when the story this man was painting sounded so very different from how many knew Alistar to be. The old king was cruel and uncaring, practically forcing Maxwell into being king before he was ready, due to his increasingly unstable rulings. It was rumored that Alistar despised his son and Luna and that he had never really loved anyone. Clearly, those rumors were not entirely true. The old king had been in love, at least once. I kept reading, nearly halfway through the book when I came across how he wanted nothing more than to be her husband and how he'd come up with a plan to accomplish just that.
I stopped when I read that word. Husband. It was a strange one for our kind to use, let alone a ruling alpha. It wasn't unheard of necessarily, some of our kind thought it was acceptable, but I personally saw the word as an insult. It was the word humans used for their mates, though I suspect that word is cursed. It felt rare to see successfully paired humans for life like we had within our own kind. I would never want Maxwell to consider me as something so uncertain as a husband.
I soon realized the significance behind him using that specific word when I read a few more pages, finally discovering that the woman in question was a human named Annie. Not only that, the human supposedly lived in the neutral zone, at least she did at the time Alistar wrote in this journal. Now that was a secret if I ever heard of one! Our kind was forbidden from having relations with a human. Any attempt was meant to be met with banishment, forcing rogue status onto the offender. As it should be. So how had he gotten away with it?
I read on, captivated by the way he wrote about Annie. I'd never met a human but with the way he went on about her, you'd think she was something magical. As a young prince he'd been completely besotted with her, writing page upon page about how kind and loving and smart and beautiful she was. He went on about plans he had for her, plans for their future. Plans to forsake his mating contract. Plans to claim and impregnate Annie with a hybrid! Plans to make her his Luna once he was declared King!
