(LIORA)
King Malric dismisses everyone from the auditorium except for me.
Dr. Elira Queen stays with me, and I notice a couple standing down at the bottom of the stage. Still, my heart is pounding in my chest. I wonder what in the world is going to happen to me now.
"Well, I must say," the Alpha King begins as soon as we are mostly alone, "when I met you earlier, I was not expecting you to be the winner."
I can only stare at him. Believe me, I wasn't either!
"But once Dr. Elira Queen told me of your unique situation, well, how could I choose anyone else?" He smiles at me again, and like before, I feel my stomach tighten. I don't like that smile.
It's… creepy and makes me question his sincerity.
"I think that she's a bit overwhelmed," Dr. Elira Queen says, resting her hand on my shoulder.
"Perhaps we should let her have a rest before you introduce her to the Alphas?"
King Malric is still staring at me, and I've felt his eyes wandering along my form as the doctor is speaking. When that handsome man in the hallway did that earlier, it made me feel attractive and beautiful. But this makes me feel almost as creepy as his smile.
"Yes, yes, of course," the king finally says. "Beta Thayer ! Can you and Shelby escort Miss Liora to her room?"
"Yes, Alpha," the man who is still standing at the edge of the stage answers. I look at him closely for the first time and see he isn't much older than me. I had no idea that the Beta was so young.
Perhaps he hasn't been the Beta for long? No one ever speaks of the Alpha King's Beta.
He gestures for me to meet him at the stairwell, and I realize, with the king in the room, I'll have to back down the stairs.
In these shoes, that seems dangerous.
I'm not supposed to turn my back on the king, though.
Thankfully, before I make it to the edge of the stairs, the king turns and walks off in the other direction.
Thank the Moon Goddess!
Beta Adam offers me his hand, and I take it. He helps guide me down the stairs as I hold up my gown with the other hand.
"Hello, Miss Liora ," he says to me in a kind voice. He is quite good- looking himself, though not as handsome as the men I met in the hallway. He's tall and strong with reddish-blond hair and kind green eyes.
My body doesn't feel a spark when I'm around him, but I'm happy to at least have another friendly face to add to my circle seeing as I might be stuck here for a while.
"Hello," I say to him, realizing I'm shaking a bit. I'm so nervous about all of this. I can hardly even wrap my mind around what's happening.
Am I really going to be the Breeder for four men?
"This is my wife, Shelby," he says and the woman who was standing near him earlier walks over. She's adorable, with a button nose and apple cheeks. Her hair is a bit more brunette than his but still with shades of red. She has a smattering of freckles across her nose. I think she is probably just a few years older than me.
"Hello," I greet her. "It's nice to meet you."
"You, too," she says with a smile, and instead of shaking my hand, she loosely wraps her arms around me, like we are already long-time friends. "I'm so excited to get to know you!"
Dr. Elira Queen pats my back and says, "I shall see you soon, dear," before she heads off to the exit.
I hear Adam mutter to Shelby, "Calm down, honey. Don't overwhelm her."
"I'm sorry," Shelby apologizes. "It's just… there aren't a lot of women here around our age. Except for the maids, and the king prefers that we don't fraternize with them if we can help it."
"I understand," I sympathize, forcing a smile. It isn't that I don't appreciate the fact that she wants to be my friend. I don't have a lot of friends, none that I'm even going to miss, so it would be great to have a friend here. But I am so nervous, I can't even think, let alone try to be happy.
"Shall we?" Beta Adam says, and I nod, following him.
Shelby walks beside me, and as we go, she asks me questions about my family and my life back home. I can only give her short answers. Words seem to stick in my throat. It might be a condition I need to ask Dr. Elira Queen about later, but I self-diagnose it as my mind still trying to compute that this is my home now–for the moment anyway.
We walk down long winding hallways that seem to all look the same, and I wonder how in the world I'll ever figure out how to make my way around here on a daily basis.
"Don't worry, you'll figure out the hallways," Shelby assures, as if reading my mind.
"I hope so," I say, but I'm not sure, and a bit frightened that she knew my thoughts so easily.
We turn down another hallway, and Beta Adam pulls up.
There's a man there, coming toward us from down the narrow hall, walking rather quickly. He has dark hair and a muscular build–that seems to be a theme around here–much like the other two men I ran into earlier. His chiseled jaw is set, and he looks annoyed. His dark eyes are glued to the floor, and he only looks up in time to step around us.
"Beg your pardon, Thayer ," he says.
"No problem, sir," the Beta replies, and then I find the attractive man staring at me.