Chapter 2 - Gold Train of Thoughts

NORA

“ No way in Satan’s hell! ” I yelled as loud as I could, right in Alpha King Striker’s face.

His frown deepened. He looked prepared to kill me as soon as I was away from here.

Satan’s buttocks. I was doomed. I cursed internally.

Heads snapped. All eyes fell on me. My heart jumped in my throat when I realized what I did just now.

I, the about-to-be-killed girl, screamed in the face of an Alpha King-A Lycan. 

They ought to throw me in the lake, let me drown for a while.

“ I mean. There are so many women here, Alpha King. ” I laughed nervously when my eyes met the scarred King’s shadowed gaze. “ You must have the best woman chosen for you! ”

“ I will take this one. ” He gestured towards the mountain — I mean, the guard.

“ Alpha King. ” I huffed when he reacted differently as compared to my sweet expectations. “ Oh my, Alpha King. Please, my Alpha King. Try to understand. ”

Before I could get the chance to show some more get—yourself—killed moves, the guard clamped his gigantic, sweaty hand around my fragile wrist and started dragging me away from the hall.

“ I am a poor virgin, Alpha King! I am of no use to you. Please choose an experienced woman. I will die from disappointment if I fail you. My heart can’t bear this. ” I uttered, glancing at the pair of hollow globes.

All the groomed omega women eyed me, weirded out by my unstable behavior. Justified. I could sympathize with the shocked women.

“ Do you want me to punish her for this disrespect? ” I heard Alpha King Dustin questioning the wildly handsome King and I instantly shut my mouth.

Life was more important than losing your virginity. 

“ She is mine now. I will handle this issue. ” He shot me a lifeless glare. My heart rate spiked for a moment.

Mine. The word made me gag.

A shiver ran down my spine instinctively. Why did his eyes look so twisted? 

‘ We are more twisted though. ’ Zoey snarled.

The corners of my lips lifted until my chocolaty teeth were on display for the second time. The guard continued to drag me away while I flashed the King, the horrors he was about to face if he took me along.

Alpha King Tyson chuckled, while Alpha King Dustin winced. As for the girls…they were horrified.

After causing discomfort to so many, the perpetrator still looked calm as a stone. And not affected one bit. He stared at me, choosing the lake to drown me in. Probably.

******

******

Just like this, I was brought back to the pack where Lana Redley awaited me. The real one, I mean to say. 

Holy Moly Moon Goddess who blessed me with an ugly face! Even the pack was not mine but the guards thought it was because I went to the castle disguised as my friend and not the sweet Nora.

Lana rushed to me as soon as she saw me. Her chosen peasant mate followed her closely.

The two creatures crowded around me as the guards left me there, allowing me to say goodbyes to my imaginary Alpha father.

Fat tears rolled down Lana’s pale cheeks. She had the perfect face, feminine features, and blond hair with a pair of the bluest eyes I have ever seen in my life. 

Blonde hair and blue eyes were the characteristics of the people of the North unlike me who had to dye her hair blonde to fit in.

If Lana had gone there herself like her father asked her to do, I bet even Alpha King Dustin would have chosen her for himself. He was the best one out of all but quite committed. 

But she didn’t go.

Instead, she begged me to take her place and go to the ball. Her peasant, unacceptable poor mate dreaded the idea of having to share her with a King.

If only she hadn’t blackmailed me with two Gold butterflies which she was going to steal from her Alpha Father’s locker and let me sell on the black market, I would have never agreed to this horrendous proposal.

“ You were chosen! ” She sobbed just as the distance between us ended.

“ I tried my best. ” I threw my hands in the air. “ He still chose me. ”

You readers are my witness. Don’t ditch me.

“ You were chosen by the worst one. ” Maverick, her newly chosen mate gasped as he stopped behind Lana.

“ That’s why. We must go to him and reveal the real Lana Redley. ” I smiled through the pain.

Lana blinked at me. Tears stopped rolling down her cheeks. Her hands which were reaching out to mine, halted mid-air.

She pulled those hands to her cheeks and patted away the tears, sighing heavily.

“ Lana Redley. ” I chuckled nervously. “ I don’t have much time. I can’t go with him. ”

“ Alpha King Dustin will kill us if he finds out we exchanged places. Stealing someone’s identity, specifically, the identity of an Alpha’s daughter is a punishable crime. ” She mumbled, stepping back into Maverick’s body.

“ I can’t watch you getting punished. ” Maverick rubbed her shoulders gently.

My mouth hung open, dramatic hurt flashing in my eyes. “ You — You will betray me at a time like this? ”

“ You asked for two gold butterflies when I offered one. Remember? ” She arched her eyebrow, reminding me.

“ What will I do with those gold butterflies if my head is rotting in a basket? ” I sniffed, although tears refused to well in my eyes.

“ That’s why he can’t know. ” Lana clapped her hands together, throwing me an innocent smile.

