Chapter 30
Chapter 30
Rowan’s POV
“I was able to speak to these old geezers. Looks like I am way better at handling them than you are.” Ronan's words were flying through my ears as I just couldn't stop thinking about Claire as we were walking back into the building. “We will head back to the throne room where you will sit and watch the ladies come present themselves before you. Are you even listening to anything I'm saying?”
“Yes. Let's just get it over with. Will those alphas be there while all of this is happening?” I didn't know how comfortable I would be to turn down their daughters and their presence.
“Well not exactly…” Ronan's vague reply hinted at some sort of deception, and I couldn't trust him if he wasn't going to give me a clear response.
“Just what the heck did you negotiate with those men behind my back?” I stopped walking and asked that as I couldn't hold back my impatience any longer. “Will they be there or not?”
“They insisted on being there. But each one would have to go out when it's someone from his territory being examined.” Ronan said he seemed like he was just impatient to get to the part where people would have to look at beautiful ladies. It looks more like it was his day than it was mine. “It's not going to be okay? You just have to be patient and watch the magic happen.”
“Easy for you to say because you are not going to be the one to bear the consequences of making a wrong choice.” I could recognize his selfishness in the matter. Not like I expected more from him, but then it hurt really bad as there were none of my family members on my side. “Like I would even be able to make a choice in the end. This is all your fault.”
“Are we seriously going to come back to this? I thought we were done with that chapter?” Ronan asked in annoyance as he expected me to sweep his stupid vices under the carpet like they never happened. “There are so many beautiful ladies there to explore. I know you were already talking to one of them.”
I was silent as he was right about that. He had caught me red-handed with Claire, but then I wasn't going to let that change my perception of all that was going on. Even Claire had urged me not to let myself be pushed around.
“What difference does that make?” I asked in my defense as he was bringing the fight right to me. “I will leave once I get uncomfortable with the arrangement.”
With that, we walked all the way to the throne room and the alphas were seated there already. Instead of feeling reverence every time I walked into the throne room which was a couple of centuries old, I was filled with resentment for the men who were seated right there.
I tried to act like they were not there as I took my seat at the throne at the far end of the room. I hadn't sat on it ever since the night of my coronation. The alpha role had taken so much time from me that I hadn't even had the time to go there.
“You usually meet someone you like,” Ronan whispered in my ear as he went over to my right to take his seat. He gave me a wink as I looked over to him one more time.
I suddenly remembered that I was supposed to be the seat for Brian, but then it was too late. Brian walked in, looking quite confused, but I quickly reached out to him through the mind link.
“Just come to my left. We can't have this argument in front of them…” I felt quite embarrassed as I was sure those old geezers, Dorian especially, had possibly noticed something was off.
“I guess you aren't the only one suffering from your brother’s misbehavior…” Brian complained through the mind link as he took his seat.
“Shall we begin?” Ronan let out in a loud voice like he was the alpha whom the showcase was being held for. He just couldn't get enough of the monetary authority he had at that moment.
I couldn't do anything as he was still part of the royal family even though he didn't have any rank attached to his name.
“Our first entry will be…” Dale, the one whom my mother had put in charge of the whole thing, called out the names of the girls and the names of their packs with so much enthusiasm.
I was still thinking a bit about Claire while the first person was being called in. Her name didn't stick to my mind as all I could think of was Claire. It was beginning to feel like her beauty was a threat to what was left of my memories of Nyra.
The door of the throne room opened slowly, like they were intentionally trying to heighten the anticipation from my end. But then, I wasn't really moved by anything at all, as I noticed one of the alphas leaving for the girl from his pack to be judged.
I felt my heart race a bit as I thought it was Dorian. But I noticed it was Redd leaving, and I was back to normal. In my head, I just wanted the girl, whoever it was, to get it over with so we could go to the next person who would be met with the same rejection.
“Here we go…” Ronan was trying his best to infect me with some of his excitement, but I wasn't going to give him that satisfaction so easily. “Trust me, you might not believe your eyes. I was at the back looking at all the girls who had come for you to notice them. Trust me, you might end up being confused by the time you see all of them.”
I didn't like the picture his words were painting in my head, as I didn't want to bother myself with anything else besides Claire and Nyra.
“I'm really sure they will make you forget about that girl.” Ronan succeeded in making me look at him with that statement. “She’s nothing compared to…”
“Looks like the party has begun without me…” a deep voice from behind the door interrupted and that made everyone freeze. It clearly wasn't the voice of a young girl who was trying to charm me.
The heavy door creaked wider, and in that heartbeat of stunned silence every alpha in the room turned as one, because whoever owned that voice was not invited, not expected, and the look of raw dread on Dorian’s face told me this intruder might just shatter everything before the first girl even crossed the floor.