Chapter 8

Valarie POV.

We arrived just before dusk, with all torches blazing in a courtyard filled with high-end cars, both antique and modern.

The Autumn pack's Lexus held its own with delicate gold leaf details and tinted windows that I tried not to look out of in awe.

Instead, I sat up perfectly straight, staring at Sophia as the princess composed herself.

We were the second to last car to arrive, and it didn't take long for the twelfth and final car to trundle into the yard. At this, a messenger ran quickly up the steps of the palace and slipped through the door.

Inside the Lexus, Sophia and I couldn't hear what was being announced. But the driver opened the door and stepped back, making way for me to step out first. I always hated having to be the first one out.

I wore a simple mauve dress, cut square at the neck, showing off my collarbones. Heads held low to show respect, I half-curtsied as Sophia stepped out of the car and was announced to the waiting royalty and the large crowds of people.

I had never been around so many other werewolves.

The Autumn Pack was small, only a few hundred people, and everyone knew each other by first and last name. I have known every single person we went to school and graduated with. But then I glanced up and couldn't see an end to the crowd where they wound out to the gate and beyond.

The wolf in me recognized the presence of countless alphas and betas, and it wanted to submit.

But I needed to focus on my alpha, my princess, and a contender for the Alpha Queen, who needed my support.

Despite her poise, I knew that Sophia was nervous. It was in the stiffness in how the princess held her chin and the slight clutch of her fingers on the deep green gown she wore.

She swept forward across the cobblestones with me close on her heels and curtsied deep before Queen Raquel and King Gabriel.

Still mirroring Sophia's curtsy as the royal family greeted them with murmurs, I glanced up and saw King Gabriel for the first time.

He took my breath away. Everything in me shuddered to a stop.

Damn it, I thought, looking down again as I rose. The last thing I needed was to be caught off guard with so many eyes on me and the princess.

But Gabriel stood only a few feet away and he emanated the ultimate Alpha presence.

He seemed cold and stoic, his skin beautifully pale and hair the color of golden hayfields. He towered above his mother and almost every other person in the courtyard with his feet braced shoulder-width apart and his hands clasped behind his back.

The wolf in me whimpered and tried to coax me down to the ground again, to simper at his feet. But I fought it and stood tight and tall next to Sophia as we all waited for the final prints from the Hickory ck to be introduced.

Gabriel's eyes swept across the twelve princesses and their retinues once more before he said, in a low voice, "I hope you will all be comfortable here."

He took a step forward and turned, striding down the length of them with long, deliberate steps.

"We have provided a set of apartments for each of you and your attendants during your stay. If you should need anything at all, pleasure any of my servants, whom you should find placed around the palace at your beck and call."

I couldn't help trembling at the sound of his voice and tried to keep my breathing even. I glanced at Sophia, trying to see if she was having the same reaction to the King. But maybe it had to do with the hierarchical standing – Sophia seemed perfectly at ease, though a little nervous at being watched by so many.

King Gabriel had turned when he reached the Yule princess and started back, pausing now only steps away from us. He raised his chin and his voice as he addressed the crowd now.

"I am aware that this year there is added pressure, as there has been talk of talk about an uprising."

This time, I and every other person standing before the King couldn't help looking straight at him. Staring, in some cases.

His mother was struggling with some shock at his words, and her jaw tightened.

"I would like to clear the air. Although I have put off choosing a mate, it has only been because none of those in previous years have been fit to be my mate."

His eyes swept the line of princesses and some of them, who had participated in the previous years, were upset at this declaration. He might as well have told them to return to their territories right then.

Gabriel continued, "I am looking forward to the hunt this year and the chance to find my match. But understand: this will be the year I choose a mate. And if any utterance of an uprising should be heard among my people, or those who have traveled here for the festivities, rest assured that they will be dealt with swiftly. As your Alpha, I will not tolerate any disrespect."

The crowd had grown completely silent and the scent of submission filled the air. Most people seemed startled, but I noticed as I snuck quick looks around that some were glancing at their neighbors.

it must be true then, I thought, surprised that word of a possible uprising hadn't reached our pack. Although we were the northernmost pack and the least visited by travelers, it was no secret that small groups were unhappy with King Gabriel. I had heard my parents whisper on one occasion that it was only a matter of time before he was deemed unfit to lead the territories.

Gabriel's gaze swept for one final time over the princesses and he addressed them again in a calmer, quieter voice.

"There will be a dinner held to honor your arrival in two hours. Servants throughout the castle will lead you to the Great Hall if you are unfamiliar with it. Please let us know if there is anything at all that you might need."

Did I imagine it, or had there been a slight purr to those last few words?

He seemed to be extending an invitation to more than just the dinner, and with a look to my left, I noticed the Blue Pack's ladies visibly responding to his voice.

They straightened and rolled their shoulders, lengthening their thighs by stretching to the balls of their feet. Just looking at their heavy-lidded eyes had my pulse thudding in anticipation.

I kept my own eyes off of King Gabriel as he turned, offered Queen Raquel his arm, and headed back into the castle.

"Well that was quite the greeting," Sophia murmured, smoothing down her skirts as we waited for the princesses before us to be led through the doors and to their chambers.

The driver was unloading the car behind us. I watched him lift out my small trunk and wondered what exactly should be worn to a formal dinner. I had never been to one before.

"Come on then, Valarie," Sophia whispered excitedly, lifting her gown and stepping purposefully up the steps. I stepped quickly to keep up. "We need to get ready, and I wouldn't mind a bit of time to write to mother and tell her all about the welcoming committee."

Sophia flashed a quick grin as we turned a corner, following a small manservant down a high-ceilinged hallway toward our quarters.

We had taken two lefts, a right, and another left to end up on our wing. Already I knew it would be impossible to keep the layout of this place straight.