14 Nothing

I stared at the wolf, its eyes piercing deep into my soul as I tried to push back the annoyed feeling rising up in me.

You'd better not be the same wolf I met just before. Because I will not be able to scold you in front of the king.

Who even is this creature anyway? And why it with the king? I did not see it at the banquet yesterday … so I am a little confused.

"Altair." The king's gentle voice boomed throughout the room, startling me slightly. I can feel some of the pheromones coming out from him, making my knees grow weak.

Yes, I am a Beta with hardly any sexual appeal but that does not mean I cannot have sex. We are all considered adults the moment we turn thirteen and … well, there was this 'tradition' amongst my family members …

I will not talk about it now. Not in the presence of the King and this random wolf that looks too similar to the one I met a few hours ago.

But yes, I've slept with others before already. I believe every Beta has. We are, what you call as the 'Experimental Phase'.

Since we do not get pregnant like Omegas and some Alphas do, and we are still slightly affected by intense pheromones from higher-ranking Alphas, we are the perfect people to experiment on.

Male Alphas will try to experiment with other male Betas, same with female Alphas towards female Betas. That is why, of all the places, brothels have the second most number of Betas.

Betas are also really expensive because they are not used just once. Not to mention, many of the Alphas go there when they are in heat and … let's just say, an Alpha with a Beta when they are in heat is not a nice combination.

As the person in front of them is not their mated pair, they are not as easily satiated and that has led to some … painful nights for them.

Sometimes Alphas will feel like they are falling in love with a Beta, or will use them as practice until they meet their mate, either way, the Alpha will always leave the Beta for their mate the moment they appear and that leaves the poor Beta, broken-hearted.

It is not that the Betas cannot have lovers, they can. But the bond is not as strong as it would have been if they were mated. Not to mention, their lovers are usually Omegas and Alphas that have lost their mate.

Once a werewolf loses their mate, they can have other lovers, but they will never be the same person to the new lovers as they were with their mates. Not only that.

Because of the grief, most die less than five years after their mate dies, some a little longer while others die immediately. It depends on the strength of their connection and if they wish to remain alive without them.

So, we Betas are usually the ones left off because we cannot have that intense, deep connection with someone to the point that we would die if they are not with us.

And, when we do love, we are always the second pick. That is the reason why places like the temples have the most number of Betas.

Dedicating your life to the goddess who protects us is a hundred times better than trying to get in a second-hand relationship where you are always trying to compete with a dead person.

We will never be held with that same intensity as the others were, so better not try to get something that is not for you. Be content with what you have.

The fight is never fair and I pity my people so much. It really is sad.

Snapping out of my thought as soon as I noticed the King's golden eyes staring into mine as I almost jumped back in surprise.

"What the-"

"The other Priests have told me about your ventures to another world, but this is the first time I saw it happen." He said, smiling brightly at me. "You talk to people unseen, right?"

"I-I just … inform them of things that happen … sometimes," I said, trying to explain myself but I could not help the horrible job I am doing at it.

"Have they ever talked to you?" He asked, still an uncomfortable two inches from me. No matter how hard I tried to move away, he would not let me.

"I- I don't think so," I said, feeling nothing but a wall behind me. No more place to run. "I only started to be able to talk to them a while back. I don't know much about them."

"I see." He said, reaching his hand out and brushing a stray hair out of my face. "I can see why they wish to talk to you. You certainly are beautiful."

Beautiful?!? I thought, biting my lower lip from saying it out loud. I doubt you would call me that if you saw the lower half of my face.

"You look like you don't believe me." He said, getting even closer as I still attempted to move away from him, wishing I could disappear into the wall. "Could it be that you do not see yourself as such?"

"Nothing like that, your majesty," I said, seeing an opening at his side as I slide to the side and walked away from him.

This is not something I am not used to. Most of the time, Alphas, Omegas and some lucky Betas in high positions, will try to get in your pants.

No matter how you look like, as long as you are a Beta, you are just a hole for-

I paused, as I felt a hand on my shoulder, shuddering from the number of pheromones coming from the King that I almost collapsed to the ground. Though he managed to catch me by my waist before I hit the ground.

"Y-your majesty. I apologise for that." Moved away from him, holding my hands out. "W-where is the Luna?"

"Luna? Oh, you mean Aaliyah. I think he is out for a walk." He said, thinking for a second, still looking as casual as ever. "He should be here anytime soon."

"Ah. I see." I said, nodding as I made eye contact with the wolf. Altair, I think was its name.

It just looked at me with a bored expression on its eyes, sitting patiently on the side of the room.

"You seem keenly interested in Altair." The King said, chuckling as he walked past me and to the table in the middle of the room, kneeling on the ground. "Come sit, have some tea."

Out of habit, I was about to accept but, fortunately, I remembered that I would have to take off this cloth if I were to drink tea with him.

"I have yet to have breakfast, your majesty," I said quickly. "I cannot have tea until I do."

"I see. Life is strict here, is it not?" he chuckled, pouring tea into a cup on the table. "I do not intend to keep you here for very long. I just wished to make sure you are alright. After I saw you this morning, I was only filled with worry."

"AH. That. I apologise for worrying you." I said, remembering how I looked before pausing. Wait a minute. I look exactly the same as I did last night.

Subtly, I stared down at my clothes, mentally hitting myself on the head.

I did not even have the time to freshen up before going to meet him and I was completely caught off guard when that Alpha came and told me to come here.

Oh, I must look like a mess.

"I see that you have not changed out of your clothes from when I last saw you." He said, taking a sip of his tea. "I told Ravi to wait until you come back and to bring you to my chambers immediately.

"It appears as though you came back only now. If I had known that, I wouldn't have told Ravi to wait that long."

He waited the entire day and night?? How does he still look alright? I would look like a bush just woke up.

"I apologise for my appearance." I quickly said, bowing to the man. "I had no idea your majesty was looking for me. So I am a little bit … dirty."

Why didn't Ravi tell me anything? Or Nova? Or Comet? I thought they were my friends.

"I do not mind it at all." He said, pleasantly smiling at me. "It shows that you were out working the entire time. Besides, I have told you, you look beautiful."

Please stop it. It is very hard to not raise my eyebrow sceptically at you right now.

"I am also just glad that the dried blood on you is not your own." He said, taking a sip of his tea. "Well, even if you are not permitted to have tea. May I ask for your company? It will only be a minute."

He indicated to the other side of the table and, judging by the atmosphere around me, I know that I cannot refuse.

Carefully taking my seat in front of me, I screamed internally and am just lad wolves cannot read minds.