Sold To The Alpha
Blood L**t Chapter 13

Waking up the next morning, Halle realised that someone was quietly knocking on the bedroom door, 'Good morning your Highness' she greeted as she placed the tray carefully across her lap.

'Oh I could have got up and come down Iris, you didn't have to bring this up to me' Halle protested.

up she called out 'come in' and watched as the door opened to reveal Iris holding a breakfast tray.

'His Majesty and the prince are both unavailable to dine with you this morning so I thought you might prefer to eat up here instead of in the banquet hall alone' Iris replied nervously, worry that she had done something wrong radiating off of her. 'Oh I see, well thank you, yes, it would have been a bit overwhelming to eat in that huge room alone' plied quickly, noticing the tension easing slightly off of the young maid. Stepping back, Iris made to leave when Halle called her back, 'Iris, would you mind sitting with me wh Fidgeting hesitantly, Iris slowly nodded and pulled the chair out from the vanity, sitting down next to 'So how long have you been with Viktor?' Halle asked conversationally. Looking at the floor, Iris replied, 'umm four years your Highness'.

t?' she asked, quickly adding, 'I'm not used to eating alone coming from a werewolf pack, we always eat as a group!' when she saw the young girl stiffen.

'I wish you would call me Halle, I'm really not a Queen' Halle said sadly trying to get the girl to meet h

I as Halle started to eat the warm pancakes, savouring the sweet syrup that ran down the edges.

'I am sorry your Highness but that would be inappropriate, you are the future Queen and must be observed as such' Iris replied shyly. 'OK, well tell me about yourself' Halle said, changing subject as she could see Iris was getting uncomf Looking mildly surprised, Iris stuttered, 'what would you like to know your Highness?'

'How old are you? Do you have siblings? What is your favourite colour? Anything that will give me an i Shocked Iris' eyes widened, 'why would you want to know?' she spluttered before turning red and muttering Waving her hand dismissing the girl's words, Halle replied, 'because it looks like you are the person th Looking uncertain, Halle sighed, 'I am 23 years old your Highness, I had two brothers, Gabriel and Rob 'Had two brothers?' Halle asked, catching the pain in the girl's voice.

what you are like' Halle replied with a grin. apologies.

going to spend the majority of my time with, that pretty much makes you my best friend here and I like to know about the people that I'm friends with' favourite colour is blue.'

Nodding Iris smiled weakly, 'they were killed your Highness, in a raid. They were trying to protect me and they paid for it with their lives!

Halle reached out for Iris' hand, holding it in her own as she shared the maid's grief. 'I'm so sorry Iris, have a brother and I would be lost without him, he would also give his life to save me, it's what big brothers do. she said with a small smile. The edges of her mouth twerking upwards, Iris nodded, 'yes they do, my big brothers would do anythime, even when I was a bratty teen, they still let me tag along when they went to the movies or out with their friends for a milkshake' She agreed sadly. Leaning forward, Halle whispered, 'Iris, could I ask who attacked your family?'

Looking around in fear, Iris shook her head vehemently, her body closing in on itself as terror rippled across her face.

'Don't worry yourself about it your Highness, it was a long time ago now, no need to open up old wounds and ruin your day, how about we get you dressed and you could go for a nice walk in the castle grounds, get some fresh air?' Iris said loudly, lifting the tray from Halle's lap and placing it on the vanity before hurrying into the bathroom to run a bath.

Sitting under the covers, Halle's eyes were fixated on the bathroom door that Iris had just exited through. Iris was the second of the serving staff to close down when asked about how they ended up here, something was definitely off in this place. Soon the scent of vanilla started to float through the bathroom door, climbing out of bed, Halle walked over to the bathroom just as Iris turned off the taps. Looking up at her Iris smiled, 'I put some bubble bath in for you your Highness, I hope that is OK?' 'Yes, thank you Iris' Halle replied with a smile as the maid bowed slightly and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Stepping into the hot water, Halle settled back against the porcelain sides, relaxing her muscles as she decided to spend some time just enjoying the warmth as she had nowhere she had to be. Closing her eyes, she let her mind wander as she sighed, inhaling the delicious scent that rose from the water, the essence relieving her body of the stress she had unknowingly been carrying.

