THE ALPHA'S HUMAN MATE

CHAPTER 7: BRUISED AND LOSING CONTROL

ELARA'S POV

I stirred awake due to the sun almost blinding me as I lay on the bed looking up at the ceiling. Yesterday's incident played on my mind.

I didn't want to feel numbness fill me up. A groan left my lips as I shifted on the bed, trying to ease my pain.

My cheek was aching and bruised. But it was better than the bruise on my chest; the pain was unbearable as I tried to sit up.

My head was aching, my body sweaty, and my breath feverish. I was obviously coming down with the flu.

Getting off the bed, I almost fell to the ground as my legs gave way. Tears sprinted down my cheeks; yesterday was a reminder of how things were.

It had been a long time since I was last beaten or punished, and this was a reminder that no matter how hard I tried to escape situations like this, they always seemed to find a way. I would still end up getting beaten for something out of my control.

I walked over to the tiny mirror I had collected from Jasmine and was able to see the bruise on my face. My cheek was swollen, and dried blood was sticking to my hair and face.

Sighing, I dragged my feet out of my room. Going into the bathroom, I shared it with eight other maids.

Getting out of my clothes, I stepped into the shower, turning on the tap as the cold water fell on my skin, causing me to shiver.

I washed off the blood from my head and cheek, wincing every time the water hit my skin. After I was done, I put on the old clothes I had on.

We were not given any clothes to dry our bodies, so any time we bathed, we had to cover ourselves with our clothes, while some maids who felt comfortable with their skin walked out naked.

It was a good thing the female maids were separated from the males.

I walked back to my room, changing out of my dirty uniform into a clean one before walking out of my room and going to the seventh floor.

It was already 7 a.m., which meant I had missed breakfast. My stomach grumbled, and my feet felt heavy.

I was on the fourth floor when I heard a yell directed at me with the very familiar voice of Madam Rosalie.

“You, come here.” The head servant yelled, pointing at me.

I walked over to her, wondering what she needed now.

“Didn't I ask you to go check on the stable?” she barked.

I shook my head, wanting to correct her that it wasn't me, but she wouldn't let me. She threw colourful insults at me and said I was nothing but an undesirable, malnourished child.

Using all my might, I tried my hardest to stand up, ignoring the dizziness I was feeling. I closed my eyes; my breath was feverish.

I slowly peeled my eyes open when I felt a hard smack on my already bruised cheek.

Tears gathered around my eyes, spilling down my face as she kept on hitting me. I wanted nothing more than to thrash around, screaming my lungs out, but I knew that was only going to add to the undeserving punishment I was facing.

When she finally stopped hitting me, my cheeks were already swollen, and the sides of my eyes were half closed as I struggled to look at her scornful face.

She looked at me with disgust, then walked past me, making her shoulder hit mine and causing me to stumble to the ground.

I forced my breath to calm down; my body was killing me to the point that I wasn't able to stand, but I had no choice. I needed to get through the day.

Using both my hands, I managed to lift myself up. I continued my journey up the stairs but stopped abruptly when I saw Seraphina standing there, both hands crossed against her chest with a devilish smirk on her lips.

“Oh, poor you.” She taunted me, giving me a fake, pitiful look. “You are a mess.”

I looked anywhere but at her, avoiding her gaze as more tears fell down my cheeks.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg; there is more to come.” She threatened. “Like every other maid assigned to the king, you will be just a flirty, dirty nobody to him, gone like the rest of them, and the king won't even bat an eye, like always.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, such a shame,” she said, walking past me.

I clenched my stomach, knowing every word she said was nothing but the truth.

I continued walking up the stairs till I got to the seventh floor.

I took out my cleaning supplies and walked over to the king's door, knocking softly on it. When I got no response, I twisted the knob, pulling it open.

The room was empty, with the king out of sight. Letting out a breath of relief, I went about my morning routine, avoiding looking in the mirror because I knew I was a mess.

I made sure to finish my morning duties on time, leaving the room before the king returned. I walked back downstairs, going to the maid's quarters.

I was starving, but I couldn't stomach anything right now, not with my stomach hurting or without throwing up.

I passed by the maids and saw the way they all looked at me, flinching whenever they saw my face.

Some had the look of pity and sympathy, while others felt different, not showing any sort of emotion.

I got to my room door to see Jasmine and Amara standing there with so many emotions on their faces, most of them confusion, pity, and guilt.

“What happened to your face?” Amara was the first to ask.

“It wasn't like this yesterday.”

“Can we not talk about it?” I winced, holding onto my cheek.

“But—”

“Please…” I begged them, going into my room.

“Aren't you having lunch? You already missed breakfast.”

“I'm not hungry.” I lied, closing the door on them.

I knew it was rude, but I wanted to be alone. I walked over to the bed, lying on it. My eyes were shut tight, and my breath was shallow.

Dragging my sick, feverish body upstairs, it was now 6 p.m., which meant I had to attend to the king again.

I used my hand to clean up the sweat from my forehead as I tried my best not to fall off the stairs.

I walked towards the closet as usual, taking out the cleaning supplies, then walked over to the door, inwardly praying that the king wouldn't be around.

I gave soft knocks, waiting to hear a sound from inside, but when I didn't, I pushed the door open, walking inside.

