The night came and left quickly, and soon the group continued to set off on their journey home.

Before they left, Noah managed to overhear a conversation between the same two alphas from last night asking about where the King had gone. The alpha named Robert ended up answering from nearby.

From what he had gathered from the explanation, the King had already left for home before the rest a few days ago as he had important business to do and reminded his children as well as the small group to take care of themselves before taking two out of the seven alpha soldiers to protect him as his bodyguards. Apparently, this had occurred before they had gone to get me.

'These people must be more important than I had originally thought, a king had been in my village? Hopefully, I'm not getting into anything that may end up harming myself or my parents.' Curiosity piqued, I ended up looking for Reina, who was hanging out near the other omegas, and called out to her.

"Hey, I need you to explain some things to me," I ordered her in a no-nonsense tone. For some reason, I was unable to control my emotions at that moment. I had always been a rough guy, but later on I became more reserved, except when I was in front of Rana. It was something that I had to learn to be due to being bullied by my fellow alphas. Not fellow alphas, I had to remind myself. I could barely think clearly as my wolf had been crying out for our mate ever since we woke up to see him gone. We still haven't seen him during breakfast either, which mentally put a toll on me as I couldn't get a reprieve from my wolf's obnoxious howling. It was making me irritated and upset; a person I had not been for a long time.

Obviously, I hadn't been affected earlier, but that was because I had lived most of my life as an alpha, and... and... 'who was I kidding?' After I presented as an omega, I had never felt more insecure in my body than I had at that moment—especially since our alpha didn't even want to spend any given moment with us. 

My parents were amazing people, and each second I spent with them eased my worries and made me forget that I had presented as an omega. I could live my life the same way I had been, but I could feel the effects of their efforts disappearing each day. Being an omega makes me feel different. Sometimes I feel like I fit in well, and other times I feel like I'm in the wrong body, that I was supposed to be an alpha, not an omega.

"Ask away!" Reina's bubbly voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

I blurted out what I had been thinking ever since I overheard the alphas talking this morning.

"I couldn't help but overhear that a king had visited my village at the same time as your group came... Could you tell me if your king was the chief I heard about from my father? " Even though I spent most of my time chasing Rana, I still managed to do self-study and understood that the importance of a king was the same, if not greater, than the chief in my village.

At that, her smile disappeared before it reappeared again as if nothing had happened. I blinked...I could've sworn she...

"Yes, and..."

We locked eyes. For some reason, her smile felt less genuine. This made me remember that even though we speak to each other more often, we were no less than strangers just a few days ago.

"No reason..." I said this in an attempt to feign ignorance. I just want to make sure that my family will stay safe while I'm here with Reina and the rest of the group if the King himself had personally visited my village. They must've had a reason, seeing as though not many people ever visited our pack. I really know nothing about her, nor do I know anything about the pack or situation that she's in. I remembered another question I have.

Also, "Where are we heading to and when will we arrive? I've never really had the opportunity to leave my village." I said.

"You'll see when we get there," she vaguely replied, with a smile on her face.

At that, I just gave up on attempting to get an answer from her.

"Brother!" She cried out, running past me to hug me... Gael.. mate...

"Reina," Gael ended up showing a rare smile—something I've never seen during the week that I've seen him for. He turns to me.

"Let's go," I said, losing energy as I walked glumly behind him to his horse.

'Oh, he went out riding.'

I waited for him to reach out his hand for me to grab.

"What are you doing? Get on." Gael said in a clipped voice.

"I—" He looks at me in confusion. "Never mind..." I managed to mumble something out before I attempted to get on the horse—failing miserably for quite a while before I finally got on. I ignore the stabbing feeling in my heart at the obvious avoidance he had towards me. "Is Gael really my mate?' I ask my wolf in desperation.

Whine... I heard my wolf answer back.

"Hyah-" The horse suddenly moves, and I automatically grab his stomach.

'No warning? Moon Goddess, why did you pair me with someone who hates me so much? He keeps giving me mixed messages. Why are you so cruel? Why do I have to deal with all this bullsh*t? ' Tears started to flow from my eyes, and after a while, I realized how ridiculous I'd been acting.

'I don't even know why I'm crying. He didn't even do anything to me. I'm being too sensitive about every little thing. No wonder he keeps getting annoyed. When did my life start revolving around someone else entirely? ' At these sudden thoughts, I forced myself to smile, but to others it looked more like a grimace.

'It's time I attempt to change my mindset."

Nobody had slept for three days—it was now nighttime, and the horses continued to run as though they weren't affected by the strenuous exercise.

"I'm amazed that these beauts can handle all this running," I look at the sleek black horse in awe and respect. 'I haven't even done anything productive except piss and I'm extremely tired. ' I stifled a yawn.

I lay on Gael's back, losing my fight against sleep. I could feel my grip weakening. "I'm going to fall off,' I thought belatedly.

Before I did, I could feel someone grab my arm and pull me closer to them.

Gael?

I passed out soon after.

Blink... blink...

I look around; my mind is fuzzy. I tried to recall what had occurred before everything went blank, but I could remember nothing.

I glance at my surroundings. I was in a room?

The room was gorgeous with its navy blue walls and strips of gold. The floor was covered with carpets the shade of gold that had intricate patterns of designs sewed into them. There was an area where a mahogany armoire stood with flowers carved into it. Next to it was a mahogany bureau with the same design and many items covering it. I got off the bed to look at the item that caught my eye.

It was clear and seemed as though it did not belong anywhere in the room. I picked it up and turned it around. The words on the bottle spelled out something strange.

'What a strange...' I recall seeing the same words on a bottle at home. I remembered asking my mom about the product and hearing her laugh nervously blush scarlet with shame. She then told me that it was actually shampoo and she didn't want to share because she thought that she deserved something all to herself. 

