Hilda alighted the flight of stairs, her gaze vacant as she was lost in her thoughts. Dark circles shadowed her eyes and her figure appeared gaunt. She hadn't slept a wink since last night.
"Ouch!" A soft yell brought her back to reality and in front of her, stood the reason for her current state.
"I'm sorry," Hilda apologized with a small nod after she had just bumped into Althea.
"It's alright," Althea replied with pursed lips not wanting to engage in any further conversation. She had a mission to complete urgently. The mission of satisfy the enormous hunger that has built up after rejecting food for 3 days.
She took a few steps before pausing and turning to Hilda who surprisingly still stood where she was. Althea found it odd with the way she stared at her but she ignored it. "Um..Do you mind showing me to the kitchen?"
"Come with me," Hilda smiled softly and began walking to the kitchen with Althea following closely behind her.
"What's your name again?" Hilda made small talk as they walked to the kitchen.
"Althea," Althea answered a little puzzled. "Have we met before?"
Hilda chuckled softly at the question. "How did you meet Nathaniel?" She asked, ignoring Althea's question.
"I don't want to talk about that scoundrel," Althea answered through gritted teeth.
"That was a feisty answer but I would advise you refrain from using such words on the Alpha. It won't do you good." Hilda turned to Althea with a sweet smile when they got to a door, "This is the kitchen, you can help yourself with whatever you want." She then left. The moment Hilda turned her back on Althea, her facial expression changed and was replaced with a sour one. Her blood was boiling just by hearing Althea's voice.
***
"I thought you were not hungry?" Nathaniel's voice boomed from behind as Althea helped herself from the spread of delicacies. She ate voraciously, devouring everything in sight, a stark contrast to her demeanor when offered food by the maids last night.
Earlier, when Hilda dropped her off at the kitchen, and as soon as she entered, the maids had scurried away, leaving her all alone. As weird as that was, Althea ignored it and instead attended to her stomach by helping herself out with the foods she could find.
Althea turned her head to see Nathaniel standing there with his hands folded at the back, looking at her with an amused grin. She felt so embarrassed at the state she was in.
"Who said I was hungry?" Althea answered with both cheeks full, trying to maintain her composure despite the teasing in Nathaniel's gaze. She swallowed hard. "I was just munching on a few snacks."
"You look like a snack yourself," Nathaniel said, his voice low and husky.
"What?" Althea heard the first time but she wanted to make sure she heard correctly.
"I said wipe the buttercream off your mouth," Nathaniel said and Althea looked down in embarrassment as she used the back of her palm to wipe her palm clean.
As Nathaniel headed for the door, he glanced back and said, "You're quite the messy eater for someone with that face."
His words caught Althea off guard and the words she was about to say got stuck in her throat but just as Nathaniel was about exiting the door, she spoke, "When will you take me back to my family?" Her voice echoed through the kitchen, causing Nathaniel to halt in his tracks.
"I hate it here. I don't belong here. Can you take me back?" Althea pleaded in a soft and calm voice that reached Nathaniel's heart. He turned to face her, his eyes filled with warmth as he stared back at her. Her eyes were glistening with tears threatening to fall off.
"Please," Althea was on the verge of bursting out in tears.
Nathaniel looked at her ambiguously, his expression unreadable and without saying a word, he turned around and left.
Althea felt utterly lost, a heavy weight pressing down on her chest as she realized she had run out of options. The silence of her kitchen amplified her despair and she had no one to one to turn to.
Overwhelmed by a tide of hopelessness, she sank to the floor, her body shaking as sobs tore through her. Each cry felt like a release, yet it only deepened the ache inside her.
As the tears streamed down her cheeks, blurring her vision, a sense of lightheadedness washed over her. Finally, when the tears ran dry and her sobs turned into soft whimpers, she got up and went to her room. She plopped to her bed, feeling the cool sheets against her skin. Curling up, she sought solace in the darkness, but the shadows only served to amplify her loneliness.
***
It was day four since the incident in the kitchen and Althea hadn't come out of her room. She had refused to eat or drink water and wouldn't respond to the desperate knocks of the maids to get her to eat.
"She'll die at this rate," Gideon said sternly, trying to convince Nathaniel to take Althea back to Ravenshore.
"I can't do that," Nathaniel replied emotionlessly, his eyes not peeling away from the scroll he was reviewing.
"Why? Because she's your mate?" Gideon deadpanned and Nathaniel finally glanced at him before returning to his scrolls.
"You must have spoken to Hilda."
"Yes, and I must say it's time to cut the bunkum and be real. No Alpha has two mates. Hilda is your mate and Althea…you have to send her back." Gideon said flatly, his eyes reflecting an empty reflection.
"Althea is also my mate. My wild is restless when she's not near."
"What about Hilda?" Gideon walked and showed himself to the couch area of the office. He took a seat on the couch facing Nathan continued. "She told me you haven't spoken to her and have been avoiding her ever since you left that night."
Nathaniel pretended not to hear, his gaze drifting off to the side. But Gideon continued, undeterred.
"Hilda is my friend, Nathaniel. And I don't want to see her get hurt. If you're telling the truth about having two mates, then you need to remember that Hilda is one of them."
Gideon's words hung in the air, a gentle rebuke that Nathaniel couldn't ignore. Gideon stood up to leave but paused to say something.
"If you want to make your 'favorite' mate not miss Ravenshore too much, you should at least bring someone from Ravenshore for her."
With that, Gideon turned and walked away, leaving Nathaniel to ponder his words in silence.