Chapter 2. Arriving at the Castle

Rose

The journey to Castle Dark Forest takes about two days. We travel by train, me and the escort that King Gene has sent to make sure that I arrive at the castle safely. Some of the packs are in a bit of an uproar over the way that King Gene has chosen the four Alphas to be considered to replace him, and there’s a possibility that they might be willing to take their outrage out on the women coming to the castle.

This entire journey all a little overwhelming, and I still haven’t gotten my mind wrapped around why I’m even going to the castle. The last thing on earth I want to do is be a Breeder–not even for one Alpha, let alone four strangers.

My hands are trembling, and my stomach is in knots as I swallow back bile. I can’t believe I’m even here!

My shoulder still hurts from where my father pushed me onto the train, right before the door closed.

This is the last place in the world I ever wanted to be!

But here I am, sitting next to Delta Sebastian, my escort, on a train speeding toward the castle. I know that there are other women on board who are going for the same purpose, but I haven’t met any of them yet. The escorts all think it would be best if we wait until we get to the castle to get to know one another.

If we even have the chance to. After all, only one of us will be staying. We’re all essentially competitors.

I overhear a conversation between two passengers in front of us. “I suppose some of these pretty girls must be going to the castle to audition for that dreadful Breeder position,” the woman says.

The man sitting next to her, who I assume is her husband, says, “Yes, this is the third train ride I’ve been on this month where there’s been a bunch of hopeful young women about to have their dreams shattered.”

That’s true. My dreams will indeed be shattered if I am selected.

But I look around the train and see lots of girls seemingly much more confident than I am. Bleached blondes, fierce redheads, girls with satiny dark hair…. I’d go as far to say that they’re more beautiful than me, and because of that, I’m hopeful that one of them will be chosen, not me.

To be fair, I am not ugly, but I’m not beautiful. At least, no one has ever told me that I am. I have blonde, straight hair, blue eyes, and a decent figure. My nose is a little too long for my face, I think, and there’s a small gap between my two front teeth. When I look at these other girls, I see no flaws whatsoever.

My eyes land on a redhead in a green dress. She smiles at me, and I manage a smile back, but I’m too nervous to keep looking at her. She’s way prettier than I am, which makes me feel slightly better.

Everyone else seems happy about this possibility, though a few girls look a little nervous, but no one looks like they are on the verge of throwing up, like I am.

The redhead is so beautiful, she’ll definitely get the job before I will, which is reassuring, because as much as my parents seem to hate me, at least I would legitimately lose instead of just having to run away to avoid the contest.

But then… maybe that is my best option. I look around the train, wondering if there’s any way I can just hurl myself out one of these windows. We are going too fast for that. That doesn’t mean I won’t continue to consider running away if the chance presents itself.

Whatever is out there in the world, it has to be better than this.

We arrive at the train station near the castle, and we are escorted to SUVs to make the trip to the king’s home, which we can see in the distance. Our escorts are still with us, so we try to keep chatting minimal. I find myself sitting right next to the same redhead. She seems nice. There’s a girl with blonde curly hair across from me, and she doesn’t look so welcoming.

The castle grows larger and larger as we travel toward it. I can hardly believe how huge it is.

Made of stone, it juts out of the ground and has to be at least ten stories tall in places. With turrets and catwalks on the roof, it looks daunting as the sun reflects off of its surface.

We go through a guarded gate, and the vehicle stops out front. I wait my turn to get out and then follow the other girls inside.

We are led to a waiting room, the room lined up with chairs.

“Take a seat,” a woman in a black suit with a no-nonsense face, tells us. “The king will interview each of you, and then you’ll go for your examination.” She turns and walks away.

My eyes widen. Examination? There’s a test?

One of the blondes I saw on the train leans over to a brunette and whispers, “What kind of a test do we have to take?”

The other girl laughs. “Our medical examinations, silly.” She rolls her eyes, and I am glad I didn’t ask the stupid question.

Our escorts have left us, so there are just the twelve of us in the waiting area now. We can talk freely, but I’m not sure I want to. It’s not as if we will all be staying here. Only one of us will get the job, and the others will leave. Not to mention, this isn’t even the first group of us–apparently. So who knows if it will even be someone from this group?

