The Descendant and Her Mates

CHAPTER TWO

ALICIA

After I was done with washing the clothes of the task masters, I staggered towards the kitchen. My bones ached and the day hadn't even been far spent. This made me to wonder how the rest of the day was going to be for me.

Subconsciously, I backed away from the kitchen table and rested my back against the wall as my mind wandered around. I felt so empty, like I had nobody around to talk to. Well, that was partly true, because I barely had friends.

The only one true friend that I had, had been warned by the head of the maids to never talk to me again. Ugh, I really did hate our heads.

When I thought of her name, the rest of the duties she gave me rushed into my head and I instantly moved away from the wall, then I began to walk towards the sink.

All the plates used by everyone in the pack house were still there, waiting for me. My face squeezed into a frown as I held the wet sponge in my hand. The kitchen was so dirty that it seemed like no work had been done since the food was cooked.

Then what did the other maids really clean? I asked myself, as I started scrubbing the dishes with anger boiling in me.

That took a whole hour out of the little time I had been given. Remembering how Maya timed me, I turned around and my eyes settled on the spot where she had spat. A small gasp escaped my lips as I saw that her saliva had indeed dried. I moved swiftly around the kitchen, trying to finish the work as fast as I could to avoid any further issues.

While my slightly sore back was fully bent and my right fingers were firmly wrapped around a broom, I heard footsteps coming towards me and the next thing I felt was a stinging slap on my back.

Almost immediately, I fell to the ground and turned my head to see the taskmaster frowning at me. He looked so angry. As fast as I could, I scrambled off the floor and got on my knees, keeping my head bent.

“You didn't wash the clothes properly. How useless can you be?" he asked, and I caught a tear in my palm before it touched the floor.

I couldn't say anything, I just nodded as he told me to wash them again before leaving.

***

An hour later, I was done with the clothes, but I felt like my back was going to break anytime soon. I saw the taskmaster strolling towards me, and my heart skipped a beat.

I stood up and moved closer to him. "The clothes have been washed again, and I've done..."

I hadn't finished my sentence when he cut me off. “Yes, I know. You can go and have your meal now,” he said and I nodded.

Immediately, I dashed to the dining hall and I was happy to see that the other maids had prepared the meal. At least, that felt refreshing.

As I sat at the table, already digging into my meal, I heard some maids stroll in, laughing but I didn't pay any attention to them because of how hungry I was.

"I really can't believe the King is coming! I'm so excited!" one of them said and even though I wasn't listening to their conversation, that got my attention.

I listened more to them, and realized that the King was coming to the pack house soon so we had to prepare! I was so excited and I suddenly felt filled up, but I needed more information. I turned towards them to ask but it seemed that they noticed I wanted to talk to them, so they turned and left the hall.

***

The rest of the day went just like the previous days, but this time, my mind was so preoccupied with the news that I heard about the King.

It was already nighttime but before I resigned to my room, we were all asked to gather in the kitchen as the taskmaster wanted to say something to us. Anytime that was announced, we all just always knew that he brought some news along with him. It was something big and that we were sure of. I guessed it was about the King.

“Okay, is everyone here?" His eyes moved from one person to another, lingering on me a little bit longer than they did on others. They pierced mine, and I pulled my lips into a thin line in response to him.

He slowly rubbed his palms together and placed his hands behind his back. "I have some big news for you all. The King is coming over. You all are supposed to act just like how you have been doing for a while now, so we are expected to get everything ready tomorrow without delay. Is that clear?"

The whole kitchen was silent as everyone was pondering over what he said. I was so excited, so I gripped the hem of my dress so I wouldn't squeal loudly.

I already knew that they were going to push all the hard work to me, but for the first time, I didn't mind as I wanted to meet the King. "It's clear, sir. That’s noted. Preparations start tomorrow!" Helen stood straight and gave him a small bow, before she turned around to face us.

"You all have heard what the taskmaster said, so we have to make preparations tomorrow. You have to make sure you all wake up early.” Her gaze eyes settled on me and I nervously shifted my gaze from her, shuffling my feet as I did so.

Helen dismissed everyone, but not before assigning our duties to us. I was a bit shocked that she actually assigned the same weight of work she gave everyone else to me. It was nice to see.