I went straight to do my chores, ignoring the pain I was feeling. I had walked over to the bed, bending to fix it.

The door to the bathroom was pulled open, and the king walked out with his body dripping wet.

He had a towel strapped around his hip.

I swung around, looking anywhere but at him. I could feel his eyes on me, but I remained still, facing the other direction till I heard footsteps.

When I was certain he had gone into the room, I turned around, my heart skipping a beat.

I continued with my work, ignoring the closet door opening as I faced away from the king.

I carried on with my chores for an hour and a half and was almost done when I spun around and was met with a hard chest.

I groaned, using my hands to rub my forehead, as the familiar smell of wood and lavender filled my nostrils.

I kept my head down, finding the floor more fascinating.

“You've been avoiding me; why?” His deep, raspy voice asked, closing the little gap between us, making it difficult for me to think as his sweet smell engulfed me.

“I'm not avoiding you, your majesty,” I replied, with my head still cast down.

“Really? Then why won't you look at me?”

I said nothing, biting softly on my lips and just regretting it when I felt a sting, causing me to wince.

“Lift your head up.” He commanded softly.

I shook my head, keeping my head down and refusing to look up at him.

“I said to raise your head up.”

This time his voice boomed around the room; there was a certain power to it. It was like I had no control over my body.

My head started lifting of its own accord until I was looking right into his eyes.

I saw the confusion on his face as he looked at mine. His eyes lingered more on the injury on my cheek.

A growl left his lips, his eyes trailing up to look at mine before moving back to my cheek.

My eyes widened when he cupped my cheek. Even though he was gently touching me without harming me, it didn't help that it hurt when he touched it.

I winced, moving away from his hold, my gaze still on him and his on mine.

I watched as his eyes softened for a moment before a huge storm started booming in them.

“Who?”

I shifted my gaze away from him when he asked who had done this to me.

My mind drifted off to what happened yesterday and today. I knew it was all Seraphina's doing, but I couldn't rat her out.

The sound of something hitting the wall behind me brought me out of my thoughts, and my eyes darted to the big hole in the wall.

Tears pooled down my eyes, and I crouched down towards the edge, shaking. My hands wrapped around my body in a protective manner.

I kept my head down as I heard more things fling around the room, bringing the once-clean room to an unrecognisable state.

My body quivered, and I wanted more than anything for this moment to disappear.

My sobs became so loud, and my breath felt short. It was like I couldn't breathe, no matter how hard I tried.

Panic rose in my chest, and I struggled to hold onto the air surrounding me.

The sound of things breaking around the room stopped.

I lifted my head, meeting the king's eyes. I saw him take in my distraught state.

He walked over to me, getting down on his knees. His hand reached for me, but I flinched, remembering how he had acted a few minutes ago.

He portrayed exactly what the rumours had said about him; the destroyed room was enough proof.

I continued to pull away from him, moving backwards any time he tried to touch me, till my head hit the wall.

He sighed, moving closer to touch my cheek, and I flinched.

“I won't hurt you, Elara; I will never hurt you. Trust me.” He spoke softly.

I looked at him, searching his eyes to see how truthful he was about his words.

There was sincerity in them, and I knew I could trust him.

I stopped flinching away from his touch, relaxing a little bit as he picked me up from the floor, walking out of his room to the spare bedroom at the other side of the hall.

He gently placed me on the bed, brushing a strand of hair away from my face.

Surprise graced my face when he lay beside me, pulling me closer till my head rested on his chest while he patted my back.

“I didn't mean to frighten you. I'm sorry.”

His apology caught me off guard.

I buried my face in his chest, loving the feel of his body warmth.

“Tell me, κοριτσάκι (baby girl), who did this to you? Who hurt you?” he asked calmly.

I gulped, thinking of what to say.

“Hmmmm… it's… I…”

“Don't even think of lying to me, Elara. Even if you don't tell me, I have other ways of finding out.”

It was impossible to lie to him; he was, after all, the king, and this was his place and kingdom, which meant nothing went past him.

I took a deep, painful breath and whispered.

“Madam Rosalie.”

“I see.”

That was his only reply. He didn't say anything else but carried on patting my back, and slowly I drifted off to sleep.

---

DARIUS'S POV

“The attack on the Silvermoon Pack has been investigated, and the rogues were located a short distance from the pack, camping outside its premises, clearly planning another attack.”

Kieran, the commanding officer, spoke.

I had sent him out a week ago to investigate the attack on small packs. This wasn't the first time our kind wanted to attack us, turning their backs on their pack and kingdom because they believed their leader or ruler was wrong.

They would sometimes work hand in hand with the humans, not because they thought they were equal to them but because they also considered us an enemy after my great-grandfather fought and took over the human race.

“I hope you have dealt with the situation.” I asked, looking at the blood splattered on his clothes.

“Yes, my king. They had put up a fight, causing us to lose two of our men, but nevertheless we came out victorious.”

“Send the names of the guards who lost their lives and have their families compensated.”

“Yes, my king.”

He said so, bowing his head, then began taking his leave.

“Kieran.”

I called out to him and waited for him to turn back to look at me.

“You have done well.”

“Thank you.”

He responded, leaving the room.