"Hilda, this is Althea, my mate."
Nathaniel's words echoed in Hilda's head. She must've heard wrong.
"What do you mean Nath?" Hilda chuckled sweetly, "You meant to say I was your mate right?"
Nathaniel turned to look at Althea. She looked confused. Just then he saw Gideon guiding the servants who carried the trunks into the Packhouse.
"Gideon," he called out and Gideon walked up to them. "Show Althea to her room."
Gideon stood still for a moment his lips pursed as if mindful of the words he was about to utter.
"Is anything the matter?" Nathaniel questioned curtly.
"Not at all," Gideon replied. He then turned to Althea, with an arm stretched forward. "This way my lady."
After Gideon left with Althea, Hilda giddily locked arms with Nathaniel. "Who is she?" She asked as they walked slowly towards the pack house.
"I will explain to you later," Nathaniel said lowly, trying to hide his irritation at the intimacy between them.
"I couldn't help but notice you made a mistake earlier. You introduced that lady as your mate instead of me. The trip must have taken a toll on you." Hilda said, rubbing her hands along Nathaniel's arm. She then added with a whisper, "I'll prepare a nice hot bath with Jasmine fragrance and then give you a good body massage. What do you think?"
"That will be marvelous," Nathaniel said. They got to the entrance of the pack house and Nathaniel gently removed Hilda's hands from his arm. "I have some unfinished business that needs my immediate attention. I expect to meet a hot bath once I'm done," He gave Hilda a warm smile and left in a hurry.
Once Nathaniel had successfully gotten away from Hilda, he went in search of Gideon.
"Have you seen Gideon," he asked a servant walking by.
"No alpha," the servant replied before scurrying away.
Nathaniel paused. "Where are you?" He mind-linked Gideon.
"In the Visitor's quarters. You told me to prepare a room for Miss Althea right?"
"Prepare a room for Althea in my quarters. Or better still move her to my room."
"Nathaniel," Gideon called out flatly. As if warning Nathaniel. "Don't you think you're moving too fast?"
"Prepare a room in my quarters now. Arrange the room opposite mine. It is an order." Nathaniel said curtly before shutting down the mind link.
***
"What's wrong?" Althea looked weirdly at Gideon. His eyes were unfocused and he did not seem to be present. She waved her hands in his face but he gave no response. She was getting spooked and was thinking of running away until Gideon spoke.
"Sorry about that. It's a werewolf thing."
"Oh…alright." Althea was still quite stunned but she tried to maintain her composure. "I think they're done fixing up the room. I would like to take a hot bath, I feel dirty from the Journey."
"I'm sorry but that would have to wait. Alpha Nathaniel has just ordered that you be moved to…" Gideon paused, wary of the servants who were done fixing the room but were still lingering around. He knew that in no time, word would get to Hilda…he didn't want to think of the outcome. He didn't want to hurt her.
"Moved to where?" Althea asked, her brows furrowed.
"Come with me," Gideon said, he then turned to the servants. "You all as well."
After several hours of waiting for a room to be prepared for her, Althea was finally alone. She sat on the plush bed made out of feathers. She had only heard about beds like this and they belonged to the wealthiest of them all. She ran her hands across the silk sheets. Eliza would love to lay on a bed like this, she thought to herself wiping away the lone tear that escaped from her eyes.
Just then she heard a knock on the door. "Come in," Althea answered lowly but loud enough for the person outside to hear.
"I was ordered to bring you a range of scented oils to choose from for your bath. I have also brought you some change of clothes." Two servants stood by the door with the trolley of the mentioned things and other bathing equipment in it.
"You can leave them there, thank you," Althea said and returned to her solitude. After a while, she noticed that the servant still stood where she was.
"Do you need any other thing?" Althea asked quite confused.
The two servants looked at each other before one of them spoke up. "W-We're going to help you bathe."
Althea sighed when she remembered this was how things were done. She hated people bathing her so her mother never bothered to send servants to help her bathe since she was Twelve.
"I'll bathe myself, you can both go," she dismissed the servants with a wave of her hand.
The two servants looked at each other in confusion but did as they were instructed. They left the trolley in the room and bowed to Althea before leaving the room.
The servants have never encountered a noble that refuses to be bathed. They could scent Althea so they knew she wasn't a werewolf. What human would be given the privilege to stay in the king's quarters that is limited to only a select few of just family members if not a noble? It was a new thing for gossip for the servants.
Meanwhile, Althea forced herself up to have her bathe. The journey had made her icky and sticky and she didn't want to add that feeling to how worse she already felt.
She undressed, standing in only her undergarments and petticoats while reminiscing about her Eliza would always help her undress back at the manor in Ravenshore.
She stood still lost in memories not noticing the door creaking open.
Nathaniel gently opened the door to Althea's room not wanting to startle her. He found her standing in the middle of the room lost in her thoughts. Her stance from her back looked so desolate and the thought of her sadness tore at Nathaniel's heart. He wondered if he did right by forcing her to come with him.
Althea shook her head from her reverie and looked down at the bracelet Eliza had given her and gently stroked it. She looked tenderly at it when suddenly another hand, strong and masculine, wrapped around the bracelet.
"A penny for your thoughts?" Nathaniel whispered in Althea's ears from behind.