The Slave Who Could Tame The Alpha

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 10

Liana pov

I opened my mouth to ask what on earth she meant, but before the words could leave my lips, the old woman released my wrist and melted back into the packed crowd.

I tried to follow the flash of her ragged cloak, but she was already gone, swallowed up by the sea of cheering servants and guards.

I rubbed my wrist where her cold fingers had gripped me. She must be out of her mind, I thought, trying to shake off the strange chill that had settled over my skin.

A senile old woman who somehow wandered into the palace grounds. That had to be it. What else could I possibly be hiding? I was just a wolfless, useless maid.

Shaking my head, I turned my attention back to the arena. The trials wrapped up shortly after, with Alpha Ryker raising his hand to dismiss the crowd.

The crowd began to disperse, and I merged with the rest of the servants, heading back inside the cold stone walls of the palace to finish my remaining duties.

By nightfall, my body was completely exhausted. I finished scrubbing the main hall, returned my cleaning supplies, and quietly made my way back to the servant quarters.

When I opened the door to my room, it was empty. Casidy and the other girl were nowhere to be found, probably off carrying out whatever punishment Madam Mira had given them. I let out a long sigh of relief, grateful for the silence.

I changed into my flimsy nightgown, climbed into my small wooden bed, and pulled the thin blanket up to my chin. My eyes felt heavy, but as soon as I closed them, the image of Flora's bloody body flashed in my mind.

Then came the raspy voice of the old woman: “Don't let them find out who you are.”

I tossed and turned, unable to find peace, until exhaustion finally dragged me into a deep, heavy sleep.

I awoke with a sharp gasp.

The room was pitch black, except for the faint sliver of moonlight spilling through the high window. My heart was pounding frantically inside my ribcage, but not from a nightmare.

My skin was burning.

A searing, golden heat was surging beneath my flesh, crawling through my veins like iron. It started in the centre of my chest, blooming outward toward my arms and legs. I clutched the sheets, choking back a cry of pain as my bones began to ache with a strange, unnatural pressure.

And then, right in the centre of my head, a powerful, velvety voice echoed, far clearer and louder than the first time.

“Wake up, little one. He is coming.”

Before I could even process the voice in my head, the heavy oak door of my quarters burst open with a deafening crash.

Framed in the doorway stood Alpha Ryker.

His massive frame blocked out the faint light from the corridor, and his dark eyes were glowing a menacing, dangerous amber in the shadows.

His chest was heaving, and his jaw was clenched tightly as his nostrils flared, taking in a deep, ragged breath of the air in the room.

His glowing eyes were locked directly onto mine in the dark.

"It's you," he growled, his voice deep enough to rattle the floorboards beneath my bed.

"You're my mate."