Half an hour passed and Halle realised she had been daydreaming, the bath water was cold around her, sighing, she sat up and pulled the plug out before stepping out and wrapping the warm towel around herself that Iris had left on the radiator to warm. Casting her mind back, Halle smiled at the story that had played out in her mind, a dashing young man, racing through the trees in search of her. His body was sun kissed, his muscles rippling under his t shirt as he thundered through the forest following her scent. His face had been obscured, like a shadow over her mind but she was sure that this stranger had been her mate.

Shaking the images from her mind, she quickly towelled herself dry and opened the door to the bedroom, making her way over to the drawers in search of some underwear.

A light tap came from her door, 'Your Highness? Are you decent?' came Iris' voice through the door.

'Well I'm in a towel Iris but you can come in' Halle called back with a light laugh.

Pushing the door open, Iris quickly stepped inside, shutting it firmly behind her. Smiling over at Halle, Iris asked, 'so what kind of attire would your Highness like to wear today?'

'Something a lot less formal than the dress I wore to dinner' Halle replied with a rueful smile, 'that dress was beautiful but I could hardly breath.'

Nodding, Iris skipped over to the wardrobe, rummaging through the vast amount of dresses, muttering to herself as she slid them across the rail.

Grabbing one about halfway along, Iris spun round beaming, a long flowing pale blue summer dress with tiny white daisies embroidered along the hem, in her hands. Walking over, she helped Halle into it, pulling up the thin straps over her tanned shoulders, smoothing down the cotton fabric with her fingers.

Stepping back, she grinned, 'you look perfect your Highness' she said happily as Halle turned side to side, checking her reflection in the mirror.

Urging the teenager into her seat by the vanity, Iris began to brush out her long tresses carefully, gathering them into her hand and tying them back with a hair tie. She left a few curls around Halle's face to frame it before sliding a couple of bobby pins into her locks. to hold back a few stray hairs that were trying to break free of their confinement.

'Thank you Iris' Halle said appreciatively, you are amazing when it comes to clothes and hairstyles.

Blushing slightly, Iris gave a shy smile, 'before I came to the castle I was studying to be a hair stylist' she admitted, 'it's nice to be able to practice on someone after all this time! Grinning, Halle replied, 'well you feel free to practice on me any time you like, I've never had such pretty hair before, normally I just let it lay loose' she confessed. Standing up, Halle straightened her clothes, 'Now Iris, you mentioned before about a garden walk to me, lets go and get some fresh air' she said decisively.

Grabbing a pair of plimsolls from the draw, Iris hastily placed them on the teenager's feet before opening the door. Allowing the youngster to leave first, Iris bowed slightly as Halle made her way out of the room and headed toward the stairs, the young maid walked beside her as she descended the stairs before motioning her toward a door on the far right, pulling it open to reveal a small cloakroom, the other side holding an old door that had a small diamond shaped stained glass window housed in it. Through the coloured grass, Halle could just make out the trees blowing idly in the wind.

Pulling the outer door open, Iris stepped backwards so that Halle could walk through ahead of her. Once they were both standing in the long grass, Halle took a deep calming breath, her body relaxing as she felt nature close to her.

'You like being outside your Highness' Iris observed quietly, turning to look at her, Halle nodded with a smile.

'I love nature, I love being outdoors, the wind blowing through my hair, the smell of the flowers, the grass beneath my feet' she breathed happily as she kicked off her shoes and placed her bare feet into the grass, letting a smile spread across her face as she started to skip through the green blades, twirling and swaying her body to the music of the wind's melody.

Iris watched the young girl as she lost herself in her surroundings, smiling slightly at Halle's joy. The teenager suddenly ran up to the maid and grabbed her hands, pulling her into the grass and coaxing her to dance. Laughing, the pair spun and jumped, the feeling of freedom encapsulating them.

A loud cough broke their moment, looking over to the door, they saw the glowering presence of Vallance. Giving a terrified squeak, Iris quickly hurried over to the doorway, giving Vallance a hesitant bow before sliding past him and back into the castle. Looking over at her future husband, Halle shivered slightly at the dark look that was written onto his face, standing unmoving as he strode toward her.