The Alpha King's Assassin Queen

Spanish Villa

Sofia

My heart aches ever so slightly after I left Malcolm Fury standing naked in the middle of the woods. I could have stayed and become the fated mate to the crown prince of the werewolves, but I had a job to do. The portal brought me to an alley in some tiny Spanish town where my next target resided with his family. I stroll down the street towards my rented hovel. The small room holds only a twin-sized cot and an old dresser. I pull open a drawer and spot the instructions Aunt Alicia had so painstakingly written for me.

I sit on the bed and remember the words before setting the note on fire in my hand. I extinguish the flames, pull open another drawer, take off my linen dress, and replace it with a Spanish-style red dress with colorful flowers. I pull my long hair into a tight bun and put on white sandals. I smile at myself in the mirror.

“Perfect,” I whisper, grab a canvas bag with my potions, and head out of the room. I stroll to my destination and take in the sights and smells of this town along the Mediterranean. The smell of fresh seafood makes its way to me, and I know I am on the right track. I stop before a large villa with many people milling about. Finding a way to sneak in, I make my way to where several servants are gathered, awaiting their assignments for tonight's festivities. Tonight the prince of the town will return to a party thrown by his parents. They are werecats, and they more or less rule their kind in this part of the world. I sneak into the shadows and put on my new face with a spell I had worked hard to master.

I stood beside the woman to whom I looked identical, and she gasped. She started to say something in Spanish, but I clamped my hand over her mouth, dragged her back toward the shadows, and broke her neck like it was nothing. I stuff her corpse in a corner and saunter towards the kitchen. I get to work speaking with the other women preparing the grand feast. I sneer at the severe lack of vegetables. Besides a few potatoes, the feast was all meat.

“Can you believe Prince Valero is coming home tonight?” One of the ladies asks me in Spanish.

“I can’t believe it. How long has he been away?” I ask her in response.

“Oh Maria, you know exactly how long he has been away,” The woman waggles her eyes at me.

“Do I?” I ask with a smirk.

“Yes,” She huffs. “Are you alright, Maria?” She leans in and inhales but says nothing while moving away from me.

I help her finish the task, sneak out of the kitchen and slink towards the party. I see my target. He is a tall, slender man sipping on what I assume is vodka. He has slicked-back black hair and is wearing a fine suit. He flicks his yellow cat-like eyes to me and smiles.

“Come here, Maria,” He says in smooth booze fueled voice.

I slink toward him, and he wraps his strong arms around me. His tongue flicks out and licks my neck.

“Hmm, you taste so good, my love,” He buries his nose in the crook of my neck, and we begin to sway to the music in the room. “Tonight, I shall finally make you my mate. Mother and Father be dammed,” He chuckles.

“Valero!” A female voice croaks, and I am released. A younger woman dressed in a tight red dress marches towards us. She glares daggers at me. “Hands off my fiancée you w***e,” she hisses and glares at Valero. “What have I said about f*****g the servants?”

“You do not dictate my bedroom activities, Stephania,” Valero snarls. He grabs her chin. “You are merely the pretty face my parents chose to share my bed, but my heart, you will never have,” He hisses and lets her go. Valero turns to me. “It is you that I truly love Maria. My inner leopard cannot stop purring in your presence. This slippery toad does nothing for me,” He glares at Stephania.

“I am no toad, you prick,” Stephania shrieks and peels out of the room.

Valero takes my hand, “Come, let us get to know each other again.”

I nod and allow the handsome man to lead me out of the room and down a grand hallway overlooking the sparkling sea. He leads me to a tented cabana on the beach and sits me down on a lounger. He sits beside me and begins to kiss my neck. I must resist how it makes me feel as I lean into him. I have a job to do. I dip my hand into my bag and rummage for the correct potion.

“Oh, your skin is soft and tastes like sugar,” Valero whispers. His lips travel up and down my neck, and I let out a pleasured moan. I hate that I am to kill this man, but from what I understand, he is all charm and nothing else good.

“Valero!” A deep male voice bellows, and the flap in front of the cabana is pulled back, and an older-looking version of Valero glares at us.

“I’m busy, Father,” Valero glares at the other man.

