The King and The Maid

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Cali’s POV

All fifteen of us laid plate after plate down the endless dining tables. One small plate inside a larger plate, topped with a rose-folded napkin. Each place setting got two crystal goblets and a perfectly polished line of silverware that sparkled under the chandeliers. Hours passed, and we still had what felt like a sea of settings ahead of us.

Suddenly, I felt unsteady — my knees wobbled like jelly. A wave of heat flushed over my clammy skin, though it felt like the whole hall was an oven turned to broil. My stomach twisted, bile climbing my throat. I grabbed the nearest high-backed chair, my fingers digging into the wood.

The tapestries on the walls blurred, the floor beneath me seemed to tilt. Focus, Cali. Focus. But the harder I tried, the worse it spun.

Whispers and gasps rose around me. I could feel eyes on me, but I couldn’t focus on any faces. Willow’s voice echoed in my mind — muffled, like she was shouting through water.

“Cali! Stay with me! Please!”

I tried to answer her but my mouth wouldn’t work. My legs buckled. My knees hit the cold stone floor. Did I just fall? I couldn’t tell. Darkness crowded in at the edges of my vision.

I thought I heard Rachel’s voice — or maybe it was someone else’s — but the words made no sense. The noise of the room faded into a dull hum. I just need to close my eyes for a minute…

Harland’s POV

I’d turned half the castle upside down looking for her — Cali. Nobody seemed to know who she was or where the maids might be hiding. I’d stormed through the second floor, the maid quarters, the kitchens, the gardens — even the spare guest rooms prepped for tonight’s dinner. Still nothing.

I was about to check the main dining hall when Theo’s panic slammed into me.

“Harland — something’s wrong! You need to hurry!”

What do you mean? What’s wrong?

“Cali! I can feel her wolf — she’s in trouble. She’s panicking. She’s ours — our mate, Harland. I’m certain now. Find her. Please!”

A growl built in my chest, low and feral. The thought of something hurting her made my stomach twist with rage and terror at the same time. I sprinted for the dining hall. Theo clawed at the edges of my mind, trying to take over. I shoved him down — I couldn’t shift here. Not yet.

I burst through the double doors. A cluster of people crouched around a limp figure on the floor. My heart slammed to a stop.

It was Cali.

A growl ripped from my throat. Move.

“Back!” I barked. The people jumped away like startled deer. She lay pale and lifeless, tangled in her maid’s uniform — the uniform that mocked me with how small she looked in it. I dropped to my knees, scooping her into my arms. Her scent — sweet orange and warm vanilla — wrapped around me like a drug. She hadn’t smelled like this before. This was new. This was ours.

“Mate,” Theo howled inside me.

I cradled her closer, my fingers brushing the clammy skin at her neck. I couldn’t feel any injuries, but something was wrong. I had to get her to Sam — now.

I mind-linked him as I strode out, ignoring the gasps and murmurs behind me.

Prepare a bed — I’m coming.

“Understood, sire.”

I carried her through the corridors, my pulse hammering. Theo paced just behind my eyes, a snarl barely contained.

Hold it together, I ordered him.

“If she dies, we die,” Theo growled.

She wouldn’t die. I wouldn’t let her.

I made it to the pack clinic in under three minutes. Sam waited by the bed, gloves already on.

“Lay her down here, sire,” he said briskly.

I eased her onto the mattress like she’d break if I breathed wrong. She looked so fragile — too fragile for this world that demanded so much from people like us.

“What do you think is wrong with her, Sam?” I asked, my voice raw.

“I don’t know yet, sire — I need to examine her. Do you know anything else? Has she been ill?”

“She seemed fine — but she hit her head yesterday morning. Hard. I should’ve made her see you then. I should’ve—” I cut myself off, clenching my fists. Stupid. I was supposed to protect her — even if she didn’t know it yet.

Sam frowned as he moved his stethoscope over her chest. The steady beep of a monitor behind him sounded too slow. Too fragile.

