Chapter 4

~Tamara~

Today, it had been hectic.

The customers had been trooping in, and Mr. Lan and I had worked endlessly to satisfy them. Even with the help of a high school girl on break, my workload did not decrease, and I couldn’t complain because I had begged Mr. Lan for extra hours to pay off my piled-up bills and avoid being evicted by my landlord, who had given me a quit notice.

The more I worked, the more feverish I felt. I had no idea why I had been feeling that way for days, but despite being unwell, I knew I had to come to work. As I served the last table, I heaved a deep sigh, knowing that our customers had been served and no one else was entering. But I was wrong. I almost groaned in frustration when I heard the bell ding, and two people walked in. A man was wearing a suit and a mask covering half his face, and a woman was wearing a red dress with a black mask covering half her face.

“Who were they?” I questioned as I looked from the man to the woman. Their aura screamed power, and I could feel it even from where I stood. I was not the only one who noticed the presence of Important people among us; everyone else turned toward the door as they walked in.

“Welcome,” I said warmly, even though they were a bit intimidating because of their demeanor and the powerful aura around them. “We are currently not taking any more customers as the place is filled up and—”

The lady’s eyes widened as she looked at me, and I wondered if my statement had upset her. Just as she was about to respond, Mr. Lan walked toward us and bowed his head.

“Please follow me,” he said, pointing forward.

Mr. Lan just bowed? Did I imagine it? Who were these people for him to bow to them? It piqued my interest as I walked in front of them alongside Mr. Lan. When we reached the room for important customers, I knew they were serious business and might have come for Mr. Lan.

“At least someone was responsible enough to recognize my powers,” the man’s hoarse yet rich voice sounded as he removed his mask and sat on the comfortable couch.

Cocky? Very. Just who does he think he is? I felt as I raised my head to look at him, and I almost screamed when I saw his face. The Lycan King in the flesh was in front of me. My hands started shaking in shock. I never expected to see the king like that. Someone like me never expected to see the alpha of all alphas in front of her, not even in my wildest dreams.

“Your Highness,” I fell to my knees and bowed. “I apologize for my rudeness a moment ago, and I—”

“Good for you,” the lady said as she removed her mask. My heartbeat increased when I saw it was her—the female beta Leonara, known to everyone as the powerful warrior. She and the alpha king were always together, and I should have known when I saw the king that she would be there with him. “It is not every day a peasant doesn’t know royalty, so it is not your fault.”

“Peasant?” Her choice of words was unpleasant. Even though I had always looked up to her, she sounded mean at that moment, and it was hate at first sight.

“Wh-what...”

“Sit down with me, Tamara,” he ordered.

My eyes widened in shock, and I thought I must have heard wrong until Leonara pointed at me. “You heard the king. Sit down!” Her tone was a little too harsh, sending shivers down my spine and making me question why they had suddenly come here.

Had I done something wrong? Did the king hear about my loans? It seemed silly to think the king would come here to meet me because of my bills. He had other alphas to handle such matters. So why was he here?

“Did I do something wrong?” I asked.

“What insolence!” Leonara shouted. “How could you question the king like that!” she yelled at me. “He gave the order, so sit down,” she shouted again, pointing to where she had been sitting a moment ago.

“I shall take my leave now, Your Highness. Call me if you need anything.” She bowed and then pointed toward Mr. Lan. “The alpha king wishes to see her alone, so we leave now.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Mr. Lan said and turned to leave the room, leaving me alone with the alpha king.

I was alone with the alpha king, staring at me as if he knew me from somewhere. My hands began shaking again, and I felt my heart racing faster and stronger as I sat down in front of him. If this continued, my heart could burst.

“Tamara,” the way he said my name intensified my racing heart, and the shaking wouldn’t stop. For him to know my name meant I had done something wrong. “I am surprised that you are like this. Where did the fiery girl from that night disappear to?”

Night? Had he met me before? “Look at me,” he ordered.

“Your... Highness that would be disrespectful of me to look at you,” I muttered, playing with my fingers to hide my fear.

The alpha king laughed. “I am so disappointed in you, Tamara,” he muttered again, then stretched forth his hand and grabbed mine on the table. I gasped, and he laughed. “I must say it’s funny to see this shy side of you.”

Shy? Who wouldn’t be shy in front of an alpha king? “Do you know me?” I finally managed to say after stuttering over and over again.

