Betrayed Heiress: My Second Chance Mate is A Lycan King

Aira’s POV

Why the hell is he always angry?

And why does my heart rate always accelerate when he is near me? Why does he make the hair on my skin stand and my throat dry? I can feel his anger vibrating off him, but that is not all. His power and might, his aura-they all radiate off him and leave me uneasy.

His eyes pin me to the spot. I am unable to tear my gaze away from them. Every fiber of my being is screaming at me to look away and get on my knees like Carla, but I do not. I stand my ground, and for some reason, I know I am going to regret it.

When he speaks, my entire body shivers. I do not think his voice is one that I can easily get used to; it always leaves my heart skipping beats and my blood freezing in my veins.

“The next time your filthy body touches mine, I will make sure you are tossed in the dungeons for three days without any food or water. I do not care if you are pregnant or not. Do you understand that?” he says, and I swallow the bile that has risen within my throat.

“I am sorry, your majesty. We were just on our way to meet you at the dining room; we prepared some omelets for you,” I say, holding out the platter towards him with a small smile on my lips.

What he does next has my jaw touching the floor.

He grabs the platter from my hands and throws it against the wall. Shards of glass and pieces of the omelet fly in several directions. Carla and I flinch with surprise.

The alpha redirects his angry gaze at me and says, “First of all, I do not eat omelets. Grace knows this. And secondly, the next time you prepare any food for me to eat, I will make sure both you and her are duly punished. Now get out of my way!”

Subconsciously, my body moves to the side, making enough room for him to pass through. He storms away, and I watch him until he is completely out of sight.

What an asshole.

Carla’s sighs of relief fill my ears as she gets to her feet. She goes to pick up the pieces of omelet and what is left of the platter.

I help her out as well.

“Damn, is he always like that?” I ask her, and she nods quietly. “How do you all cope over here? Why does he have to act like such a brat? Honestly, I wish I could just-”

My words are lodged back in my throat when Carla presses my lips together. At first, I look at her with confusion, but when I saw the fear and terror in her eyes, I instantly knew why she did what she did.

“Do not ever do that again.” she says, her eyes as wide as saucers.

“Do what?” I ask her once she releases my lips. She looks around before bringing her lips closer to my ear.

“Do not talk badly about the alpha. Believe me, it is far better that you are caught stealing than doing that. As long as you are within the four walls of this palace, never speak ill of him. Trust me, all four of them have ears.”

I gulped once again. This place is absolutely terrifying!

It’s like any wrong step, turn, or act is enough to get you killed.

Carla must have seen the horrified expression on my face because she quickly plasters a smile on her face and says, “But don’t worry; once you know the dos and don’ts around here, I am sure you will be just fine. And I will be right by your side to make sure that you do not get into any trouble.”

A grateful smile stretches my lips. “Thank you, Carla.”

“Don’t mention it; now let’s get out of here,” she says, picking up the last bit of omelet on the floor. She wraps an arm around my shoulder and leads me back to the kitchen.

Despite Carla’s promise, the next three days have been absolute hell. Unfortunately, Carla could not be with me 24/7. Sadly, she too is a maid and has her own duties to fulfill.

I do not know if it is just me, but I can swear that Grace is giving me the hardest jobs to handle. The first day, she told me to clean the entire first floor.

Why the hell did this palace have so many maids if they were just going to assign such large jobs to one person? I noticed something as well. Most of the maids here are always grouped into three, so they always share a single task. Ordering me to handle an entire floor seems like pure evil.

The second day, I was ordered to clean the palace stables. That was by far the most disgusting. I mean, shouldn’t there be people to handle the horses and their welfare? How come I get to be the one to clean up all that horse shit? I think I vomited about three times, if I am being honest.

And have I talked about our feeding? To think that since we are maids, we could prepare our own foods. But no, the food in the kitchen was meant only for the royals. Our meals were prepared by another team in the palace. If we were caught eating any of the royal food, we would be punished.

Mind you, we eat only twice a day.

I mean, how the hell is any of that even fair? Did these people forget that I am eating for two? I will soon be a month into this pregnancy, and my cravings and appetite are increasing immensely. But then again, I do not think any of them care.

Well, all except Carla, of course.

On my first night here, I could not sleep at all because I was so hungry. Carla, whose bunk is right above mine, noticed and asked, “Are you okay?” She stuck her head over the edge and looked at me with worry in her eyes.

“I am hungry,” I admit with a pout. Her gaze goes down to my arms wrapped around my stomach, and she sighs.

“You are lucky I went to the market today and got enough snacks,” she said. I heard some ruffling before she finally handed me some crackers and chocolates.

