Chapter 50

• HAERA
• Nothing can ever be as satisfying as the look on princess ilvira's face when the Alpha staked his claim on me. I've gone days after that very day, thinking about that look on her face that I can now describe every little detail of it. I remember how her eyes looked from the Alpha to me, confusion and anger etched on her face at the same time. I remember the way her lips turned down like she was about to throw a fit and cry like the brat she was. I remember how her eyes twitched and how she could say nothing else and just stormed out of the room. I remember it all and thinking about it makes my day every time it crosses my mind and everytime I think of my new position. Assistant chef. In just a single night, I went from washing the laundry and the older maid's dirty underwear, scrubbing the floors of every single chamber in the Palace, being the Princess's plaything and personal maid, doing heaps of dirty dishes to working in the kitchen and making the Alpha's meal. The events of that night still remain bizarre to me. It all happened so fast or maybe I was just too tired and helpless that night that it seemed like everything happened in a flash. I was so tired that day that I woke up in the middle of the night, thinking it was all a dream but then I knew that look on princess Ilvira's face wasn't something my mind could make up because even in my dreams, she was always perfect. No dream could beat that reality and I found myself smiling into the darkness of the bunker room that night. As tired as I was and as bizarre as the events were, that night was the most satisfying one ever. The news spread much quicker than I expected and even before I woke up the next day, everyone in the Palace already knew that the new and ugly maid was personally appointed by the Alpha to be the assistant chef of the pack. That morning, I woke up to an unimpressed older maid by my bunker bed who shoved a different uniform on my face and told me I needed to resume to the kitchen as soon as possible. The excitement I felt that day must have been so evident because I couldn't even count the number of disapproving looks I got from the other maids. Rumours spread about my appointment and the things that happened that night. Some said the Alpha almost killed his Luna because of me. Others said he was Bewitched. At least they got one part right. I paid no attention to the rumours that most of them said directly to my hearing. I was too excited to resume to the kitchen to care about what everyone else had to say. I just wanted to do what I enjoyed doing. I was excited for various reasons but I was more excited for certain ones. First, I was back to living my dream as a Chef who cooks to suit the palates of her master and two, being a chef in the kitchen automatically gives me a free pass to see the Alpha king every single day. Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. Morning. Afternoon. Night. And frankly? After that night, I looked forward to every other day and night to see Alpha Zachary. My Alpha in shining armour;as Dezra called him after that night when he suddenly showed up, all angry, hot and bothered. Staking claims that made me blame the mate bond for making me melt like butter when I think of it. I was meant to hate him, not feel all mushy from him holding me and saying such words that made my insides go topsy-turvy. I even blamed it on Dezra sharing her own emotions with mine because he was still her "beloved Alpha". ...to be mine and she will be mine alone. Who says that to a maid sounding like that? While possessively having his hands draped over my waist? On top of that, who says that to a maid who you previously threatened to kill and almost even went through with killing? For days I thought I was the one who thought of it the wrong way. I was his mate and the words just align so much that if he had said them to me under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have thought too much about it but I was a mere maid according to him. A mere maid with feelings. A mere maid whose cheeks go red everytime I think about that night. It was really hard not to think about it. And when I do most times,I lose consciousness of where I am and just let my mind replay that single scene like a broken record. It takes a lot of effort to get myself out of the thoughts I unconsciously bury myself in and sometimes, it takes the loud shrill of Dina, the head maid and head Chef to dig me out of it. Like today. She was already in front of me and I didn't even know it until she stamped a heavy foot on the floor beside me, where I was bent over, punching the dough for the dessert pastries for tonight's dinner. I looked up and flashed a grin at Dina. She didn't smile back. She never does. I don't even think she knows how to and so I just wipe the smile off my face and resumed punching the dough. "Zoning out on duty again?" She between gritted teeth. Each time, it's always like she's trying so hard not to hit me with the wooden spatula she carries about the kitchen. "No I wasn't...the dough just needed soft pounding. You know, pound too hard it gets too soft; pound too soft, it gets too hard," I said, looking up at her frame. She definitely wasn't impressed by my short speech. Balfour says it all the time and it makes me giggle because of the word play. It's official, nothing can make this woman smile. She merely scoffed at me. "What stupid thoughts you have there. This is why I don't understand why someone as silly and as dumb as you was personally appointed by the Alpha. It's beyond me." Dina