He nodded in response. “Well, I know everything about you. Everything, Tamara!” The way he said it made me see him as a creep. Even if he was the alpha king, he acted like a creep, and I quickly yanked my hand from his.

“Whoever gets drunk first is going to be kissed. Does that ring a bell?”

That phrase! I had heard it before, but it was from a strange man I had met in the bar. How did he know it? “I am disappointed again that you still don’t remember me, Tamara. Does that mean you have forgotten about the night we shared?” He grinned at me.

I gasped and jumped to my feet. The alpha king? He was the man I had seen in the bar that night. He was the one I had been with? I couldn’t believe it. How did he even get there? How did he? The sudden discovery brought back memories of that night, and I gasped again when I realized what I had said and done to the alpha king.

“Oh no,” I muttered, but it was loud enough for the king to hear.

“Oh yes,” he responded, chuckling. “Is this how you forget the men you’ve slept with?”

Men I slept with? How dare he accuse me wrongly? He was the only man I had ever slept with. “Your Highness, you should know that night that I—”

“A virgin? I know,” he chuckled again, clearly teasing me. “I know, Tamara, and I’ve come here to meet you.”

Meet me? It was just a one-night thing. “Why have you come to meet me, Your Highness? I’m sure you don’t keep tabs on the women you sleep with, right?” I asked, and he laughed again.

“No, I don’t. You seem special, and I’ve also come here to offer you a job.”

A job? Did he want me for a job? It was hard to believe, and my heart began to race. I had to pinch myself to remember I was in front of the alpha king, not just anyone else. Then, suddenly, a headache hit me, and my vision began to blur. I had been working hard and trying to avoid getting sick, but hearing this had worsened it.

“Your Highness, I...” I groaned, holding my head as I slowly began to fall to the ground. Through my hazy vision, I saw the king rushing toward me, grabbing my hand before I could fall. Then, everything went black.

The next time I woke up, it was to the bright light above my head. I fluttered my eyes open and saw a man in a white robe looking down at me. Was I in heaven? I thought as I looked at him. My vision was a bit blurry, but I could see him more clearly as I blinked.

“Miss Tamara, how are you feeling?” he asked.

I sighed and blinked again. “My head feels like it was run over by a truck, and I...”

“That’s because you’ve been stressing yourself!” the alpha king’s hoarse voice sounded, and I turned to my right. He was sitting with his legs crossed. “How could you work in your condition?” he yelled at me.

My condition? What condition? I thought as I looked from him to the man before me. “Is something wrong?”

The man cleared his throat and looked at the alpha king. “I think I will take it from here,” the king told him, and the man bowed his head and left the room. “How could you be so stupid, Tamara, and risk your life like this!” he yelled at me.

Why was he yelling?

“You are pregnant! And you didn’t even know! Instead, you continued to stress yourself while being pregnant!”

“I... I am pregnant?” I asked him to make sure I had heard him correctly. He nodded in response. I couldn’t believe it. Could the day give me more surprises? Not only had I found out that the man I had been with the night before was the alpha king, but now I was also pregnant with his child.

“You are going to quit your job and move in with me,” he informed me.

“What! Your Highness, I—”

“There will be no complaints about that because it is already decided!”

“By who?”

He stood up. “By me! I only came to meet you today because I saw potential in you to carry my child, but the moon goddess had a surprise for us—you are already pregnant with my child, which makes things more interesting!”

A surrogate? That was the job he had for me? I couldn’t believe it. I had thought he had come to offer me an actual job, but instead, it was to become his baby-making machine. “Your Highness, there is no way I can be your surrogate. I know that I am pregnant with your child, but if you don’t want the baby, then we could—”

He growled at me. “Don’t make me angry, Tamara. Also, consider this a job. Don’t you have to pay your brother’s hospital bills?” he asked.

“I... I don’t want to be a baby-making machine just for that.”

“You are already pregnant, and I only need an heir to carry on my legacy. Think about it, Tamara. You have a week, and I know you are in a dire situation now so that I will give you time.”

Time? More than a week was needed to think about what he had proposed.

“I will see you in a week, Tamara, and if you try to run, I will find you anywhere. If I had to search the entire world, I would have because you carry an heir to my throne. Have a nice week, Tamara, and remember that I am always watching,” he smiled and then walked out of the room.

Just when I thought my life couldn’t get any messier, it did.