3. “Who said that?”

Ava’s POV

“What did you do to me last night?”

The man raised an eyebrow as he looked at me “What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean, I blacked out after talking to you” I retorted.

“You blacked out?” He asked surprised.

“Stop pretending”

“I’m not” 

“Yes yo…..”

“Ava!” Tina said as she interrupted me.

“What are you doing? Didn’t I tell you we have work to do” she turned around to face the two men as she bowed her head. “I’m sorry sirs, she’s new please forgive her manners” she said to them before dragging me away.

“What was that about?” Tina asked as we got back to Alpha Alaric’s study.

“It was nothing” I replied.

“It didn’t look like nothing” she said as she stared at me.

“It’s fine, seriously!” 

“You can’t just talk to Lord Kieran like that you know”

“Lord Kieran?” 

“Yes, he’s the Beta of the Blood-Fang Tribe” she said and my blood ran cold.

“I…..I didn’t know” 

“It’s okay just be careful” she said as a sigh escaped her lips “Get back to cleaning, I don’t want Madam Rhea and Lyra on my neck” she said leaving and I nodded as I watched her retreating figure disappear into the corridor, my mind drifting back to the man from earlier. Beta Kieran what did he do to me?

I shrugged the thought out of my mind as I resumed cleaning. After what felt like forever, I was finally done cleaning. I was admiring the books on the shelf when I felt a striking presence behind me.

I felt a chill run down my spine as I slowly turned around, and I collided with a hard surface. I gasped and stumbled backwards from the impact and I accidentally knocked down several books on the shelf behind me, making me lose my balance. I mentally prepared myself for the impact of the books falling on me but instead a pair of strong arms pulled me away from the shelf.

The smell of a bold, vibrant cinnamon cologne hit my nostrils as the figure protected me from the shelf.

“Watch yourself” The man said and I slowly looked up as I locked eyes with him. His striking brown eyes held mine, and for a moment, I forgot how to breathe.

I tried to say something but I couldn’t find my voice, I just kept looking at him then he cleared his throat, my cheeks instantly became flushed as I realized I had been staring. I quickly stepped away from him, but the moment I did, the remaining books on the shelf fell on top of me.

“Ow!” I let out a cry.

“What was that sound” Tina said as she walked into the study. “Alpha Alaric” Tina gasped as she immediately bowed down.

Alpha Alaric? I thought as I realized the man in front of me was the Alpha, I immediately bowed my head down as I grabbed the cloth and bucket then ran towards Tina, she gave him one more bow before we dashed out of the study. But even without seeing it, I could still feel his eyes watching me.

“What’s with you today?” Tina asked as she pulled me into the room where Lyra and Elina were.

“What happened?” Elina asked with a raised brow.

“She ran into Alpha Alaric in his study and earlier today she went head and head with Beta Kieran” Tina said and they both gasped.

“You can’t do that Ava, we are servants remember?” Lyra said and I nodded.

“It was an accident, it won’t happen again”

“I think we have done enough cleaning today let’s go back to the servant’s quarters” Elina added and we all agreed.

*****

Back at the servant’s quarters the other girls were already sleeping but I lay wide awake, my eyes stubbornly refusing to close. The events of today kept replaying in my mind, Beta Kieran what did he do to me last night? And the other man with him, he kept watching me and then there’s Alpha Alaric. I don’t know why, but I could feel the tension between us and it didn’t feel normal.

I was still lost in my thoughts when I noticed the tattoo on my arm started to burn, at first, it wasn’t really serious, just a sting then suddenly the pain exploded. I quickly used my other hand to cover my mouth so I don’t accidentally wake the other girls up. Tears rolled down my eyes as the pain increased, it felt like my skin was tearing apart then all of a sudden it stopped, I let out a deep breath I didn’t know I was holding and then I heard it.

A low growl. I looked around the room and the girls were still sleeping, there wasn’t any one at the door either but the growl continued, stronger and stronger and then the words came out….

‘MATE’…….