THE ALPHA'S HUMAN MATE

CHAPTER FIVE: COMING FACE-TO-FACE WITH THE KING

The days passed by in a blur, making it one month since I was appointed as the king's personal maid. We servants became more and more accustomed to our daily chores, repeating the same thing over and over again.

Like every other day, I was on my way to the seventh floor.

“You three, come with me.” Madam Rosalie yells, pointing at Jasmine, another maid, and me.

We trail behind her, walking up the stairs to the fifth floor of the palace.

“I want you three to tidy up this place; make sure every room here is sparkling clean. The king is expecting some guests in the palace; do well not to put his name in ruin, or you won't live to regret it.” She threatens, going back downstairs.

“Ugh... They don't mind working us to death. We still have our assigned task to do. How does she expect us to meet you with our morning duties before 1pm for lunch?” The maid with Jasmine mumbles, her hand to her waist as she looks at Madam Rosalie's retreating form.

When she realised we were still here, her eyes widened, and she clapped her hand to her lips.

“Oops.”

The three of us stood looking at each other before bursting out laughing.

“I’m Amara.”

“Jasmine.”

“Elara.”

“It's nice to meet the two of you.” Amara gushes.

“Nice to meet you too.” Jasmine said in a cheery tone.

I stared at them laughing, wishing I had their enthusiastic feeling.

How are they so cheerful and happy?

“We better get to work before the she-devil arrives and causes havoc.” Jasmine says, picking up her broom.

Amara and I followed suit, picking our cleaning supplies, and began cleaning.

We cleaned every room on the fifth floor, finishing in an hour and a half.

We were all going to our various tasks when I heard Madam Rosalie's familiar voice again.

“You, come with me.” Madam Rosalie yelled from across the hall, pointing directly at me.

“Yes, ma’am.” I bow, trailing behind her as we both make our way to the kitchen.

“What task are you assigned to?” She asked, hands folded to her chest and with her usual scorn.

“Hmm...”

“You can't even speak properly, stupid mutt.” She yelled, slapping me hard on the face. “When I talk to you, I expect a proper answer. Am I clear, you filth?”

“Yes, Madam Rosalie.” I say, holding back the tears.

“Now I believe I asked you a question.”

“I was tasked to work as King Darius Valen's personal servant, ma’am.”

“You...” She yells again, pointing at another maid. “Come here.” She orders, turning to look at me. “Scram out of my face and get back to work.”

Without wasting any time, I gulped, running out of the kitchen like I was running for my dear life.

Because I had no idea why she called me in the first place, and I didn’t want to find out.

I carried on, climbing the stairs till I got to the King's floor, taking my cleaning supplies.

Thankfully, I haven't made contact with the king, and I hope it remains so.

I walked over to the door, pushing it open as I stepped in. Looking around the empty room, I began tidying up.

When suddenly, I felt a gush of wind blow past me, lasting for only a second.

I rolled my eyes, continuing with my chores.

Yeah, yeah... anyone in my shoes would be freaked out by the sudden gushing of wind when the windows are shut close and fans are turned off.

Well, let's just say I have had my own share of freaking out.

The first day after I started cleaning the king's room, I shivered and felt watched, yet there was no one but me in the room.

So, what would you do in my situation?

You continue working without any complaints; after all, any crime committed in the King’s Palace results in death.

I continued vacuuming the room; my breath was rigid, my eyes red. No doubt I had a fever.

Looking at the wall clock, I saw that I had only 30 minutes before the king arrived.

I can do this; I just need to fold the clothes and fix the bed.

My head ached, and my legs were slowly giving way.

I was done fixing the bed when the door burst open abruptly.

I froze.

Literally.

I felt a strong aura flow around the room, sending a wave of shivers all over my body. I wasn't sure if it was due to fear or not, but one thing was for sure: whoever was at my back had a strong, powerful aura.

“Who are you...?” a deep velvet voice yelled behind me, startling me to the core.

I turned to look behind me with wide eyes, silently praying it was not who I thought it was behind me.

But who else would walk into the king's room without any permission if not the king himself?

Right here, standing before me, was the king of all beasts, the Diabolus Bestia.

King Darius Valen.

I stared at him with fear evident on my face; I thought I could do it. Do my chores and leave before the king arrives.

Never had I thought I would ever encounter the king or stand here, looking directly at his face.

I knew he was considered attractive, having both human and beast females falling at his feet, but I never believed a person would have such an effect on another like this.

There was no denying how close I was to losing my footing from the intimidating stare on his face.

I still couldn't help but admire his handsome features.

One thing was for certain: whoever the moon goddess was, she definitely took her time in creating him.

He was perfectly sculpted.

He didn't look happy to see me.

“What are you doing here?”

This time his voice was calm, so calm that it could fool anyone.

I opened my mouth to speak, to explain myself, but nothing came out.

Instead, I stood there confused with my mouth open like a lunatic.

He continued to stare at me, and his eyes scanned through my body, causing a wave of shivers to flow down my spine.

“Umm. I... uh.” I stuttered out, my eyes held tears of horror, my feet trembled unrecognisably and my pulse started to rise.

