6. Grumpy Old Man

ZOE ELISE

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Two days.

That was how long I had been living in the Alpha King’s mansion.

Two days of taking care of Princess Maisie, avoiding the grumpy Alpha King as much as I could, and trying not to lose my mind under his constant surveillance.

Not that avoiding him was easy. In fact, it was crazy difficult. 

The man was everywhere.

Whenever I went to Maisie's room, there he was, watching me like he expected me to pull out a knife and finish what he apparently believed I had been sent to do.

And whenever I wasn't with Maisie, I made sure to stay out of his way.

Thankfully, my new room made that part easy.

The bed was heavenly. The pillows were soft, the sheets were even softer, and the mattress was so comfortable that waking up every morning felt like being rewarded for simply existing.

For two days, I had woken up in a ridiculously good mood.

But today? Today was different. 

Instead of the mood I had maintained for two days straight, I wanted the entire world to go to hell.

Because today was my birthday. My twenty-first birthday.

I sat on the edge of my most loved bed, staring at the floor while the morning sunlight crept through the curtains.

Twenty-one years.

Twenty-one fucking years since someone had abandoned me outside an orphanage and walked away without looking back.

And here I was, still knowing absolutely nothing about them.

Not their names. Not their faces. Not even a single detail that could lead me to the people who were supposed to love me. All I had was that bracelet, and on a day like this, I couldn't even look at it without hating my life even more. 

Happy birthday to me. I guess. Scratch that. There’s nothing happy about the day I was born.

“Zo…” Peach's voice drifted through our bond. “Come on. It's a new year. Maybe this one will be different.”

I said nothing but thought she was being delusional. 

“Think about it. You're twenty-one now. You have a beautiful room, a job, everything you didn’t have last year, and—”

“And a boss who looks like he wants to bury me alive?” I muttered, completing her statement with my choice of words.

Peach sighed. “I'm trying to cheer you up, Zo.”

“I know,” I stated, my inner voice echoing back to her with no iota of life. 

“Then can you at least pretend it's working?” My wolf murmured, trying her best not to feel sorry for me because she knew I hated that even more than my birthday. 

I dragged a hand down my face, whispering, “Not today, Peach. Please.”

Fortunately, she went quiet, leaving me to my thoughts. 

I hated my birthday.

I had always hated it, though I never admitted it to anyone but my wolf. Every year, the date reminded me that someone had decided I wasn't worth keeping.

And reminded me of how many others came after and still considered me unworthy.

Flora usually tried to make the day bearable. She would give me money, sometimes a gift, and pretend not to notice when I spent most of the day hiding in my room.

I would sleep as much as I could, hoping that if I closed my eyes long enough, the day would pass without giving me another reason to feel unwanted.

But I couldn't do that today. After all, I had a princess to care for.

And if I wanted to keep sleeping in this heavenly bed, I needed to keep my job.

With a miserable sigh, I dragged myself to my feet.

The next few hours passed in a blur of feeding Maisie her soup and medication, cleaning her, and making sure everything around her was in order.

King Weston was there, of course.

Watching like a hawk. Grumbling whenever he thought something wasn't done properly and somehow managing to make my already terrible mood worse without even trying.

But I ignored him. Telling myself, “Not today.”

By the time I finished Maisie's evening routine and settled her in for the night, I was exhausted.

Of course, not physically.

I was drained emotionally. Jaded perhaps. 

I left her room, walked down the hallway, and headed toward the kitchen.

I hadn't eaten anything all day, and rewarding my stomach with food seemed like the sensible choice.

Until I saw the bar beside the kitchen. My legs came to a stop. Then slowly I turned my head toward it.

Bottles of different shapes and sizes lined the shelves, their contents gleaming beneath the soft lights. A slow smile tugged at my lips, and I threw all caution to the wind. 

“Dammit.” Damn them all!

“Zoe,” Peach warned immediately. “Whatever you're thinking, don't.”

I ignored her because food could wait.

What I needed was something strong enough to silence the thoughts that had been chewing at my insides since I woke up.

I walked straight to the bar and scanned the bottles until I found one that looked particularly promising.

“Are you seriously going to drink on an empty stomach?” Peach demanded.

But I had already grabbed a glass. “It's my birthday. I deserve a little happiness.”

“Alcohol isn't happiness,” Peach mumbled. 

But I retorted, “Neither is being sober on a day like this.”

Before she could argue further, I poured myself a generous serving and swallowed.

The burn hit my throat instantly. I coughed, squeezed my eyes shut, and slapped a hand against my chest. “Holy shit!”

Peach groaned within me, but I simply stared at the glass before I filled it up again.

The second drink went down a little easier. By the third, my shoulders had loosened.

By the fourth, I was beginning to think the world wasn't such a terrible place after all.

And by the time I lost count, I had completely forgotten why I had been so miserable that morning.

Or perhaps I simply didn't care anymore.

I giggled at something Peach said, though I couldn't remember what it was. Then I poured another drink, lifting the glass in a toast to absolutely nobody.

“To me!” I clinked it against the counter. “To twenty-one years of being unwanted, but look at me now. Drinking in a palace!”

“Zo, please put the glass down.”

“Shhh.” I pressed a finger to my lips. “You're ruining my birthday.”

I waved her off and reached for another bottle and thought, “Maybe you are right. I don’t need a glass when I can drink straight from the bottle.”

Laughing to myself, I prepared to pop the new bottle open, but that was when I heard a familiar voice behind me.

And that familiar set of words. “What the hell do you think you're doing?”

This time, I didn’t freeze. Instead, I smiled and slowly turned around, knowing fully well that the grumpy Alpha King had just walked in on me—

Wait a second! He couldn’t have WALKED IN ON ME. He couldn’t even walk.  

Oh, how funny I was. I nearly cracked myself up.

Alpha King Weston sat in his wheelchair a few feet away, his gray eyes fixed on me. 

His expression was thunderous enough to kill my laughter. 

We both stared at each other, him glaring, and I didn’t understand why until I looked down at the bottle in my hand.

A grin spread across my face. “Your Majesty! Would you care for a drink?”

His eyes narrowed. “How much have you had to drink?”

I considered the question very carefully. Then I held up the bottle and giggled, “Enough to like you.”

Peach made a strangled noise inside my head.

And King Weston's expression darkened. “I beg your pardon?”

I nodded solemnly. “You have a very handsome face. It's a shame you only use it to scare people.”

I could already imagine all the great things he could do to me with that face. Fuck!

“Zoe.” King Weston snarled.

“See? That's exactly what I'm talking about!” I rolled my eyes. Or I believed I did. 

Then I added, “Always giving orders. Rule number one: don't look at you. Rule number two, stay out of your way. Rule number three—”

“That’s enough!” I heard him bark. 

I felt his rage vibrating through me, yet I leaned forward, pointing a finger at him. “You're a grumpy old man.”

His jaw tightened, and his voice rumbled, low, sending violent shivers down my spine. “You should be scared of the things I can do to you, little girl.” 

Yes, I was scared of him. But the dark fire in his eyes only pulled me in.

“You are terrifying,” I whispered, stepping even closer. "But that's what makes this thrilling, Alpha King.”

Peach practically screamed within me.

But I was twenty-one, drunk, and thoroughly convinced that I was the most brilliant woman alive.

So naturally, I decided to close the distance between us and make use of his handsome face. 

Or, at least, that was my intention. 

Until my foot caught against what I would remember as a log, even though there was nothing like that there, and I stumbled.

Eyes widening, I grabbed the first thing I could find to steady myself. Fortunately, that thing was him.

The next thing I knew, I was tumbling forward and straight into the Alpha King's lap.