The Queen and her Wolf

Chapter Thirteen

I regretted not changing out of my ceremonial dress as I ascended flight after flight of natural stone steps; trying to keep the bottom of my dress clean was a becoming a chore. I suppose I also had to admit that I simply didn't care that much about formal attire. It wasn't me.

Not anymore.

My mother loved dresses. She loved the free flowing material and the beautiful fabrics that could create masterpieces you could wear. I remember that she would ask her seamstress to make matching dresses for me so that we could wear them together. We would go and find my father and show him how beautiful we were. He'd ask me to spin around as fast as I could because he knew I loved how the skirt would appear to float in a circle around me.

Stumbling on the lip of a step, I swallowed the stubborn lump in my throat as these memories bubbled up. This was not the time, I reminded myself. Especially as I could feel the increasingly familiar tickle at the back of my mind. Was Alana seeing these memories as they came to me? Could she sense my reluctance to relish in them. Instinctively I focused my energy on that tickle and clamped down as hard as I could. Not only did I not want to bare everything within my mind just yet, I knew my new guardian had just recovered from my extreme emotions not fifteen minutes prior. She deserved rest.

I had to admit I was impressed by her inner strength. Today had been no small task, yet she'd taken it in stride with barely any hesitation. It couldn't have been easy on her. She was a wolf separated from her wilds, stripped of her freedom, forced into servitude and on top of all of that she was now bonded to a vampire. 

To me.

I felt a pang of guilt as I thought back to the throne room where I'd laid claim to Alana. Would I change it? If I could go back and do it all over again, would I choose differently? Would she be better off? Would she be any safer? I wasn't sure what I'd sensed when I'd asked her about her pack, all I knew was that something was off. Did she have a pack? Was she lying about which pack she originated from?

I ceased my walking at the top of the seemingly endless stone-step track and took some measured breaths. The night was still fairly young and the air was crisp in my lungs. It woke me up and cleared my thoughts somewhat as fireflies blinked around me; tiny reminders that I wasn't alone.

Was Alana alone?

Was she a lone wolf?

If she didn't have a pack to speak of, she would have been out there in the wilds with no one watching her back. How many Dark Kin had she faced? How many wounds had she been dealt? Why would her pack turn their back on her? The thought of them ostracising her burned hot in my gut and I was surprised at the strength of that feeling.

From the very brief time I'd known the little she-wolf, I knew her to be feisty, brave, strong, compassionate and so many other things. Who in their right mind would throw someone like that away?

A thin layer of clouds obscured my vision of the stars as if prompting me to keep moving toward my destination. Letting out a breath I tried to release the rage that had built up inside me and, feeling some alleviation, kept moving.

Since leaving Alana to the Quiet physician I'd made straight for the only Elder's residence I knew. No one sought the Elders out on trivial matters, mostly because they'd lived so long that they had no patience for it, but also because they decided to live on the outer most fringes of society. Simply put, it was a trek and a half to go and talk to one. I didn't care though, I needed answers.

This particular Elder lived on one of the highest points of Zamora, up past the palace and nestled in a cliff side. Lush moss and resilient plant life clung to the sheer cliff walls and as her quaint stone residence came into view, I peered back over my shoulder. Behind me I was amazed to see the palace grounds were no longer visible. A thin veil of mist lapped at the path I'd just come from, giving the illusion of a fog lake. Any sound I made seemed to be absorbed by the veil and in that moment I realised why this Elder liked it up here. Living in peace like this would make it very hard to go back to the grind of society.