I could feel the panic creeping up from inside me.

I tried to speak again, but my mouth, having a mind of its own, remained still.

My body was quivering with fear, with tears forming in my eyes as I urged myself to speak but failed miserably.

My body remained still, my mouth closed shut.

The King's eyes swam deep with anger, making it downright terrifying to look at, not with the look of irritation visible on his face, all because of me.

He tilted his head to the side, watching me with a look of fury still on his face.

Slowly, like a predator about to attack his prey, he started making his way toward me.

With every step he took, I took a step back.

Moving backwards as he came forward till my back neared the wall.

He stopped right in front of me, placing a hand on the wall behind me while the other grabbed hold of my chin, holding onto it tightly.

He moved his head to the side of my neck, his lips almost brushing against my skin till it stopped at my ear, and he whispered,

“Aren't you a frightening little thing, so easy to squash? Aspice te trepidantem c*m adhuc tibi nihil feci.”

(Look at you shaking when I haven't done anything to you yet.)

“Oh... sorry. I mean, I'm sorry, your majesty. I had no idea you would be back early today. I already tidied up the room, and with your permission I would be out of your sight so I won't be a nuisance to you.”

His eyes furrowed together, and he gave my face a scan, watching my every reaction.

“I should have finished my chores on time; there is no excuse for my tardiness.”

It was silent for a moment with his eyes still on my face while I stood in my spot, afraid to move as I tried not to pee in my pants.

“Weren't you told to clean and leave the room before 12pm? And yet here you are.”

He broke the silence with the same frightening tone.

“...was... I'm sorry, your majesty.” I pleaded again, knowing there was no excuse I could give then to beg him to have mercy on me.

“Do you think apologising is going to get you out of being punished?” He questioned with a sinister inflection.

Though his voice had softened a little, it was still overly intimidating.

I wished the ground would open up and swallow me whole.

Trying to come up with something to say but ended up blank, with nothing to say.

I was definitely going to be punished.

Eveline had said tardiness means death.

Has my time come?

Was I finally living in a disconsolate world?

Even with death knocking at my door, I wanted to uphold my promise to Nadia the night she saved me from committing suicide.

She made me promise to fight and live, never to get tired of fighting.

Was it my promise to her that was my reason to live, or was I being a coward in the face of death?

I took in a deep breath, murmuring a soft cry.

“I'm sorry; please don’t hurt me,” I pleaded with teary eyes, staring into his ocean-blue eyes, begging for him to let me go.

A frown graced his face as he looked into my blurry eyes.

I could have sworn I saw a trace of sympathy for only a second before his face hardened again.

“Leave.”

My legs stood still even after his command, glancing at him with wide eyes.

Was he really letting me go without getting punished?

Or was this a ploy of his, pretending to let me go so he can hunt me down for fun?

“Didn't you hear what I said? Leave...” He growls, his eyes turning fearsomely red.

Those familiar red eyes that I had seen before, the first day I came to clean the room.

Not pondering on it, I ran past him, picking up my cleaning supplies, and ran out of the room, down the stairs.

When I got to the last stair, I struggled to catch my breath, my body still shaking due to fear of having seen the king.

It was true what they said about him.

He could really bring a man to his knees with just his gaze, yet I felt thankful that he had let me go without any punishment.

There was no way I could go through that ordeal; I did everything to avoid him.

He might not be generous next time.

I picked up my tea and bread after moving over to the servants’ quarters and sat down at the opposite end of the hall to finish my lunch.

“Hey, Elara.”

“Hello,” I said, sitting between them.

“Hey...” Jasmine calls out, nudging my shoulder. “Why are you so pale? One would think you just saw a ghost.” She joked, laughing, but when she noticed my reaction, the smile was wiped from her face.

“What happened? Don't tell me you actually saw a ghost.” She gasps out. “I wouldn't be surprised if you did.”

“Yeah, I feel like a lot of vengeful ghosts could be roaming the place because of how unfairly they have been killed.” Amara whispered, so only the two of us could hear.

Though I doubt that was necessary, given that the beasts had super hearing, allowing them to hear even the faintest whisper.

“I wish I did.” I murmured, looking down at the bread in my hand.

“Seriously, what happened? You are beginning to scare me.”

“Jasmine is right. You don't look too good.”

I sighed, putting my food down as I turned to look at her with blurry eyes.

“It's nothing.”

“You are shaking, Elara.” She points out, holding onto my shaky hands.

“Don't worry; it's nothing. I'm fine.” I say, getting up to my feet to leave the hall.

“Aren't you going to have your lunch?” When Jasmine called out, both she and Amara looked at me, puzzled.

Shaking my head, I said, “You can have it; I'm not hungry.”

I walked out of the maid's quarters, going down the stairs in the direction of the garden.

As I opened the door, I was instantly welcomed by the cold yet soothing breeze brushing against my skin.

I closed my eyes and took a deep, long, refreshing breath.

My nerves started to calm, and I was beginning to feel like myself again.

I took in another deep breath, opened my eyes and walked into the garden, taking in the beauty of the different flowers.

