I smiled. “Thank you. Oh, and by the way, I was never here. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Your Highness.” As he led me to the front desk, he said, “Is there a specific type of alpha you’re interested in? We have many available.”
“I’m not buying. Only looking.”
“Yes, of course.”
“Isn’t there a kennel I can walk through to see them all with my own eyes?” I asked.
The beta blinked. “No, sir, they’re not kept in kennels. They have their own rooms.”
Interesting. I’d expected some kind of cage or prison, but apparently the alpha market was a bit more sophisticated than that.
“Is there some kind of yard you can turn them loose into?” I asked.
“I don’t believe they’ll all fit, Your Highness,” the beta said nervously.
This was becoming more effort than it was worth. I sighed.
Sensing my impatience, the beta said, “If you tell me a specific trait you favor, such as hair color for example, I can absolutely round them up for you.”
I thought about it for a moment, then answered honestly. “Under thirty. Brown hair. Over six feet tall.”
“Do you have an eye color preference, sir?”
“Dark.”
“Absolutely. I’ll have that done for you in ten minutes. Please wait here until I’ve sent someone to escort you to the yard.”
I dismissed him with a wave and he scurried off.
A slow smile spread over my lips. This was going to be interesting.
* * *
The beta sentme an escort ten minutes later on the dot. A pair of beta guards flanked me. Their formation was slightly awkward, since Marianne was at my side, but no one else commented on her presence. She was an extension of myself, and I expected her to be treated as such.
The yard was, as the name suggested, a large flat outdoor area. Unlike the rest of the compound, there was no ceiling. It was open to the sky. It was clear there had once been grass carpeting the ground, but it had since been worn down into yellow-brown sod remnants.
About fifty alphas stood in front of me. Brown hair and dark eyes were uncommon in Lacehaven, bordering on rare. I was surprised to see this many of them. But upon closer inspection, a few weren’t what I’d requested.
I approached one, a man much taller than me. He fit the description aside from his hair color.
“Your Highness, I implore you to keep your distance,” a beta guard urged me. “If you’d like to see them up close, we have safer ways of—”
I raised a hand. She stopped talking.
The alpha in front of me had wide eyes, like he was facing a coiled snake. He was slightly afraid, but not terrified. That made him pliable, easy to control. I knew he wouldn’t cause trouble.
“Do they have names?” I asked the guard.
The alpha standing beside the not-so-brunet flinched. I didn’t look at him.
“No, Your Highness,” the guard said. “They no longer have given names, so you’re free to name yours as you see fit.”
“How do you tell them apart?”
“They keep their family name,” she explained.
