Chapter 4| Lash Out

Mira's POV

"What happen, huh?! Why are you no longer in the kitchen area?" Doris asked and held my arm to stop me from walking away.

"Doris, I'm now the personal servant of the King," I whispered.

"What?!" She exclaimed in disbelief.

As I expected. This was the reaction I will received from her.

She looked furtively around at our surroundings to see if anyone had overheard us.

"Let's go inside," she said and dragged me inside our room.

"Why? I... I mean, how?!" She asked right after she shut the door.

I immediately told her all that had happened in the King's chamber.

"He ordered that I start working today." I added in conclusion.

"That's it?"

"Yeah."

"And you agreed?"

I bit my lower lip before finally nodding my head. I knew she didn't like it.

Her eyes widened in horror and covered her mouth in shock. "Are you nuts?!" She exclaimed.

"You think there's an option to protest?" I asked instead.

"Ouch! That hurts!" I complained and held my right arm where she hit me. She just slapped my arm a while ago.

"I have no choice, Doris. That's the King's order," I explained and sighed.

I couldn't help but remember again what the King wanted me to do before he ordered the personal servant position. He wanted me to kiss his foot and when I refused, he dropped his goblet and ordered me to clean it. And the way he gazed at my scar, it made me feel weird.

"Hey, Mira! Back to earth!" Doris snapped her fingers in front of my face, startling me.

"Yes?" I asked and scratched my right eyebrow.

Doris sighed and put her hands on her waist.

"I told you! I told you to stay away from him! He's dangerous! He can't control his inner wolf. What if the witch assigned to subdue it is absent and then his inner wolf lashes out when you're around him? Of course, you'll become a meal--will torn into pieces of meat!"

"Good gracious, Doris! Calm down!" I exclaimed in surprise at her hysteria and held both of her hands. Her imagination was so wild. "The Alpha King is kind, okay? Why do you look at him in such a bad light? He headed a meting to discuss how to decrease the death rate in our Kingdom. He's concerned about us, but I don't know why you all don't see his effort to protect us. Some people are even cruel enough to mock him," I said and squeezed her hand lightly.

"You don't understand..." Doris sighed.

"Mira!" Someone suddenly called from the other side of the door, instantly startling me. But I recognized the voice immediately.

"It's Mrs. Adams. I'll go ahead, Doris. Maybe the Alpha King is looking for me."

"But..."

"I know what I'm doing, Doris. Thank you," was all I said before leaving her inside the room, her face creased with worry.

****

"Where have you been?" He asked in a serious tone.

"I... I was just... talking to my friend," I answered without looking at his face.

I heard his heavy sigh which made my heart begin to pound rapidly.

"Okay. Now, come with me. I'm going to wander around the palace," he said and walked out of his room.

"What are you waiting for? Follow him," his Beta, Conrad, said before leaving the room too.

"Right," I murmured and quickly followed them outside.

****

I heard the whispers of the guards behind us as we had made our way out of the palace. King William walked elegantly with confident strides with no sign of his having heard them. All the werewolves we encountered moved aside to let the King pass.

"He's not just arrogant, he's also weak. Alpha Connor is the one actually qualified for this position."

"Tone down your voice. He might hear you."

Two servants were whispering to each other as they cleaned the furniture in the hallway.

I swallowed when the Alpha King suddenly came to a halt. His face was emotionless, but you could see the pain in his eyes. My heart ached at the sight of it.

"Should I punish her?" Conrad asked in concern.

King William just took in a deep breath and shook his head.

"Let her... Let them be," he answered.

"As you wish, King William."

He resumed walking and we soon reached the garden. I felt bad for him, given the bad kind of treatment he was getting from virtually everyone. I knew he was not a monster or weakling because I was fully aware of just how much love he had for his Kingdom.

We stopped in the middle of the garden. He looked up at the sky and closed his eyes. It looked like he was letting the sun kiss his face and body with its light.

He smiled a bit with his eyes closed and I saw how calm and happy he was. But the beautiful sight was interrupted when Conrad walked closer to him.

They were looking at each other, but they weren't saying anything. It seemed they were communicating through a mind link.

Conrad suddenly bowed and then walked away from the King. He was walking towards my direction.

I was suddenly conscious of my facial expression and quickly focused my attention on the ground.

Conrad came to a halt right in front of me. "Guard the King. I'll just prepare some files. I'll be back in a minute," he said before leaving me alone with the Alpha King in the garden.

I was just standing just a meter away from the King, watching him adore the beauty and quiet of the garden. But all of a sudden, I saw him holding his head. His eyes were tightly shut and he seemed to be in pain.

"King William..." I whispered in worry.

After a second or so, he looked in my direction. I shivered in fear when I saw his ruby eyes glowing. He growled at me and bared his fangs. Slowly, he shifted into his wolf form. My knees turned to jelly when I came face-to-face with his complete wolf form.

He was easily five times larger than any ordinary wolf. He had black fur and ruby eyes and saliva flowed from his mouth. He was a complete monster!

"King William..."

"Aaahhhhh!!!" I screamed in horror as he sprang at me.