Upstairs in the bedroom, there was an enormous wardrobe tucked into the wall with extravagant dresses, including the two he had ripped off her those two nights. They’d both been repaired so well, it was as though they had never been torn.
When she turned to the bed, a familiar book lay on it, and Ana laughed as she picked it up. It was her favorite book, the one she brought to the room the first night she saw Maddoc. She never thought she would see it again.
She entered each of her private rooms, filled with excitement about the beauty of what she was seeing and enjoying the reminders of her Alpha. The enormous washroom had a bath so big, it favored a small lake. Handmaids drew her a bath and scented her water with oils, and she took her time washing, savoring the feel of the comfort she had once been so used to.
When she headed to bed, Milly popped in, and they sat talking about everything that happened since they’d been apart. Ana told her about the agreement she’d almost made with some of the houses, much to Milly’s horror, and Milly explained to her that beyond the palace there was a city that was just as beautiful and as strange as the palace. Ana wondered about where the families from Moonvale had gone, and she hoped they were enjoying wherever they were. She made a note to ask the highcloaks.
Climbing into bed, Ana realized there was no Alpha to hold her and no scent to comfort her in her sleep. Luckily, she was exhausted by the time her head hit the pillow and she fell asleep straightaway.
The next day she spent hours in the library looking over all the shelves and getting familiar with as many books as she could so she could try to find the next great read. Amazingly, there was an entire wall dedicated to Alpha and Omega stories, copies of all the stories and retelling she’d seen in her library and many more.
She began reading some of the Alpha and Omega stories that she hadn’t seen before, some of them dating back before Allandis existed. One of them even chronicled the story of King Allandis, the Alpha who founded the kingdom, and his haphazard, misfit Omega, Elyana.
Ana spent nearly three days buried in books covering the Alpha and Omega couples of Allandis, and the more she read, the more she understood her attraction to Maddoc. Much of the feelings described—intoxicating, addictive, a satisfying sense of completion—were how she would describe the many times she’d been with him. And it was through those emotions that she could understand the choices the couples made for the kingdom and why they made them. That must be how an Alpha and Omega rule—how her parents made their decisions. But that thought raised more questions.
Ana lay in bed thinking about how similar the connection between an Alpha and an Omega was across all the stories; it was almost identical in each one. Something nudged at her to make another connection, but her mind was too sleepy, and when she woke the next morning, it was gone.
On the fourth night, Ana paced the bedroom in agitation. She wanted to see Maddoc. In her rational mind, she had questions to ask him that he should have answered before he sent her here, but in her irrational mind, she just wanted to be near him, in his arms again. Not seeing him or talking to him for four days was torturous and she didn’t like that she’d heard nothing about him.
Sighing, she tried to calm herself and sat on the bed cross-legged. Clearly Maddoc had a plan that included them both being here. He never mentioned it to her, but it was vastly different than what she thought he expected from her.
A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. “Come in.”
The door inched open, and Raine slipped through, pressing herself against the wall.
“I’m sorry to disturb you, Your Majesty,” she said hurriedly. “I just wanted to… welcome you.”
Ana smiled, trying to put her at ease. “Thank you, Raine.”
Raine relaxed a tiny amount. “I just wanted to welcome you and say that…” She fidgeted. “I hope we can, at some point, be friends.”
Ana suddenly noticed Raine was not dressed as a highcloak. She wore a tunic with pants and a belt around her waist. Ana examined her, trying to figure out why she’d had hostile feelings toward her. Raine had never been aggressive or unfriendly toward Ana. In fact, she had been always polite and cordial. Her disheveled auburn hair that was usually tied back into one plait, fell to her shoulders and she was very pretty, just very different from Ana. Ana hadn’t noticed any attraction or a suggestion of such between Raine and Maddoc in all the time they were traveling into Allandis.
“I don’t know what I may have done to upset you.” She looked crestfallen. “But we… I’ve looked forward to you being with us for a long time. I hope that someday you will come to trust me as a highcloak or at least as a guard. Maddoc will never let me near you if he thinks you’ll be upset. He wouldn’t let me treat him after… what happened.”
Ana scowled. Maddoc wouldn’t let her treat him? He had not made that clear. “You didn’t do anything to upset me, Raine,” she said, eager to put her at ease. “I don’t know why I reacted that way.”
Raine smiled. “I think it’s because you have great instincts.”
“Do I?” Ana tilted her head. “Are you sexually involved with him?”
Raine’s face distorted into an expression of absolute horror. “No! That’s disgusting!” She quickly held a hand out. “Not meaning to offend, Your Majesty. It’s just… no. He is like a big brother to me.”
“Then my instincts are not that great at all.” Ana laughed. “I’ve been reading some of the Alpha and Omega books and I don’t know how mine could be so… wrong.”
“Wrong? They’re not wrong, Your Majesty. The two of you…” Raine sighed, a smile on her face. “The two of you are what gives the rest of us hope. That maybe one day we will find that.”
Ana’s smile faded as she recalled how often she’d nursed that hope when looking at her parents. The way her mother melted so contently into her father’s lap, the way they soothed each other with their touch, the undeniable attraction—the most powerful thing in every room. She and Maddoc had that. Sometimes it was hot and tense, sometimes it was explosive and violent. But it was always there, from that very first night. She glanced up at Raine, suddenly feeling exposed. “I… I’m sorry, I just….”
Raine shrugged. “That’s all right. You love him and you miss him. I understand.”
Ana blinked. Did she love him?
“I’ve been dealing with it for five years already with him, so I’m used to it.”
Ana leaned forward. “What do you mean?”
“Him pining for you.” Raine grinned, jokingly rolling her eyes. “It was a hard five years. Honestly, we really are glad you’re here.”
“Five years?” Ana stared at her. “Maddoc has felt that way for me for five years?”
Raine froze. “I’m not sure if he would want me to tell you that.” She pursed her lips and shrugged. “But it’s true. Everything changed five years ago, in terms of the focus of our missions, preparing this place, and dealing with the crown. Everything became streamlined and more urgent. We didn’t all know why at first, but it eventually became clear.”
Ana wracked her brain trying to think what happened five years ago that Maddoc would have suddenly focused on her.