THE ALPHA KING’S PRIDE

CHAPTER TWO

The royal ball was all anyone could talk about for days. Preparations swept through the pack like a flood. Luna oversaw every detail: flowers, fabrics, invitations, and most importantly, appearances. As a maid, I wasn’t meant to be noticed. But this time, I had been chosen by Alpha Derek himself to accompany the pack to the royal court. Luna wasn’t happy.

“She doesn’t need silk,” she snapped at the tailor fitting me into a plain silver-gray dress. “Make sure she looks like a service staff member, not someone worth remembering.” I stood still, letting the woman pin the hem. There was no point arguing. I was going, but not as a guest. I would be serving drinks, fetching food, and standing behind Luna with my head down. The dress was modest and functional, but better than anything I owned. Mia nudged me when Luna walked off.

“If she glared any harder, your dress would catch fire.”

“She hates that I’m going.”

“She hates that he chose you to go.”

I looked at her sharply. “Alpha Derek chooses a lot of people.”

“Yeah, I guess he finds pleasure in torturing people after all, huh?”. I laughed

“I didn’t ask for any of it.”

Mia gave me a sympathetic smile but said nothing more. By evening, the ballroom shimmered like a fantasy. It was larger than I imagined, with high ceilings, gleaming floors, and walls draped in velvet. The chandeliers sparkled above like captured stars. As the carriages arrived and noble families stepped out, the room filled with elegance and perfume and power. We stood in formation, dressed in gray and silver like a matched set of chess pieces. Alpha Derek addressed us briefly before we entered.

“You are not only servants tonight,” he said.

“You represent this pack. "Don’t forget who watches from the shadows." It wasn’t a threat. But it felt like one. Luna strode into the ballroom like she owned it. I followed behind, quiet and obedient, standing at her right until she waved me off. “Wine. White. Cold,” she said, not even glancing my way. I curtsied and turned toward the drinking tables at the far end of the room. The lights were warmer there, less intense. As I reached for a bottle of white wine, I realized I wasn’t alone.

A girl stood at the edge of the table, dressed in navy-blue silk laced with golden threads. Her hair was wild and beautiful, her presence unsettling. She didn’t look like one of us.

“You look like you’d rather vanish,” she said, swirling her drink. I hesitated. “I’m here to serve.”

She tilted her head. “That doesn’t mean you don’t belong.” I didn’t respond.

Her eyes scanned the ballroom. “Everyone’s pretending tonight. That’s the thing about these royal events. You get a hundred wolves in a room, and none of them show their teeth.” A short laugh escaped me before I could stop it. She smiled. “There. That’s better. Don’t let them crush that spark.”

“Who are you?” I asked softly.

“No one is important,” she replied. “Just someone bored enough to talk to a maid.” Then she walked off, melting into the crowd before I could stop her.

Luna accepted her wine without a word. I returned to my post, hands folded, trying to be invisible. The ballroom had turned into a current of motion, dancing, talking, and flirting. Music played from an unseen corner, and the scent of expensive perfume clung to the air like smoke.

Then something strange happened. A flutter inside me. At first, I thought it was anxiety, too many bodies, too much noise, too much pressure to behave perfectly. But it wasn’t that. It was her. My wolf. Her voice had been silent for months.

Ever since I was old enough to shift, she’d come and go as she pleased, but recently, she’d been quiet. Distant. Like a part of me had gone to sleep. Until now, had she stirred suddenly and sharply, alert and excited? My chest tightened. I took a deep breath, trying not to draw attention. What’s wrong? I asked her silently. No answer. Just feeling strong, anxious, and eager. The ball blurred around me. I moved like I was underwater, my thoughts churning. What could have caused this? Why now? Of all nights, why here?

The sensation didn’t stop. It only grew stronger as the night stretched on. My skin prickled like I was being watched. I didn’t recognize the feeling, but it made me both nervous and expectant. Later, during a lull in the ball, I slipped out with Mia to the servants' corridor behind the hall. She was carrying empty goblets. I was pretending to check for supplies.

“I need to talk to you,” I whispered. She looked at me, concerned.

“What is it?”

“My wolf,” I said, glancing around to make sure we were alone.

"She stirred. Just now. Well, maybe thirty minutes ago".

"She’s awake. Or trying to be". Mia’s brows lifted. “Are you serious?”

“She hasn’t spoken to me in weeks. Months even.”

“Is she saying anything now?”

“No. Just feelings, she’s restless.” Mia’s eyes lit up. “Lina. What if it’s your mate?”

My heart skipped. “No.”

“Why not?”

“That’s not possible.”

“Why isn’t it?”

“Because I’m a maid, Mia. Because I’m no one.”

She tilted her head. "And yet your wolf is reacting. That means something."

“No. It’s probably stress, Or”

“Or your mate is in the room.” The words settled heavily in the air between us. I shook my head. “Don’t start imagining things.”

“I’m not, your wolf is, that means something is close enough to stir her.” I looked down at my hands. They were trembling.

When I returned to the ballroom, I couldn’t keep myself from scanning the crowd. My wolf wasn’t calming down, she was pacing, waiting. I didn’t know what I was looking for. A face? A scent? A moment of recognition? I didn’t believe in fairy tales. I didn’t think someone would walk up and say the word “mate” and everything would fall into place. That wasn’t my life.

That wasn’t how the world worked for someone like me. But the pull was there. The electricity under my skin. The hum in my bones. The rising certainty that something had changed tonight. Still, I told myself it couldn’t be. It had to be something else. A shift in the air. Too much noise. A dream I’d forgotten. My imagination. Because if it were my mate, if he were here, that meant my life was about to change in ways I wasn’t ready for. And I wasn’t sure if that terrified me more than it thrilled me.