Chapter 54

To my surprise, I wasn’t allowed back into ‘my’ suite. Gina came to meet me in the hallway with a small bag containing a few dresses and feminine essentials.
I didn’t ask if there was money in the bag too because I didn’t want to appear greedy. After all, I didn’t come there with anything in the first place.
“I made sure to put your necklace inside the bag,” she said.
“I shouldn’t have,” I replied. “I wanted you to keep it.”
She smiled. “You know the rules, don’t you?”
I nodded and hugged her. Andrew didn’t come to see me off. He was the most disappointing male I had ever met in my life. So pathetic!
As I approached the front gates, I saw Paula coming in. She was grinning at me cattily and sashaying towards me like a model.
“I told you you weren’t good enough, didn’t I?” She asked happily.
“Wow, bad news sure travels fast,” I remarked.
“It doesn’t take an announcement for anyone with eyeballs and a brain to figure this out. Wasn’t today supposed to be your mating ceremony?”
She threw back her head and laughed victoriously. Although I was used to being mocked, her behaviour towards me stung painfully. It was as if Andrew brought me here to be disgraced.
“I feel sorry for you,” I told her. “You’re in love with a man that will never be yours.”
Her laughter ceased immediately and she pinned me with a malicious stare.
“Well, that makes two of us now, doesn’t it?” She replied.
“Not really. I never liked Andrew. I was just playing along with his little game and now, that’s over. I am free to be with whoever I want when I leave here, but you…”
“What about me?”
“You will be stuck here pining for Andrew but he will never see you as a match. You all can claim to be treated equally here, but I’m sure you know the truth.”
She was quiet, watching me. Her hostility had simmered down a little.
As I walked past her, I said, “You will never be good enough to live in the Alpha House as a family member, Paula. The best you can ever be is Andrew’s assistant.”
It felt so satisfying to have the last word. I noticed the bounce in my steps as I left Riverland. I had no idea where to go next but I wasn’t bothered. I would figure it out as I went. That was the beauty of living a life of adventure.
Perhaps I should return to the east, now that I had the necklace. Freya would help me destroy it and break the awful bond that kept me linked to Dominic and his now-dead brothers. I wonder what happened to him.
Meanwhile, I still can’t get over the fact that I might be originally from the Highland Pack. Perhaps this was a good time to investigate my past before travelling back to the east.
The thought of going back to the Highlands sent a sizzle of anticipation down my spine. I knew it was because I might see Alpha Rowan again. Would he even remember me?
I made my way to the docks where Brianna sold me into slavery many years ago. The memory didn’t sting as it used to anymore.
I was gradually healing from the horrors of my past. However, I will keep looking over my shoulders until I am sure that Dominic will no longer be a threat to my life.
“Where are you off to, pretty lady?”
I turned to look at the man who had spoken and I gasped in surprise.
“Albert!” I exclaimed excitedly. “What are you doing here?”
He grinned. “Hi, Jade. I knew it was you. Look how pretty you’ve become.”
I smiled shyly. “Thank you. But what are you doing here? Where’s Lattie?”
“I’m sure she’s doing fine wherever she is,” he said sadly.
I instantly sensed that something was wrong. “What is it? Is she ok?”
He smiled at me sadly. “Yes, she is. She left me.”
I gasped. “Lattie is dead?”
“Oh, goodness, no!” He replied quickly with a nervous laugh. “She’s very much alive. At least, she was, the last time I heard.”
I sighed with relief. I didn’t know I cared about Lattie’s well-being until now.
“So, what happened to her then? Where did she go?”
“Well, about two months ago, she ran into someone from her past in the village market. It turns out they were both in love with each other before she got sold off to the Highlands as a slave.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah… They didn’t see or heard from each other all these years. She thought he was dead and he thought the same too. But when they met again…”
“They fell in love all over again,” I said, completing his sentence for him.
