The Slave Who Could Tame The Alpha

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 11

Liana pov

I gasped, bolting upright in bed, my hands clutching my chest. Sweat dripped down my forehead, soaking into my nightdress. My heart was hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird, and my skin felt flushed.

I blinked rapidly, staring at the small, cramped servant quarters.

The door was completely intact. The room was deathly quiet, save for the rhythmic breathing of my roommates sleeping across the floor.

No glowing amber eyes. No terrifying Alpha standing in the shadows. No deep, commanding growl declaring me as a mate.

It was just a dream.

A quiet breath escaped my throat, quickly morphing into a light giggle that I had to muffle with the palm of my hand. I buried my face in my knees, shaking my head at my own absurd mind.

The Alpha’s Luna? Me? A wolfless, frail, lowborn maid becoming the Luna of the entire pack? The sheer absurdity of it was almost comical.

He would rather throw himself into the silver mines than acknowledge a maid as a human being, let alone a mate. My mind was clearly playing ridiculous tricks on me, fed by the horrifying events of the day and the whispers of that crazy old woman.

Still, my throat was dry, parched from the terror of the nightmare. I needed a drink of water.

Quietly slipping off the thin mattress, I threw a dark shawl over my nightdress and eased the wooden door open, making sure it didn't creak.

The stone hallway outside was freezing, the chill of the floorboards biting into the soles of my bare feet. Night in the Royal Palace was always suffocatingly still, illuminated only by the faint silver moonlight spilling through the narrow windows.

I made my way down the quiet service corridor toward the lower kitchen, where the water jugs were kept.

The dim light made long, towering shadows stretch across the floor, making every small creak of the castle feel magnified. I filled a small clay cup from the jar, taking slow, thirsty gulps. The cool water helped soothe the dry ache in my throat, washing away the last lingering remnants of the dream.

Setting the cup down, I let out a long breath and turned to head back to my quarters.

"Out late, aren't we?" a smooth, quiet voice sounded through the dark.

I gasped, flinching back so hard my back hit the wooden table. My heart jumped into my throat as a tall figure stepped out from the shadowy archway.

It was Lord Vance.

Panicked, I immediately dropped my head, fixing my gaze firmly on his leather boots and bowing so low my hair fell over my shoulders. "L…Lord Vance! Forgive me, My Lord! I didn't mean to roam around…I only came to fetch some water. I am so sorry!"

A soft, melodious laugh echoed in the quiet space, warm and completely devoid of anger.

"Calm down, Liana," he said gently. I heard his light footsteps close the distance between us, stopping just a few feet away.

"You haven't broken any rules. Servants are allowed to drink water in the middle of the night."

"Yes, My Lord, but…"

"And please, look at me," Vance interrupted softly. "You don't have to keep staring at the floor whenever I'm around. You aren't in trouble."

I hesitated for a second before slowly lifting my chin.

The moonlight bathed his face, catching the pale, feather-soft strands of his light hair. He wasn't wearing his formal noble attire, just a loose, cream-colored linen shirt left slightly unbuttoned at the collar, giving him a relaxed, almost angelic look.

His eyes were a gentle blue, devoid of the harsh, suffocating pressure that his brother carried. He looked so incredibly dreamy standing there in the faint silver light, smiling down at me with genuine warmth.

I felt a sudden, ridiculous urge to squirm right where I stood. My face grew hot, a completely different kind of warmth flushing through my cheeks.

"Is your chest feeling any better?" he asked, his gaze drifting down to my hands resting nervously against my apron-less dress. "Did the medicine help?"

"I... yes, my Lord," I stammered, my voice barely above a whisper. "The pain completely went away. Thank you again for... for earlier. You really saved me."

"I'm glad," Vance replied, giving me a soft nod. "Get some rest, Liana. You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Lord Vance," I murmured.

He gave me one last reassuring smile before turning on his heel.

I stood frozen, clutching my shawl tightly around my shoulders, my eyes completely glued to the direction he had gone long after his footsteps faded into silence.

A soft, breathless sigh escaped my lips. He was just so effortless, so incredibly kind.

How on earth had I managed to dream about that terrifying, cold-blooded Alpha Ryker when a man like Lord Vance actually existed in the very same palace?

I wished with all my heart that my mind had given me a dream about Vance instead. A dream where he was the one looking at me, speaking to me, saving me.

"Stupid," I whispered to myself, shaking my head with a small, embarrassed smile. I was getting ahead of myself again. Servants don't get to dream about princes.

I finally tore my eyes away from the staircase, turning around to walk back down the dark corridor toward the servant quarters.

The smile instantly died on my face.

I slammed to a halt, my slippers slipping slightly on the cold stone. I stumbled backward in sheer, paralysing terror.

My breath hitched in my throat. Standing less than two feet in front of me, completely blocking the dark hallway, was a massive, looming figure.

Alpha Ryker.

He wasn't in a dream. He was right here, towering over me, his massive shoulders blocking out what little moonlight spilled through the window. He was dressed in dark leather, his chest bare beneath an open vest, radiating a heat so intense it felt like standing in front of a furnace.

His jaw was set in a tight, furious line, and his dark eyes burned into mine with a terrifying, predator-like intensity. His nostrils flared, taking in a sharp, deep breath of the air between us, the air that still carried the lingering scent of my interaction with his brother.

The hallway plunged into an icy, suffocating silence as he stepped closer, trapping me between his towering frame and the cold stone wall behind me.