“That is not your fiancée!” His father barks.

“I know. This woman is my true love, Father. I will never love Stephania!” Valero shotus and stands up.

His father's eyes glow gold for a moment. “Your marriage to Stephania has nothing to do with love and everything to do with business. You know that. I don’t care if you want to f**k this little w***e, but can you wait until after the party!”

I slowly stand up and try to sneak out of the cabana, but Valero grabs me. “I have to get back to work,” I say to him.

“You are with me, my love,” Valero smiles at me.

I stand with my head down as Valero, and his father argue. After the elder man leaves, I am led out of the cabana and back into the villa. We get close to where I stashed the real Maria’s body, and a blood-curdling scream is heard.

“What the hell?” Valero says and rushes towards the scream while pulling me along.

I see a male servant cradling Maria’s body, and Valero lets out a pained growl and takes the woman’s body. “It is Maria,” the servant sobs.

“Maria,” Valero repeats and looks at me. “Then who are you?”

I say nothing and turn heel to run, but several strong men catch me. They turn me to face a now angry Valero, “Who are you?!” Valero demands. He grabs my purse and dumps out the contents. “Witch,” He hisses. “You-“ He pauses. “You are the Chameleon Killer!”

“N-no, sir,” I speak softly. “I am Alma, Maria’s twin.”

“Maria has no siblings,” Valero snorts. “Take her to the Cell,” He orders the men holding me.

I am dragged away. I chant a quick spell, and a fireball explodes over the men causing them to release me. I take off running down the hall. I see my chance to escape, but I am grabbed and punched hard enough to knock me out.

I wake up later in a cold stone room with my hands and feet bound by rope. My body aches from the many bruises I now have. I sit and listen to the dripping of water coming from nearby. A door opens, and heavy boots thump against a set of wooden stairs at the corner of the room.

Valero comes into my view, and I look up at him, and his eyes are nearly black as he looks down at me. “The Chameleon Killer,” He walks around me. “Who was your target?”

I say nothing and stare at the floor. Aunt Alicia always told me to remain silent, so I shut my lips.

“Nothing to say, huh?” Valero squats in front of me. “Hmm, you are almost pretty,” He looks me up and down. “But nowhere as beautiful as my Maria. You know the woman you killed?”

“I’m sorry she died,” I mumble.

A low feline growl comes from his throat, “I would love to kill you myself, but you are wanted by many, and I have to hand you over to the council of witches.”

My blood runs cold as I stare at him, “Why don’t you just kill me?”

“It’s not my call, Chameleon,” Valero rises to his feet. “Though my leopard would very much like to rip you apart for killing his mate.”

“I welcome that,” I respond while staring him in the eyes. I can sense the wild leopard within. “Let him feast upon my flesh.”

A low growl curls his lips as he grins at me. “You would like that too much,” He hisses and walks away from me and up the stairs.

I rock myself to keep warm in the cold, damp room. I look around for a way out as I try to free my hands. I close my eyes and start to chant a spell I know to loosen ropes, but I am interrupted when the door opens again.

A familiar set of legs saunters down the stairs, followed by Valero’s father. I look at my angry aunt as she bats her eyelashes at the man.

“We are sorry to have made such a mistake Mrs. Felt,” Valero’s father says to my aunt.

“The mistake is forgiven, Mr. Castillo,” Aunt Alicia smirks.

Mr. Castillo turns to a man standing just behind him, “Cut the ropes.”

The man kneels in front of me and cuts the ropes. Aunt Alicia then helps me to my feet. “Are we free to go?” She asks.

“Of course, Mrs. Felt,” Mr. Castillo bows.

My aunt puts an arm around my shoulder and leads me up the stairs out of the cell. Valero rushes toward us with anger in his eyes. His teeth transform into fangs as he growls at his father. “What is the meaning of this, Father? Why is this b***h walking away?”

“We made a mistake, Valero,” Mr. Castillo responds. “We have the wrong woman.”

“Father, what is wrong with your eyes?” Valero questions.

“Let’s go,” Aunt Alicia whispers, and we rush away from the father and son duo.

“Is he under a spell?” I ask, and she smirks. “Right.” I breathe out as we jog down the hallway.

