Betrayed Heiress: My Second Chance Mate is A Lycan King

Aira’s POV

“What do you think this is? Your private bathroom? Move it!”

I flinch when a shrewd voice comes from the other side of the wooden door. I have only been in this bathroom for thirty seconds, and I am already being yelled at to get out.

There is no way I am stepping out until I am done.

For the past forty-eight hours, I have been tossed around like a rag. I am covered in sweat, blood, and dirt. If there has been a point in my life where I need a good shower, it is now.

Taking in the condition of this bathroom, I grimace with disgust. I cannot believe over thirty women are being forced to share the same bathroom. I am certain that there are over twenty other bathrooms in this palace; making every maid share one is just utter cruelty.

“Don’t you dare make me come in there! I refuse to be late because of you!” says another voice, equally as harsh as the first. Quickly, I twist the shower nub and gasp when the cold drops of water hit my skin. Soon I sigh with relief as my body adjusts to the temperature.

Picking up the piece of soap beside the handle, I lather my body and hair with it. Just when I am about to rinse it off my body, a loud bang fills the air. My body jolts with surprise, and my brain does not get enough time to comprehend what is going on before my wrist is harshly grabbed.

A scream leaves my lips as I am flung out of the bathroom. My bare body collides with the cold tiles. I try to get a good look at what exactly is going on, but I instantly regret that decision when a sharp sting attacks my eyes. Shit, I got soap in my eyes.

“Can someone please hand me a towel?” I plead, waving my hand in the air aimlessly. Laughter mixed with mockery fills my ears.

“Oh my God, how pathetic is she?”

“It is no wonder the alpha rejected her.”

“She is so weak.”

Their words pierce my heart like a knife, bringing a tremble to my lips. I do not know how long I sit helplessly on the floor, wiping the soap away from my eyes as my falling tears help wash them away. But once I finally regain my vision, the first thing I see is a pair of dusty shoes barely covered with a black cloth.

Slowly, I lift my gaze upwards to find a somewhat elderly woman glaring down at me with disapproval on her face. The lines on the corners of her lips suggest that she does it quite often. She has her arms folded above her significantly large boobs…

“And what exactly are you just sitting there doing? Get up! There is a lot of work to be done!” She screeches with a voice that is quite painful to my ears.

Thankfully, the soap and water on my feet have dried up, so I hurriedly got to my feet. She encircles me like a predator would their prey. I can feel her eyes all over my body, sizing me up. This would have been a lot less awkward if I had some clothes on.

“So you are the new girl everyone has been going on about,” she says in a somewhat muttering tone. “My name is Grace, and I am the head maid. I will be the one assigning your daily duties. Every day, once you are done with your task, you report back to me. Now, your uniform is on your bed. Quickly put it on and meet me in the kitchen to receive your duties for the day. And do not make me wait.” With that said, she storms out of the door.

I hear a few whispers and snickers as I drag myself down to my bed. On it was a black dress and white apron that were just my size. I cannot even describe how thankful I am when I see some underwear. I inspect it to make sure that it is clean before putting it on.Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

Once I am fully dressed, I make my way out of the maid’s chambers and head down to the kitchen. Or at least try to. This place is like a maze! Why the hell are there so many twists and turns?

To make things worse, there are so many paintings that look exactly alike.

A sigh of defeat leaves my lips when I pass the painting of a woman in a red dress for the third time. I really wish Carla was here. She did not even tell me she was leaving; if not, I would have followed her, or at least had her help me get used to the place. Now what am I supposed to do?

The sound of ladies talking grows nearer, and I bite my bottom lip as I contemplate whether to ask them for directions or not. But I mean, what other choice did I have?

“Um, excuse me?” The three maids seized on their conversations and looked at me in a way that made me regret saying anything. Well, I might as well finish what I started. “I am having a hard time finding the kitchen. Could you please give me some directions to where it is?”

The three of them grin to themselves. The one in the middle, with blonde hair and blue eyes, points ahead. “Oh, you just keep heading down this way. Then you take the first turn to your left. Take another left; the door by the end of the hall is the kitchen.” She says so, and I smile appreciatively.

“Okay, thank you so much.”

Her smile is rather tight when she says, “My pleasure.”

The three of them walk away, and at a point, I think I heard them burst out with laughter. How strange. Shrugging to myself, I follow the directions given to me, and I smile with relief when I see the wooden door. My hand reaches out for the handle, but I barely make contact with it when a loud voice fills my ears.

