Princess...

Chapter 17

Accalia

A pounding sensation caused me to stir first and bright light attacked my senses

"Janie! Come close these curtains before I kill you..." I grumbled, burying my head under a duvet. I was back in bed, and I had no idea how. A high pitched laugh sounded from inside my room that I didn't recognise and I tensed up, slowly resurfacing and squinting my eyes at the figure in my doorway.

"Is Janie someone from your old pack?" Adolfina was leaning against my door, already dressed in her gear and looking down at me with an amused expression. I grumbled and forced myself to sit up, feeling my head spin as my senses came back to me

"No, she was the girl I stayed with before Alpha Lupus brought me here." I mumbled, realising I was still in my dress from last night and trudging into the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face

"Raula has made breakfast and there are some tablets here for you to take to help the headache." Adolfina called to me before closing the door and disappearing elsewhere. The bathroom light was off and I relished in the darkness, giving my poor eyes a break as my inner wolf was not yet awake. I changed into my uniform and swallowed the tablets with the glass of water that had been left out for me, my throat feeling better already as I desperately tried to make sense of last night. I made my way through to the kitchen and slumped in my chair as the overwhelming scent of food stirred my inner wolf and made me feel sick. As soon as I'd settled in my chair I was stood again, darting into the bathroom and throwing up a liquid that burned the back of my throat as it came up. I heaved for ages until it finally stopped and I leaned on the cool beige tiles on the bathroom wall, relishing in the cold sensation against my clammy figure.

"Ace? Come have some breakfast. It will help your hangover." Raula's soft voice came from the other side of the door and I clumsily stood, using the doorknob to steady myself as I opened it to meet the older woman who looked down on me in concern

"You had quite the night last night. Louvel told me you got drunk with some of the pack?" She asked and my eyes widened, remembering the group of 5 that I'd been drinking with. I nodded clumsily, following Raula into the kitchen and plugging my nose, begging my inner wolf not to throw up again.

"I must have blacked out at some point... How did I get here?" I asked, taking a seat and rubbing my eyes harshly, trying to get rid of the dull ache in the back of my head. Louvel chuckled, already halfway through her meal as I started mine

"I came out to get you and you told me to leave you alone. Alpha Lupus said he'd sort you out and I went to bed so he must have got someone to bring you back inside." Louvel shrugged and my face heated up, feeling embarrassed that the Alpha had heard about me getting drunk. I nodded in thanks to Louvel and slowly ate my way through breakfast, eating half of it before throwing the rest away as I was full.

"Alpha Lupus and a bunch of us are going out today on some secret mission apparently. He won't tell anyone why, just that he has business to attend to and we have to be there too, I guess." Honi spoke now, tying her hair in a braid and coming behind me to do mine. I tensed slightly at the feeling but forced myself to relax as she finished off styling my hair and gave my shoulder a comforting squeeze

"That should help keep the hair out of your face if you have to throw up again." She nodded towards me before exiting through the back door and I began cleaning up in the kitchen, not trusting myself to venture into the dining room in case any of the pack were still there. Raula swatted my hands away as I picked up the carton of eggs and shooing me to the doorway

"Go with the twins and tidy up the off-limits areas whilst the pack are away. This is the only chance we get to clean properly whilst they are out." Raula gave me a reassuring smile and I returned it, following Louvel and Adolfina towards the West Wing

"What are the off-limits areas?" I spoke into the silence and Adolfina exhaled, turning to face me as we kept walking

"They are areas that none of the pack goes to unless they are given permission by Alpha Lupus himself. His personal library, his sleeping quarters and the main boardroom are the main three. We'll clean the toilets and other areas but you'll be tidying those three I've just mentioned for now. Just don't snoop through any stuff and you should be fine." Adolfina smiled, leading me into a gigantic room that must be the same place where the pack had their first meeting about me. I gazed around the room, seeing maybe 20 seats around a vast oak wood table, with a larger chair seated at the head which must be the Alpha's. I sprayed down the table and wiped over the area, watching in awe as it shone under the artificial light. I straightened the chairs and dusted the windowsill before exiting the room, seeing Louvel leaning against the wall opposite the door.

"Now these two rooms are Alpha Lupus' personal sleeping quarters and his library. Do not snoop, whatever you do." She gave me a small push and I walked into the door on the left, walking into a dark room that had bookshelves from floor to ceiling on all walls. To describe it, my first thought was the movie Janie had made me watch in my first year of being in college; Beauty And The Beast. I had never been exposed to these movies growing up but she loved them, calling them 'Disney' movies or something? The room I stood in resembled the library in the movie perfectly, with a vast array of books I'm sure it would take me decades to read them all. I took the duster from my waist apron and began feathering the shelves, scanning my eyes over titles; some I recognised, some I didn't, and some with seemingly foreign titles.

"So the Alpha can speak multiple languages. What a surprise..." I breathed, knowing full well that most wolves were fluent in multiple languages and that's what made them eligible for Alpha. As I moved around the room, I saw two long sofas in the centre of the room and made to fluff the pillows. I could picture the Alpha retiring here after a long day, dark and brooding under the dim lighting as he read through the books here. How old was he? I knew I was 20 now, almost 21. But it was uncommon to have an Alpha that looked so young. He had brown hair; either styled upwards into a messy 'quiff' as Janie had called it for formal events such as last night or when it was unstyled it hung slightly over his forehead, still making him look respectable even when he hadn't put any effort in, like in the battle of rankings. I recalled his startling hazel eyes, which I always seemed to catch as he stared at me in a way that made my knees weak and tremble from underneath me. I shook my head, realising I'd been staring at the wall before leaving the library, moving into the room which Louvel had told me was his bedroom. 

Grey painted walls, a black carpet and navy comforter, very monotone for an Alpha of his stature. I couldn't imagine him in here, though I took in the appearance of the room quickly and began dusting the windowsill and bookcase that rested in the corner of the room. I fluffed the pillows of his chair and made the bed, trying to ignore the reminder that he'd lay in these sheets at some point. My inner wolf stirred at the realisation and an unfamiliar feeling coursed through my veins. In a last-ditch moment of self-control, I took one of the pillows and inhaled deeply, burying my face in the scent of his cologne that made my inner wolf stir. Replacing the pillow on the bed with a heavy blush on my cheeks, I took one last glance at the bedroom of Salt Lake City's Alpha before rejoining Louvel and Adolfina, who were making their way downstairs for lunch.