JANE
~
My palms stung with raw, red welts the second the thick oak doors slammed shut behind me.
“What the…
bloody cactus!”
If I’d known this was what a servant’s life in the palace was like, maybe I would’ve stayed home.
But in a world where women are treated as useless—especially someone like me, born with dotted irises—I wouldn’t survive a week.
A single copper coin is all I’d ever earn.
Just one more year.
I could keep up this disguise that long.
Once I got paid, I’d finally have enough to buy my sisters and me a real life.
I forced a deep breath to ground myself.
Every day brought endless orders from the King—a lethal Lycan monarch.
A human like me had to tread lightly around a predator, but survival meant enduring whatever he threw at me.
Even serving him directly.
Just one more year.
I dragged my feet toward the table near the door.
The room was dim, but I didn’t care to look around.
With shoulders heavy enough to crush a mountain, all I cared about was reaching my bed.
But first, this damn disguise had to come off.
I yanked off the short, dark wig.
My natural white curls tumbled down my back in a silver waterfall
I let out a long sigh of relief.
For the first time all day, I could actually breathe.
A sudden tramp of heavy boots echoed behind me.
I spun around, squinting into the dark.
Could a rat make a noise like that?
No chance.
Just my imagination, I tried to tell myself, brushing the chill off my arms.
Unbuckling my belt, I tossed it aside and pulled the loose shirt over my head, letting it pool around my feet.
“Works me until midnight while he retires early,” I muttered under my breath.
Taking this job was a nightmare, but the money?
Ten gold coins wasn’t a sum a poor human turned down.
I kicked off my trousers and stepped out of the oversized boots.
As my fingers brushed the tight binding wrapped around my chest, a low tramp noise rough-cut through the silence again.
I froze, my brow furrowing as I glared into the dark.
It’s just a rat and I don’t have time for pests.
Wait…
My eyes tracked toward the massive bed, it’s heavy velvet curtains swayed and a gleaming silver sword leaned against the nightstand.
No, no, no, no!
The clock had struck midnight, signaling the end of my shift.
I was so exhausted I could barely see three steps ahead, but how could I stumble into the wrong damn room?
Not just any room but the King’s room.
I knew it was his even before my eyes caught the Lycan crest carved into the wall.
I should have recognized it instantly.
I was his personal servant, after all—disguised as a boy just to work in his castle.
And here I was, half-naked in his private quarters!
No, no, no.
I snatched the short wig off the table and dropped to my knees, scrambling for my discarded clothes.
I shoved my legs back into my trousers.
My room was just down the hall, and the castle was dead quiet.
I could escape—just bolt down the corridor before anyone noticed.
No.
The wig first.
I shoved the dark hair over my white curls and frantically began chanting the incantation to hide my true form.
“What are you?”
A deep, honeyed voice echoed from every corner of the room.
My eyes snapped open.
A silhouette emerged from behind the heavy bed curtains, his face hidden in shadows, while the lone candle on the table illuminated only me.
I knew that voice better than my own name.
Dark, commanding, and smooth, it had tormented me every single day of my time here.
He stepped forward, entering the warm ring of candlelight.
A gasp caught in my throat.
My knuckles turned white as I clutched the binding across my chest—a useless attempt at modesty.
He’d already seen everything.
He’d been in the room the entire time.
He had watched me strip off my disguise.
I’m dead.
I’m dead.
King Malachi’s crimson eyes, bordering on dark hazel, tracked over every inch of me.
The faint smirk playing at the corner of his lips could mean he was intrigued or dangerously annoyed.
With him, it was impossible to tell.
He rarely spoke and kept everyone at arm’s length.
For a Lycan, you’d expect a creature craving touch and proximity.
King Malachi was the exact opposite.
Even after months of serving him, I still couldn’t read a single thing behind those ruthless eyes.
“John,” he murmured, his tone sharp enough to cut skin.
John.
The fake name I had used for months.
“Is that what you’ve been hiding underneath those baggy rags?”
My eyes dropped to my feet.
My lips trembled as I tried to force out a word, but my throat was completely dry.
A low chuckle escaped his throat.
I looked up to see his head tilted, his gaze scanning me up and down.
“You are a girl,” he said, nodding slowly.
“You…r Majesty…
I…
I can explain.”
“Can you?” One brow arched as his eyes bored into my soul.
I knew I was dead, long before he would even call the guards to slit my throat.
What now?
I can’t die here.
My sisters need me.
Tap.
His fingers tapped the nightstand beside him.
My eyes stayed glued to him, waiting for his verdict, but this massive man was completely unreadable.
He didn’t need to say a word to do whatever he pleased with me.
Before I even realized it, my knees slammed against the hard floor.
My hands clasped together, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird.
“Your Majesty, please!
Let me explain to you!
I…
I…”
“Explain.”
He stepped out fully, the edge of his dark cloak brushing the floor.
As my eyes tracked upward, I instantly jerked my gaze away.
Other than loose trousers, he wore nothing at all.
His chiseled chest and stomach were on full display.
He sat on the edge of the bed, stretching his legs out and crossing his ankles.
I stared at his feet, locking my eyes there because what else could I do?
“Explain, John…
Actually, that isn’t your name, is it?”
“N-no…
I’m…
I…”
“You are a woman who has been serving me as a man,” King Malachi cut in.
I slowly raised my head.
His jaw is set in a hard line.
He was angry, and when he was angry, he was unpredictable.
“Stand up.”
“My King…
I…”
“That is an order.”
I winced, scrambling to my feet while clutching the loose shirt and belt against my chest to hide my exposed stomach and binding.
His eyes stayed on the cloth in my hands, his mouth parting to speak.
Knock.
Knock.
My head whipped toward the door, my eyes wide with terror.
Who could that be?
Then again, if the King himself had already caught me, did it even matter who else saw me?
“Stay here,” he commanded, rising to his feet and striding toward the entrance.
As the door swung open, I caught a glimpse of an armored guard and shrank back into the shadows.
They exchanged a few low words before the King shut the door quietly.
Turning back to me, his gaze stayed intense on mine.
“Go to sleep.
It’s late.”
“My K-King…”
“Be here first thing in the morning.”
He dismissed me, stepping past my frozen frame.
I stared at his back, my mind racing.
Tomorrow morning?
What do I come as?
A woman?
His manservant?
He settled back onto the bed, crossing his legs.
“Unless you plan on watching me sleep.”
I scrambled out the door, my heart hammering against my ribs at the terror waiting for me tomorrow.
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