Chapter 8 His room

XIMENA

I hadn't expected to still be alive.

The thought followed me with every step as I walked through the forest. Or rather…

As I was escorted. The man beside me hadn't said more than three words since we'd left the clearing. He was tall. Almost as tall as the Supreme Alpha, though not quite. Broad shoulders stretched beneath a dark shirt, and every movement he made carried the confidence of someone who had spent his life fighting.

Unlike the Supreme Alpha, however, there was something calmer about him. Less... terrifying. That didn't mean I wanted to test him. Not after watching him stand silently beside the man who had nearly killed me. 

The walk back to the pack felt strangely quiet. Neither of us spoke. I wasn't sure I even could. Every time I swallowed, I could still feel the pressure of the Supreme Alpha's fingers around my throat. The memory alone made my breathing uneven.

Why hadn't he killed me? He had wanted to. I had seen it. Felt it. His eyes had promised death. So...

Why was I still alive? The question terrified me far more than the answer. Because if he hadn't killed me, then maybe he'd simply decided to do it later. I shivered.

Eventually, the lights of the Blackthorn Pack came into view through the trees. As soon as we stepped through the gates, heads began turning, as whispers spread almost immediately.

"That's her..."

"The Alpha's daughter."

"I heard the Supreme Alpha chased her himself."

"I heard she spilled wine all over him."

"I heard she attacked him."

My head lowered instinctively. The whispers only grew louder. The servants stopped working to stare while warriors openly watched me. Some looked confused; others looked sympathetic. Most looked relieved they weren't me.

Then I saw her. Selene.

She stood at the top of the stone steps outside the hall. Her beautiful face twisted the moment she saw me. For one terrible second, I thought she was going to march over and slap me. Instead, she stopped.

Her raised hand slowly curled into a fist before falling back to her side as her eyes flicked toward the man walking beside me. Something flashed across her face.

Fear.

Good. For once, she couldn't touch me. It was a strange feeling. One I didn't quite know what to do with. Our eyes met. If hatred alone could kill, I would have dropped dead where I stood. Seeing how mad she was made me remember what she had said about being the Supreme Alpha’s mate. 

Well, at least the supernatural world was saved from her, and despite myself, I couldn’t help but give her a small smile.

"You..." she sneered. 

The man beside me didn't even slow his pace. "Keep walking." His voice was calm and firm. I obeyed immediately, not daring to look back. The whispers followed us all the way across the courtyard. Only...

We weren't walking toward the Alpha House. I frowned as my heartbeat slowly picked up. The realization struck me all at once. We were walking towards the guest residence. The one prepared specifically for the Supreme Alpha.

I stopped walking.

The man took another few steps before realizing I was no longer behind him. He turned; his expression remained unreadable. 

"There has to be some mistake," I said quietly, shaking my head.

"There isn't."

His answer was immediate.

"I..." My throat felt dry. "I should be taken back to my father’s house."

"The Supreme Alpha ordered otherwise." My blood ran cold when he resumed walking. This time, my feet felt impossibly heavy. Every instinct screamed at me to turn around to run. But I remembered the white wolf, the forest and his hand around my throat. Running hadn't worked the first time. It certainly wouldn't work now.

The guest residence stood strangely silent. There was no guard or servant, just an unsettling stillness. The man led me up the stairs and to a room, and he pushed the door open. "Come in."

I hesitated only for a second, then I stepped inside. The room was enormous. Far larger than anything I'd ever slept in. A fire burned quietly in one corner. Dark furniture filled the space.

Everything looked expensive. My eyes wandered slowly across the room, and I froze. The air smelled familiar. Warm cedar. And beneath all of it, Him.

My heart stopped. This wasn't a guest room. This was his room. My breathing quickened. No..." The whisper escaped before I could stop it. Why? Why would he bring me here?

The man paused at the doorway. "The Supreme Alpha instructed that you remain here." I turned toward him so quickly my vision blurred.

"W-why?"

For the first time, something almost resembling sympathy crossed his face. "I don't know." A lie.  Or perhaps the truth. I couldn't tell.

He inclined his head slightly. "If you need anything..." He paused and then seemed to think better of finishing the sentence. Without another word, he closed the door behind him. The click of the lock echoed through the room, and silence settled around me.

I slowly backed toward the window. Outside, darkness stretched across the estate. The ground looked impossibly far below. If I jumped, would I make it?

No.

Even if I somehow survived, where would I go? I wouldn’t survive in any other pack, and I had no money. No wolf. There was nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. A deep sigh left me as I sank to the floor and buried my head between my knees as I awaited my fate.

I didn’t know how much time had passed, but I lifted my head when I heard the sound of the lock as my heart lurched into my throat.

The handle turned, and the door opened.

The Supreme Alpha walked in, and his eyes immediately landed on me. Something flickered in those impossible golden eyes. It was gone before I could understand it.

My hand itched to touch my throat, but I refused to give in to the urge.

“Get up.  We’re leaving.” His deep voice echoed in the room.

“N-no?” I blurted what was on my mind, and as soon as the words were out, my hands clasped over my mouth.

Judging from the look on his face, he wasn’t pleased by my refusal.