could hate me all she wanted but she couldn't deny that I was a good cook. I shared most of Balfour's recipes with her and even though she grudgingly accepted them, I knew she was marvelled at how good they were. One of the other things I would never forget was her reaction the next day I was appointed to be the new assistant chef. She was shell-shocked. It was a direct order from the Alpha which was relayed to her by Alan, the Beta. The condescending look she had on her face that she was worth all of the struggles she put me through. She was displeased about it but there was nothing she could do about it and so she just fumes around, eyes me menacingly, grips her wooden spatula in her hands and probably imagines murdering me with it every single day I show up in the kitchen. I said nothing to reply to her and just continued to pound the dough. She shook her head and clicked her tongue like she always does when she's too frustrated to say anymore. "Hurry it up or you'll be the one we serve as dessert tonight to the Alpha." I paused. Both the pounding and my body. And the I felt it. That hot feeling that starts from my chest, spreads up to my neck, climbing up to my ears and finally creeping onto my cheeks. Damn...how did I let my mind wander down that lane? I shook my head and touched my cheeks with the back of my hands. It was hot. "Your mind has gotten so dirty Haera. I thought you hated him?" I could literally hear the smirk on Dezra's voice when she said that to me. I didn't get to reply to her though because a different shadow other than Dina's own loomed over me. "You shouldn't blush Haera, it only makes it look like red pimples slightly bigger and uglier than the real ones on your face," the voice owned by the shadow sounded bemused by me. It was one of the three kitchen maids who worked with me and Dina and whom I only met recently after joining in the kitchen. They hated me. It was quite clear–they made it clear. It's a given that everyone at the palace and even back at the Moonstone Palace, hates me but there was something about the hatred of the three kitchen maids that screamed danger. Maybe because they were older or because their faces hold a obvious scowl whenever they see me. Even as the assistant chef, I've been bullied by them into doing certain chores but I never go about complaining or yapping about it. As long as I get to do what I loved doing, nothing else matters. Not even their murderous glares. And so I just stood with the bowl that had my freshly and perfectly pounded door and grinned sheepishly at her. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the advice." I think my smile only added to her irritation but I didn't wait to see it as I swerved past her, hoping that I wouldn't come in contact with the other two. Thankfully, they were too busy being lashed out at by Dina to care about me. Soon, we finished preparing dinner just as the bright rays of the full moon seeped into the kitchen. Carrying the food in closed dishes with exotic wines and fresh fruits, we headed for the Alpha's dining hall where the Alpha and his Luna were probably already waiting. That very moment was my highlight of the day. It has always been, since that night. The warmth that spreads in my heart was one I welcomed each time we went to serve the Alpha his food. Catching a glimpse of his face everyday like that made me question my feelings. In a single file, we walked into the dinning hall in the usual order;Dina leading the way, me following right behind her and the three other maids duly trudging along behind me. As expected, the Alpha and the princess were already seated in the dining hall; the Alpha at the head of the table and she beside him, on the left. We made the customary bow before placing the food on the table, wordlessly. And then, we began to serve. This was my favourite moment. I was always quick to serve Alpha Zachary and I wasn't sure if he or anyone noticed. I didn't care, I just wanted to get close to him at every chance I got. Like always, I moved to his side and began to spoon the food into his plate. The scent coming from him filtered in and out of my nostrils and I breathed it in and let it leave me tingling in all the right and wrong places. If he felt it too, he didn't show it. He never does. He just sits there and stares ahead of him while I sneak peeks at him and marvel at how handsome he is. I finished dishing out his food before bowing slightly and shifting to the back, to stand at a corner and watch him eat. They soon began to dig into their food, making small talks that made me wonder how that night went between them after I left. Now, the only thing I didn't enjoy seeing was the affection both of them shared at the dinner table. The way he cuts up bits of food for her, removes the nourishing vegetables in his own food and drops it into her plate, the way he cleans the sides of her mouth when something stains it. It makes me want to cough up whatever I had for my own dinner each time. It's the one thing that makes me want to get out of there faster than I came in. That's how it's been for the past few days since my life changed–again. I'd be excited to get there fast and see him even if he never spares me a glance and then be so mad and irritated that I want to leave faster too. Excited. Mad. Irritated. It was like a process that never stops because I never get tired of being excited to see him only to go back to bed angry and then wake up the next day again, of course, feeling excited! And maybe...just maybe that was the reason I didn't see the storm coming.