Chapter 7
“Absolutely not!” Yoohyeon shouted. “Bora might get hurt!” She glared at her sister, completely outraged that Minji would suggest Bora sit with the alpha.
“Yooh…” Bora whispered. “I can take her… if anything… it would be safer for me to go in rather than the princess…” She frowned.
“Bora,” Minji sighed.
“Rather than… Minji…” She quietly corrected herself.
Yoohyeon let out a low growl, shaking her head at the idea.
“Yoohyeon! Please, let Bora at least try. If she is still aggressive at walking in, then I won’t send her in,” Minji explained.
“Promise?” Yoohyeon asked.
“I promise.”
Bora walked into the room, frowning at the sight of almost the entire room being destroyed. She let out her scent the second she heard the growling and stepped in carefully. She wasn’t about to get ambushed because this alpha was better at hiding.
The smaller alpha was able to locate her, walking over to her. She saw the untouched bowl from the day prior and frowned. But it all made sense when she saw exactly why Siyeon wasn’t eating.
“Oh… that’s why,” Bora muttered before walking closer to the larger alpha. She heard the loud snarl, but it didn’t scare her nearly as much as it would’ve scared Minji or Yoohyeon. “They expect you to eat… but they refuse to take the muzzle off…” she muttered before reaching over to unlock the metal contraption.
The snarling immediately stopped the second Bora touched her. The smaller alpha was a little surprised, feeling just the slightest bit of fear until she heard sniffing.
“Yeah, I’m one of you,” Bora chuckled when she finally unlocked the stupid muzzle and slipped it off Siyeon’s face. “There, now you can eat.” She gave her a brief smile before sitting on the bed behind her.
Siyeon eyed the new bowl, glaring at it while her stomach growled.
“It’s not poison,” Bora muttered. “I promise. I would eat it but I already ate,” She whispered.
She watched the alpha carefully pick up the little bits of food, tasting it before eating almost like an animal. She wondered if the facility Siyeon came from would even feed her or teach her how to eat with utensils rather than her hands.
“My name is Bora,” The smaller alpha said when Siyeon had finished her bowl. “You’re Siyeon, right?” She asked.
“Yes,” Siyeon mumbled.
“I’ve been here for a while. A little over a year now,” Bora spoke casually, trying to earn the alpha’s trust. “I’m mated to Yoohyeon, the princess’s sister.”
Bora watched Siyeon, watching her look at various things and touch the floor differently. Being muzzled brought a different mindset. With it off, Siyeon seemed fine. But she wasn’t going to risk her being unmuzzled with Minji.
Even if Minji wasn’t her mate, she was her mate’s sister. She couldn’t let her get hurt in case Siyeon turned.
“This place isn’t so bad,” Bora whispered. “They treat alphas well. We have a spot at the royal table too,” she smiled. “Well, on the floor but it’s still in the same room.” She chuckled to herself. “And I sleep in a bed. A real bed.” She pointed.
“Bed?” Siyeon frowned.
“This.” Bora patted the bed she was seated on, watching Siyeon reach out to touch it but immediately stopped.
She watched with curious eyes, seeing the larger alpha look at her own hand, then down at her entire body.
“You’ve been here for a few days… you should probably get a bath soon…” Bora frowned when she stood up.
She regretted doing that since she saw more than she wanted.
She saw the clothes she wore were ripped, revealing the multiple still bleeding wounds and scars that littered her entire back.
“You’re not aggressive… You’re just scared…” Bora whispered, finally making the connection as to why Siyeon was the way she was. “The princess spoke… spoke of how you spent years in the facility… How… old were you when they took you?” She asked concern now taking over. This young alpha had probably spent years enduring torture.
“I was… was nine… I presented at seven…” Siyeon spoke, pushing the now empty bowl around.
“Young to present…” Bora muttered. “And you stayed there?” She whispered.
“I went into an orphanage…” the alpha frowned. “I snapped at anyone who would get close to me… Because… the travel… you know how it is…” She glanced up at the smaller alpha, watching her shake her head. “Those who resist… learn quickly what the feel of a whip is,” Siyeon muttered.
Bora’s eyes scanned the alpha that was still seated on the floor, seeing the multiple scars that littered her body. Including a smaller, pale one on her cheekbone. It lined up with the side of her mouth and she was curious. She couldn’t stop staring at it.
“I caught the whip with my teeth,” Siyeon answered when she noticed Bora was staring. “I was being transferred to another facility… Saying I was deemed aggressive and needed to be retrained to be proper,” she scoffed.
“How old were you…?” Bora frowned.
