Chapter 15
Gabriel
Charles cleared his throat several times. It was ignored, the pacing only growing louder. Until he sighed loudly.
“Gabriel.”
His voice was still soft, but there was a bit of resistance to it now that I recognized. The same tone my father had used.
I stopped and stared at my manservant, challenging him in how he was choosing to speak to me. But we both knew that Charles was the only one who could call me out on whatever behaviors he deemed unsatisfactory for the Alpha and King.
My shoulders slumped just slightly, and I sighed, looking away from him.
“What?”
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” he asked it lightly, but now that we were only minutes away from the event happening, even I was second guessing myself.
“Yes.” The answer slipped out anyway, and a small part of me was surprised. Despite my reputation, I rarely made rash decisions. And if the packs really were looking for flaws, this wasn’t going to make them happy.
“Did you shower this morning, my King?” Charles asked, gazing toward the doorway we’d be leaving through shortly.
I frowned. “No. Why?”
His eyes cut over to me quickly and he cleared his throat once more. “There is a certain… smell about you today. That I am assuming you picked up last night.”
A flush heated my cheeks, and I paused once more in my pacing, dipping my chin to try to catch the scent he was talking about.
It was there—sex, heady, saliva, and her. I could smell her on me and thought of her hair, my fist wrapped in it.
“I’ll sweat it out.” The words sounded more confident than I felt.
Why hadn’t I showered?
But I knew the answer; the wolf in me was glorying even now in last night, and the fact that her scent was still rubbed into my skin.
The sound of the crowd outside was rising, their voices louder with anticipation. I glanced at the door and then at Charles.
“We should go.”
He nodded, but the weariness was obvious. Charles put up with so much from me.
The doors opened outwards, and I let Charles walk out first, bowing his head to my mother, who waited patiently to the right.
The group outside was smaller than had shown up to previous events.
Everyone wanted to attend the dances, the events that took place right outside of the palace, but mostly lower-pack betas and omegas made it to the outskirts of town.
Even now, looking at the maids and men who had to come with the princesses, it was obvious that some of them didn’t want to be out here. So close to the forest and the dirt.
In fact, the only packs who didn’t look annoyed at our surroundings were the Summer pack, who hunted often in the woods, the Crow pack, whose trade relied heavily on foraging, and the Autumn pack.
My eyes caught on Sophia and searched quickly. Valarie stood next to and slightly behind her, but it was impossible for her to hide. She was much taller than her princess and even with her head ducked, hair pulled back into a low ponytail, it was easy to pick her out.
I glanced away quickly, not wanting Mother or anyone else to realize I had an interest in that direction. Instead, I stepped forward to announce the beginning of the event—and my own twist to it.
***
Valarie
“Thank you for gathering here today.”
Even with my eyes cast to the ground, I could hear the slight sarcasm in the King’s voice.
He wasn’t wrong; the turnout was noticeably smaller than the two previous events. Wrestling in a courtyard seemed to be preferred to having to trek miles and miles out of town, through backroads, to the edge of a forest and lake.
The scent of the trees was helping me stay calm. Sophia shifted gracefully in front of me, and I checked her over one last time.
She wore tight spandex in a beautiful lavender color that complimented her hair and eyes. It fit well—was practical, but also showed off her small waist and toned thighs.
“The princesses will be running a course. Two miles through the woods, across a small section of the lake. Once they’re out of the lake, they’ll choose one of twenty horses waiting for them nearby, and ride five miles to the last section—an obstacle course set up by my personal guard.”
The crowd murmured in appreciation, impressed with what was required.
I couldn’t help frowning, worried that even with our day of running the trail and mapping the course out, Sophia wouldn’t come out in the top group.
She didn’t have as much practice riding as some of the other princesses.
Actually, horses usually shied away from our kind, which meant Sophia was also nervous about that section of the course—and that wouldn’t help her chances.
The obstacles hadn’t been set up yesterday, but I was pretty sure she could handle that. Our general training would prepare her for most things she came up against there.
“The first and second Hunt I held involved an event such as this. But this year, I’ve made a slight change.”
Now I chanced looking up, seeking out Gabriel at the front of it all, standing before a small summerhouse. He stood straight-backed and cold, his jaw set and eyes cutting through the crowd.
Everyone around us had stilled. Some politely waiting for his next words, others on edge. Morgan and Iris already looked upset, as did Penny, the alpha princess of the Light pack who had placed low in the wrestling match.
“I will be running the event this year with the princesses. In part, to judge our compatibility—and also to see first-hand how each woman handles the course.”
The murmuring started up then. Most people were excited, but some were clearly untrusting.
“What if it’s a trap?” someone nearby asked. I tried to look for the source, but everyone was shifting now, restless to start.
Sophia turned around with her hands on her hips.
“Well, that should make things more interesting,” she commented, clearly unbothered.
“I mean, I get it,” she continued as we began to move toward the starting place.
“He’s right. The Alpha always gets stuck sitting at the end, relying on whatever his watchers tell him happened.
But this way, he’ll be able to see what we’re made of himself. ”
Sophia lowered herself to the ground to stretch, and I crouched down with her, taking her small ankle in hand and pressing back.
“Don’t forget about that tight turn just before the lake,” I reminded her as she switched legs.
“And Ana said the two paint horses are the fastest in the stables, so if they’re still available when you get to the paddock, try for one of them. ”
I glanced up and saw she wasn’t paying any attention at all. Her eyes were wide, mouth slack, and when I glanced behind me, I saw Gabriel getting ready. Which involved shucking his shirt and toeing off his shoes.
Of course he was running the course barefoot.
Our eyes met and I looked away quickly, not wanting to get caught drooling over the Alpha. Not that anyone else seemed ashamed…
A man called the women to the front and Gabriel paced among them, grinning.
“I’ll give you ladies a head start,” he said with a wink, making the alpha princess of the Summer pack stifle a giggle.
My eyes narrowed as I watched him. Could no one tell he was on edge? If he’d been in his wolf form, the hair on his back would’ve been standing on end as he paced. But maybe he was good at disguising it—or good enough, at least. The small crowd seemed fooled and charmed.
But I could see it. In the way he carried his shoulders, the tight ripples of muscle across his back, his hands clenching and releasing as he flirted and joked.
I turned away, following a stream of people into the forest, taking another path than the one the alphas would run. I’d go to the edge of the lake, where they’d come out of the water and run a short distance before getting to the horses. It was the last half of the course that had me worried.