Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by his Rival

CASSIA POV The morning sun filtered through the worn curtains, casting a golden hue across the tiny room tucked at the far end of the servant quarters. I lay still beneath my thin blanket, my eyes fluttering open slowly. For the first time in what felt like years, I woke with a smile. I rolled onto my side, clutching the pillow tighter. A strange warmth filled my chest. Why did I always feel like he was near… even when he wasn’t supposed to be? I didn’t dare say it aloud, but I missed him, I could feel it in my bones. Not for anything he’d done—but for everything he didn’t. He never looked at me the way I wanted. But stars, how badly I wished he would. My eyes shot to the time across the bed, it was past seven already. I could feel my heart pounding as panic set in. I tried to battle the fear and panic as I sat up, brushing a few strands of messy hair from my face and letting my mind wander—to him. To that night a year ago when I had thought I caught his gaze from across the corridor. Did he feel it too? I work as a maid in Alpha Draven's country home, and even though it's been a year since he had visited the home, the housekeeper and head of maids in the mansion, Madam Julian, always made sure we maids keep the house clean. We follow any instructions and orders she gives out, and any mistake or disobedience could result in severe punishment from her; including deducting from our full month's salary, reducing the food supplied to the servant quarters and even possibly losing the maid job. Suddenly, a knock snapped me from my thoughts. “Kai?” I whispered and rushed to the door. My younger brother stood with sleepy eyes and a faint grin. He handed me a piece of bread. “Stole it from the kitchen before anyone woke up,” he said, panting heavily. I chuckled and hugged him. “You need to stop doing that.” He shrugged, biting into the other half. “You’ll scold me forever, but I’ll keep you fed. Promise.” I looked at him fondly. “Be careful, okay? I feel like… something’s changing around here.” Kai frowned. “Something bad?” I knelt beside him, brushing a stray curl from his forehead. “Don’t wander today,” I whispered. “Please,” I insisted. He nodded solemnly, grasping my hand briefly before I slipped away. I didn’t know why, but my instincts buzzed uneasily. Madam Julian had told me yesterday to come as early as seven that we have a lot to do today. But now I was late, and I could only hope, as I sneaked into the mansion, that she had not noticed my absence. Very unlikely, but all I had left to do was hope. “Cassia!” a voice snapped from behind. I froze halfway into the mansion at the sound of how Madam Julian just called my name. Tiny pinpricks of tears formed at the corner of my eyes, I had been caught! I turned to apologize just to see that the voice was Elara's, not Madam Julian's. She strides down the path toward me, her golden hair catching sunlight and bouncing behind her like a crown. “Elara!” I screamed in relief but not surprised. How could I have forgotten how good she is at imitating and mimicking people's voices exactly the way they sound? The only person who befriended an omega like me, Elara was simply my only best friend and confidential in the whole pack although my work was also to serve her as the pack maid. Elara was everything I wasn’t: noble, powerful, confident. And yet, somehow, she had chosen to become my friend since I and my mother had been working here as a maid in the pack. And I can't lie; I was very happy to have seen her now instead of Madam Julian. “Ohhh…keep it low,” she said simply as she placed her vertical hand over her mouth with a smile. “I'm sorry, though. Madam Julian might just come to find out what that scream was, and then she might realize she hasn't seen you since morning.” “What? So she hadn't checked on everyone present?” “Haven’t you heard?” Elara asked, brushing imaginary dust off her tailored cloak. I blinked. “Heard what?” Elara’s eyes sparkled. “Preparations. Something big is happening tonight; I have never seen Madam Julian so distracted like this before that she didn't access any maid at all today. The staff are rushing around like mad. You didn’t notice?” I frowned at my friend, I had hoped for a miracle but this was absurd indeed. Madam Julian always made sure we were all in the mansion at seven on the dot, checking us one after the other – from the men who worked outdoors to the cooks, us the maids, and others. It had been happening before me, and my mother even started as maids here, but today was different. I shook my head. “I’ve been with Kai.” “Well, let's go in; you will understand what I am talking about when you see yourself.” I was surprised as I stepped into one