Williams POV
“Our mate is here and she’s looking well. The swelling seemed to have gone down a lot,” Waylon said as they eyed Doris from across the room.
She had her back pressed against the wall and her face kept reddening at strange moments. He was surprised that she was there and working for the party. Melody had mentioned that she had given Doris some time off to rest and heal from her injuries. But apparently, that was a lie.
He was able to pull his eyes away from Doris long enough to glare at Melody.
Of course, she would have lied about that. She lied about a lot of things.
“I’m going to rip her throat out,” Waylon growled.
William buried that rage to look back at Doris who had grabbed the bottle of wine. He didn’t know why he cared so much that she was there and not resting; it didn’t matter. He wanted nothing to do with her. She was just a maid to him, and she would be treated as such.
“And yet…” Waylon muttered. “You can’t keep your eyes off her.”
“Shut the fuck up,” William hissed to his wolf. “I can’t keep my eyes off her because she has our mark. As far as fated mates go, that’s just bullshit, and I won’t entertain it.”
Doris paused for a moment as she neared the table with the bottle of wine in her hands, her eyes shifted from a couple of faces until they landed on him.
They locked eyes and hers widened.
(Doris’ POV)
I locked eyes with William and nearly tripped over my own feet; I stumbled briefly but thankfully I didn’t fall to the ground or spill anything. However, it was still enough to catch Luna Queen Cara’s attention.
I pulled my eyes away from William and noticed her staring at me; that icy gaze of hers poured into me and send a wave of chills through my body. My body tensed as I tried to regather myself and make my way toward her.
Her frown deepened as I poured the wine into her glass.
“What is your name?” She asked me; as she spoke, the others stopped speaking and turned in our direction. I caught eyes with Melody who tensed as she noticed me standing there. She mustn’t have seen me entering until that moment.
“Doris, your majesty,” I said to her, curtsying. I was relieved that my voice didn’t give away my nerves and that I didn’t spill a drop of wine.
“Doris…” she repeated, scanning my features. “What an interesting name.”
I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not and wasn’t sure how to respond.
“Another lovely maid indeed. Minus those horrid bruises,” she said, staring at my jawline in disgust; her gaze went down my body and landed on my arms which were also bruised pretty badly. She kept shifting her gaze downward until they landed on my legs, which were also bruised. “Hmmm,” she said, judging my appearance.
“Is there anything I can get for you, your majesty?” I asked her, keeping my eyes locked on hers.
“Isn’t she lovely, Jack?” Cara asked, ignoring my question. She was addressing her son, Prince Jack Anthony, who sat beside William.
William visibly tensed at the mention of Jack. I wasn’t sure what their problem was, but I knew they didn’t get along. I didn’t work closely with the royal family often, but the maids talked about literally everything and one of the gossip was that William and Jack had never gotten along.
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t curious as to what happened with them.
“Yeah, she’s quite the looker,” Jack said eyeing me almost hungrily.
I felt my entire body going tense and heat rising into my cheeks; this was not the kind of attention I wanted.
Before I could say anything, I heard William scoffing and rolling his eyes.
“Get your head out of your ass, Jack,” William muttered to him.
I was taken aback by the rudeness in William’s tone, but he never took his eyes off me as he spoke. The intensity of his stare was about to burn a hole through my flesh.
Alpha King Charles cleared his throat loudly.
“Now is not the time or place, William,” he said, his voice booming through the dining hall.
William rolled his eyes, but he said no more.
Luna Queen Cara forced a strained laugh as she took her eyes away from her sons and back down at her food where she started picking at it.
“Silly maid,” she muttered. “Causing a fury amongst my boys. Taking the attention of the queen on her birthday.”
“No, your majesty,” I stammered, trying to redeem myself. I never meant to cause any fury with anyone. I just wanted to fill her wine. “I apologize if I caused you any distress.”
She scoffed and put a forkful of salad in her mouth. As she continued eating, I went back toward the serving table and placed the bottle of wine on it. I pressed my back against the wall again and let out a shaky breath.
This was going as smoothly as a cactus.
“Daniel, when are you going to finally settle down with a woman?” Cara asked, addressing her youngest son at the far end of the table.
His back was turned from me so I couldn’t see his face, but there was something about him I recognized. He kept his head down; I tried to move so I could see his face a bit clearer, but he was covering the side of his face with his hands.
Prince Daniel was the only one I’ve never encountered at the palace in the 5 years I’ve been working here. As far as I knew he was always off with the royal military or taking classes somewhere, so he rarely stayed at the palace. According to Beth, Prince Daniel ran the biggest pack among the princes. He’s also the best warrior in the kingdom.
We’ve never crossed paths.
“I’m not sure. I haven’t found the right one yet,” he muttered.
I rose my eyebrows, even his voice sounded familiar.
Where have I heard it from?
I looked over at Melody who was eyeing me down; her frown was so deep I nearly drowned it in.
I swallowed hard and broke my gaze.
“Well, perhaps we should get more serious about it. You’re always so busy, but even someone as busy as you need a woman by his side. Look at your brothers for instance. They already have their wives and their future wives…” she paused to wink at Melody, who laughed nervously. “We should really start thinking about your future, Daniel.”
I kept leaning to see his face, but whenever I did, another maid would step in his place. I oddly felt annoyed by that.
Luna Queen Cara turned to me; her expression dropping.
“We need more rounds,” she growled.
I straightened my stance and grabbed the wine bottle.
“Yes, your majesty,” I said as I made my way toward the table, embarrassed that I had slacked on them.
Prince Daniel cleared his throat and then I heard the clattering of his fork hitting the ground. By the time I looked over at him, he was already under the table. He was searching for his fork and Cara seemed majorly annoyed.
I had to keep myself from laughing; it seemed as if he was avoiding the conversation with her. Not that I blamed him, but it was still comical to see a prince in that manner.
“What are you doing?!” Cara barked at him.
“I dropped my fork,” Prince Daniel said from under the table.
“They will get you a new one! Get out from under there!!” She ordered.
I stared blankly in his direction, as did everyone else as he slowly emerged from the table. Sitting back in his place.
I nearly dropped the wine and fell over.
We locked eyes.
My breathing grew crisp, and I thought I was going to pass out.
It was David.
But not David.
David was Prince Daniel.