The Alpha King's Lost Mate

Ch. 1

Seven

It was just barely past four in the morning.

My shoulders sank. I wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight, the kitchen was still a complete mess and I had to be up in less than two hours to start preparing breakfast.

It wasn't like a sleepless night was out of my normal routine, but for some reason, today felt different. With the Alpha King coming to visit our pack today, myself and the other servants had been busy making sure that the entire packhouse was spotless for him.

Earlier this year, the king had announced he would be coming to visit each pack across the land, but he didn't tell any wolf why.

I didn't know much about the Alpha King, Ambrose Fitzgerald, except that he was a powerful, vicious, cold-hearted man who seemed to kill without reason. It was safe to say that I was completely terrified of him.

Even knowing that I'd be in the same building as him sent a shiver down my spine.

I shuffled into the pack dining room to gather up the last few dishes, rubbing my hands—red and raw from scrubbing—against my uniform.

I'd been working longer hours in preparation for the king's arrival, but I didn't mind all the extra work.

With my twenty-first birthday looming around the corner, I needed the distraction.

It was common knowledge that when a servant Omega turned twenty-one, she would finally be of age to be given to an unmated warrior in her pack. One day, I heard pack warrior, Asher Donavan, talking with Madam Olympia—who was in charge of the servant Omegas—about me.

Asher was one of the lower-ranking pack warriors, always hanging around the kitchen while I was cooking, staring at me with an unreadable expression painted across his face. On days when it rained and my job was to keep the floors shiny, he'd purposely walk where I'd just cleaned without wiping off his feet.

I didn't like him at all, but as a servant Omega, there was nothing that I could do about it. He was a much higher-ranking pack member than I was, and I knew that if I were to say anything he would punish me badly.

I reached out to grab the last dishes, wincing from my sore side, when I noticed the black-tipped boots of another person in the corner of my eye.

My heart dropped in my chest and my stomach started doing nervous backflips.

Oh no! I had made too much noise cleaning and woken someone up. Why hadn't I been more silent? Why hadn't I been a better omega?

Just last week Madam Olympia had given me a black eye and bruised ribs for burning the bottoms of some breakfast muffins because I was so busy scrubbing mud off the floor.

I should have learned to be more observant of my surroundings!

I immediately dropped to my hands and knees, bearing my neck as a sign of submission to whoever it was that was in the room.

I could tell just by the energy that they radiated, that the wolf in front of me was of high importance. They had to be at least a Gamma. And since I didn't recognize their scent, they had must be part of the king's Royal Pack. They would no doubt be furious that I woke them up after their long journey.

I craned my neck further out as the wolf took large, slow steps towards me.

The closer the wolf got to me, the more my heart raced. I was so focused on trying to control my ragged breaths that I almost didn't notice the man's polished black shoes only inches in front of me.

"Please stand up, Little One," the man's deep, smooth voice said.

Without any hesitation, I obeyed, legs shaking, making sure to keep my head bowed and my neck bared in submission.