Since the maids were in the quarter having lunch, it was somewhat quiet.

That was one of the reasons why I sneaked out here; I knew no one would come till an hour later.

For a month, when it was lunch, I either spent it with Jasmine or here in the garden.

Most of the time, it was here.

With me roaming round the enchanting garden, finding mental peace here.

I was standing in the middle of the beautiful, extensive garden, surrounded by different flowers.

Using my hand to graze through them lightly, not to harm, I laughed out loud, my heart filled with delight.

I stayed there for some time, breathing in the fresh air one last time before turning around and hitting my heels.

Closing the door behind me, I made my way back inside to the kitchen.

I was only in charge of tidying the King’s room in the morning, finding out later that Eveline was the one in charge of the King's room from noon to the evening.

I got to the kitchen, taking my position in front of the sink, doing the dishes as more plates were thrown into it.

This carried on till it was time for dinner, which was again porridge.

They were the only things we ever ate.

I sometimes wonder what other foods would taste like, especially the food they call chicken.

I have seen the way they cook, spice, and fry them.

We only have the privilege of sniffing its enticing aroma but never tasting it.

I sighed, picking up my plate of porridge and walking over to where Amara and Jasmine were sitting.

“Hey, you look more like yourself now.” Jasmine chirped, staring at my face.

“I feel more like myself.” I answered, giving her my best fake smile as I drank my porridge, not wanting to dwell on today's incident.

DARIUS'S POV

I wanted nothing more than to leave this place.

Sitting here, listening to them whine all day as they complain about every little thing, was pure torture.

Breakfast, as always, was exhausting.

I preferred eating more in my room than with this bunch of idiots, but with the rise of rogues around the world, I had no other option but to attend the meeting more frequently this time.

They argued among themselves, and as much as I wanted nothing more than to rip their mouths out of their faces, I needed to control myself.

They were important members of the council and the oldest in our tribe, making it difficult for me to do as I pleased, even though I could if I wanted to.

Sighing, I continue to watch as the elders of the council engage in yet another heated argument, wishing I could just escape from it.

We were cycling around, not reaching a conclusion.

They were repeating the same thing over and over again.

Having had enough of this balderdash behaviour, I rose to my feet.

“Enough,” I yelled, my voice booming in the throne room.

They went silent in an instant, everyone shaken to their core.

I used my hand to massage my forehead, trying to lessen the ache I was feeling.

“I think it's best that we end the meeting here. Clearly, you all can't come up with a solution to our rogue problem. Like always, I will have to deal with it myself,” I said angrily.

I wasted no time, not giving them a chance to talk as I walked out of the throne room.

My second in command and trusted man, Kieran, follows behind me.

“What's up? You look restless. Are you okay?” he asked, with a worried look on his face.

“Yeah, I'm fine. Shadow has just been acting weird lately.”

“Hey, what's going on?”

“It’s probably nothing; I just need to go for a run.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, don't worry.” I tapped his shoulder, giving him a smile before making my way to the elevator.

The only one I talked to like this was Kieran.

He was the only one I could get comfortable with and the only one who knew my secrets.

I got out of the elevator, walking over to my room when I heard another heartbeat, and it irked me to no end.

What I wasn't used to was another being in my room.

Every woman I spent the night with, we used a separate room on my floor.

No one was allowed in my room except the maids, who were supposed to leave before noon.

So the thought of someone in my room irritated me to the point where I wanted to rip whoever was in there’s throat out.

I decided to use my power to see who it was.

I teleported into the room, using my invisibility to figure out who the person was.

I couldn't see the face of the person, but from the features, I could tell it was a female.

She was small and tiny, clearly malnourished.

Looking at her, I noticed the deep red hair.

I continued to watch her small movements like a hawk as she bent over vacuuming the room, moving around with it.

Her back was still facing me.

Getting pissed again at the fact that she wasn't done with her chores, I was about to mind-link with the head servant when she turned around in my direction, giving me a perfect view of her face.

I was awestruck.

My thoughts were coming to an end.

I raised my hand to my chest and tried to stop my heart from beating so fast.

I felt a pull towards her, which had me confused, not knowing what it meant.

I could tell she was unique among females.

With a face that held innocence, making her seem so serene.

Every anger I felt was dissolving.

In an instant, it was like the whole world stopped, and it was just the two of us.

Something in me was stirred by looking back at those enchanting blue eyes, glowing against her fair skin, stirring something in me.

This was foreign to me.

I couldn't recall how long I stood frozen in my position.

I tried shaking off the feeling of Shadow needing a run, but I knew it was more than that.

Every simple thing she did, like fixing the bed and folding the laundry, seemed so enticing, and I shouldn't be thinking this way.

She is a mere servant and also human.

That's right.

Human.

A weak human servant.

I looked at her one last time before leaving the room.

I needed to cool down.

I walked out of the room, going into the woods.

I slowly took off my clothes till I was naked.

I jumped, landing on my paws.

Without wasting any more time, I raced into the forest, feeling the wind on my face, and it felt so damn nice.

I began to relax.

This was what I needed.