Chapter 14
Iris
Hazel’s idea or what she called a ‘solution’ took a permanent seat in my head as the guards dragged me to the execution ground.
Once again, I was the object of attention, only that the attention wasn’t positive, rather, it was filled with spiteful stares and snares from the pack.
Within me, I was glad that it would be over soon so that I’d finally meet my late mother and ask her why she left me amongst a group of people who loathed my existence.
I didn’t think Hazel’s solution was important because even though getting a mate could help me, who would afford to be my mate?
My reputation was tarnished and no one, not even a rogue would spare a glance at me.
As I neared the execution spot, I noticed that the noise had reduced to whispers and when I darted my gaze to the guard beside me, his face held confusion, fear and another feeling I couldn’t define.
“What’s going on, Sir?” I asked, hoping he would give me a response.
He didn’t respond, instead, he pulled away from me and so did the other guard.
My heart galloped like it was in a race as I passed a cursory glance around the crowd. They stared at me with disbelief and so much surprise that I was nearly overwhelmed by the urge to scream.
What was going on?
I’d gotten to the execution spot and I turned around and bowed to the Alpha, and then to Prince Gradel who looked away as soon as our eyes met.
“Why are the guards not with her? Do you want her to escape?” He thundered while I held back a chuckle.
Why were they always thinking I would escape?
The guard, whom I’d questioned before came closer and fell to the ground. “Greetings, Your Highness,” His shoulders rose and fell as he kept his head bowed. “I’m sorry for our mistake, but while bringing her here, we discovered something strange.”
“And what could that be?” The Alpha asked curtly.
“We strongly perceived a very familiar scent on her which we realized belonged to one of your sons. Prince… Prince Gradel.” He stammered as his theory sounded almost unbelievable.
A loud gasp left my throat as my heart thudded faster. It had to be a joke.
Only yesterday, Prince Gradel had kissed me but it shouldn’t mean anything even if I enjoyed it and wanted more. Then my mind recalled Hazel’s suggestion about having a mate.
How could have I gotten the Prince’s scent by a mere kiss? I was only supposed to wear his scent if I was his… Mate.
“Oh no!” I trembled as my eyes flitted to his face and then his eyes darkened with realization. His jaws clenched and my knees buckled in fear and uncertainty.
No doubt, he would reject me the same way his brother did and if there was any hope for my salvation, it has already been taken away.
“Nonsense!” Alpha Cronus roared. “Are you trying to say that she is the mate of my son?” He retorted, his voice resonating with distaste.
“And what is wrong if she is my mate?” Prince Gradel intruded rudely, catching me and every other member of the pack off guard, only that the storm raging within me calmed and another feeling was aroused.
My attention remained trained on him as I hoped that he would protect me.
“Gradel, don’t tell me that you are going to accept that woman as your mate,”
“That won’t be a bad idea, Alpha. If the moon goddess has made her for me, I don’t have any right to reject her.” He intoned with a knowing smirk.
I didn’t understand him. My mind was a mess trying to understand the game he was playing because I would never believe that he cared about me and he wanted to be my mate.
“But your brother rejected her…”
Prince Gradel scoffed, “Well, I’m not him. He did it to please you as he would always do, but you shouldn’t forget that I don’t care about what you think.”
The banter continued and the fact that they could exchange words in front of their subjects got me mortified. But as they continued, I discovered that Prince Gradel wasn’t just accepting me because we were mates, but he wanted to spite his father.
Suddenly, I felt a tight knot unfurl in my stomach and an intense ache in my head as apprehension seared through my innards.
It was too much, the rejections, the suffering. I couldn’t take it anymore.
So I did the only thing I should have done days ago and my legs began to move backwards, slowly but steadily. No one noticed as the guards didn’t dare to come closer to me because they were scared of committing an abomination.
And then I broke into a run.
Luckily the path that led to the spot I was standing in earlier was loosely secured by the guards who were more focused on ensuring that a fight doesn’t break out between father and son, so I used it to my advantage.
I hadn’t gone any farther when I heard the Alpha ordering the guards to go after me, and an extra surge of adrenaline pumped through me as I got to the woods.
I moved as my weary legs led me, cutting through the thick mass of long grasses and thorns. From afar, I could hear their heavy footsteps, predatory and scary, which caused me to quicken my pace to avoid getting caught.
Running wasn’t my forte and to worsen it, I didn’t have the extraordinary strength that came with having a wolf to make me go faster. My breathing was erratic and the fact that I couldn’t slow down to take a break pushed me closer to exhaustion.
Deep down, I wished that Prince Gradel would keep his hatred aside and save me. I didn’t want to imagine what would happen if the guards caught me.
I wouldn’t be having an easy death at all.
With each tired step I took, it dawned on me that I would be getting caught. And I didn’t know which was worse: the guards finding me or the heartless rogues that built tents in the woods, lying in a wait for any weak and unchaperoned werewolf to cross their paths.
My legs faltered before I could get a grip on myself and my wandering thoughts, and then my heart flew to my mouth as I expected a heavy fall that would keep me lying on the ground till the guards found me, but it wasn’t the case as a hand caught my waist and roughly pulled me up.