Chapter 4: The Next Day

Waking up, I hear all kinds of commotion in the room.  "Get up my queen.  You have a busy day of travel and visiting the other territories packs today.  Our king will introduce you to everyone now that you are here."  Monique states as she folds my undergarments and pulls the sheets off of me.  

"My king specifically asked me to hurry up and get you dressed so you can get going.  You need to be on the road by 10 to be able to reach all the destinations before nightfall."  She says as her face shows signs of stress already so early in the morning.

There are two others in the room with me that I have not seen before and I automatically pull the sheets back to hide my naked body.  Monique notices that I hide and says, "This is Natasha and Svetlana.  They have also seen more than their share of nudity."  They look at each other smiling and giggle.

It makes me wonder if they have seen more than they say and did more than they are supposed to.  I know Monique told me that the rule is that if you work for the King in the castle, you don't mate.  However, I could believe that those two have mated in secret with visiting elders and others.  

"My queen, what are you still sitting there for?  You need to take a bath and get ready, the water is already for you."  She says as she stands there and points at the bathroom.

I let go of the sheet and climb out of bed, before I hear a knock at the door.  Hurrying, I rush into the bathroom and almost slip on some water on the floor.  Barely making it into the tub before the door opens, I look up to find my king staring at me.  "Are you about ready?"  He asks with a inquisitive look on his face.

Lying, I reply, "Yes, just give me a few moments.  Nodding, he walks back out and waits for me in the bedroom while the three girls take care of the bedding and the general cleaning of the room.

As I quickly wash myself, I think back to when things were so much more uncomplicated.  I studied with my mother, did chores, read, went on walks and that was about it.  My whole existence was wrapped up in being trapped on a mountain top.  Now, I have been thrown into some strange fantasy about a queen who has no idea how to be one and a king who doesn't want to have anything to do with her.

What a mess I am in and I don't have a clue how to get out of it.  Yes, I have always been quite bright or at least that's what my mother and father told me, but now I am finding myself questioning everything they told me.  As for the romance novels, they don't have anything on this reality.  

I get out and dry off.  As I start to walk to the bedroom, I hear Dominic yelling at Natashia and Svetlana, "Get out, you are so precocious.  I don't want the two of you around my Anastasia, you might be a bad influence for her." 

Wondering what is exactly happening, I peek out the door and see their hands all over him and their eyes filled with hunger.  Jealousy hits me with a vengeance I have never known and I find myself wanted to tear them to shreds.  How can those bitches have their hands all over my mate?  Has he had them?  Is that rule only because he wants them all for himself and that's why he has yet to have me?

I burst out of the bathroom and shriek, "Get your filthy hands off of my mate!"  The two of them step back cautiously as I let them have all of my fury.  Afterall, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

Dominic bolts up and grabs me by the wrist.  "That's quite enough of that!"  He demands as he treats me like an insolent child.

I turn to him as I cock my head and ask, "Why?"  Honestly, if he wants to treat me like his child, I will act like one.

He clears his throat and stands rigid.  "Is the whole day going to be like this or are you going to straighten up?"

"My king, you are not my father.  You are supposed to be my mate and my king.  If I would have known that you would mate with others and not me, I might not have agreed to come."

Pointing at me with a scowl on his face, he says, "You did not have a choice.  You are mine.  I paid your parents handsomely for you."

"The last time I checked, I was not a possession."  I say spitefully and turn to put on my dress.

"Fine! By the way, I have not mated in 18 long years, so get that out of your pretty little head."

He turns to get something from a drawer and then sits down in the chair to wait for me to get dressed.  How could he have not mated in 18 years.  Does he mean that when I was born, he knew and then patiently waited for me to grow up so he could have me?  If so, why hasn't he?  Surely, the age difference isn't that big of a deal is it?

After Monique helps me tie the back of my dress and do my hair, he stands and takes my hand.  Looking down at me, he asks, "Are you ready to go meet all of your pack members?"

I force a smile and answer, "Yes."

Leading me to the caravan of vehicles, I watch as one of the servants opens the door for me and then once inside, I notice Dominic gets in behind and sits next to me.  Throughout the day we stop at various locations and the whole time he is very sociable as he tells me about various places and things.  As the car stops at the last stop, he points to a fountain in the middle of the village.  "That has been there for over three hundred years.  When the first Alpha built a house here, he made this for his beautiful wife so she would always know just how much he loved her."

After I get out, I find myself speechless as we walk up to it.  The fountain is covered in exquisite craftsmanship as beautifully sculpted doves surround the center.  Roses have been planted around the fountain and I smell the fragrance being swept through the air to me.  Smiling, I turn around and catch Dominic staring at me hungrily.

"Do you like?"  He says so softly that I can barely hear it.

"Yes.  It is so beautiful and so romantic just like the books I used to read.  I mean, to know that a man loved his wife so much that he built it for her so she would always remember how much he loved her, that is really amazing."  I say with a tear in my eye.

I can tell that he wants to say something, but he turns away for a brief moment and then focuses his attention on the Alpha of the village heading towards us.  "Hello, my king.  We are so pleased that you brought our queen to meet us.  Would you please introduce us?"  A man in his mid twenties, extremely tall and built, with golden hair and blue eyes says to Dominic.

"Ah yes."  Dominic turns and motions for me to walk over to them.  When I do, he states politely, "This is your queen, Anastasia.  Ana, this is Alpha Vladimir.  He has been the Alpha here for two years now."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Alpha Vladimir speaks up.  

"Yes, you too."  I say and watch as the mischief in his eyes turns to desire in a matter of a heartbeat.

"Well, I can see that you are busy today so we will be headed back before dark, but I wanted her to be able to meet everyone today."  Dominic glares at him and I notice that his green eyes flash gold quickly before returning to normal.

"No problem.  Matter of fact, if you wanted to stay the night I could come up with accommodations that would be satisfactory.  I am curious where you found this one?  She is a rare beauty I might add."

"It is a story longer than I have time for right now.  Another time?"  Dominic indicates his impatience and starts to tap his foot.

"Yes, perhaps another time then."  He turns to me and continues while he takes my hand and stares into my eyes.  "I am pleased we could meet and hope that we will see so much more of each other from now on."

Blushing, I feel the heat rise in my face and Dominic gives me a dirty look before grabbing my hand and ushering me to the vehicle.  All the way home, the car is eerily quiet except for the sound of rain drops on the top that starts just before we get home.  When the car stops, Dominic gets out and waits for me holding a hand out, I reach for it and feel the warmth spreading to mine.  He looks down at me as I glance up at him and then he smiles. 

He doesn't come to bed right away, instead I hear him downstairs yelling at several of the servants.  Realizing that he is avoiding being in the same room with me awake right now, I finally get ready for bed and go to sleep.

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