I contorted my face, as tears finally pooled in my eyes.

“ You — you…How can you ask me to betray the Alpha—”

“ I have seen these fake tears too many times to believe you are crying. ” Lana cut in.

My shoulders drooped. I wiped the non—existent tears and breathed softly.

“ I can’t lie more than this. Hand over the Gold butterflies. I am going to run away. You can deal with the rest. ” It was more trouble, less gain.

I better disappear before that scarred King demanded my head on a spike. He looked like the kind of man who would love to play football with my precious head anyway. 

“ Imagine the gold you will get at the end of this year. Or imagine the gold you can steal from his high-walled castle. ” Lana smiled at me wickedly, her dimples showing.

“ I am not materialistic! ” I feigned hurt, although the thought was too tempting.

I could imagine myself swimming in lakes of Gold. All alone. All the men at my service. What a great thought!

“ Yeah. Yeah, right. You can share the gold with me if you don’t want it. ” Lana suggested bitterly.

I snapped out of the daze and fixed her a glare.

“ I will never do it! ” I hissed. 

Her eyes rounded up as her lips puckered out. What she suggested was terrible! 

“ Sharing my Gold with someone else? No way in Satan’s cotton candy hell! I love Gold. All women do. Perhaps, I do more than others. But anyway. ” I waved my hand in the air, dismissing her terrible suggestion to me.

Maverick shot me a weirded-out stare which I am accustomed to and feel very much comfortable with.

“ So does this mean you will go to the castle in my place? ” Lana questioned hopefully. “ You know I can’t leave Mack. We just got together. Father will kill me if he gets to know that I love him. ”

I stole a sulky glance at her, then at the peasant behind her. My lips pursed. My mind went to the rock who chose me today. He looked anything but nice enough to let me and Lana live after figuring out the truth. I didn’t mind dying at his hands but not so soon. I was still so young and a bloody virgin.

“ I hate men. I won’t sleep with him. ” I declared, imagining myself in bed with him, his godly body against mine, his hands all over me.

My mouth watered at the thought.

‘ Bitch. ’ The sneaky wolf snickered in my mind.

“ Don’t worry. He won't sleep with you. You are ugly. ” Lana assured me while she raised her hand to pat my shoulder.

“ Ouch! ” I jerked her hand away from my shoulder.

“ Being ugly comes with its perks. ” She wiggled her brows suggestively.

Well. It’s never so bad. Every weakness was a strength.

“ So…what now? Am I supposed to go meet your father and let him know that his daughter is leaving? ” I coughed, pointing to the other issue sarcastically.

Lana’s father must have heard about the selection by now. He would be getting ready to dance on the moon.

He was dreaming about all the Gold he was never going to get, because I am running away with it as soon as this year ends, or he must be hoping his daughter would pass all the tests and she might become a Queen. Sadly for him, nothing of that sort was going to happen either because I was going to the castle in his daughter’s place.

“ I will go meet with him and leave with Maverick. You go to the castle. I will go into hiding. We will meet after a year, Nora. ” Her voice softened as she whispered to me.

My heart thumped for the first time. The thought of being away from Lana for a year was somewhat scary — even scarier than having my head lying in a basket or having that brute take my virginity.

“ Go deceive him good. ” My eyes lowered.

“ Let me leave and prepare for our journey. ” Maverick told Lana and shot me another acknowledging glance before walking away from us.

“ If we get caught…it’s all your idea. ” She huffed.

“ Oh but you are the Alpha’s daughter. How can a rogue like me have such power to seduce the Alpha’s daughter into giving me her place? ” I shot back.

“ Imagine a rogue walking around the castle. ” She chuckled, her eyes closing for a moment.

Oh wow. I didn’t think about this yet.

Now, I could imagine myself roaming around the castle, dressed in the finest of clothes, covered in Gold, and going to the Alpha King’s room.

Stop—Stop there, Nora! I hissed internally. No dirty thoughts. I knew I shouldn’t have read those explicitly detailed eighteen-plus books on lonely nights.

“ Nora. ” Lana called me when I started daydreaming again.

“ The world of Kings is a dangerous place. Everyone will try to hurt you. ” She stepped closer and grabbed my hand this time.

“ They don’t know who is coming for them this time. ” I purred.

“ Be careful. ” Lana warned, her blue eyes showcasing her temporary worry for me.

“ I will convey your message to the castle people.” I mused.

It’s enough to assure her, but not me. I am excited to see the odd creatures I will get to meet at the castle now. And the Gold.

Oh, my Gold. 

I should have thought about the Gold, and the luxuries before leaving a bad impression on that wild—scarred King. 

I smiled to myself, ignoring her presence. But at the end of my sparkling Gold train of thoughts, the soulless pair of obsidian eyes appeared to haunt me.

No man should have such beautiful eyes.