Ivy’s Point Of View
We arrive at the train station near the castle, and we are escorted to SUVs to make the trip to the king’s home, which we can see in the distance. Our escorts are still with us, so we try to keep chatting minimal. I find myself sitting right next to the same redhead. She seems nice. There’s a girl with blonde curly hair across from me, and she doesn’t look so welcoming.
The castle grows larger and larger as we travel toward it. I can hardly believe how huge it is.
Made of stone, it juts out of the ground and has to be at least ten stories tall in places. With turrets and catwalks on the roof, it looks daunting as the sun reflects off of its surface.
We go through a guarded gate, and the vehicle stops out front. I wait my turn to get out and then follow the other girls inside.
We are led to a waiting room, the room lined up with chairs.
"Take a seat," a woman in a black suit with a no-nonsense face tells us. "The king will interview each of you, and then you’ll go for your examination." She turns and walks away.
My eyes widen. Examination? There’s a test?
One of the blondes I saw on the train leans over to a brunette and whispers, "What kind of a test do we have to take?"
The other girl laughs. "Our medical examinations, silly." She rolls her eyes, and I am glad I didn’t ask the stupid question.
Our escorts have left us, so there are just the twelve of us in the waiting area now. We can talk freely, but I’m not sure I want to. It’s not as if we will all be staying here. Only one of us will get the job, and the others will leave. Not to mention, this isn’t even the first group of us—apparently. So who knows if it will even be someone from this group?
"I’m so nervous," the redhead whispers to me. "I think I’m going to be sick."
I think about when I threw up at the sewage treatment plant. "Yeah, me, too."
"I mean... it’ll make such a huge difference to my family if I get this," she adds.
I try not to stare at her. I don’t really care about how much this will help my family—I don’t want the job. I silently hope she gets it.
The girl on my other side has brown hair and wide brown eyes. "I know," she says, as if the redhead had been speaking to her. "I just want to get this part over with and find out what’s going to happen!"
"Why don’t they just choose four of us anyway, one breeder for each Alpha?" asks the redhead to whoever was listening. "There are plenty of women here to find four suitable Breeders."
"That wouldn’t be fair!" says the brunette. "What if one were more fertile than the others? Since the first to breed will be the new Alpha King, it’s only fair to just have one woman!"
They all break into a discussion until the door in front of us opens, and I realize one of us is about to be called in to meet the king.
Looking around the group, I try to guess who it will be.
"Ivy Ashford?" the woman in the black suit calls.
I am first?
I am first!
All eyes are on me as I stand, straightening out the red dress I am wearing. My eyes dart to the exit. Do I have enough time to run out that door instead of going into the king’s office?
Not in these damn shoes!
Swallowing back my fear, I walk to the door. I try not to trip over my silver heels. I’m not used to wearing them. My parents insisted that I wear something like this, but I’m used to sneakers and jeans.
I walk into a large office and see an older man sitting behind a huge desk. He has gray and brown hair and a tight-lipped expression on his face, no smile. I bow as I’ve been taught. "Your Majesty," I say.
"Sit, girl," he says to me, and I walk to one of the chairs across from him. "What is your name?"
I tell him. "Ivy Ashford, sir, from Birch pack."
"And how old are you?"
I swallow hard. "Twenty, sir."
"And have you found your wolf?"
I shake my head. "Not yet, sir."
He looks disappointed. I’m not twenty-one yet. If I haven’t met my wolf by then, I will be worried.
"Why are you here, dear?"
My parents prepared an answer for me, but it isn’t the truth, so it will be all jumbled if I try to recite it. So I tell the truth. "My parents wanted me to come, sir."
"Your parents? You don’t want to be here?"
"Uh... it is an honor to meet you, Your Majesty, but I am here because my parents wanted me to come. They believe this will be a great honor. Which it will be!" I add. "But... they are the ones who are most excited about the potential."
I wish I could tell him how awful I am, but I don’t know if my parents will get information about my answers, so I have to be careful not to sound like I’m trying too hard not to be chosen.
He stares at me for a long moment, his dark eyes seemingly unimpressed. "Have you been with a man before?"
I shake my head. "No, sir. Never." My cheeks flame up at the question. I hope he doesn’t ask me any more intimate questions.
He looks down at his desk where he has a list of questions. He asks me, "Have you found your fated mate? Or do you have a man at home that you are in love with?"
"No, Your Majesty," I tell him. "I have no fated mate, nor am I in love with any man. I’ve never even been on a date with a man."
I realize once the words have escaped my lips that I’ve spoken too much. I hope he thinks there’s something wrong with me. I can’t tell him I don’t have time to date because I’m too busy trying to earn money for my parents. I certainly won’t mention the sewage treatment plant. He looks me over, and I feel myself turning red in the face. A moment later, he says, "You may go."
"Thank you, Your Majesty," I say, standing. I bow and back out of the room as I’ve been taught.
When I’m in the hallway, the woman in the black suit says, "Head straight down that hallway to the nurse."
"Yes, ma’am," I say. I hazard one last look over at the other girls. The redhead smiles at me, but I can barely get my mouth to cooperate enough to smile back at her.
I head down the hallway to the nurse, dreading the examination that will be next. If the king doesn’t like me, why even bother with this?
My mind is swimming as I think about what will happen to me next. The last thing I want is some stranger’s hands all over my body.
Tears cloud my eyes as I continue to walk. I wipe them away, but more just replace them.
Why can’t I just go home?
With tears clouding my vision, and terror beginning to well up inside of me, I’m not paying attention to where I’m going, and after a bit, I start to wonder if maybe I passed the examination room.
I turn around and look back, but I don’t see anything. When I turn around again, I begin quickening my pace, until suddenly, I collide into a solid wall.
Made of muscle.
Whatever I’ve run into, it’s solid as a rock and jars me backward, almost making me fall flat onto the stone floor of the castle.
But at the last moment, as I am tumbling backward, a hand stretches out and grabs my arm, keeping me from toppling over and pulling me back to my feet.
With tears still in my eyes, it’s hard for me to see what’s happening. I wipe them away with my free hand and look up into a pair of blue eyes so intense, I think I might have wandered into another realm. I’ve never seen a shifter with eyes like his before.
"Are you all right?" he says, but he’s not the one who is holding on to me. Next to him is another man with rich chocolate-brown eyes and a concerned look on his handsome face. His fingers are wrapped around my upper arm, and his other hand is extended, in case he should need to help me find my footing again, I assume.
I’m fine now, though. Just shocked. "Y-yes," I manage to eke out, looking from one of them to the other. Never have I ever seen even one man this handsome before, and now I’m staring at two of them.