of the sitting rooms. Nothing had prepared me for what I saw next. The men who used to work outdoors were indoors, lifting chairs, positioning, and repositioning while Madam Julian was there, moving from one place to another, directing and assigning them what to do. I kept looking around unstill I saw some chairs for – I blushed immediately – Madam Julian had told me before that some chairs and couches can change to a bed by using its remote, but I had wondered if those kinds of couches really existed. Elara noticed my blush, “Well,” she smiled, stepping closer. “I think tonight’s a claiming ceremony. Alpha Draven is coming home to announcing his mate.” Alpha Draven had left the pack to a business trip far away. He had left for what seems like a year now. My breath caught. My pulse pounded. “W-what?” “I thought you would have known,” Elara said, her tone almost too casual. “You’re always in the main quarters cleaning.” I forced a laugh. “I don’t exactly get the royal gossip.” “Well, maybe we’ll see him today. He will arrive soon.” Elara was been longing for Alpha Devron. I used to watch Elara blush every time Alpha Dn entered a room. She’d find excuses to be nearby, pretending to bump into him or ask silly questions, her heartbeat fluttering like a leaf in the wind. I never said a word—after all, who wouldn’t fall for him? But I still feel a bit jealous. My smile and blush turned as I realized I had to work now to pay our yet to expire rent and to take care of my brother since he was all I had since our mother's death. I was also thinking about my rent that was due in a week when I replied to my friend, “Elara, this job means a lot more to me than it does to you; you are noble. So I have to go help out too, I'm sorry.” Inside, the air was buzzing. Maids scurried from hall to hall, polishing, sweeping, and preparing. It wasn’t just another noble event. This was special. The pack hadn’t seen a claiming in years. “Attention everyone!!,” Madam Julian shouted, and we all turned to face her. “I will be assigning some work to some maids here; those who I called will be the lucky ones to serve Alpha Draven and his friends who are coming today while the others should return to their daily works.” There was a sequence of delight from several female maids as she called out the long lists of names at the end of which she added. “Lastly, Cassia!” the head maid barked. “Take the top suite. Draven and his circle are already settling in. Clean everything, even the balcony. Don’t touch anything personal. Especially not the drawer beside his bed.” I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded. I left my heart pounding in my chest. All the female maids must have been happy to serve the Alpha but I wasn't – I had a long crush on Alpha Draven and I even thought about him this morning but I hated to be noticed by him or anyone as I always managed to look like a mistake like everyone says, I know if anyone looks well and closely, they will know I'm really worthless and useless – I'm wolfless at my age, don't even have a mate, I'm just so embarrassed. But I just had to do this, I said to myself as I ascended the spiral staircase, my heart thundered louder with each step. I knew this hall. I’d passed through it only in dreams. And now—I was here. Yeah, I have always dreamed about the Alpha. My fingers trembled as I reached for the brass handle, but before I could turn it, the door swung open. And there was a man, OMG, he had changed. My heart fluttered like the first day I had seen him—tall, commanding, with eyes that held storms and secrets. He didn’t know, of course. No one did. My silent affection had lived in shadows, tucked deep within stolen glances and daydreams. But now, something had shifted. I’d seen the way his eyes lingered on me. The way his presence electrified the very air between us and I found I couldn't look away from his extreme beauty. He was about six feet with a broad frame. Dressed as he was, all in black, a pair of trousers and a coat, but an inner shirt, I was forced to notice his broad shoulders and the muscles that corded through his belly. My eyes traveled back to his face when I brought out the tip of my tongue to wet my bottom lips as my mouth was running dry. I froze, heart in my throat as he stepped forward, pulled me into an embrace, and closed the door behind him. “Cassia,” he said, his voice low and familiar in a way that made my knees weaken. I gasped softly. “Alpha…” His presence overwhelmed the hall like thunderclouds before a storm. His eyes searched mine as if to uncover what was going on in my mind – could he really do that? Is that how all Alpha's does? A hand shot up to gently brush my face; slowly, his hands moved slower, unstill he was holding my throat.