Chapter 3

Darrel's POV 

Everyone was stunned, even lord Vincent looked stunned.

I stared at Alpha Kane like he was crazy. What the hell was he sprouting out of his mouth.

“You’re my mate.” he repeated, reaffirming his words.

This could not be happening.

Although I felt an insane amount of attraction towards alpha Kane, I felt no romantic bond between us and besides I already have a mate. 

Drew was my mate, so what the hell was this man saying.

The room went silent waiting for what next the Alpha was going to do while I just stood back silently.

I could feel everyone gaze on me watching my every move and reaction like I was an imposter, like somehow I have committed yet another crime just by existing.

But no one’s expression cuts me more deeply than Alpha Kane’s.

His face is unreadable at first those sharp, stormy grey eyes narrowed just slightly, but then it settles into something I recognize far too well.

Disappointment.

He looks at me like I’m some problem he didn’t ask for. A stray pup someone left on his doorstep. His lips press into a thin line, and then he turns toward Lord Vincent with an expression that makes my stomach twist.

“You brought me… her?” His voice is low, sharp. “This is your grand gift?”

Lord Vincent stammers, clearly caught off guard. “She—she’s beautiful, my lord, untouched. Her bloodline is unclear, but—”

“Does she have powers? A wolf?” Kane’s gaze slices into me before I can even open my mouth.

I blink. “No,” I say softly. “I haven’t shifted yet.”

“Perfect,” he scoffed, looking irritated.

He turned, already striding toward the exit, his harem of women following behind like obedient shadows. They shoot me with withering looks as they walked pass. 

I had been rejected once again because I had no wolf and was weak. But surprisingly even though I shared no connection with Alpha Kane, his rejection was still heart crushing.

But since he had rejected me my fate was unknown and I could get sold again. And maybe face a worse fate.

I turned to lord Vincent and dropped to my knees immediately begging him to keep me.

“I…I can be useful. Please don’t sell me. Let me work here as a maid. I’ll learn quickly, I swear.” I pleaded.

He glared at me for a long moment. “You’re lucky the Alpha called you his mate although it is still a mystery to me but I will keep you here at the palace. But I will warn you do not anger the Alpha his temper is not one to play with”

“I wouldn't dare. I just want to survive.”

And so, I stayed and became a maid.

The irony doesn’t escape me. Once a princess, now scrubbing floors in a palace that wasn't mine.

The Blood River Pack castle was a masterpiece with grand archways, ivory pillars, marble floors so pristine they could reflect one's soul allegedly.

But there was one thing that was seriously amiss. There was no warmth here, no softness. The halls are cold, the people colder. And the Alpha?

He’s an enigma I can’t stop running into.

Despite the size of this palace, I would somehow always end up in his wing. Assigned to his personal quarters, I saw him more than I wanted to. Every time, he looks at me like I’m something beneath his boot. Like my presence offends him.

Yet… he never sends me away.

I don't understand it. I tell myself not to care, that he’s not mine, But every time I see him surrounded by women, their hands caressing his chest and their lips on his skin, something inside me burns.

It shouldn’t.

I shouldn’t care.

But I do.

“Are you blind now, rat? Can't you see me walking.” Angela sneered at me one morning as I mopped the floor outside Kane’s chamber. 

I grit my teeth and said nothing. Angela was known as Alpha Kane’s favourite and many say she could be the next Luna.

“What are you even still doing here? You’re nothing but a pretty face with no wolf. You are an imposter . Kane does not even want you. He’s going to reject you formally any day now.” she mocked walking away.

Her words haunted me more than it should. Still, I don’t respond. I just scrub harder.

I’m not here for Kane. I’m here because I have nowhere else to go.

I dream of revenge. Of the day I return to Black River stronger than ever. I dream of Drew looking at me with regret, of Seraphina exposed, the High Priestess begging on her knees. But that’s all they were …dreams.

****

It was late and most of the castle was asleep but I was still cleaning.

I was cleaning the corridor leading to Kane’s study when I heard the heavy sound of boots dragging across the marble.

I turned around and froze.

It was him.

He was stumbling, looking disoriented and drunk.

