SWNOVELS Chapter 126
At least half of their pack members could be seen kneeling at the entrance gates of the Silver Moon pack as they welcomed the king's entourage. "All hail the King and Queen!!!"
If he was given a chance, Alpha James would have even arranged a carnival, but the gloomy situation with deaths looming over their heads seemed to be the only reason that stopped him from exaggerating this visit from Micah and Abby this time around.
Even so, the pack members were dressed to the nines, as if this was the most joyful occasion since they were born and the happy smiles upon seeing their queen, who was none other than a monster until a few months back in their eyes, was a sight to behold.
Abby felt annoyed just seeing her old pack members being overly enthusiastic as they escorted them from the entrance till the pack house. If two more people hadn't lost their lives while she and Micah were or their way here, would they have been even more brazen?
Weren't they trying too hard to please her, just because she turned out to be the king's mate? But it actually had the opposite effect on her to see them being this nice to her all of a sudden.
Some even went as far as asking about her well-being, while some cried fake tears saying they missed her, of course, they didn't cry in her face. They just talked to each other, 'quietly', right beside the carriage.
Even she could hear their so-called whispers, so how was it not possible for Micah and others, who were shifters, not to hear it. And the gist was that, wasn't it?
To make the king and others believe that Abby had a good life here! Because, they clearly knew the girl had felt anything but good living here. Abby was simply disgusted by their actions. Currying favor with people that had power over you was one thing, but this was on a whole new other level! How could they act like Abby hung the moon in the sky all of a sudden?
Abby counted seconds until the carriage reached the pack house, Micah didn't say anything, so she didn't either! But she tried to mask her thoughts as much as possible, as she kept her eyes down the whole time they took to escort them to their accommodation.
"My King, My Queen, I've arranged the most exquisite guest room for you," Alpha James said, as he bowed once again when he saw Micah and Abby alighting the carriage. "And I've already changed everything to new in there."
He hurriedly led them into the pack house, and Abby couldn't help but feel relieved that she didn't need to live in that nightmare of an old house of hers.
Only after listening to his next sentence did she learn that no one was living in their old house. "I would have prepared your old house, Queen Abby, but it isn't in a good condition."
And then he went on about how they would feel more comfortable in the pack house, because he arranged everything they would need here. The more James talked, the more irritated Abby felt, because the man had only one thing in his mind; pleasing her, with things she didn't care about.
He didn't hesitate to overdo it at all, because he even pestered the royal gamma, saying he got everything covered for their stay here and how they didn't have to feel troubled to ask for anything. "Alpha James, we are here to investigate the unusual deaths, not for a vacation!" Dax, who was walking behind with Samuel and Mirella, pointed out the absurdity of his behavior.
"Right, right, but you all have traveled so long, you need to rest properly before you could dive into investigation and all, even if it is for just a while."
"Then, stop pestering us and let us rest until dinner!" Dax didn't bother to feign any respect as he openly dismissed the alpha. Only then the man stopped harassing them and finally turned around to leave, but not before throwing the words 'let me know if you need anything, no matter how small it is.'
"Can he be any more obvious or shameless?" Abby mumbled, so quietly, it was as if she just moved her lips, as she let Alyssa close the door behind her.
"Did you say something?" Micah asked her, because he saw her lips moving from the corner of his eyes.
"No, I didn't!" Her answer came too fast to sound convincing.
When Micah kept staring at her, Abby just brushed him off saying she was too hungry to say anything out loud at this moment. "I wonder when the dinner will be ready."
Alyssa immediately excused herself and went over to the kitchen to personally oversee the dinner preparations, which was one of her responsibilities be it while they were still back in the palace or any other place they went to, which she shared with Reyna.
Since there was still one more hour for dinner, Abby decided to sleep off her resentment and annoyance. "Accompany me for a nap?"
On the other hand, Micah could feel how the air around her changed even weirder after they arrived here. But he couldn't read her at this moment at all. So after contemplating for a moment, he settled on the bed, in a sitting position against the headboard, while Abby put her head on his lap to take her so-called nap.
He let her sleep while reading the reports he received from Alan. When it was finally dinner time, Alpha James personally came to fetch them to the dining hall, where he had them prepare a feast. "I've had them prepare every delicacy for you to enjoy," the man said, as soon as he led them to the far end of the dining hall, where he had them place a special table just for them.
The table was big enough for ten people to eat at once and was filled with various dishes and drinks until no inch of the linen beneath them could be seen. He even personally pulled Abby's chair for her, and then proceeded to introduce a few dishes to her.
"King Micah, Queen Abby, this side is filled with meat dishes and that platter is seafood based, then these are some light dishes, hope they are to your liking." The alpha even showed enthusiasm to put food onto their plates when Micah finally stopped him.
"We have maids for this, you should have your dinner instead," the king said, making the man finally drop into his own seat. But then Micah stopped the maid from serving him as he took it upon himself to fill two plates for Abby and himself.
Seeing all this was already a big eye opener for Abby, but she kept enduring it, because she thought there were more important matters for both of them to think about. However, the mind is a weird place. When you try to avoid thinking about something, it will solely present you with the thoughts of the things you are dying to turn away from.
Abby's mind was no exception, because she couldn't help but think how it had been ten years since she was even allowed to step anywhere near the dining hall.
"Do monsters need to eat normal food like the rest of us?" Hanna said one time, her face all scrunched in disgust, before she feigned fear as she prompted everyone to back away from her.
Different kinds of rumors started to spread since then, saying she would eat nasty insects, or snakes and so on. Hanna let them spin stories until they all settled on blood, not any random animal's blood but small babies' blood.
Even though it was a beyond ridiculous rumor, strength often influenced the weight of the truth, so the more people talked about it, the more they believed it to be true. Moreover, Hanna never wasted an opportunity to fuel the flames when she saw it was going to burn Abby.
And Alpha James and her father, just like every time, turned a blind eye to this as well, until she was ostracized by even omegas in the kitchen, where they refused to give her food if she came to the kitchen. Abby was only able to eat when there was no one in the dining hall, which was practically never.
But now, looking at the lavish spread, sitting among people who turned blind eye to her suffering for ten years, Abby felt her stomach twist painfully, while every bite of meat she pushed past her lips refused to glide down her throat as if it was clogged until even air couldn't make way down her windpipes.
Abby had to wash down the food after chewing it around in her mouth for a long time, but she could only manage two bites before she decided she needed to be out of here, because she was scared she would set this place aflame, just to make them all stop laughing.
Their smiles and happy faces only reminded her of the days they pinned her with disgusted looks.
"I want to take a walk," Abby announced, as she stood up all of a sudden, startling everyone at their table as well as the rest of the room. "I ate too much just now."
Aside from Micah, no one noticed how Abby drew circles in her plate until now, so they didn't find it odd at all. But when the king asked that he wanted to join her, Abby chose to refuse him gently.
"You should continue talking, I'll take Alyssa with me." She gave no room for Micah to follow her as she swiftly walked out of the dining hall.