MATED TO THE CRUEL DEVIL

A DEAL

Amelia’s Pov.

My mouth was sealed for the rest of the ride as if a spell had been cast on me. Not even a hum of my favorite song or a sound I made when playing with the birds left my mouth.

After he dropped my hand, my eyes were glued to the window, staring deeply outside without a single glance at him, but the chills of his hot stare kept me awake through the night, subtle and haunting, just like his whole demeanor.

By the time we got to his house, my earlier shock by the number of cars that lined up to pick me up and the magnitude of the command he held was topped by his majestic palace.

It was just like the castles in those magical fairy tales, tall and gigantic, only that it came with his haunting personality and was painted in a dark gray color instead of the silvery white color they were always in.

Before I could reach to open the door myself, the same wolf that unlocked it for me opened it, our eyes meeting for a moment before he stretched his hand forward. I had just climbed down, and the door slammed close behind me when I saw my husband walking towards the house, already close to the door.

“So much for being nice,” I grumbled.

I kept gawking at every part of the castle, especially the long road to the door, which looked like a red carpet.

“Welcome, my lady,” The doorman greeted, opening the wide door for me.

Everything about it screamed money, power, and ruthlessness, and if I didn’t know any better, I might have assumed he was one of those mafia men in the books I read.

There were maids situated at every corner and lined up at the edge of the room with their heads lowered to the ground, and in the middle, my eyes met with my devilish, handsomely handsome, his touch on my jaws and cheeks coming to linger once again.

“Clean her up, dress her, and bring her to the table in 20,” he said, holding my glare before turning his brick back at me.

“Yes, Your Highness,” An elderly voice replied.

As he disappeared from my sight, the maids dissolved instantly, and the owner of the elderly voice walked towards me and spoke.

“Welcome. Follow me, please.”

She walked away without hearing my response, and I followed her with some of the maids walking behind me.

Every part of the house was magnificent, almost making my eyes want to pop out. The room, the tub, how the maids scrubbed my body efficiently and smoothly, and how they carried themselves. Even the oil was different from the stupid one my mama bought for me back home.

“Can I ask a few questions?” I asked softly, staring at the young maid through the mirror.

She stopped brushing my hair for a split moment, her throat bobbing up and down before shooting me a tight-lipped smile and a slight nod.

“How is he like?” I started, and I did not let her respond before throwing in more questions, “Is he brutal? Is he threatening? Is he a bully? How does he act?”

She didn’t say anything, and her eyes didn’t leave my hair as she continued to style it.

“Or perhaps is he sweet?” I asked, staring at the mirror with squinted eyes.

My last sentence stopped her from what she was doing. She raised her head to look at me as a small huff left her mouth.

“I’m sorry to say this, but the alpha is anything but sweet.”

Those were the last words I heard from her before the head maid, who was the elderly woman I met earlier, returned and bundled me outside.

We passed different hallways and received all sorts of attention before finally getting to a gray door she knocked on twice before it opened and instantly revealed a vast and enormous dining room. She then led the way, and I followed, his highness already on seat.

I assumed he must have freshened up also, as he looked different from before, with his hair now combed to the back, giving me a full view of his hardened and oval face. I bowed slightly to him before taking my seat, and the maids started serving the food.

A few minutes into eating, I already felt like I was in a death trap. The stares of the maids, the guards, and everything made it uncomfortable not to talk of his not-too-subtle glare.

“Remind me of your name again,” he broke the iciness of the room.

“Amelia,” I replied, “but you’ve called me brown hair two times today,” I added under my breath.

“Well, isn’t your hair brown?” he mocked.

I almost choked on my food at the mockery in his voice, surprised and taken aback for a while. Was he not the same man who had threatened people twice, before and to me?

“Well, but my name is Amelia.”

He nodded, his jaw clenching and unclenching as he chewed on the food.

“Amelia, or brown hair. I choose whatever to call you. You’re now my bride, wife, and Luna-to-be of this pack, and as long as I keep being the alpha, I can choose whatever I wish to call you. Is that clear?”

My lips curved into a smile as I stared at him, and my eyes melted in those beautiful black orbs of his.

“Is there anything funny in what I’ve said, Amelia?”

The smile on my lips grew wider as I dropped my spoon, “For someone who was acting cold throughout the trip here, you’re kind of a talker.”

I could sense that everything changed after that last word, his hand freezing mid-air and a gasp from someone standing.

I gulped slowly, looking at the guards’ and maid’s shocked faces, “Have I said anything wrong? I mean, I thought you were just a one-word alpha full of threats, and I’m just saying, you said five lines of all that and –”

“– Brown hair...” he spoke slowly, a chuckle escaping his lips, “do I not scare you enough? Or are you just blind to it?”