Chapter 2 continuation of The King hunt

The messenger, instead of replying to Queen Moria, he only bowed due to his state of fear and intimidation.

Sophia nodded to him and turned, her gaze sweeping the pack as she smiled beautifully at them all. A small cheer began as she turned back toward the palace. I followed in her steps, eyes on the ground.

As soon as the door closed behind us, Sophia whipped the violet crown off of her head and tossed it to the ground, where a servant rushed forward to pick it up.

"You heard mother," she said excitedly, grabbing the railing and racing up the stairs. "I'm going to the Kingdom! Finally, I have a chance to show those other brats that I deserve to be the Alpha Mate."

I loped up the stairs easily, not even out of breath by the time we reached Sophia's rooms. We entered and all it took was one glare to dismiss the other ladies.

Sophia skipped to her bed and let herself fall onto it, arms out at her sides.

"King Gabriel," she sighed, rolling over and burying her face in the thick linen.

I dropped into a chair and rolled my eyes.

"King Gabriel," I mimicked in a lovesick voice. "Lucky for you, we've been practicing for this. You should have no trouble with any of the tasks."

"Or catching his eye," Sophia teased, lowering one sleeve of the dress and batting her eyelashes at me.

I snorted. "You have just as much experience as I do when it comes to that."

"You don't know that!"

"I do," I insisted. "We practically grew up together, Sophia."

The princess fixed her dress and sat down properly. "Alright, you're right. But still. If the things I hear are true, it won't take much to catch his eye."

I wasn't sure that was such a good thing. The entire Kingdom talked about King Gabriel, who had been King and lead Alpha over all other Alphas for a decade now. He was notorious for being serious, but insatiable when it came to women. And possibly even some men.

I closed her eyes and sighed. "You'll have to tell me about it when you get back," I said.

Sophia would be gone for an entire month until the Blood Moon came to be full. That meant I would need to find other work while she was gone.

A pang of panic ran through me. My family was low down in the pack, my mother a seamstress and my father a general handyman. He worked tirelessly at all the jobs, whatever he could get, but we were always wanting.

My younger brother didn't know how bad off we were. In truth, my parents and I did everything we could to keep him innocent of our status. But the family had always struggled and I'd been lucky to get a position as Sophia's lady. It brought in the highest income, but nothing to pull them out of the lower hierarchy. Instead of getting decent wages, it was considered a privilege to be in the presence of royalty daily.

"What are you talking about?" Sophia asked, looking up from cleaning her nails. "You're coming with me."

My eyes shot open.

"What?" I almost shouted. "Me? You don't want to bring Anna with you?"

Sophia scoffed. "My mother's maid hasn't had to dress her for years. Do you think Moira would trust anyone with her immaculate wardrobe? Anna sits around most of the day eating cookies and gossiping with the guards."

I was half-sitting up now.

"Are you sure?" I asked hesitantly. "There are so many other ladies –"

Sophia stood, sighing, and paced toward the window that overlooked the town. "Don't make me regret asking you Val," she threatened but grinned. "Do you think you can manage it? It'll be a lot of work – when there aren't challenges, there are dinners and parties. I'll have to look my best at all times."

"Yes! You know I can," I almost scoffed.

"Don't get too full of yourself there." But Sophia was still smiling. "We'll only have a few days to get ready before we need to leave. Do you think your mother could repair a few dresses I want to bring? She'll be compensated, of course."

As Sophia rattled on, I had to fight back tears. This was more than I could have asked for. I nodded vaguely, barely taking in the conversation, instead imagining what my father would say when he found out I had the chance to go to the Kingdom. It can only help our status. After all, we couldn't get much lower than we already were.

"Can you help me with this?"

Sophia turned, reaching behind her back for the tie that would undo her dress. I moved toward her and undid them quickly, my mind already planning what I would need to pack and how to tell my parents.