Chapter 26
Chapter 26
"Sihana Asena." I was staring at Cahir who had an indiscernible expression on his face. "You have arrived."
The minute the plane landed on Alpha Blood pack, I felt both cold and heat rush through me. One could tell the strength of a pack's Alpha from the ambience of their land. I had gotten used to the ambience in Silver Moon pack but once I stepped foot on Alpha Blood, I felt power slam into me.
At the airport, I could tell who belonged in Alpha Blood and who did not. The Alpha Blood members moved around with natural grace while the rest of us trod with care and caution, overwhelmed by the power in the atmosphere.
Now, I stared at the man whose power made the air stifling.
"Alpha Cahir Perseus." I had arrived and I felt nothing but deep loathing in the depths of my heart. While my wolf purred in satisfaction at being close to her mate once again, the human in me felt nothing but anger sprinkled with anguish.
"Follow me." He turned and walked into a ginormous house even larger than the pack house in Silver Moon.
The inside of the house was decorated with gold and white. A line of people stood at the sides of the entrance with their heads bowed. These people ranged from alphas to omegas but all wore white and black uniforms.
"Welcome." They said in a resounding chorus as we entered, walking past their created pathway.
At the end of the dozens of people bowing was Aristo with a man and woman standing on either side of him.
"You're here." Aristo beamed at me. He took a step forward with his arms open for a hug but Cahir blocked him with a faint rumble emitting from his chest. "Welcome to Alpha Blood pack." He said to me with a grin. "Cahir was insufferable without you."
"Enough!" Cahir barked. "Lauretta, Antonio, this is Sihana, my mate. You will show her around and help her settle in." He spoke to the two people standing by Aristo. The man and woman bowed so low as if they were trying to bend into two.
"Welcome, Luna Sihana." They both chorused. "We have prepared a room next to the Alpha's for you," the woman said.
"She will be staying with me," he deadpanned. The people paled but nodded without another word. Cahir turned to me with a ticked-off expression on his face. "Rest, you must have had a long trip. I have a meeting to attend so I'll see you in an hour." He beckoned Aristo to him and they both left me standing there, staring at the people tasked to help me settle in.
"I don't have any luggage," I said when the people continued to stare at me, no doubt expecting me to take the lead with the conversation. These people called me Luna – My skin tingled as I remembered how the word 'Luna' sounded put before my name.
Since I was all but kidnapped from my pack, I had no luggage. Technically, I was not kidnapped as Kamal and his gang graciously offered to let me go if I didn't want to leave Silver Moon. They told me they would deal with the consequences of failing a mission but they were too kind for me to put them through that hassle. I hadn't even had any means of identification for flight but they made some calls while driving at a neck-breaking speed and after six hours of driving, we met up with a dude that provided me with an identification card from Silver Moon.
"The Alpha anticipated that. He hired people to do some shopping for you. They should be here in two hours or so." The woman said. She was a short, greying woman with kind eyes that made me relax.
"I am Beta Lauretta, the head of the maids here. You can call me Laura. This is Alpha Antonio, the butler. We all call him Tony." She gestured to the tall wiry man at her side.
An alpha as a butler and a beta who looked like she came from old money as a maid in what could only be described as a castle.
"Nice to meet you both." My voice trembled as I spoke. "Is this – Is this the pack house?"
I looked around me, to the gigantic pillars with detailed designs, the rug underneath my feet with varying shades of gold, thick and rich, the foliage I passed outside and the grand spiralling steps in front of me, I felt as if I had stepped into a fantasy movie.
"No, this is the Alpha's home." My jaw dropped open and Laura smiled. "It is beautiful, isn't it?" I nodded like a fool as she led the way up the stairs with golden rugs and a bannister that sparkled so much I feared to touch it.
As we went up the stairs, Laura gave me a short history of the place. It had been built in the eighteenth century by the then Alpha who willed it to his son, the Alpha after him. Since then, the castle had become known as the Alpha Castle and it belonged to whichever Alpha ruled the pack.
Tony pushed open a large wooden double door and led me into Cahir's room. I thought the reserved room at the top floor of the Silver Moon's pack house was a grand sight but what awaited me here was nothing short of perfection. It was at least three times the size of the reserved room in our pack house.
The far corner had a round bed big enough to fit six people comfortably. A thick dark rug covered the centre of the room with thick curtains blocking out the sun. There were bedside desks made from dark wood with white lamps on them. A corner of the room had floor-to-ceiling shelves with a desk and a chair next to them. At a wall close to me was a shelf with medallions and at the far end of the room was a sliding glass door I knew led to a balcony
Laura showed me to the bathroom and helped me work the complicated shower heads.
"The pack just had lunch so I'll tell the kitchen to whip up something for you to eat. You must be starving," she said. "You can take a shower before then."
When she left the room, I flopped down on the bed. I had slept throughout the plane ride here – after I got over my mind-crushing fear of being in the air – but my bones were still jelly.
What was I doing here? What was Cahir's plan? Why sell me off then bring me back? Did he have a change of heart or was this part of his plan from the start? It could not be a coincidence.
I went to the bathroom for a shower. Taking off my clothes, I let the warm water wash away the dirt and grime from my body. I had not had a shower in over forty-eight hours and during that time, a lot had happened.
With no products of my own, I ended up using Cahir's. My wolf sighed at the familiar scents while I felt self-conscious knowing I would smell like him. Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.
"We will smell like him forever once he marks us," my wolf reminded me with a happy sigh as I shampooed my hair.
Mating with such a cruel man?
I had the whole journey here to think on it – Could I go through with it? At this point, knowing the kind of man he was, a man who could go back on a blood contract, I wasn't sure if I would survive as his mate.
"Don't think anything stupid, Sia!" My wolf growled at me. "We will wear his mark. Don't even think of depriving us of a mate!"
Asena would not understand – Cahir was a menace. Look what he did to us! She raved and threatened as I washed and dried myself, continuing to do so as I stepped out of the shower.
I held my towel a bit tighter when I walked back into the room to see Cahir sitting on the bed. My heart leapt and then fell when he looked up at me. His eyes darkened and his tongue snaked out to wet his lips.
"Are you done with your shower?" His raspy voice did weird things to me but I refused to be swayed by the sudden lust coursing through my veins from his heated gaze. "Can you talk?"
"I can talk," I answered in annoyance. "You – Why did you bring me here?" I clutched my towel harder as he got out of bed and walked to stand before me. I had to strain my neck to see his face due to his proximity and height. His eyes – The look in them electrified me.
"We will talk but first, I have to claim you." His sultry voice had my heart galloping and my wolf purring. I held my towel tighter as he reached for it. "Let go for me, Sihana."