Mated To The Alpha Of The North
Chapter 12

Willow

I was awoken from my peaceful slumber, yet again, by the sound of the door slamming open. I quickly scrambled up, pressing myself against the far wall and curled up in a ball, not that it helped much in this tiny closet.

I felt like I had only been asleep for mere moments, but that did not matter to Zeke.

Zeke barreled in, already yelling obscenities at me. “Get your lazy a*s up. You do not have time to be lying around.”

He grabbed my still sore arm roughly, hauling me out the door and down the hallway, towards the dining room.

He continued berating me as we went, “Clean this mess up first, and then go clean yourself up. You look like a f*****g slob. You had better be clean before I get back. We have some business to take care of before that a*****e’s sister shows up to help you with the planning for the ball.” He finished with a leering look.

I was so used to tuning out Zeke’s voice that I almost missed his words as I stumbled forward into the dining room.

A ball. Wait, help me with the planning? Was I going to see another female?

Luna, it had been almost two years since I had seen anyone other than Zeke and his dishonorable warriors up close.

Maybe she would be able to help me, or maybe it would not even be necessary if there was going to be a ball.

Before I could get too lost in the possibilities, Zeke’s rough voice bled into my awareness once more, shattering any hope I might have had. “Don’t go getting any ideas. You will not be left alone with her, and you will not be going to the ball. You are already mated.”

Normally, I would not engage with him, but this was the first chance I had seen in so long for freedom. I had to take a leap. “I am not mated, and I should be there if I am the one planning it. Speaking of which, when is it and where? I should probably know before she gets here, don’t you think?”

As expected, Zeke did not react well, but I figured even if my bold words failed as they had so many times in the past, at least I might get the information I needed.

He surged forward, grabbing me by the shoulders and slamming me against the wall. Ouch.

Zeke invaded my personal space as he growled in my face, “You are mine. It is past time you learned that.”

I squirmed away as his hands began to roam. However, he was, thankfully, interrupted by one of his warrior’s deep voices, “Alpha, the rogues were heading toward the town. I know you were worried about the safety…”

Zeke had backed off upon the guard’s initial intrusion, looking very disgruntled, and, to my horror, he uncaringly adjusted his hard on in front of the male.

I felt my cheeks redden, even though I had absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.

Zeke listened momentarily before turning away and cutting the male off, ignoring him completely.

He addressed me with a heated look, giving my curves another once over, “When I get back, we will finish this discussion, mate. Until then do as I said.”

He finished by leaning forward, attempting to k**s me full on the mouth. What the f**k was up with him today? He had stopped being this persistent ages ago.

I quickly turned my head, so he missed my lips. What I really wanted to do was knee him in the balls and then deliver a swift uppercut while he was bowled over in pain.

Unfortunately, that would not really work out well for my new plan.

So, I sucked it up and allowed his grimy lips to graze my cheek without saying or doing anything, though my look of revulsion should have spoken volumes.

Zeke looked annoyed at me for the minor diss, but I guess he decided to let it slide for the moment. I did not know why he looked annoyed though, considering I had never allowed him to k**s me in the past.

He was not my mate, and I had made that perfectly clear to him many times before.

He turned toward the guard, who still stood awkwardly a few feet away from us. He barked out, “Make sure she is clean and wearing that by the time I get back” He finished by gesturing to a small box lying at the end of the table.

I wanted to shout, “I am right here a*****e.” Too bad I also did not want to call more attention to myself at the moment.

I bit my tongue as the guard mindlessly agreed with Zeke’s asinine demand. Apparently, Zeke was satisfied though because he did not say anything else as he strode out the door, without sparing either of us a backward glance.

Sadly, I did not get the information I needed about the ball, but I needed to leave regardless, despite every passing moment seemingly leaving my nerves frayed even further.

Nevertheless, I finally felt myself relax marginally after a period of time had elapsed in which I knew Zeke was truly gone, at least for now. However, I continued to shoot furtive glances at the guard as I made my way over to the box sitting on the table.

He did not say anything, but he watched me as his feet remained planted where they were. I was thankful that he did not move any closer, but I knew I could not count on him to help me escape. I was on my own.

I opened the box and pulled out the garment while I was still gazing at the male. He immediately began laughing, yet he managed to spit out between laughs, “I definitely do not think I am getting you into that without a fight.”

His laughter and words quickly had me glancing down. I felt my face heat immediately as I rapidly shoved the lacy monstrosity back into the box.

If Zeke’s words and actions earlier had left any doubt in my mind regarding his intentions when he returned, this piece of lingerie he had left, expecting me to obediently slip into, cleared up any further confusion on the matter. It was time for me to get the hell out of dodge.

I did not have much in the way of belongings, nothing that I really cared much about anyway. Honestly, I just needed this guard to vanish so that I would be able to pull a disappearing act of my own.

Ignoring the male’s laughter, I began going over my options while I cleaned up the dining room in keeping up with appearances, stashing away leftovers to take with me when the guard’s eyes were diverted elsewhere.

I might not be able to shift into my wolf for fresh meat for a while, besides the fact that I already felt like I was starving now. Any food I could take would help.

The fighting might be over, but I knew better than to think it was safe to go traipsing through the forest on my own. The most important thing would be to stay hidden at first until it was safe to cross the boundary.

I had not transformed into my wolf in months, and I was a little worried about dealing with that on top of Zeke breathing down my neck. Hopefully, I would be able to remain human until I had gotten far enough away.

However, the guard’s next words quickly intruded on my plans of escape and had me glancing around to make sure this was not some kind of setup, “Look, if you are gonna split, you need to do it now. I am fairly confident that that attack was a diversion. He will be back anytime.”

Immediately suspicious, I asked the male, “Why are you helping me? You never did in the past.”

He rubbed a hand across his jaw, looking slightly ashamed while glancing around the room. He went on in his deep voice, “There has been a lot of talk going around, and that little display a few minutes ago definitely confirmed a lot of those suspicions.”

He still would not meet my eyes as he continued on, promising me safety, “I would not trust many of the other guards, if any, but you can go to any of the other alphas. They will protect you from Zeke.” He finished solemnly, finally meeting my eye as he uttered his last sentence.

I still did not trust him, but he was right. I needed to get the hell out of here. I definitely was not going in the direction of any alpha though. I already tried that and look what it got me.

Hell no. I would make my way back to the Northern Province on my own.

Without any further thought, I quickly snatched up the food I had gathered. I was already halfway out the door before the male even turned around, about to shove whatever food was in my hand into my waiting mouth, when I changed my mind at the last second.

I stopped for just one moment to throw a sincere, but speedy thanks to the guard who had helped me, “Thank you. I owe you one!” I finished, quickly darting out the door and glancing around before heading for the river.

I knew I had to make Zeke and his warriors lose my scent trail if I wanted any hope of waiting out the day until I could safely cross the boundary. I was thankful that I knew the best times to cross, at least Zeke’s loud-mouthed warriors were good for something, I had thought bitterly.

With a great amount of trepidation, I set off quickly down the path without a backward glance. As beautiful as the building was, it was still just a gilded cage, and it was time for this wolf to break free.