The King's Maid

Chapter 1

Present-day

Erika’s POV

“We need you!”

When you have my job, those are the words you’ve wanted to hear your entire career. So, when I jumped out of my seat and accepted before having heard the full details of the mission, it wasn’t all that strange for a newb to fall into a trap like that. Foreign Affairs had a way to screw over their employers after all. And although it wasn’t my dream job, it was better than the alternative that my father wanted me to do.

Stay home and never leave the house!

My wolf growled at the insult and hell, it made even my skin crawl. My dad had never wanted me to have this job and he never approved that I moved away from home. But then again, he never approved of anything I did…

“Absolutely not!” had been his reply 4 years ago, when I told him I was leaving for Luxberg - or The King’s Capital as we werewolves liked to call it.

“Dad,” I sighed, trying to be patient with him and not claw his face off. “I’ve worked really hard for this! Don’t you think you could--- oh, I don’t know? Be HAPPY for me?!”

It was the usual standoff between me and my dad. And although I said I worked really hard for this, I hardly believed it to be true. I had a way of making myself the right kind of friends and, yes, you could say I was sort of a user. But I was desperate to get away from home. Every time I walked in the door, the house seemed to shrink a little bit each and every time. And ever since my mom passed away, it has made my dad even more protective of me, to the point where he suffocated me.

I had to get away from here and if I had to sleep my way through high school teachers to do so, I didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was getting the hell out of Dodge before I lost my f*****g mind!

“Sure,” he scoffed mockingly. “I’m thrilled that my only daughter is willing to put herself at risk by working for the people HUNTING her.”

I had to mentally go to my happy place, so I wouldn’t groan out loud at my dad. Because in a way I understood him and why he felt he had to protect me.

I was a White Wolf!

Yes! That kind of white wolf! Immune to silver, rapid healing ability, and--- oh! Yes…a f*****g millstone around my neck!!! My family’s been using it against me ever since I first shifted. I was a pure White Wolf. And yes, it was rare, and yes, white wolves were hunted just as much as Dire Wolves and Blood Lusted wolves, but COME ON!

This is the 21st century!

Look at what they did with the Black Lunar pack, right? Their Alpha was Blood Lusted and he was not in an asylum anywhere! And their Luna was a Dire Wolf – a f*****g DIRE WOLF! – but were there any chains and balls on her? I think not! Yet, my stubborn father wouldn't let me out of the house without an escort--- oh sorry! I mean I don’t get to go out of the house, unless I’m accompanied, by my TWO younger brothers! Trust me, you know not of misery until you’re at the mercy of your younger siblings…

“Not when my only daughter willingly puts her life at risk,” Dad continued to yell at me

Happy place, Erika. Go to your happy place!

The King’s Capital was located in a mediocre city, called Luxberg. It was located in the center of the first native tribe that first discovered werewolves and started to worship them like gods. Over time, the alpha of these wolves made a deal with the chieftain: they would protect their lands and their people if they promised not to leak out their secret.

And it was done.

But of course, some idiots couldn’t deal, and thus the Hunters were made. They studied the werewolves and once they learned of their weakness, they struck. The werewolves fought back and so did the tribe, but there were heavy casualties on both sides. In the end, the chieftain was killed. He sacrificed his life, in order to save the alpha. The alpha swore on his life, that he would never forget his sacrifice and would still honor their promise to each other. The Hunters retreated and hid like the cowards they were but swore revenge.

To this day, Luxberg is still in the front fighting against Hunters.

“You’re being irrational and overprotective, again!” I pointed out to him, although this time there might be about two percent truth to his words. Luxbern was the city where weird was the norm. It was a city, run over by cults, wild animals, and gangs (code words!). In truth, werewolves shifted into dark allies and fought against Hunters, who claimed that they were cleansing the world of evil.

You’d think that after the Renaissance people would stop being idiots, but---

Yeah, that didn’t happen…!

But back to the issue at hand:

So, my Dad was a Delta – a pack patrol of sorts – and my mother was a pack warrior. They met on the job. They fell in love, imprinted, and became mates. The usual love story, something mom loved to tell us over and over again, no matter how much my younger brother gagged. I loved the tale. I loved hearing her voice, her laugh, and seeing her smile…

And then--- we lost our Mom to the Hunters.

Dad had been devastated and, to make matters worse, he lost his wolf as well. But he kept on fighting, kept getting out of bed, and kept on going because he had us to take care of.

And I loved him for it, I really did, but…

Originally, I wanted to be a pack warrior too; it had always been my dream to follow in my mother’s footsteps and fight to protect the people I loved and cared about.

But Dad wouldn’t allow it.

As in, he locked me up in my room until I swore to him that I would never pursue a carrier like that.

I didn’t leave the room in three ways. By that time, I was so hungry and thirsty – and humiliated to have to go in the trashcan in my room – that I caved and made him the promise. I hated him for that, and I knew that it was just his protective instinct for overdrive, but that didn’t give him the right to abuse me and burly me into submission.

So I went for the next best thing!

Foreign Affairs.

It was an agency that dealt with the crossing between humans and werewolves all over the world. And in Luxburg they were directly linked with staking out and gathering intelligence on Hunters. And I figured that if I couldn’t do the same thing as my mom, I’d at least make sure that no one else suffered the same fate as she did…

“I don’t like it,” my Dad had argued again.

“You didn’t like my babysitting job, Dad, of course, you won’t like this,” I argued with him, ignoring the snickers my brothers were giving me and trying the patient approach again. “Dad, this is my choice!”

“Great,” he scoffed at me instead, throwing his arms out in frustration. “The next thing you know, you come home pregnant with your boss’s baby.” And then he actually had the audacity to stick his finger into my face. “But heed my words he’ll never leave his mate for you!”

I wanted to strangle him after that. I turned around, packed my bags, and left for Luxberg. Fast-forward four years, and I’d finally finished my training and was now a Junior Detective.

Now a Junior Detective with her first assignment.

Emotions bubbled inside my stomach as I tried not to show too many emotions on my face and remain professional about that. Although I wanted nothing more than to jump up and down like a freaking two-year-old in a sugar rush…

“We’ve been tracking the Hunters' movements,” Deputy Chief Sanders explained, handing me a folder across the desk. “We believe that someone inside the palace is feeding them information about packs' defenses and other sensitive matter.”

“I understand,” I said, glancing over the few pieces of information that were available. “What do you need me to do.”

“We need you to go undercover at the palace,” he said, voice calm--- and then smirked. “As a MAID.”