Chapter four.

Selina's POV.

I was extremely tired when I finally made it back to my house, it was slightly deep in the night already.

The faint ache in my lower back reminded me how many hours I’d been on my feet. All I wanted was to get the key in the door, kick off my worn shoes, and collapse face flat onto my bed.

But the moment the tip of my key slid into the lock, and I made to unlock it and walk inside, I heard sound of footsteps behind me.

I froze, turning slowly, my eyes landed on Chloe. She was strolling toward me, her hips swaying like she was on some kind of personal runway, clutching a pink purse that I knew cost more than everything I owned combined.

"I didn’t know cleaning toilets and doing dishes took so much time," she said with a soft tone that that didn’t quiet match the scowl in her eyes. "I’ve been waiting for you."

I blinked at her, taken aback. "You’ve… been waiting for me?"

We weren’t of any personal attachment, In fact, the only times she’d ever acknowledged my existence were when she needed someone to carry something or to pass on a message, and I could still vividly remember my first encounter with her on my first day at the Alpha's mansion, which was totally terrible.

So why was she here?

"Is… everything alright?" I asked cautiously.

"No," she said, her tone shifting from fake sweet to cold in an instant. "Everything is not alright. And you know why."

I frowned, utterly lost. "I’m not sure I... "

"What do you think you’re doing with Alpha Malik?" she cut in, her voice dripping with utter venom.

The breath caught in my throat. I opened my mouth, but all that came out was a stutter. "I.. uh...

She stepped closer, close enough that I could smell her expensive floral perfume. "Don’t bother trying to deny it. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. I’ve seen how much time he spends with you now, Malik is mine, We’ve been together since we were children. And I’ll be damned if a lowly maid like you thinks she can sneak her way into our lives and ruin everything."

Her words were brutal, but what shocked me more was the coldness in her eyes.

"I’m not… trying to ruin anything between you two," I managed, my voice trembling slightly, more from exhaustion than fear.

"Then why," she demanded, "has Malik been spending all his time with you instead of me like he always has?"

I swallowed hard. I could lie to her, pretend it was nothing. Pretend Malik only spoke to me out of courtesy. But I had nothing to be afraid of ashamed of anymore.

"Because we’re mates," I said quietly. "That’s just the reason behind any closeness you might have noticed between us, but I promise, it doesn't stop Alpha Malik from being your friend."

"Friend?" Her lips curled in disgust. "The moon goddess must have made a mistake pairing you two. And I won’t allow it."

A flash of irritation rose in me, chasing away my earlier hesitation. "Malik accepted the mate bond long before I did," I gritted, trying so hard to keep my voice down. "He wants this. If he didn’t, you wouldn’t see me anywhere near him."

She croaked out a bitter laughter. "I don’t care what he thinks, I want you to stay away from him."

"I can’t," I said, shaking my head. "Even if I could, Malik wouldn’t be able to stay away from me."

Her eyes narrowed to slits. "Then leave the pack. Go far away. Somewhere he’ll never find you."

I stared at her in disbelief. "You’re asking me to just… disappear?"

"Yes," she said simply, as though it were the most reasonable request in the world.

"I’m sorry," I replied, my voice more rigid now. "But I can’t."

Her gaze turned furious. "Then I’ll pay you off, name your price. I’ll give you more than you’ve ever dreamed of... enough to start a nice little life somewhere far from here."

For a moment, my tired mind conjured the image; a cozy home in some distant town, free from being a servant here, but the image flickered and died as quickly as it appeared. Because it didn’t include Malik. And I couldn’t imagine a life without him in it.

And I was still serving as a maid by choice, Malik wanted to take me off it, but I didn't want the pack to whisper and spread rumors, I will stop once we've had our marriage, which was coming up soon, so why would I want to take pennies from her and abandon the happy life that the moon goddess has offered me?

"I can’t take your offer," I said, keeping my tone as polite as possible. "I mean no offense, but Malik has come to mean so much to me. And if I just disappeared… he’d lose his mind. You know that."

Her jaw tightened, and for the first time, the fury in her eyes that she's been trying to cage was finally breaking free. "If you think this is over," she said, her voice low and dangerous, "you’re wrong. Stay away from him, or you’ll regret it."

I held her gaze, my heart pounding, but I refused to look away.

"I promise you Selina, you don't want to be in my watch list, I'm the last person you would want to ever mess with, if you don't want to regret ever being born, stay away from what's mine."

She took a step back, looking me over like I was something she’d scrape off her shoe. Then she turned on her heel and walked away.

I stood there for a long moment after she disappeared, my key still in the lock, my hands trembling, not with fear, but with anger.

It was the first time Chloe had confronted me directly with so much dreadful fury. And I had the sickening feeling it wouldn’t be the last.