Chapter 6

ELARA'S POV 

The next morning, I was led through the maze-like corridors of the Palace. The room assigned to me was small, but way better than what I had expected.

Honestly a cage like room was what I pictured in my head.

But instead, I got a simple furnished room, with a small chest of drawers, and two narrow windows.

Cute.

"Welcome," A warm voice broke through my unease.

"Hi, I'm Martha," A petite young girl around my age extended an arm towards me, she stood in the doorway, wearing a pink plaid long skirt with an oversized shirt. "Your roommate." She added.

"Oh," I mumbled, "Pardon me," I shook her hand, returning her wide smile with a small one, "Thank you for welcoming me."

Her eyes crinkled at the corners, "Don't mind the place by the way, it's not much, but it definitely sure feels like home.... Or sorta."

I giggled softly, "Or better perhaps."

"Yeah!" She responded, a genuine smile on her lips. "Shall I show you around? Or would you like to freshen up first?"

"I think I'll freshen up first,"

"Okay then," she clapped her hands together, "it seems like you don't have anything, I'll spare you some of mine but....." She trailed off as her eyes ran up and down my body, "I think your bust may be way bigger than mine, so the shirts may be a little tight. Can you manage?"

A blush crept up my cheeks, I felt slightly embarrassed but also extremely grateful. "Sure, thank you so much."

"Don't mention."

Two hours later, after taking a very long shower, I changed into Martha's clothes, surprisingly they fitted me....well not so perfectly, but at least it's better than nothing. Martha also offered me some food, before taking me on a tour in the palace.

She started with the servant quarters, the kitchen, the laundry rooms. "So this is where our work ends, the other servants will take care of it, avoid bumping into them, they can be cranky,"

"Of course, thank you."

"Well then," she rubbed her hands together, gesturing to the grand hallway, "Let me show you further more of the Palace, we have only begun."

"I-" I blinked rapidly at her, "What do you mean just started? We have been walking for a long time...."

She chuckled softly, "Hun, this is a Palace. Not just any building."

As we navigated further, we rounded a corner and accidentally bumped into Ronan.

"Alpha!" Martha instantly grew pale, bowing her head.

I hesitated, my mind racing before forcing myself to mimic her action.

Ronan's gaze felt like a physical weight, like an unbearable pressure. I dared to look up, his eyes were darker and intense, it was extremely uncomfortable.

A sigh of relief escaped my lips as I heard his footsteps, he walked away alongside his beta trailing behind him. The air immediately felt lighter.

"Shit-" Martha groaned, "let's be careful next time."

I nodded."Noted."

*

Unable to sit still in the room doing nothing, I joined Martha in the laundry room. At first she protested, insisting that I rest and start fully tomorrow. But honestly, staying put was exhausting.

As I assisted Martha in the laundry room, I could feel the eyes of the other maids on me. Their faces etched with suspicion and well..the usual expression I was used to.

Disgust.

"Isn't that the trespasser?" One murmured under her breath, she leaned closer to her friend, "I wonder why hasn't she been killed yet,"

I pretended not to pay attention, but from time to time I used my side eye to look at them. 

"I bet she's a spy," another hissed, "Sent to gather information about us. You just can't trust outsiders randomly,"

"Yeah right," the first girl snorted, "Orphan indeed. Just a sob story to play on the Alpha's sympathies. A decoy, I tell you."

"Sooner or later she will be ratted out. The Alpha never fails in teaching those who wronged him an unforgettable lesson."

Listening to their words made me sick to the guts, my hands slipped, hereby causing the bucket in my hand to fall to the floor, breaking into two. I looked down at the mess I had just made.

Shaking my head, I bent down to pick up the broken pieces of the bucket. I shouldn't be paying any attention to them. 

It's not like it was the first time people had ever talked about me this way my own best friend did worse...

I felt someone nudge my arm, looking up, I saw Martha. A deep frown set on her lips. She bent down and collected the pieces from my hand. "Don't listen to them," she whispered. "Those girls gossip about anything and everything."

I shrugged, trying to appear indifferent, but unfortunately I couldn't really hide the fact that their words stung. It stung deep, I may have ran away from it, but I could never escape the wrath of people.

I stood up and picked up another bucket, tossing the clean clothes inside, and I turned to Martha. "I'll go hang these now."

She offered a reassuring smile "Okay."

I went outside to the courtyard, as I spread the damp clothes, my gaze drifted and I saw him.

Ronan.

He stood a few feet away, his back at me. His attention was fixed on something beyond my line of sight. Just as I turned to look away, the familiar ache stirred deep within me.

This mate bond had to be wrong, it just had to.

Kael had used me, and Ronan, well... He obviously couldn't care less.

How could I be mated to two men that didn't care about me? Nothing this bond had caused me but pain.

I flinched the moment he turned around, his eyes locked onto mine for a brief second. I started to walk away, desperate to put a distance between us.

"Wait." The command in his voice was absolute, so filled with authority that my feet stayed rooted to the spot.

I could feel him stepping closer, his presence radiated a whole lot of power and an intimidating aura. When he stopped right in front of me, his gaze was on me directly.

I felt so small, compared to his towering figure.

"Whatever you think this is," he said, moving closer, his voice clipped and dismissive. "Don't pay any attention to it. I'm not interested."