His shirt was half-unbuttoned and his hair disheveled. There’s a faint bruise on his jaw and a wild look in his eyes.

He doesn’t notice me at first.

Then he trips, hitting the wall with a groan.

I wanted to ignore him and focus on my work but seeing how pitiful he looked I could not help myself.

“Alpha, Let me help you.” I gently assisted him by putting his arm around my neck.

His eyes snap to mine, hazy and unfocused. “You,” he breathes.

“I’m just trying to help, You were going to fall.”

“I don’t need your help.” he argued, his words barely understandable.

“I don't want to help you either.” I muttered under my breath, breathing heavily as he was incredibly heavy.

We reached his room. I push the door open with my foot and guide him toward the massive bed.

“I’ve got it,” he says, trying to shake me off.

He sits on the edge of the bed, swaying slightly. His head tilts up, eyes meeting mine in the dim light.

“Good night. Alpha Kane.” I said turning around to leave but his palm wrapped around my wrist halting my movements.

“How can a weakling like you be my mate.” He suddenly looked serious.

I flinched.

His words felt like a punch to my guys but I ignored it. 

“Then reject me, Make it official.” 

Something flashed in his eyes…anger? Guilt? I could not tell.

“Do you want me to?” he asks.

But I could not answer, I had no idea what to say.

“I think you wish I didn’t exist.” I finally replied.

Silence stretches between us.

Then, slowly, Kane reaches out. His fingers graze my wrist, travel up to my elbow. His touch was hot and electrifying. 

“Kane…” I whisper, swallowing hard. For the first time I called him by his name without his title and it felt so natural.

He doesn’t answer, doesn't get angry.

Instead, he pulls me forward in one swift motion, and before I can process it…his lips are on mine.

It was not gentle and he did not hesitate.

It was passionate.

Like years of pent up passion was poured to the kiss.

His mouth claims mine like he’s trying to drown in it, like he’s been holding back for far too long. My knees went weak and hands gripping his shoulders to stay upright.

His fingers curl around my waist, dragging me closer, until I’m standing between his legs my chest pressed to his.

I gasp against him, shocked by the intensity, by the heat that rushes through me. Every nerve in my body was awake, alive.

His lips move to my jaw, then down my neck.

“You drive me crazy. I don’t want you, but the bond…damn it…I can’t stop thinking about you.” he murmurs against my skin.

I didn't know what to say. My heart was hammering in my chest and my head was spinning.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

He hates me. Doesn’t he?

*****”

The first thing I felt was soreness…sharp, raw, pulsing between my legs. Then the warmth pressed against my back.

My eyes flew open.

I was in a bed I don’t recognize, the mattress softer than anything I’ve ever laid on, the sheets laced with the smell of pinewood, leather, and something unmistakably him ... .Alpha Kane.

Panic claws up my throat as my gaze darts around the dimly lit room. Gold-trimmed walls. High ceiling. A massive fireplace that’s long gone cold.

This is the Alpha’s chamber.

A chamber no maid should ever wake up in, especially not naked and tangled in bedsheets reeking of sex.

I sit up too fast. A jolt of pain shoots through my thighs, and I wince, biting down a groan. My hands tremble as I grab the discarded remains of my maid dress…torn, wrinkled, barely wearable.

My cheeks burned with shame as I recalled how it all happened.

I shouldn’t have helped him last night.

He was drunk. Stumbling. Angry. But I couldn’t just leave him lying on the marble floor like that. And now…

Now I’ve made a horrible mistake.

My heart stutters as I glance down at the man beside me. Alpha Kane. The most ruthless Alpha in the Northern region. My supposed mate. And last night, the man who kissed me like I was oxygen and he was suffocating.

He looks peaceful now, one arm draped across the pillow where I had been lying moments ago. His dark lashes cast faint shadows on his cheeks, and his tousled hair makes him look… almost gentle.

It’s a lie. That gentleness was a facade. He was far from gentle last night.

One step at a time made my way to the door, careful not to make a sound.

Just as I reach the large oak door, a low growl rumbles from behind me.

“Going somewhere?”

I froze No. Please no.

I turned around slowly, and there he was, awake, upright, and completely, devastatingly naked.