The smile that lifted my lips was so wide. I did not think I had been that happy in a long time. Without thinking, I snatched the treats from her hands and started eating. I froze midway and looked at her sheepishly. My mouth was still filled with crackers when I said, “Thank you.”

She giggled a bit at my behavior. “You are welcome, but try to eat quietly. I don’t want to upset one of these stuck-ups here,” she said, and I nodded in understanding.

I finished the crackers and chocolates in under three minutes. Even though I was still a bit hungry, it satisfied my hunger a bit. The second day, Carla still had a bit more snacks for the night, but today, being the third day, would be a problem.

Did I forget to mention that I have not seen Alpha Alexander these past three days? I know I should be ecstatic about it, but a part of me surprisingly longed for him.

Wow, I really do find more ways to disappoint myself every day.

Carla is off to do her duties in whatever part of the palace. Right now, I am following Grace closely as she leads me to my next torture of the day.

We walk into a room, and I instantly recognize it as the laundry room due to the numerous baskets filled with clothes. But wait a minute, why is there no washing machine?

“I want all these clothes washed by this afternoon, and make sure not to leave even a speck of dirt on any of them. These clothes belong to the alpha, so they sought to be in top shape.” she finishes, and I nod slowly.

“Okay, but where is the washing machine?” I ask, and for the first time since I have known this vile woman, she grins.

“There is no washing machine. We handle the alpha’s laundry manually; now get to it!” she snaps before storming out of the room.

My head is rearing back as I let her words register in my head. Wash clothes manually. I do not think I have ever done such a thing in my entire life.

A tired sigh escapes my lips, and my hands subconsciously go to my belly.

Do not worry, little one; all this will be over soon.

I start my work the best way I can: grab a few buckets, detergent, and water, and start washing the alpha’s clothes. I would be lying if I said I did not sniff some of his clothes one or two times. Or maybe ten times.

I know he is a dick, but that does not change the fact that he smells so good.

Beads of sweat trickle down my forehead as I struggle to wash one shirt. There is this stain that just won’t leave! Groaning with defeat, I rinse it off and proceed to spread it on the rope.

What happens next is all under a second. One moment I am getting up with the alpha’s shirt in my hands, and the next there is a sharp pain shooting up my back and skull as I find myself on the wet floor.

Shit, I slipped!

Tears spill out of my eyes like water from a broken dam. Sobs wrack my throat as my arms subconsciously wrap around my belly.

Please be okay. Please be okay.

“Oh my God, Aira!” Carla’s voice fills my ears, and I am instantly filled with relief. I feel her arms on my shoulders as she helps me to my feet. “Are you okay? What happened?”

“I slipped. Is my baby okay?” I ask, and she starts to inspect me.

“I think you are both fine, since you landed on your back, but you have a bit of a bump at the back of your head. I think we are going to have to put some ice on it,” she says once she is done checking me. “You really have to be more careful, Aira.”

“I am trying! But why should I be forced to wash so many clothes without anyone’s help? Besides, this is a fucking palace! How the hell do they not have a washing machine?” I ask; the tears slipping past my eyes are one of frustration.

“There are washing machines, Aira. I think Grace is just doing this to punish you,” Carla reveals. I should have known. “Well, lucky for you, I am done with my chores for the day, so I am free to help. But I do not think you should do anything strenuous for now; I will handle it. Just sit somewhere and look pretty.”

“No, I can’t just do that. Maybe I will help you rinse or something,” I say, and she looks at me worriedly. “I will be fine; trust me.”

Eventually she gives in, and we embark on our laundry journey. We are only halfway through when I sense it.

When I sensed him,.

Oh no.

“What exactly do you think you are doing?”

I see all the color drain from Carla’s face as the alpha’s voice fills the air. She spins around and goes down on her knees. Alpha Alexander is standing by the entrance of the door, looking as furious as ever, but this time it is directed at Carla.

“I am sorry, your highness. She is with a child, and she slipped, so I thought I would help and-”Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

“Silence!” he roars, and my heart skips a beat. Oh no, Carla is in trouble, and it is all my fault. “I personally ordered that the whore suffer in this palace, and here you are helping her?”

Carla bows her head even lower. “It was not my intention to disrespect you, your highness; I just wanted to help my friend.”

There is a moment of silence. I expected to see some sort of empathy in the alpha’s eyes, but there is nothing but coldness. A dark void.

“Well, your friend has earned you two weeks in the dungeons without meals or visitation. Anyone that tries to offer you food within this period will receive double your sentence.”

My head snaps in his direction.

“What??”