I tried not to imagine the worst. But my mind went there anyway — all the moments I hadn’t had with her yet. The way she’d look curled in my bed. The sleepy rasp of her voice in the morning. The way she’d laugh when I teased her. I needed all of it. Every second.

Theo, I snapped through the mind-link. Can you get anything from her wolf?

“Only fear. She’s scared, Harland. She’s slipping away from her.”

I paced, each second dragging razor-blade slow. A nurse came in, took blood, hooked her to fluids and monitors. The beep-beep of the machine was the only thing keeping me sane.

“Prince Harland,” Sam said gently, “it might be best if you waited in the hall.”

I bared my teeth — the threat unspoken. “I’m not leaving her. Just fix this.”

He gave a short bow. “As you wish.”

My father tried to mind-link me again. I ignored him. He’d want me smiling in front of guests — the picture of the perfect future Alpha King. Not here, crouched at a maid’s bedside like a man possessed.

Seth, I shot to my beta. Buy me time. Tell my father I’m delayed. I’ll come when I can.

“You okay, boss?”

No. But I will be. Just do it.

Sam approached with a folder. I spun on him. “Tell me.”

“It’s not terrible news,” he said quickly. “She’ll recover. She’s severely dehydrated, her electrolytes are off the charts low. Her blood sugar was dangerously low too — probably from not eating enough for days. We’re giving her fluids, nutrition through a feeding tube overnight. She’ll need rest, but she should wake within a few hours.”

Relief crashed through me, leaving me unsteady. “Thank you, Sam. I owe you everything.”

“Don’t mention it. But… sire, she’s a maid. I’d keep this quiet for now.”

“I know.” I brushed a strand of hair from her forehead. “If she wakes up, send word. Immediately.”

Sam nodded. “I will. And Harland — you’ll make a good Alpha King.”

I grunted. I’ll be a good mate first.

I pressed a kiss to her forehead, letting my scent linger. “I’ll come back. I promise,” I whispered.

Then I tore myself away, leaving a piece of me in that sterile room behind.

Cali’s POV

Pain pulsed behind my eyes like a drumbeat. I pressed my palms to my temples, groaning. The ceiling above me was blinding white. I blinked, squinting through the harsh light.

Where… am I?

I tried to sit up but something tugged at my arm. An IV. And something weird in my nose. Cabinets of medical supplies to my right. White walls. White floor. I was in the pack clinic.

Why am I here? Maids didn’t get medical treatment — not unless they were half-dead. Even then, sometimes we were just left to heal on our own.

“Cali! Thank the Goddess. Can you hear me?” Willow’s voice nearly rattled my skull.

Yes — but you don’t have to yell, I winced.

“Sorry! You scared me to death. I couldn’t reach you when you passed out. I thought—”

I passed out? The memory floated back — the spinning, the heat, the stone floor slamming into my knees. Oh.

I pushed myself up but the doctor — a man in a white coat — gently pressed my shoulder back down.

“Easy, my dear. Try not to move too much.”

“I need to get back to work — Ivan will skin me alive if—”

“You needn’t worry,” he said kindly. “The Prince gave clear instructions. You’re to stay here. He also wanted me to tell you he’ll be here soon. He didn’t want you to wake alone.”

“The… Prince?” My voice sounded foreign in my own ears.

“Yes — he brought you here himself. He stayed as long as he could, but there were… duties. He’ll return shortly.”

The Prince brought me here? My heart tripped over itself. Why? He knew the rules better than I did. Maids didn’t get rescued.

“Cali — there’s something you need to know about the Prince — he’s our—”

“CALI!” The door slammed open. Harland stormed in, a shadow of raw power in tailored clothes. His eyes found mine instantly — and the world shifted.

His scent hit me first — warm sandalwood and musk, grounding and dangerous all at once. It curled around me, sank into my bones.

My heart skipped. My skin prickled. A low hum echoed in my chest — not mine, but Willow’s.

“MATE!” she screamed inside me.

The word hit me like lightning. My breath caught in my throat. My world — my tiny, predictable world — cracked apart in an instant.