Chapter 6: Fit Just Right

Zaya stiffened, her heart racing in her ribcage. She instantly shut the curtains, as if doing so would get the image of the dead man out of her mind.

Was it Kayden who had been responsible for it? But why… why would he do that?

A silent voice resounded in her head, one that whispered that he had done it because of her, to stop the king from bedding her.

She crawled underneath the sheets, a feeble attempt to hide from everything.

The very next day, she hadn’t caught sight of King Darius, as though he had left the castle. She would have been glad if she weren’t now stuck eating breakfast with his two wives.

Lady Elena was King Darius’s first wife, at least that was what the maid had told her. She was the mother of Leon, Kayden’s brother, who was only a few years younger than him.

Lady Lydia, the king’s second wife, only had one son, Saint, who was just ten years old.

She had asked who Kayden’s mother was, but they had immediately fallen silent, as if speaking about it were no less than dragging themselves to the gallows.

Leon and Saint sat in front of their respective mothers, while she sat at the far end, hoping to blend in with the chairs or possibly disappear.

She felt the air turn stiff, and then Lady Elena’s gaze landed on her.

“Zaya, was it? From Crescent Moon Pack. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Zaya’s grip on her fork tightened. The sharp mockery in her tone let her know exactly what she meant by that.

“A cursed lycan,” she chuckled. “If King Darius wants to bring home a cheap whore as his bride, he should at least pick one with a decent background.”

Zaya’s shoulders stiffened as she gripped the fabric of her gown firmly.

But she wasn’t going to let this woman talk down to her.

“If the king is making me his bride, then I must not be so cheap after all, Lady Elena.” Zaya retorted.

The woman’s face fell, not expecting her to speak back.

“You little…”

“Lady Elena.” It was Lady Lydia who spoke, resting a hand on Lady Elena’s shoulder. “Please calm down.”

Lady Lydia appeared soft-spoken.

“Today is a sad day for all of us. Harold was found dead last night. We shouldn’t be arguing.”

Lydia spared Zaya a glance before returning to her meal.

Elena, who couldn’t stand being in Zaya’s presence for a second longer, stormed out of the dining room.

Her son, Leon, followed.

Breakfast continued in silence, and when she was done and about to take her leave, Lydia spoke.

“Seems like you would fit in just right around here, Miss Zaya.”

A small smile pulled at the corners of her lips.

Zaya was shocked that this woman wasn’t being rude to her, especially because she vividly remembered her glaring at her the first time she had arrived.

Zaya bowed slightly before making her way back to her room.

What they didn’t know was that she had no plans of staying here for long. She had never even wanted to be in this position to begin with.

She would escape from here. She just needed to figure out a way.

Now back in her room, she stood in front of the window again, hoping to catch sight of Kayden. She wondered if he would give her an answer if she asked.

Something told her he wouldn’t, but what if she was just being silly? What if none of this was connected?

A sigh escaped her lips. She picked up the book she had taken from the library, hoping to read and pass the time, but she couldn’t even concentrate. Her whole mind was in disarray.

A knock interrupted her alone time. She opened the door, her eyes landing on the butler, Phillip, but he wasn’t standing alone.

He was standing with a man who appeared years older than she was. He was dressed in knight’s clothing.

“Miss Zaya,” the butler bowed in respect. “Allow me to introduce your personal bodyguard, Marcus.”

Her brows rose in shock as the man, Marcus, gave her a deep bow.

She stood, stunned that the king had assigned a bodyguard to her, one who would certainly make escaping even more difficult.

He looked like the type to pick her up and toss her over his shoulders with absolute ease—so did Kayden.

She blinked the thought of Kayden away as her attention was pulled back to Marcus, who was still bowing deeply.

“It’s nice to meet you, Marcus,” Zaya managed to say.

“Marcus will accompany you anywhere you wish to go.”

She slowly nodded at Phillip’s words. Time away from the castle sounded more than enticing to her.

“I have somewhere I would like to go.”

With that, a carriage was prepared for her, and Marcus accompanied her to Crescent Moon Pack.

Zaya realised that her house must practically be in ruins by now.

Once she alighted from the royal carriage, the same pack members who had hurled stones at her were quick to bow deeply. Some had even cowered and hidden.

Pain lurched in her chest when she remembered how badly they had treated her. She could never forget.

She walked towards her home, with Marcus by her side.

She found her home in a wreck, the walls and windows almost completely destroyed. But what she hadn’t expected was for her home to already be under reconstruction and to find Kayden at her house with some men who were busy fixing it.

“Prince Kayden,” Marcus bowed deeply.

Her heart stuttered like it always did upon seeing him.

“How… what are you doing here?”

He tore his gaze away from the man he had been talking to and turned to her.

His eyes ran up and down her body, making her want to squirm. Completely ignoring Marcus, as though he had already been aware of the arrangements, he locked his eyes on hers.

“I didn’t expect to see you here.”

How ironic of him to say that, considering this was her house.

“It’s good that you’re here. Some things upstairs were left destroyed by the incident. Come take a look and state which things are still missing and need to be replaced.”

He turned, heading upstairs, and Zaya followed.

She noticed how the stairs had been completely replaced with new ones, and she wondered if it was the king who had ordered for her house to be fixed.

She followed Kayden to her room, which was still in the process of being fixed.

Her gaze wandered around as she opened the closets, which had been left undamaged. All that was there were some old, worn-out clothes she used to wear.

She could feel Kayden’s gaze on her back.

“Anything you would like to take back with you?” she heard him ask.

Zaya turned to face him.

“I’m not sure yet.”

She wondered if this man had gone through her things while he had been here, and the image of him on the balcony flashed through her mind.

“Was it you who… killed him?”

Her heart drummed in her ears, knowing the gravity of what she was accusing him of.

He hadn’t denied it, she thought, or perhaps hoped he would.

His lips tilted into a sardonic smile.

“What do you think?”