The King and The Maid

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Cali’s POV

“Cali. Cali, look at me.”

Seth’s voice cut through the storm, but I couldn’t reach him. My name was an echo, bouncing around in a collapsing cave. My fingernails dug into my palms, grounding me, but it wasn’t enough. Rachel’s voice in my memory whispered count your breaths, steady yourself—but the ground was already crumbling beneath me, ready to swallow me whole.

My lungs burned. My chest caved inward under invisible weight.

A blur of movement. Someone entered—doctor? nurse? I couldn’t tell. Everything around me smeared at the edges, like my vision was being dragged underwater.

Air. I needed air.

A mask pressed over my face, and panic spiked like fire in my veins. No, no, no—I can’t breathe! I thrashed, clawing at it, at them, at the world. My throat closed. My body screamed to get out, to find her.

A sharp sting pierced my arm. Pain radiated, then… stone. My limbs locked. My thoughts fuzzed. The urgency—what was it? Something important. Someone I had to reach. Why couldn’t I remember?

My head pounded with the effort. My eyelids drooped heavy. Maybe just… for a second…

Darkness claimed me.

⸻

Growls echoed in the pitch black. Not wolves under a full moon—no, this was different. A hollow, hungry sound.

I pushed myself up, legs trembling, and stumbled toward a sink in the corner. The pipes shrieked in protest before sputtering water out in a thin, metallic stream. It stank of mold, but I cupped it in my hands and drank until the nausea dulled.

Days. It had felt like days since they dragged me here. Whoever they were, they weren’t the guards who had slaughtered my parents.

I remembered it clearly: the truck’s engine rumbling in the night. I had lain beside my mother’s body, eyes dry, heart gone, when headlights cut through the darkness. I could have run. Could have hidden in the cellar. I didn’t.

What was the point? Whatever they wanted was more than I deserved.

Footsteps had approached, firm and sure. One man lifted me bridal-style, no words, no gentleness. My tears slid silently as I said goodbye to my home, to my parents, to everything I knew.

The armored truck door clanged shut behind me. Two other girls sat inside, shivering in nightclothes, eyes glued to the floor. Not from my pack. Not from anywhere I recognized. Their silence mirrored mine as the truck rattled down a gravel road that seemed endless.

When it finally stopped, they dragged us out one by one. My turn came, rough fingers on my arm, a shove through a dark hallway that smelled of damp stone. No windows. No guards visible. Just doors. Too many doors.

My cell was a vault of shadows. No bed. No blanket. Just cold stone. I curled into the corner, pulling my nightgown over my knees, trying to make myself small. Sleep was impossible. Every time my eyes slipped shut, my mother’s scream tore through me again.

This was my fault. I should have gone with the guards that night. Better me than them. At least they’d still be alive.

Somehow, at some point, exhaustion dragged me under.

“Wake up.” Fingers dug painfully into my shoulder, shaking me. A shadow leaned over me. “Up. Now.”

I blinked against the sudden glare of light, rubbing at my eyes. “Go where?”

“Doesn’t matter. Shut up. Head down. Don’t speak unless spoken to. Do that, and you might survive.”

Survive?

He shoved me down a hallway lined with doors. My skin prickled with the thought: how many kids are locked behind them?

The hall spilled into a courtyard. Rows of chairs stretched in front of a massive stage. In those chairs sat men—wealthy, powerful, dressed in fine clothes. Their eyes cut like knives as I was herded up the steps.

On stage, other children stood with heads bowed, silent merchandise. A man in a suit waited behind the podium.

The truth struck cold.

An auction.

And we were the product.

⸻

Harland’s POV

“What do you mean you sedated her?” My roar cracked through the link, my boots pacing trenches into the floor outside the dining hall.

“Sam had no choice,” Seth answered, voice strained. “She was going to hurt herself—or one of us. It was the only way.”

I forced in a breath. They weren’t the enemy. They were trying to protect her. “Walk me through it again.”

Seth’s voice steadied as he explained: Cali had asked for Rachel. He’d sent for her, but the maid’s quarters said she hadn’t been seen in hours. He thought maybe she’d slipped into the party—but no. The guards searched everywhere. Nothing.

Then Mason, one of the visiting alphas’ drivers, reported seeing a girl matching Rachel’s description getting into a black SUV an hour ago.

When Seth broke the news, Cali froze. Then she spiraled—hyperventilating, thrashing. Sam called it a severe panic attack. They had no choice but to sedate her. Strong enough to drop a human for days, but on a wolf? Only a few hours.

I dragged my hand through my hair, heart pounding. She had already lost so much. Now this. It must have felt like reliving her parents’ deaths all over again.

“Can you keep things under control until I get there?” I asked Seth.

“Yes. She won’t be awake for at least another hour. Just hurry.”

“I will.”

I cut the link and scanned the hall. Arlene stood nearby, dainty and sharp-eyed, giving orders to servers. My father’s longtime event planner—small as a pixie, sharp as a dagger.

I touched her shoulder lightly. “Arlene. I need a favor.”

She turned, eyes narrowing. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing for you to worry about. But I won’t be joining the rest of the evening. Tell the guests I had an urgent matter, and… clear the hall by midnight, if you can.”

She glanced at the drunken crowd, then smirked. “Not a problem. Anything else?”

“No. And Arlene? The event was perfect, as always.”

Her chin lifted, proud. “Spectacular, Harland. Always spectacular.” She spun away, arms raised dramatically. I almost smiled despite everything.

Cali would adore her. I hated that she wasn’t here, hated myself for leaving her in the first place. My first day with my mate, and I’d already failed her.

The thought burned hotter as I stormed upstairs. My father. His sudden disappearance. His blocked mind link. Every part of me screamed his hands were in this.

I shoved open his study door. Empty. Maps littered the desk, papers stacked high. Nothing useful. My fists slammed the wood.

“Upset still, I see.”

My head snapped up. My father stood in the doorway, calm as ever.

“Where the hell have you been?” I demanded. “I couldn’t reach you. No one could.”

“You think I had something to do with the girl’s disappearance.”

His calmness made my skin crawl. “Did you?”

“Goddess, no. Harland, I left dinner to clear my head. Ivan stopped me.”

My stomach twisted at the name.

“He had… complaints about you. About the doctor. I listened, humored him. He muttered something about punishment and stormed off. Odd man, but harmless.”

“Harmless?” I spat.

My father raised a hand. “Listen. I went upstairs, decided to give you my blessing—yes, my blessing—to choose your mate. For once, I wanted you to be happy.”

I froze. My father had never said such words in his life.

“But before I could return,” he continued, “I heard a girl crying. I turned—and saw Ivan dragging her out of the castle. I ordered him to stop, but he ignored me. By the time I reached the doors, they were gone. Only then did I realize it was the missing maid.”

Ivan. That snake.

“We’ll send a search team,” I growled.

My father’s eyes darkened. “No need. I already know where they are.”