Now that he thought about it, it must have been a gift from his dad. It made sense that she didn't want to share it with him. It was precious to his mother. It was high-end, a rare product... Now he had something of good quality to wash his hair with.

I turned to face the bed. It was the same color as the walls and was golden for the bed frame. The blankets were made of silk and were smooth to the touch. Below the bed was a chest, which could also be used as an area to sit on. It was also navy blue.

'Hmm, whoever lives in this room must really like the color blue.' I thought. I turned around and walked to the window that stood right next to the bed I woke up on and stared out of it.

What greeted me was the view of a beautiful, bustling city. It looked exactly like the stories my mother used to tell me when I was younger. I mused, 'Where the aristocrats lived and didn't care for the poor.'

Knock, knock...

"Sir Noah," A muffled male voice spoke from behind the door.

I walk away from the window to the door and open it to see an old man with a young lady.

"I am the Head Butler at this abode, and this young lady is going to be your maid from now to the end of your life. Her name is Shelley. She will start by dressing you and will take you to the table, where you will meet young master Gael and young lady Reina."

'Aristocrats, huh?' Noah frowned. 'That's probably why Gael didn't want to be anywhere near me. It may also be the reason why Reina acted so weird when I asked her about the king. ' Noah sighed before resuming his smile at the introduction.

"Well then, Shelley will help you with anything you need. I'll be heading off now. " With that, the head-butler bowed his head and left the two of them. As the butler's steps faded away from the area, the maid, Shelley, suddenly heaved a heavy sigh.

She tilted her head back and glared at Noah with her pine tree green eyes in disgust. Noah flinched at the sudden attitude change.

Tch...

"Why did a beta like me get assigned to a country bumpkin like you? What's more, a male omega. Disgusting," Her eyes scanned my body from top to bottom. "You're too big and buff for an omega, not cute at all." She made a face as if she had eaten something execrable.

I stood in shock. My wolf and I were both hurt from her comments as she pushed past me and into my room. She wiped her hands after touching me for a second. I could hear her mutter disgust under her breath.

"You're being extremely rude," I fumed, losing control of my emotions. "Don't expect me to take those words from you without a fight." My face screamed hostility, but I didn't dare do anything because I still had morals.

Shelley flinched back, not expecting that type of reaction to come from him before she regained herself. This omega is dangerous. How can he be so calm when I'm literally degrading his being? I need to find a way to threaten him to stay quiet about this or else he might do something about it.

"Listen up, sl*t, male omegas are an abnormality." You being here is not normal. Just imagine a male omega carrying a baby, like a freak. From what the soldiers are saying, you're weak, you cry a lot, and you're a bad cook. What use would Gael have with someone like you? Plus, even if you did tell the geezer about my behavior, would he really believe the words of an omega he's known for only a few minutes or someone he's known for their entire life? " She smirked in triumph.

I stood there at a loss for words at how brazen she was behaving.

"Just face the truth, you're not good enough for Gael. You're a pathetic, spineless, good-for-nothing omega."

At that, she left my room after saying everything that she wanted. The anger that was boiling in me disappeared, and I could feel myself deflate.

The uncomfortable feelings I felt from yesterday, prior to when I woke up, returned at full force. 'I'm not small and cute like an omega, nor am I big and muscly like an alpha.' I'm literally a screw-up.

I began to have problems breathing properly. My vision began to wane. My thought process was stuck on the image of me carrying a baby.

Calm... whine... calm... I could hear my wolf telling me.

The sudden panic attack I had stopped. 'Thanks, buddy.'

I close my eyes and analyze the reasons why the maid would be treating me in this way. Firstly, the beta was extremely prejudiced...I've never dealt with that type as everyone in my village treated omegas equally... then again, she did say male omega, which my pack didn't have. People naturally have an aversion to male omegas, huh. I remember her speaking about Gael a lot. ‘Does she perhaps like Gael?’ My wolf growled angrily.

'Well... it doesn't even matter. I'll just have to tell Gael and the head-butler how I was treated, even if they do decide not to believe me. I can't deal with this kind of nonsense first thing in the morning. If she tries to do something about it, I'll show her how strong a male omega really is. '

I recall Gael's treatment over the past few weeks and push back my slightly long platinum blonde hair. 'That man's broken my heart too many times." After I tell him this, it's probably better for me to stay away. ' I thought, my mind made up.

Now... I sighed, looking at the dresser. What am I going to wear? Wasn't that maid supposed to help me with this?

Noah went to the closet, opened it, and chose a few things before going in front of the mirror and styling his hair.

In the dining room. Four people were seated at a long table. The food looked very delicious and was definitely something that could not be afforded by normal aristocrats. Hundreds of well-known guests were seated far from the table, waiting for the newcomer to arrive. After all, the queen had invited them personally. This person must be someone important.

"Shelley, why has Noah, my son-in-law, not arrived yet?" A woman in her late thirties said in a quiet voice.

Her aura suffocated everyone in the room except her family. They acted as if everything was normal. Gael and Reina quickly glance at their mother from the corner of their eyes, unable to say anything. Reina looked at her lap, worried about Noah. She looked at her brother, and they both looked at each other.

'Calm down," he said, giving Reina a pointed look. 'Remember your place as a princess', before he looked away.

Truthfully he felt...worry...his wolf supplied in his mind–for freckles as well. Especially after the omega had fainted on the horse. Luckily, they had just arrived at the entrance gates to the city, so he had less to worry about when he caught the omega in surprise. The two of them were not affected by their mother's intimidating aura.

The maid in question thought, "They're monsters." Sweat began to drip from her forehead. 'I have to think of something quickly.'

"Speak!" The Queen's eyes turned frosty blue.

"Your majesty, if I may." Hundreds of eyes fixated on the young maid.