We run outside into a courtyard and hear voices yelling for us along with growls. My aunt starts to chant the spell for a portal, and it opens just as two leopards leap off the balcony above us. I am pushed into the portal, followed by my aunt, who closes it just as one of the leopards leaps at us. We landed in a plush hotel room in a high-rise building.

“You failed at your task,” Aunt Alicia saunters away from me toward a bar in the corner of the room. I get to my feet and follow her. I sit on a stool as she pours herself a drink. “I was almost successful.”

“Valero Castillo is still alive,” Aunt Alicia sips some vodka from a crystal glass. “You failed.”

“I’m sorry, Aunt Alicia,” I hang my head.

She downs her drink. “I’ll do it tonight,” She snarls.

“No, give me another chance. I will make sure the Valero Castillo doesn’t see another sunrise,” I plead with her.

“You know my father is on your tail, right? If you get caught again, he will decide your fate,” Alicia lights up a cigarette.

“I can do this, Auntie,” I beg.

She rolls her eyes. “Fine. But if you fail, again, I am tying your sorry ass to a cement block and throwing you into the swamp for the gators to devour.”

“Will grandma like that?” I bat my eyelashes.

“Clean up and get to work,” She huffs and saunters away from me.

I slide off the stool and rush into the bathroom to take a long shower. I get a few hours of rest and then get dressed. I gather my potions and then open a portal to return to the villa beside the sea. It is nearly pitch black as I slink down the hallway to what I hope is Valero’s room. I hear the distinctive sounds of s*x. I use the shadows to peer inside the room and find Valero going hard into some screaming woman.

“Oh baby,” He shouts. “Scream for Papi,” He grunts.

I wait for him to finish and roll over onto his back while he and the woman pant.

“Oh, Valero, you were magnificent,” The woman pants. I notice she is the woman I conversed with hours ago, disguised as Maria. “I must use the ladies’ room,” She slides out of bed and trots to the bathroom.

Valero lights up a cigarette and lies on his king-sized bed. He hums as he takes a drag from his cigarette. “I can smell you, Chameleon,” He speaks.

I slink out of the shadows and stop right in front of the bed. My eyes flick down at his ample manhood, “Should have held out longer as Maria,” I smirk.

He growls at me. “Are you here to kill me?”

“Something like that,” I respond.

He leaps out of bed, and I dodge him as he lunges for me. He snarls and lunges for me again, and I jump onto the bed. Valero shifts into his leopard and lunges at me. I leap off the bed and toss a vase at his face. The leopard lets out a high-pitched roar as he shakes the shards of the vase from his face. It gives me a chance to pull a potion from my bag. I open it and toss it at the charging leopard.

The leopard lets out a pained whimper as he falls to the ground, paralyzed. A scream comes from behind me as the woman comes out of the bathroom wearing a towel.

“What is going on?” She screeches and runs for the door. I cut her off and slam her into the wall. I kick her face, and she screams again.

“Shut up,” I hiss at her and kick her again, and she falls silent. I turn to the paralyzed leopard. He is panting heavily, and I can see his struggle to move in his eyes. I kneel beside him. “This is nothing personal,” I say to him as I pull another vial from my bag. I look at the poison in my hand. “I never ask the why of what I do. I only do it,” I say as I pour the poison into his open mouth.

A low whine comes from the dying cat as he shifts back into Valero. Tears run down his cheeks as the fire leaves his eyes. Once I am sure he is dead, I open the portal and leave the scene. I find myself in my aunt’s hotel room once again. She is sitting on a couch watching TV.

“You succeeded,” She slurs and turns to me. Her eyes are glossy, and I can only assume she drank all of the vodka in the bar.

“I did,” I respond and walk away from her into the other bedroom. I strip out of my clothes and lie on the bed face first. I scream into my pillow as I actually feel guilty for taking a life. It's something I trained for and enjoyed. But I am slowly starting to find myself no longer enjoying it. I have no idea why someone felt that Valero Castillo needed to die. I just do what I am told, and usually, I don’t care. But for once, I cared. My heart is heavy as I slowly fall asleep to my thrumming guilt.