When I got to my mat, I let out a sigh of relief because I was so tired and too excited. I retired to sleep, hoping I didn't have the same dream I had the day before; the one about my mother and father.

***

The next morning came really fast, and my eyes scanned everywhere as I yawned out loudly. I was a bit shocked to see that I wasn't woken up by water or beatings as it usually was. It meant that I woke up early.

After getting ready for the day, I dashed to the kitchen to do my share of the work. Nobody alked to me and I did the same. I was made to clean he floors and walls and I started to do t without complaining.

“Are you making progress?" Helen asked everyone as she walked around, intently checking anyone like they were in prison.

Nobody answered the question she asked. Instead, they continued doing their work and I did the same thing.

I was scrubbing the tiled floor like my life depended on it when the taskmaster barged into the kitchen, looking so surprised and happy at the same time.

“I have some more news. The King was supposed to come tomorrow, but he's coming today evening. Isn't that exciting?"

All the maids squealed while I nodded. I was happy for sure, but there was so much work for us to do that I wondered how we were going to finish them because we had to impress the King.

Without wasting any more time, I continued working. After I was done with the kitchen, I went to the throne hall and started cleaning it, making it shine more and more.

After we were all done with cleaning, we joined the maids in charge of meals and started making the meals, snacks and drinks together because welcoming the King was a big thing, and we needed to make it a feast.

Excited chatters filled the room as everyone was talking about how they couldn't wait to see the Alpha King of the Northern Kingdom. Some even said that they were going to 'seduce' him to become the next Queen Luna of the Northern Kingdom.

All I did was shake my head and smile to myself. I wasn't interested in the King in that way because I was sure he wouldn't even notice my presence. Nobody ever did. I was nothing but a plain Jane whose presence was easily overlooked.

Or so I thought…

***

The biggest hall in the pack house had been decorated and transformed by the best decorators in our pack. I was really happy with the way it turned out because the decorators had arrived late, and I felt that it wouldn't be possible.

The biggest task had been accomplished and the rest of the things which were supposed to make the welcome ceremony a success were just little and could be done quickly.

Since I was done with my work, I decided to go round the house to make sure everything was in order, even though it wasn't my job to do that.

The next hour went by really fast, faster than we all expected and the fear that we had been trying to hide started creeping in; the fear of everything being a failure and of not impressing the King at all.

For the first time in a while, I addressed everyone, telling them that we had put so much into making sure we made the king feel good, and it would all be worth it. I made sure I helped everyone do everything that they had to do. I also made sure the things in the hall were all in order.

The King was to be at our pack house in exactly an hour and thirty minutes. Helen and Maya asked us all to change into our “expensive clothes” which were just another color of the ones that we were putting on.

I was standing at a corner of the hall when the taskmaster approached me. "Have you had anything to eat today? I saw your mates eating a while ago, and you weren't there with them," he said and I shook my head.

How could I eat when my stomach was feeling like jelly?

"Go and have some food now before the king gets here. It's an order, " he said before leaving. I sighed before leaving the hall to do as he said.

Thirty minutes later, guests had started arriving and things were going really great, better than I initially expected. I was in the hallway, trying to get a few refreshments for the guests in the hall, when one of my fellow maids suddenly ran to me.

The maids were already lined up in a straight line in the hall, and they were facing the door. It seemed like the King had arrived. I quickly wiped my sweaty palms on my dress before forcefully joining the line. I was pushed to the front because my name started with an "A." We were still standing there when the King arrived.

The guards with him stood around him, guarding him. They opened the door for him, as their eyes scanned everything until they were satisfied . They walked in and we all bowed a little.

Soon, the King himself walked forward and the maids bowed their heads, but I didn't. I wanted to look at him properly. The King’s eyes started scanning everywhere and before I knew it, he turned his head and his eyes settled on mine.

I slowly wet my dry lips with my tongue and gulped down as I waited for the worst.

My eyes didn't leave his until my wolf started purring and chanting, "Mate, mate, mate!"

I was so shocked and surprised. How could the King of the Northern Kingdom be my mate? No, it wasn't possible! Oh no! It just wasn’t!