“I’m so nervous,” the redhead whispers to me. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

I think about when I threw up at the sewage treatment plant. “Yeah, me, too.”

“I mean… it’ll make such a huge difference to my family if I get this,” she adds.

I try not to stare at her. I don’t really care about how much this will help my family–I don’t want the job. I silently hope she gets it.

The girl on my other side has brown hair and wide brown eyes. “I know,” she says, as if the redhead had been speaking to her. “I just want to get this part over with and find out what’s going to happen!”

“Why don’t they just choose four of us anyway, one breeder for each Alpha?” asks the redhead to whoever was listening. “There are plenty of women here to find four suitable Breeders.”

“That wouldn’t be fair!” says the brunette. “What if one were more fertile than the others? Since the first to breed will be the new Alpha King, it’s only fair to just have one woman!”

They all break into a discussion until the door in front of us opens, and I realize one of us is about to be called in to meet the king.

Looking around the group, I try to guess who it will be.

“Rose Forrest?” the woman in the black suit calls.

I am first?

I am first!

All eyes are on me as I stand, straightening out the red dress I am wearing. My eyes dart to the exit. Do I have enough time to run out that door instead of going into the king’s office?

Not in these damn shoes!

Swallowing back my fear, I walk to the door. I try not to trip over my silver heels. I’m not used to wearing them. My parents insisted that I wear something like this, but I’m used to sneakers and jeans.

I walk into a large office and see an older man sitting behind a huge desk. He has gray and brown hair and a tight-lipped expression on his face, no smile. I bow as I’ve been taught. “Your Majesty,” I say.

“Sit, girl,” he says to me, and I walk to one of the chairs across from him. “What is your name?”

I tell him. “Rose Forrest, sir, from Elm pack.”

“And how old are you?”

I swallow hard. “Twenty, sir.”

“And have you found your wolf?”

I shake my head. “Not yet, sir.”

He looks disappointed. I’m not twenty-one yet. If I haven’t met my wolf by then, I will be worried.

“Why are you here, dear?”

My parents prepared an answer for me, but it isn’t the truth, so it will be all jumbled if I try to recite it. So I tell the truth. “My parents wanted me to come, sir.”

“Your parents? You don’t want to be here?”

“Uh… it is an honor to meet you, Your Majesty, but I am here because my parents wanted me to come. They believe this will be a great honor. Which it will be!” I add. “But… they are the ones who are most excited about the potential.”

I wish I could tell him how awful I am, but I don’t know if my parents will get information about my answers, so I have to be careful not to sound like I’m trying too hard not to be chosen.

He stares at me for a long moment, his dark eyes seemingly unimpressed. “Have you been with a man before?”

I shake my head. “No, sir. Never.” My cheeks flame up at the question. I hope he doesn’t ask me any more intimate questions.

He looks down at his desk where he has a list of questions. He asks me, “Have you found your fated mate? Or do you have a man at home that you are in love with?”

“No, Your Majesty,” I tell him. “I have no fated mate, nor am I in love with any man. I’ve never even been on a date with a man.”

I realize once the words have escaped my lips that I’ve spoken too much. I hope he thinks there’s something wrong with me. I can’t tell him I don’t have time to date because I’m too busy trying to earn money for my parents. I certainly won’t mention the sewage treatment plant.

He looks me over, and I feel myself turning red in the face. A moment later, he says, “You may go.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” I say, standing. I bow and back out of the room as I’ve been taught.

When I’m in the hallway, the woman in the black suit says, “Head straight down that hallway to the nurse.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I say. I hazard one last look over at the other girls. The redhead smiles at me, but I can barely get my mouth to cooperate enough to smile back at her.

I head down the hallway to the nurse, dreading the examination that will be next. If the king doesn’t like me, why even bother with this?

My mind is swimming as I think about what will happen to me next. The last thing I want is some stranger’s hands all over my body.

Tears cloud my eyes as I continue to walk. I wipe them away, but more just replace them.

Why can’t I just go home?

With tears clouding my vision, and terror beginning to well up inside of me, I’m not paying attention to where I’m going, and after a bit, I start to wonder if maybe I passed the examination room.

I turn around and look back, but I don’t see anything. When I turn around again, I begin quickening my pace, until suddenly, I collide into a solid wall.

Made of muscle.