6
1212 Words
ARIA.
I leaned against the wall, eyes heavy and joints stiff. My body was weak and tired. I had spent most of the day working nonstop with Daneesha. We had been denied lunch because we had to decorate the ball before evening.
A lot of people were done with their duties. It was just me, Daneesha and a few others left. Daneesha was tying the last ribbon off and when she finally came down, she wiped her sweat and sighed before crumpling to the ground.
"We are yet to begin," She said as she looked towards the door. The first set of guests had arrived and I could tell that they weren't just anyone.
My anxiety increased. Today, we were going to be sold. Maybe not us all but a huge percentage. The Palace didn't need any more slaves.
I wiped a bead of sweat that formed on my brow and left the hall with Daneesha.
We were suddenly assigned to the kitchen. There was a lot to do and even with the surplus food available, one of the maids said it wasn't enough for tonight.
We all knew that a lot was going to waste but it didn't matter so long as we made every dish, dessert, aperitif and drink available in surplus.
We set out to work. Daneesha was assigned to cutting vegetables and I was asked to arrange the food on the buffet table along with the other maids.
Once again, I met my bully. She was in the same section as me and avoiding her was not possible. As soon as she saw me, she glared at me and smiled wickedly.
"How did your rooftop cleaning go?" She asked and the others laughed. "I wished you had fallen from the roof and snapped your neck on the ground. Seeing you dead would have made my year."
"Of all things to wish for, it's seeing me dear rather than wishing to be away from this hellhole," I muttered under my breath and dumped a pan of blueberry muffins.
"What did you just say to me?!" She asked as she drew close to me. By now, the hall was half filled with guests.
"I said nothing." I gritted, my fists clenching. I was tired of being bullied by someone who was a slave just like me. When was this classism going to end?
But she was standing before me and the next moment, her hand was in my hair, pulling roughly. She hit my face against the wall and I cried out in pain, struggling to be free from her hold.
"What's going on here?!" A voice called from behind us and she immediately stepped away, forcing a smile as she turned to one of the guards who had appeared.
"Nothing at all. Someone here thinks being here is equivalent to suffering."
What? Did she really want to put me into trouble like the last time?
The guard gave me one glance before turning away and leaving. As soon as he left, she glared at me and walked away.
About two hours later, we were asked to take a break while another batch took over. I was more than relieved. At least, I could get some rest.
After eating, all I wanted was to be away from everything. I was more than exhausted and on the verge of crying.
I was afraid. I felt alone and all I wanted to do was scream into the night air. This wasn't how I had imagined my life to be. All the rosiness and the love of my life riding me on a horse was all a figment of my imagination, never to happen.
I needed to be alone, away from the noise and bustling activities. So I went up to the roof I had cleaned days ago. It was my favorite place to be. I was closer to the sky and away from everyone. It made me feel like an empyrean.
By now, the feast was in full swing. Though I couldn't hear anything from here, I knew it was time to dance and mingle with people.
This thought took me back to when I bumped into Alpha Lyall. I had been unable to look at his face because I was filled with so much fear and another intense feeling I couldn't decipher.
From the stories Daneesha had told me of him, he was feared by everyone. A typical example of the devil's Incarnate. He had defeated Packs, taking over their cities. I was glad he hadn't snapped my neck because I was in his way.
I took a seat on the parapet and just then, the smell of tobacco wafted into my nose. I wasn't the only one here. Eyes widening slightly, I quietly stood to my feet and tried to leave before I was noticed. But I felt a prickle behind my neck and stopped.
The presence of this person behind me was dominant. It gave me the same feeling with my previous encounter with Alpha Lyall.
I was right. When I turned, he was standing there with a Cigarette in his hand. Taking a last drag, he let it drop to the floor and crunched it under his boot.
A searing feeling tore through my chest as my wolf thrashed against me. This was the first time she had done this since I got my wolf. I frowned and tried to remain composed.
Mate!
No way. No way in hell was he my mate. It had to be a mistake.
But the feeling of want and desire and yearning said otherwise. My body wanted him. Terribly.
This was my first time seeing his face. He was several inches taller than I was with ripped muscles in the right places. I was half his size and that intimidated me. He oozed strength and domineering charisma with rugged edges. His hair, tousled and silken, fell over his forehead, almost covering his striking green eyes that sent shivers down my body. His skin was as brown as the sand on the beach and he had a scar running across his cheek and this did not in any way mar his good looks. Goosebumps rose on my skin and I knew I had to walk away from him. He could kill me with one move. I was already suffering so much here, and dying wasn't the plan.
He was an epitome of an empyrean. A fallen angel, one that had warred with the gods in the past.
Mate.
No. No.
Just as I was about to back away from me, he raised a brow and walked towards me in three strides.
"And where do you think you're going, tesoro?"
His closeness to me made my brain all fuzzy. I couldn't think straight with him this close. I opened my mouth to speak but no words came out.
"I'm sorry, your majesty. I didn't- did not realize you were here—"
One moment, I was standing before him and the next, he had me pinned to the wall, his intense green eyes on me, swirling with so much lust and desire.
Did he...feel the same way too?
"Don't you dare walk away from me, ever again?"
He crashed his lips into mine.
- Writer
