Airport, six a.m.
A plane, flying from the south to the north, was slowly descending, and Marx stood on the tarmac with a representative of the royal family, who was there to receive the brides from the southern tribes.
The plane door opened, and a middle-aged woman in a grey trench coat stepped down the stairs, handing the official papers she was carrying to the Northern delegates, who wore royal insignia. After the Northern representative confirmed that the documents were in order, he politely shook the woman's hand.
"Welcome, Mrs. Nancy," the representative of the north introduced the woman. "I'm Meiss, and this is the Beta of Alpha Klaus, Marx."
"Hello, Marx," Nancy shook Marx's hand. "I'm Alpha Robert's housekeeper and I'm in charge of accompanying the bride. I'll be here until the end of the wedding."
"Hello, Mrs. Nancy," Marx smiled politely. "I'm here to receive Miss Gina on behalf of Alpha Klaus. Where is she?"
"Actually, Miss Gina didn't come. It's Miss Emily."
"Miss Emily?" Marx asked, confused. "I don't understand what you mean."
"Originally, our king intended for Alpha Robert's youngest daughter, Miss Gina, to marry your Alpha Klaus. But Miss Gina is already engaged, so it will be his eldest daughter, Miss Emily, who will marry Alpha Klaus."
"But we've never heard of this before," Marx said, turning to the royal representative next to him. "What do we do now?"
"I need to reconfirm," Meiss pulled out her phone and accessed the official system. After a few seconds, she said to Marx, "The bride's name on the official documents is indeed Emily Fox."
"See, I'm right," Nancy's eyes quickly flashed a hint of cunning. "Gentlemen, if there are no further issues, can we proceed to the hotel? Miss Emily is feeling unwell and needs to rest."
Marx realized that the bride hadn't yet exited the plane, so he inquired curiously, "Is Miss Emily sick?"
"She just has a slight fever," Nancy said. "Just let her rest, and she'll be fine. Gentlemen, could you please arrange for a wheelchair and come over here? Miss Emily can't walk at the moment."
"I'll take care of it right away."
Meiss immediately called the airport's supervisor, and soon a wheelchair was wheeled in by the airport staff. Marx saw two Alpha warriors walking down the stairs with a woman dressed in a black cloak. The woman's legs were weak, and her face was concealed by her hood.
"Miss Emily doesn't seem well. Will you have a doctor examine her once we get to the hotel?" Marx asked.
"I'll handle it," Nancy said, her tone indifferent.
At that moment, a luxury sedan pulled up, and the two Alpha warriors placed the bride in the backseat. Nancy followed suit and got into the car. Marx led the way in another vehicle, and soon they arrived at the hotel.
...
Silver Sailboat Hotel
In fact, Emily was awake when she boarded the plane. However, she still pretended to be unconscious, so she also overheard Nancy and Luna Catherine talking to each other.
They wanted her to marry the northern wolf instead of Gina, and once she was marked by the groom at the wedding, she would never be able to leave the north.
Now she knew that she was merely a stand-in, and it was her father and stepmother who had forced her into Gina's unwanted marriage.
She hated them, and she would never let their plans succeed.
But she mustn't act rashly this time; she must wait for the perfect opportunity.
She sat in a wheelchair, pretending to be unconscious. An Alpha warrior pushed the wheelchair, and they were supposed to be heading to a hotel room.
"Put her on the bed," Nancy said to the Alpha warrior.
Soon, Emily sensed that someone had roughly maneuvered her body onto the bed, as if they had thrown her onto it.
"You can go now," Nancy said.
When the Alpha warrior left, Nancy approached the bed and first nudged Emily's body with her hand, then slapped Emily twice when she noticed she was not moving.
Emily only felt a sting on her cheek, but she held back. She had to play dead at the moment, and she couldn't allow Nancy to find fault with anything.
"She's just a dead weight," Nancy said, as she took off her coat and watched Emily for a few minutes longer.
"It looks like this dead pig won't wake up for a while. Maybe I can take a bath first," Nancy muttered to herself.
Emily opened her eyes cautiously when she heard the water running in the bathroom. The light from the chandelier in the room stung her eyes, and it took her a few seconds to adjust to the current brightness.
Before stepping off the plane, Nancy had unfastened her bracelets and anklets, presumably not wanting the representatives of the northern royal family to see their future bride tied up like a prisoner.
But just before Nancy went to take a shower, she chained Emily's hands. Fortunately, she had forgotten to lock Emily's feet, or Emily would not have had a chance to escape.
Emily slipped quickly off the bed and crouched on the edge of it. Through the clear glass, Emily could see Nancy's shadowy figure in the bathroom.
If she had stood up now, she would have been discovered if she had not been careful. Time was running out for her, and she must make her escape in the shortest possible time.
It would be the stupidest thing in the world to open the door and run away, as she could not be sure if it was locked, and as there was still some distance to go from the corridor to the elevator, it was possible that the two Alpha warriors were outside.
Emily then shifted her target to the window closest to the bed, where she could jump out if she broke it.
At that point, the sound of water in the bathroom stopped. Emily knew that time was running out.
Emily stood up, ready for a dash, and in less than a few seconds she dashed toward the nearest window.
Emily put her feet up and her body plummeted. When she saw the open space below, she realized mid-air that the building was higher than she had imagined.
It was over; she was dead.
Just when she thought she was dead, a pair of strong hands steadily caught her body.