Chapter 1

Phoebe

The shrill sounds of my alarm wake me from my deep sleep, the insistent noise making me growl in frustration. I thought I had turned that stupid thing off last night, considering Beta Lance had told me I got the morning off to celebrate my birthday. 

As usual, King Levi was cold to me when his beta delivered this news, barely looking up from the documents he was reading. After thanking the two, I finished dusting the alpha king’s office before wishing King Levi and Beta Lance a good night.

The alarm continues to scream beside the bed, reminding me that I still need to turn off this stupid device. My plans of sleeping in are now gone, so I turn onto my side and slam a hand onto the small gadget, effectively silencing the alarm.

Rolling onto my back again, I cover my eyes with my arm and sigh, trying to shield myself from the light that filters through the open curtains I forgot to close last night.

“Happy birthday, Phoebe,” I whisper to myself, a sad smile playing on my lips. Today is June 20, the day I turn eighteen. 

The day I’m finally old enough to find my mate. The wolf who is meant to be my other half. The one I’m supposed to find solace and love with, bound together by fate. I know that being a member of the royal pack will make it harder for me to find my mate, as not many leave the pack unless it is for diplomatic purposes. As King Levi’s maid, it makes it difficult for me to leave the pack as well.

With another deep sigh, I lower my arm to the side and stare up at the ceiling. Hopefully, I find my mate soon. I don’t know how much longer I can handle the rumors spreading about me through the pack—that I am a gold-digging whore who only stays as his maid to become his luna. With a mate, I can prove that I am only by King Levi’s side because that was the job I was given. My parents fought to protect him over five years ago, and it is my turn to do the same.

When he finds his luna, I will graciously bend the knee and pledge my loyalty to her, showing that I am no threat to her position as my queen. Then maybe King Levi will be nicer to me again, like he was when we were younger.

We were friends as pups, with Levi always smiling at me when we were in the same room, playing card games, while our parents discussed hunting patrols and training schedules as the king and queen’s hidden guards. 

But then that day came. Levi turned eighteen and started his first rut the moment the clock chimed the hour of his birth. His body was overcome by the desire to mate with a she-wolf, turning the royal pack upside down. This panic allowed rogues to slip through our defenses, and in the chaos, they managed to gravely wound the king and queen and kill my parents, who lost their lives protecting the royal family.

I remember the guilt the king and queen felt as they clung to life, holding on until their son emerged from his rut. When it finally ended seven days later, Levi knelt before me, crying and begging for forgiveness. Just moments before they succumbed to their injuries, his parents told him everything that had happened on his birthday. 

To honor my parents’ sacrifice—and at his parents’ final request—King Levi appointed me as his personal maid at thirteen. My salary went directly into the inheritance account my parents set up for me in their will—an account I will now have access to since I’ve turned eighteen today.

Maybe I should buy my own home now, I muse. Buying my own home would be perfect. I could live outside the palace and only come here to perform my duties. 

This would be beneficial for me, as I would no longer be at King Levi’s beck and call since our rooms would no longer be down the hall from each other. I would have a home of my own, a place to freely decorate and unwind in after a long day serving the cold man who grew to hate me because of the rumors about me.

Suddenly, my stomach grumbles, and I take this as my cue to push myself off my bed and onto my feet. Breakfast in the dining hall sounds good right about now before I hide away in the library for the rest of the day. Since there will be a ball tonight to welcome a visiting alpha and his packmates, no one will come looking for me while I rest and relax until tonight.

Quickly showering and changing into a clean yet simple pink sundress, I tie my white hair up with a ribbon before slipping on a pair of ballet flats and checking the time. Currently, King Levi will be in his office with Beta Lance. They will be going over the final preparations for welcoming the visiting alpha, so I will be able to avoid his cold, harsh gaze. With a smile, I leave my room, keeping my gaze low and my posture straight.

As much as I want to hold my head up high, everyone in the pack assumes I am an omega because of the lowly tasks I perform. They don’t know that I serve as a hidden guard for the king, a role I was appointed to at the request of his late parents, and I train early in the morning on my days off to stay prepared. 

They don’t know that, as scared as I am about dying, I would gladly give my life for the good of werewolf-kind. So, I must pretend to be meek and keep my head down until the day our king finds his queen.

My steps pause at this thought, the idea of King Levi being with another woman bringing a sour taste to my mouth. Shaking away these thoughts, I take a deep breath and leave the king’s wing of the palace. I can already smell the scent of bacon from all the way over here, and if I am not quick enough, I won’t be able to eat my fill.

“Is that her?” I hear someone whisper as I reach the staircase, noticing three maids crowding around one another.

“Yes. She is the king’s personal maid,” another she-wolf answers with a sneer. I sigh, descending the steps as their whispered rumors about me slowly grow quieter the further away from them I get. It seems I will have to endure another day of the pack’s ridicule and sneers, even on my eighteenth birthday.

Please, let my mate come soon, I think, blinking back my tears and hoping the Moon Goddess hears my pleas.