Althea was bored out of her mind. This castle was as silent as it could get. It was so quiet she began hearing things.
Her mother yelling at her to stop running around the manor. Her father and his friends in his study laughing as they talked about matters that happened in court that day. Or when she would join Eliza and the other girls in debriefing the latest issue of the erotic novel that came out.
She shook her head and got up from her bed. She had been stuck in her room since breakfast and Eliza was probably busy with some chores. She didn't want to bother her.
Althea went out of her room and walked around the pack house, going wherever her legs carried her.
She saw huge paintings hung on the wall in one particular hallway.
"Alpha King Luther the First." Althea mumbled, touching the painting hung on the wall.
It was a man with a full long beard and piercing black eyes. He looked evil even through the picture and Althea felt a shiver run down her spine just by looking at him. Next to him in the picture was a striking grey wolf.
Althea shook away a shiver and walked away from the picture. The second one was another man. If not for his shorter beard, she would have thought she was looking at the same picture twice. He looked near identical to the other portrait she had just seen, but this one looked kinder.
She walked through the hall, taking in each of the portraits on either side of the wall. Finally, she stood in front of a door.
"Mmhh…"
She heard sounds from behind the door.
She stepped back a little, startled. She didn't think anyone was in this side of the castle with her. Just now it was so quiet.
She got closer to the door and pressed her ear to it, checking if the sounds were really coming from there. Indeed they were.
It sounded like someone was choking on something. Thinking something grave could be happening in there, she pushed the door open without thinking.
She froze instantly at the scene in front of her, her eyes wide with shock.
"Argggghhhh!" she screamed after a while and turned on her heels.
She had just seen Hilda in between Nathaniel's legs gobbling down his… she paused and leaned on a wall to catch her breath.
She thought those only happened in books. So people put their mouths on another's privates?
Heavens!
Althea felt like a thousand insects were crawling on her skin and she almost puked from disgust.
Nathaniel, on the other hand, pushed Hilda away from him.
The moment the door opened, his wolf Zak awoke from his slumber, the familiar scent of their second mate filling the air.
Nathaniel gritted his teeth and put his dick back into his pants.
He stood up and Hilda stood with him, grabbing his arm.
"Don't leave," she told him, almost like a silent order. "We were in the middle of something, and I want you so bad." She drew closer to him, rubbing herself on him.
Nathaniel gently pushed her away. "Next time." He left, leaving Hilda behind, fuming beyond compare.
Nathaniel's legs moved on their own in search of Althea.
He looked through the doors and corridors searching for her but he didn't see her.
He followed her scent to an empty room. He stepped in but saw no sign of her.
"Althea." Her name rolled off easily on his tongue, his wolf purred in excitement. "I know you're here, I can smell you," he told her.
Althea hid behind a shelf in the room.
"How did he find me!" She mumbled, cursing under her breath at how cramped the space was.
She gasped when she saw a big shadow coming towards her, she gasped again and threw a hand to her mouth. The shadow drew closer and she shut her eyes tight, wanting nothing more than to disappear into thin air.
After what seemed like a minute, she opened her eyes slowly and shrieked when she saw Nathaniel in front of her.
She drew a deep breath and stepped out. "Why did you follow me?"
"You came to see me for the first time, of course I'll follow you out," Nathaniel smiled.
Althea's eyes shot up to him in a glare. "I see you must be mistaken. I got lost looking around, only to find…" she took a deep breath. "I didn't see anything."
"Oh you did," said Nathaniel, still keeping his smile that made Althea's skin crawl. "That's just what husband and wife do. We'll be doing that soon."
Althea's face twisted in horror. "Take back what you just said. I will not marry you, neither will I be doing that with you. Just the thought of it makes my skin crawl! You disgust me!" With that she turned around and stomped off.
She didn't even know the direction of where she was going, all she knew was that she needed to get away from that devil.
Nathaniel stepped out of the room. "Take your left," he said loud enough for her to hear.
Althea, who was already going right, did a clumsy swerve and took the left. She was radiating so much rage, but Nathaniel found it cute.
Sure, her words were like blades but he would be lying if he said he didn't expect it.
She was a challenge, and though Nathaniel didn't do challenges, since he had already won before the match started, he was eager to conquer this one.
"The priestess has joined us."
Gideon mindlinked Nathaniel.
In the Council hall, Nathaniel sat on his throne, Gideon to his left, and the right seat was empty. It was meant for the Luna but the Luna was not invited to such meetings.
"Are you sure she is your mate?" the priestess stated, a grim look on her face. She was a woman in her late eighties, her hair was white like snow frost, including her brows and lashes. Her wrinkly arm held her staff tightly while she rotated a ten-piece wooden bead bracelet in her other hand.
Nathaniel was leaning to one side of his throne, his elbow propped on the arm of the chair as he grazed the stubble on his chin with his fingers. "We wouldn't be having this meeting if I wasn't sure. What I am asking is if it's possible for a man to have two mates. As you all know, I found my mate, Hilda, three years ago."
The priestess nodded. "It might be possible, but I have never heard of such an instance. I will have to converse with my ancestors."
The room erupted with murmurs, the elders all turning to one another as they spoke in hushed voices.
"A man with two mates! Very unheard of!"
"It's very impossible! A human as the mate of our Alpha?!"
"What will happen to the Luna title!"
Nathaniel then stood up from his throne and addressed the gathering.
"While we still search for answers, I have decided to get married for the second time, to my second mate. The wedding will happen in two weeks' time."
With that he walked out from the Council hall, with Gideon following closely behind him.