Page 34 of Their Rejected Queen

It’s a skyscraper.

It was hard to tell at first with the strange poking beams I’d thought were branches. They aren’t.

My eyes track the wires that lead to various points on the ground. Perhaps that provides power to the building?

Minus the unique style of decorative, swirling arches and the strange branches, it reminds me of the modern architecture of Monster City. I’m no stranger to such structures, but I certainly wasn’t expecting something like this in the middle of the Blood Moon Pack.

“We’re here,” Ulara announces, but I could have already guessed as much.

The steel walls are harsh, covered in moss, and entirely uninviting. A shiver runs up my spine as Ulara opens the heavy door and takes me inside.

Unlike Godric’s tent, there’s plenty of light, and it’s not from torches or candles but from what I can only describe as mage lights throughout the hallways and lining the upper corners of the entryway.

There goes my theory that this building is tapping into a power grid.

“This was built and ordained by those of Monster Isle Court. It’s called a hub. Every pack village has one,” Ulara informs me.

“What kinds of things happen in the… hub?” I ask.

She shrugs. “Evaluations, of course, but also other business that requires an overlap of the pack and royals.”

“So, every village has to follow a set of rules?” Maybe this has something to do with what Arwan was talking about.

Ulara nods, sending her dirty-blonde braids falling over her shoulder. “Evaluation is as much for the royals as they are for us. Any newcomers to our pack have to be tested.”

“Tested for what?” I hedge, but I don’t get an answer. Apparently, that’s asking too much.

Instead, Ulara takes me by the hand and draws me past groups of girls who give us side-glances.

I look for Sofia among them, or any of the girls who had been on the train with us, but this must be a different batch.

How many females did Godric buy?

A sinking dread settles into my stomach as Ulara leads me toward the rear of the building. I am to “skip the line,” it seems.

The dread only worsens as I follow the female shifter through the halls, catching a glimpse of a room with white sheets over thin, human forms.

Bodies.

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t both Godric and Arwan waiting for me inside the small room that Ulara shoves me into. Their competing scents mix more pleasantly than I thought they would, leaving me dizzy.

“Good, you’re both here,” Ulara states, then takes me by the elbow and leads me to what looks like a medical chair. “Sit,” she tells me.

I don’t miss the tone of her voice.

Obey.

Submit.

Survive.

I take in both males as I settle myself into the chair and tuck my dress under my legs. I feel naked without my vials.

Arwan looks completely indifferent, as if he hadn’t just been alone with me in a tent, informing me that our lives are now linked.

But he’s here, and that tells me everything he said was true.

That, or he just wants to piss off Godric.