Chapter 005: Mate in a maid uniform

(Draven)

I leaned back in the chair, placing my palm on my forehead. Nothing about the situation felt stable enough to trust. Marcel stood by me with his arms folded, watching me with an expression when I wanted to do something he already disapproved of.

“The bond is active,” he said again. “There’s no denying it anymore, Draven.”

I scoffed under my breath, staring at the ceiling instead of him. “A maid cannot be my mate.” I could not understand whatever madness the universe was trying to sell to me because, how can the moon goddess give a maid as my mate???

Marcel exhaled slowly, as if I had asked him for the hundredth time. “And yet your wolf disagrees.”

I said nothing because he was right. The moment she walked into my room, my wolf was not calm anymore. He kept screaming. Mate. Mate. Mate.

And it echoed inside my skull like something trying to break free from a cage and every time I tried to suppress it, it grew sharper and more violent.

The door swung open and both of us turned at the same time. And there she was again.

Same maid uniform. Same ridiculous long sleeves swallowing her frame like it had been designed for someone else entirely. She moved carefully into the room till her eyes met mine. That pull returned instantly. It was heavier this time.

Marcel straightened slightly, his eyes flicking between her and me with interest I did not like.

“So you are Draven’s— sorry, Alpha Draven’s long lost mate?” he said casually. “What exactly are you, and why does the Alpha’s wolf keep reacting to you?”

The lady stopped immediately, her gaze lowered, then she bowed. “I greet the Alpha.”

Her voice was respectful but not submissive. There was a difference because I had heard enough obedience to recognise when it’s forced versus when it is chosen.

I didn’t answer her. Instead, I studied her. The way she stood, the way she held her breath too long before releasing it.

“Your name,” I said finally.

She bowed again. “Seren.”

Marcel made a quiet sound under his breath, something between amusement and disbelief. “Seren? You have to be joking. Just Seren?”

She didn’t answer him. My gaze dropped to the uniform. It was too ridiculous. Tell me who wears a uniform that is too loose at the shoulders and too long at the sleeves.

Marcel noticed, a faint grin forming. “She looks like she was swallowed by the fabric.”

Seven’s head tilted slightly. “Is there a problem with the uniform, or are you simply entertained by things that do not concern you?”

Marcel blinked once, clearly caught off guard. I felt amused by the way she spoke so eloquently.

Bruno pressed harder against my mind. Mate. My fingers tightened subtly on the armrest of the chair I was sitting on. I adjusted my posture, grounding myself more firmly, as if physical restraint could suppress instinct.

Seren bowed again immediately, “I apologize for speaking out of turn,” she said quickly.

“Look up,” I ordered.

She hesitated briefly, then lifted her head and I saw her properly. I had seen her before but something about her presence changed the way my mind processed her presence.

Marcel went still beside me. He leaned slightly forward before he seemed to catch his face but his eyes did not leave her face.

“She’s—“ he started.

“Don’t complete it!” I warned him already predicting his words, but he said it anyway.

“Beautiful,” he finished under his breath.

My gaze snapped up to him instantly. The glare alone was enough to make him straighten again, his hands lifted in surrender.

“I am observing and not interfering.” He muttered.

Seren’s expression did not change and I could not deny the fact that it unsettled me the most.

“Why are you dressed like that?” I asked, shifting my focus back to her.

Her brows tightened slightly, then she muttered almost too low to hear, “None of your business."

Marcel made a sound like he was choking on laughter but managed to hide it behind a cough.

I, however, did not react immediately.

Seren froze, her eyes widening just slightly, as if she realized too late what she had said. Her hands moved to her mouth instantly and she bowed again, faster this time.

“Alpha,” she corrected quickly. “I am only hired to clean your room, not to be questioned like a prisoner.”

Marcel actually laughed this time, turning his face slightly away to hide it.

There was something wrong about this situation, the way she contradicted every word. A maid who did not behave like one, a scent that should not exist, and a wolf that tore my head apart.

“Who do you think you are that I can not question you?” I asked, leaning forward.

Seren raised her head. “I am a maid from a lowly background, and I cannot be flattered enough by standing in front of the Alpha and a man, answering insignificant questions.”

The word landed like a strike. Even Marcel’s amusement disappeared instantly. He turned to look at me, then back at her trying to process what he had just heard.

I didn’t move…neither did she.

Marcel finally broke the silence glancing between us, “Did she just—“

“Yes,” I said flatly.

Seren straightened slightly, “if there is nothing else, I’ll go back to my duties.”

Then she turned to leave so fast that her foot caught the edge of the oversized uniform immediately.

She stumbled and fell directly onto the floor. A loud thud echoed through the room and silence followed.

Marcel stared, I stared, even Bruno who kept screaming in my head went quiet.