“Exactly. At least she was honest enough to tell me the truth right off the bat.”
I felt sorry for sweet old Albert. He got dumped by the love of his life for someone else. How awful.
“That day when she returned from the market, I knew something had happened,” he said. “She was in an excellent mood and happier than I had ever seen her be.”
“Wow…”
“She was glowing like a bright lantern!”
I chuckled. I could imagine what he was saying clearly.
“When she told me why she was so happy, I was too surprised. I had always suspected that Lattie didn’t love me as much as I loved her. I felt like she was holding back a part of herself from me. Well, her reunion with her first love explained it all for me.”
“I’m so sorry, Albert. How have you been coping since she left?”
“Oh, I’ve been great,” he said with way too much excitement. “I only fish part-time now. These days, I cruise the seas and rivers with my little boat, transporting passengers to wherever they wish to go. It keeps me busy and puts more money in my pocket.”
I laughed. His enthusiasm was adorable. “I’m glad to see that you’re having a good time. You have made lemonade out of your lemons.”
“Absolutely!” He laughed. “So, where are you off to?”
“I’m heading to the Highlands,” I replied.
His eyebrows lifted. “The Highlands? Why on earth would you want to go there?”
I smiled knowingly. “I know what you’re thinking, but trust me, I know what I’m doing.”
“I hope you’re right,” he said, unconvinced. “I don’t know any free werewolf who would want to visit that horrid place. Alpha Rowan’s iron rule has driven everyone away from his territory.”
I exhaled shakily. I know I should be afraid of returning to that place, but I wasn’t. It was as if my desire to see Rowan again was drawing me back to the Highlands.
“I know, Albert. But this is something I have to do.”
He shrugged. “If you say so. Hop on then, let me take you there.”
“What about your passengers?”
“Sweetheart, I own this boat and I get to decide where it goes. Come on, let’s hit the sea,” he said cheerfully.
I laughed and climbed into his boat. I was happy to be making this journey with someone I knew. It made the long trip enjoyable for me.
During the journey, I told Albert everything that had happened after I left his place several months ago. He was sympathetic to my story and assured me that I could always come to his home if I ever needed a place to stay in future.
We arrived at the Highlands port the following morning. It was barely dawn and the sun had not risen. I could feel the gloom blowing in from the territory like a bad smell.
“Are you sure about this?” Albert asked me softly. “You know you can still change your mind.”
I smiled at him in the semi-darkness. “It’s ok, Albert. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”
He sighed. “If you insist then. You know where to find me.”
His fatherly concern touched me. I hugged him tightly. “Thank you, Albert. I owe you big time.”
He grinned. “Don’t be ridiculous. You’re my family now. Take care, ok?”
“Sure,” I said and waved him goodbye as he left.
I squared my shoulders and exhaled. This is it. There was no turning back right now.
I walked purposefully toward the palace gates. I didn’t know what I was going to say to the guards at the entrance but that didn’t stop me.
“Where are you from?” One of them asked me gruffly when I reached the gates.
“I’ve been to many places in recent months,” I replied plainly. “Which one should I tell you of?”
“Answer the question or get lost,” the second one said.
“I would like to see Alpha Rowan before I leave,” I said with authority.
They looked at each other and laughed at my audacity.
“This one’s a cheeky slave for sure,” said the first one.
I opened my mouth to speak but a scent hit me like a blow. I recognized the smell immediately and I knew the source.
“Red…”
The guards quickly stood at attention when they heard their Alpha’s voice. The sky was brightening and I could see him as clearly as he saw me.
“I knew you would come back,” he said as his eyes ran over me.
“Do you smell it too?” I asked softly. It was almost a whisper but I knew he heard me.
“Yes,” he replied.
Rowan walked slowly towards me as if he was in a trance. Once he reached in front of me, he put his hand under my chin and lifted my face. He leaned down slowly until his face was only a few inches away from mine.
“Welcome home, Mate,” he whispered.