Chapter 21 TWENTY-ONE
Chapter 21 TWENTY-ONE
ILYANA’S POV
It took another three days before I was able to leave the bed, my entire body fully rested. I was up early the next morning. It was the first proper morning since getting to the alpha king’s pack, and I had no idea what awaited me.
I hadn’t seen the alpha king since that night, and a part of me wondered if he would call on me today. A knock disrupted my thoughts as I finished laying my bed, and my body tensed instantly, my nerves tightening together.
I smoothed myself immediately before swallowing. “Come inside.”
The door opened, and two maids entered, both Misha and Tina and my heart sank with disappointment. A part of me had been expecting the alpha king. I managed a smile the moment my eyes met Misha’s worried gaze,
She pulled me into a hug instantly. “How are you feeling now? I heard about the attack, and I was worried for you.”
Something softened in my chest at her words. No one had ever been worried for me before. Not once.
“I’m fine,” I replied gently. “The doctor treated me.”
“Good! Thank the goddess. Now we can fully start.” She said, pulling back from me with a suspicious smile on her face.
“Start… start what?” I asked, glancing at Misha behind her, who only shrugged.
“What the alpha king planned for you!”
She dipped her hand into her apron pocket and brought out a card, stretching it to me. “This belongs to you, courtesy of the alpha king. We’ll be taking you around the pack today. You’re free to do anything you want, get anything you want, with this.”
My eyes widened slightly, unable to believe what was in front of me. The card was black, with a wolf’s head—the same kind only meant for alphas.
“A… are you sure this is for me?”
“Who else would it be for?” Misha scoffed as I shakily collected it. “The alpha king asked me to give it to you and escort you around. It’s yours, my love.”
I stared at it for more than a minute, still unable to believe it. Why would he give this to me? According to him, this was all just… fake. I recalled his look the last time I saw him, the guilt in his eyes. Was it because of the attack?
“So what do you want to do?” Misha said, breaking me out of my thoughts.
I snapped my gaze to her. “I don’t know. I’ve never…”
“Then we’ll pick for you. We’ll start by showing you around the pack, do something, and figure the rest along the way. Is that okay?”
I nodded, and she instantly tugged me with her. “Then let’s begin the day.”
Five hours later, and I was having the best day of my entire life. The alpha king’s pack was bigger than any pack I had ever been to, and there were so many new things to try.
Tina had taken me to a massage place first, where we laid for an hour while a lady worked on my entire body. After that, we went to a small shop and ate before heading to a stall where I tried a cold, slushy liquid with a cracker-like biscuit underneath.
Tina had called it ice cream, beaming excitedly as we bought it. Misha had complained about her age and avoiding sugary things, but still ended up buying one.
“Which one do you want?” Misha asked after getting hers.
“I prefer chocolate,” Tina said, her eyes on me, waiting for my answer.
When I swallowed and didn’t say anything, their eyes both widened—Misha with a frown. “You’ve not…” Tina started.
“What?” Misha added, disbelief stretching across her face.
Embarrassment wrapped around me like a second skin as I replied, “The omegas are not allowed those kinds of things back in the pack I came from. They’re too fancy.” I added the last bit quietly.
“Fancy?” Tina scoffed. “You call ice cream fancy?”
“I wonder what else is considered fancy in those packs,” Misha added with a scoff.
“Talking back to people higher than you.”
They both turned to me, eyes wide with disbelief, their cones still in their hands. “That sounds like nonsense,” Misha said. “So if someone’s rude to you, you just take it?”
I nodded, and she scoffed again, harsher this time. “That’s stupid. You should always stand up for yourself. No matter how big they are. What’s the worst they’ll do? Report you to the alpha king?”
I remembered the last time with her and how she stood up to that lady. I could never do that. Lady Selene would have had my head. She clasped a hand on my shoulder.
“And not to mention, you’re the alpha king’s mate now. You shouldn’t let anyone bully you anymore. Not even the king. If he says or does anything you don’t like, stand your ground.”
I imagined myself doing that—talking back to the alpha king. What would I even say? I’d ask why he was acting both cold and warm at the same time, why he needed an heir, and why he didn’t want me as a mate.
The conversation ended there, and after that, we went to another store filled with shiny jewellery. The moment we entered, every eye turned to us—or to me—but I didn’t pay it any attention.
I could feel the stares and the subtle pointing as I walked through the store, but I ignored it, Misha’s words echoing in my head.
I straightened my shoulders, not caring as I walked through the store. The jewellery was beautiful, glittering under the lights, and I was still looking when my eyes caught something… different.
It was a small wolf pendant, delicate and striking.
It reminded me of the wolf on the alpha king’s chest, and without thinking, I imagined how it would look on him. I called Tina immediately.
She looked at it, then at me. “Do you have a necklace to put this on? If not…”
I hesitated, my cheeks warming. “It’s not for me… I was thinking of…”
The rest of the words got stuck in my throat. What was I doing, buying something for the alpha king? What if he didn’t accept it? How would I even give it to him?
She smiled instantly, nudging my shoulder as my cheeks flushed deeper. “Of course. I understand. It’s going to look perfect on him.”
I flushed even more, and we moved to the counter to pay. Several attendants pushed forward, almost fighting over who would attend to me. Finally, one girl squeezed through, a wide smile on her face.
“My lady…” she greeted brightly, her smile stretching across her lips.
I blinked, confused. Weren’t they supposed to be rude? To insult me? Call me an omega?
But her smile didn’t waver. “It’s 200,000 wolf coins. Will that be all?”
I nodded stiffly, and she smiled wider. “Alright then. We have other fine items. In case you and the alpha king…”
Another attendant nudged her sharply, and she stopped. “J… just in case you want more.”
“O… of course,” I stuttered.
She packed the item, and we paid, their heads dipping into a respectful bow as we left the store. Even after we stepped outside, my mind still felt hazy.
“What’s wrong?” Tina asked.
I turned to her slowly. “That was the first time I went somewhere without being insulted.”
She let out a small chuckle. “That’s how people act when you have power or rank. They treat you differently, but they won’t hesitate to tear you down the moment you slip.”
“Oh…” I murmured. It was the gala. The omegas had seen me with the alpha king.
No wonder they acted that way.
“But don’t let it get to your head,” she added sharply. “We’re all wolves, and we all have teeth. They won’t hesitate to bite when you fall. Be wise. Am I clear?”
I nodded like a child being scolded by her mother—something I had never known.
“Good. Let’s go.”
After that, we continued around the pack, trying different things, doing different things.
We ate more, laughed more, and for the first time in my life, I didn’t feel completely alone. I learned that Misha was fifty and a trusted advisor to the alpha king. She had taken care of him since he was young. Tina was an omega, had never attended the full moon, and was my age, with two younger sisters.
It wasn’t until it got late, the moonlight beginning to creep in, that we decided to head back to the pack house. We left the last stall of the day and had just turned when cars drove into the marketplace—not one, not two, but three. One of them headed straight toward me, not stopping until it came to a halt right in front of us.
The entire market stilled, the air suddenly heavy. What was going on?
“Stand behind me,” Misha said quickly, stepping forward with Tina as they shielded me with their bodies.