Chapter 3

I woke up feeling like absolute garbage.

My sheets were tangled around my legs, and I was covered in sweat. The dreams... God, the dreams had been so vivid. So wrong.

 I kept seeing those mismatched eyes, one brown, one icy blue,  staring at me like I was prey. And the worst part? I didn't want to run from them.

I slapped myself. Hard.

"Stop it, Louisa," I whispered to my empty room. "He's the Alpha King. You're nobody. Get a grip."

But my body still felt hot and tingly from the stupid dream. This was so embarrassing. What was wrong with me?

I dragged myself out of bed and got ready for work, splashing cold water on my face until my cheeks stopped burning. Maybe if I stayed busy today, I could forget about yesterday. About him.

The second I walked into the Spa Royale, everyone stopped talking and stared at me. Like, everyone. The receptionist, the other massage therapists, even the cleaning lady.

"There she is," someone whispered.

My stomach dropped. "There who is?"

"Louisa!" Elena rushed over to me, her eyes huge. "Oh my God, you have to tell us everything. How did you do it? What did you say to him?"

"Do what? Say to who?" But I already knew. My heart started racing.

"The Alpha King!" Elena grabbed my arms. "He specifically asked for you. By name! Nobody can believe it. A human servant getting requested by the most powerful wolf in the kingdom? It's never happened before!"

The other workers crowded around me, all talking at once.

"What is he like?"

"Did he speak to you?"

"How are you still alive?"

"What did you do to get his attention?"

My head spun. "I… I didn't do anything! Ask Elena, she was there."

Of course, she threw her hands in the air like she didn’t know what I was talking about.

I clenched my teeth hard. Betrayer! 

“That can't be it," someone else said. "The Alpha King wouldn’t just remember random humans."

I wanted to disappear. This attention was the last thing I needed. People were looking at me like I was some kind of freak or miracle or both.

"Ladies."

Everyone went silent. Mr. Aldridge stood in the doorway looking serious. We hadn’t seen him since the whole fiasco yesterday, and even now, he couldn’t look us in the eye properly.

 "Louisa," he said, looking right at me. "You're needed in the VIP suite. Now."

The whispers started up again, but quieter. Elena squeezed my hand.

"Go," she whispered. "And be careful."

I followed him through the hallways, my legs feeling like jelly. 

Why was he personally escorting me? He'd never done that before. Usually he just sent a message through one of the managers.

"Sir?" I said as we walked. "Is everything okay?"

He didn't look at me. "The Alpha King specifically requested you. When the Alpha King makes a request, we don't ask questions. We just obey."

His voice was tight, like he was scared. That made me even more nervous.

We stopped outside the most expensive suite in the spa, the one with the marble floors and gold lights that I'd only seen from the hallway. Mr. Aldridge knocked softly.

"Enter," came a voice from inside. Deep and commanding.

My breath caught. I knew that voice.

Mr. Aldridge opened the door and practically pushed me inside, then left without another word. The door closed behind me with a soft click.

And there he was.

He was shirtless, and I tried really hard not to stare at all those muscles. His black hair was messy, like he'd been running his hands through it. But it was his eyes that made my knees weak again.

That impossible combination of warm brown and ice blue that seemed to see right through me.

Those eyes never left mine. I felt like a mouse being watched by a very patient cat.

"Louisa Fernandez," he said smoothly and I stiffened. 

Did he just… he actually remembered my name? 

I bowed deeply, "Your Majesty."

He was quiet for a long moment, then he leaned back on the table, still watching me.

"You'll serve me today," he said.

My eyes went wide. "Me?"

His mouth curved into something that might have been a smile, but it looked too dangerous. "Yes. Only you."

Only me? What did that even mean?

I could practically hear the gossip that would spread through the spa after this. 

An Alpha King choosing one specific human servant was completely unheard of. He wasn't even supposed to be here, he had hundreds of servants at the palace. 

Why would he come to a random spa and ask for me?

My throat felt tight. I bowed like I was supposed to, even though every instinct screamed at me to run.

"As you wish," I managed to say.

He nodded and lay down on the table, face down. Waiting.

My hands were shaking as I poured the warmed oil into my palms. This was insane. I was about to touch the most powerful wolf in the kingdom. Again. And somehow not die.

I walked over to him slowly, feeling his stare even though he was lying down. It was like he had eyes in the back of his head or something.

The moment my fingers touched his bare back, heat shot up my arms. It was like touching a live wire, but in a good way. 

A really, really good way that I definitely shouldn't be thinking about.

Every inch of him was solid muscle, tense under my hands. I worked carefully, terrified of doing something wrong. One mistake and I could end up as wolf food.

"Harder," he said, his voice muffled by the table.

I pressed deeper, and I swear I heard his breath hitch. Just a little, but enough to make my heart race.

The room got so quiet I could hear my own pulse pounding in my ears. His scent filled the air, it was  dark cedar and smoke, like a campfire in a forest. 

I shouldn't notice stuff like that about him, but I couldn't help it. It was like my brain had completely shut down and my body was running on instinct.

"Scared of me?" he asked suddenly. His voice was low and kind of mocking.

I bit my lip. Should I lie? Tell him I wasn't scared when we both knew I was terrified?

"You're the Alpha King. I'm human. Of course I'm scared."

He actually chuckled, but it didn't sound happy. "Good. You should be."

Before I could process what he meant, his hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. I gasped and dropped the oil bottle. It hit the floor with a loud clatter.

He pulled me closer, so close I could feel the heat radiating off his skin. His lips were right next to my ear, and when he spoke, his breath made me shiver.

"Do you feel it too?" he whispered.

My breath got stuck in my throat. Feel what? The electricity between us? 

The way my skin burned everywhere he touched me? The completely inappropriate thoughts I'd been having about him since yesterday?

I couldn't speak. Could barely breathe.

His mouth was almost touching mine when a knock interrupted us. 

"Your majesty, the report from the south patrol has arrived,” a deep voice spoke from outside the door, and I released a breath. 

Asher let go of my wrist slowly, like he didn't want to. I stumbled backward, my face on fire, my chest so tight I thought I might pass out.

"Go," he ordered.

I ran. Literally ran out of that room like my life depended on it. But even as I fled, his voice followed me, dark and impossible to escape.

Do you feel it too?

I did. God help me, I really did.

And that terrified me more than anything else.