“Fourteen.” Siyeon flipped the bowl on its side, watching it teeter for a moment before it stilled, staying there until she nudged it back over. “There was a young one. He was only ten. He spoke ill of those in charge… and hit him once. We were all bound by our wrists… tied down to our waists… no possible way to protect ourselves,” She chuckled. “So I jumped in… took two lashings before I finally caught it,” she smiled. “The fear in the omegas eyes… it’s one I’ll never forget,” She whispered.
Bora was terrified. This alpha was borderline feral and took a whip to the face just to protect an alpha child.
“You protect,” Bora whispered.
It was beginning to make sense why Minji picked this alpha. If she couldn’t get the alpha to be her love, then she would have a loyal alpha for the guard. One that would have no issues with harming someone…
Minji paced in the hallway, nearly biting her own nails when she heard the door open and shut behind the alpha. Yooyheon pushed her sister out of the way, checking her mate immediately before letting out a sigh of relief.
“You’re lucky she isn’t hurt,” Yoohyeon growled at the other omega.
“Well? What happened?” Minji frowned.
“I took her muzzle off… She ate… I put it back on…” Bora answered. “Princess… Do you know where she’s from?” The alpha frowned.
The omega let out a sigh, shaking her head.
“She said north… I don’t know entirely where… Or what that means… She mentioned snow…” Minji whispered. Her first meeting with Siyeon got her answers, but she didn’t know what they meant.
“Can we request the king’s company?” Bora looked to her mate, watching Yoohyeon nod her head.
The king made time for his daughters and the alpha, watching all three of them walk into the drawing room. Minji was the first to sit across from him, looking rather defeated. He watched as the alpha adjusted a few pillows before letting her mate sit, and he couldn’t help but smile.
“She dotes on you,” He smiled.
“That she does,” Yoohyeon whispered.
“Now… What is so urgent that you requested my private presence?” He asked, leaning back in his chair for comfort.
“Bora?” Minji turned to look at the alpha, watching her take her place next to Yoohyeon on the floor.
“Your majesty…” Bora bowed forward, waiting a decent amount of time before lifting herself back up again. “The alpha that the eldest princess purchased… She is not feral,” She explained. “She is what we believe… to be a myth…?” She frowned without giving eye contact. She kept her gaze fixed on the floor, trained to never look an omega in the eyes.
“We?” He asked, tilting his head.
“Alphas… We… In the southern villages… We heard a myth of the northern alphas… having a fair deal settlement… Keep the north safe… Granted immunity…” She whispered. “Trained fighters… Skilled in combat within the cold… The royal family’s secret weapon stash if you must…” She explained. “As pups… we were told… alphas from the north are cold, cruel, and the most aggressive… If she is a northern alpha… would she not have immunity?” She asked.
“No, she would not,” He sighed. “Northern alphas… yes, we have an agreement, however, the agreement does clearly state that a few must be brought into the inner cities and fulfill their own end of the bargain.” He leaned further back in the chair, letting out a small grunt. “If this alpha is a northern alpha… Minji, I say give up now. She’ll never love you and never learn either. She is taught from a young age to be aggressive. Let her go and she can be part of the guard… After some… Proper training of course,” he muttered while reaching for the glass on the table next to his chair.
“Your majesty… it… it wasn’t the northern alphas who taught her to be that aggressive… She’s lashing out because of fear… The omegas in the facilities she went to did this to her…” Bora whispered.
The king took a sip from his drink, still silent as he set the glass back down.
“It… It wasn’t her fault…” Bora frowned.
Yoohyeon smelled the release of her father’s scent before anyone else. She could pinpoint the frustrated tone to it and immediately stood up between her father and Bora.
“Take her out of my sight,” He glared at his youngest.
“So it is true?” Yoohyeon questioned.
“Yoohyeon,” He growled.
“Go ahead, lash out at your daughter… Especially the one who’s with a pup.” Yoohyeon matched her father’s anger, letting out a warning growl of her own. She would’ve stood her ground longer if Bora hadn’t abruptly stood up, attempting to pull her mate away from the king.
Minji let out a sigh as she watched her sister being dragged out of the drawing room. Of course, this would happen. Everything would turn out to be terrible and nothing would work in her favor. It was just like the suitors all over again.
“Heed my warning Minji.” He spoke quietly, much more calmly now. “She’ll never love you.”
The omega stood up from the sofa, not bothering to give her father any kind of goodbye or even a response to his words. It didn’t matter if the alpha loved her. She just needed to prove her father wrong.
Siyeon wasn’t feral.