“By the moon goddess, step away from the door, woman!”

I jump back from the urgency and fear laced with the feminine voice. Spinning on my heel, I come face-to-face with one of the palace guards, who looks at me in horror. He looks rather young, if I am to be honest; everyone around here looks like they are in their middle or late twenties. I don’t think this guy is anything more than twenty-two years old.

“Why?” I ask, and he hikes a brow slowly.

“Why?” he repeats after me. “I am more than certain that you do not want to walk into a room filled with starved wolves. Unless you are suicidal, of course.” Once he finishes, my eyes widen with horror.

“What? But one of the maids said, this was the kitchen!” I say, and he looks at me like he expected me to say I was joking, but when I do not, he shakes his head in disbelief.

“Well, whoever did that certainly wants you dead. Anyone who has ever walked in there never comes out. The alpha keeps this room as his execution room for criminals,” he finishes, and I gulp loudly.

Well, then it adds to the list of people who want me dead. How could those girls do that to me? I do not even know them!

The guard looks at me with pity and then releases a sigh. “Take your first right; you will see a flight of stairs. Go down and turn to your left. You will see the kitchen,” he says, and I nod skeptically.

“Thank you,” I say a bit shakily.

“You are welcome,” he pauses. “My name is Johan, by the way. I am guessing you are one of the new maids here,” he finishes, and I am glad he has no idea who I actually am, unlike the others. If he had, he probably would have let me walk into that death room.

“Aira.”

“Well, it is nice to meet you, Aiara. Let me give you a tip: do not walk into rooms you have never walked through before. Trust me, this is not the only dangerous room in this place,” he says, and I smile wryly at him.

“Thanks,” I say. He waves me goodbye as I start to walk away. I follow his directions and release a sigh of relief when I finally see the kitchen.

It is quite huge. There are about seven maids actively working. Some were handling the steaming pots on fire, others were chopping away ingredients and vegetables, and others were setting out trays and plates. A bead of sweat trickles down my head when I see Grace glaring at me from the other side of the kitchen.

“What did I say about keeping me waiting?!” She yells, and my mouth opens and falls several times.

“I am sorry, I had a hard time finding the kitchen and-”

“I don’t want to hear your flimsy excuses. I need you to prepare an omelet for the alpha; the other dishes have been prepared; make it snappy.” she says, and I blink up at her.

An omelet?

That was one of my favorite meals growing up, but I am not certain I know how to prepare it. I always had a maid prepare it for me. I am sure I can do it. I mean, how hard can it be?

My gaze falls on some fresh eggs in a bowl on the counter. I take out a smaller bowl and break about three inside. Pouring some of the oil into the frying pan, I put it on the stove and began to whisk the eggs. From the corner of my eye, I caught a few of the maids leaving the kitchen.

Soon, I will all be alone. I do not know why that makes me a bit anxious. No matter… Soon I will begin to search the cupboards for some spices. A cough escapes my lips when I open a drawer. Is it just me, or did this kitchen get hotter?

A gasp fills my ears, and my eyes snap to Carla standing at the entrance of the kitchen. “Oh my God, Aira, get away from there!”

At first, I am confused, but when I look behind me to see that the frying pan I had placed on the stove is now on fire, I do as I am told. How the hell did that happen?

I step back as Carla puts out the fire. Once she does, the entire kitchen is engulfed in smoke. “What happened? Why are you the only one here?” she asks through her coughs. She opened some of the windows to let the smoke out.

“I don’t know… They all just left. Grace told me to prepare an omelet for the alpha.” I explain to her, and she looks at me with sympathy.

“Let me help you,” she says, and I smile at her appreciatively. I watch her closely as she prepares the omelet in under ten minutes.

“Damn, you are a pro,” I say, and she laughs.

“Help me with that platter. Let’s go,” she says, and I do just that. We head out of the kitchen together when she says, “But I do not think I have seen a cook as terrible as you.”

Her words make me giggle a bit. But it does not last long because my body suddenly collides with a hard wall. How the hell did I not see that?

“Where the hell did this wall come from?” I mutter to myself. I expected Carla to say something, but she doesn’t. My gaze shifts to her, and I am shocked to find her on her knees with her head bowed.

What the hell?

That is when I feel it.

That is when I feel him.

My blood runs cold as I look up at him. Alpha Alexander stands before me, tall and mighty, with rage written all over his face.

I am in deep shit once again, aren’t I?