Alpha King’s Wolfless Mate by Scarlett Higgins

Chapter 18 I had free reign of the castle and the grounds. Even though Blake and I didn’t see each other very often, I still felt at horne there. The maids and servants on the staff team treated me like I had lived there my whole life and was truly part of the royal family. Although some were great, there were several servants that didn’t treat me very well. And I could only assume it was because they likely belong to Blake’s uncle. However, before I had a chance to investigate, they disappeared by the next day. I left my room one morning, heading for the garden patio where I liked to have my coffee and read before the sun got too high. I stopped by the library to collect a book I had seen a few days earlier that intrigued me. It was a book about ancient curses that I was hoping would be useful in helping me figure out how my wolf was stolen. Just as I turned a corner. I yelped, “Ack!” I jumped back just before I ran into Kelly. The book underneath my arm tumbled to the floor, landing on its back. I hurried to snatch the book away before Kelly could see the title. Kelly sneered at me, crossing her arms. “I’ve been looking for you.” “Is something wrong?” I asked, creasing my brow. Kelly scoffed. “Yes, something is very, very wrong. Wrong with you!” “If you just plan to insult me, I have things I’d rather be doing,” I rolled my eyes and gripped my book tighter. I started walking around Kelly, but she grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back. “Not so fast, you imposter,” she spat. “What do you want from me!?” I snapped. Kelly chuckled. “I know your secret.” “I don’t have a secret,” I said. I chewed the inside of my cheek. “Please,” Kelly scoffed. “I’ve done my research. I asked around about you and I dug into your past.” “Okay…” Again, I tried to walk away from her. Whatever Kelly thought she knew didn’t concern me. I didn’t have to play her game. and wasn’t in the mood to entertain her. Kelly followed along beside me. “I know you’re not really Blake’s mate. And I found out that you don’t even have a wolf,” she said, keeping pace with me down the hall. I looked straight ahead. Kelly wouldn’t get me to admit to anything. The last thing I need is for the truth about our contract marriage to get out and not only hurt Blake, but the deal we’ve made. To avoid suspicion, I need to act indifferently to Helen’s claims. “Do you know what that means?” Kelly pressed. I didn’t bother to reply, walking faster but she picked up her pace, too. “It means that you need to do whatever I say. Otherwise, I’ll tell the whole kingdom the truth about you,” she threatened. I smiled and stopped suddenly, turning to face Kelly. At this moment, the best thing I could do was act like I didn’t know what she was talking about. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Kelly. Blake and I are in love. Soulmates, even. Us not having the mate bond is irrelevant.” Kelly gritted her teeth so hard I could see her jaw moving from side to side. “Well, that’s the funny thing about high society. They won’t see it that way. In fact, you’ll be considered a liar and an infiltrator. They’ll turn you into the enemy,” she continued. 1 rolled my eyes and started walking. That’s what this was all about. “Blake and I are married. It is his choice who he is with, not the kingdoms,” I pointed out. “That’s where you’re wrong” Kelly hurried after me until she caught up to me again. “If I tell your secret, it isn’t just you the kingdom will turn against, it is Blake, too. Do you really want that kind of negativity to fall back on him, right when he got out of the Rogue Zone?” We’d made it to the garden door and I looked outside longingly at the blooming flowers with the morning dew still clinging to them. “If you don’t do everything I say. I’ll reveal your secret. And I want you to wait on me hand and foot.” Kelly smirked at me triumphantly as if she’d just won some big award. I gave her a bright smile. “Then I’ll tell the whole kingdom that you’re wolfless and not Blake’s mate,” Kelly said. “Go ahead. That doesn’t concern me. Your issues aren’t my issues,” I smiled, “Enjoy your day. Lady Kelly.” Kelly snarled. “They’ll run you both back to the Rogue Zone.” 1 sighed and looked Kelly over. She was dressed very nicely, I didn’t know why she had the ability to just hang around the castle even though she wasn’t part of the royal family or the government. Then I remembered how Blake had told me she’d been loyal to his uncle. She’d been involved with the former king, which probably gave her some status, still. Blake said because of her loyalty, her plans could have been in his name. As much as I didn’t want to get involved with Kelly and her schemes, I had a feeling I could learn more about her plans if I pretended to get close to her. I was still Blake’s wife. While he was helping investigate what happened to my wolf. I could investigate what plans Kelly had against him.

“Are you reconsidering?” she asked, pulling me from my thoughts. “I am,” I admitted, nodding. “Great. I think you should go clean my chambers, to begin with. I’ll be back before lunch,” she said. She gave me a dismissive wave and walked off, cackling as she went. I shook my head and went to Kelly’s room. Already, she’d made a mistake. She was leaving me alone in her private quarters. As I cleaned, I made it a point to look into every drawer, snooping through her things. There wasn’t much, except some nice clothes and jewelry. In one of her dresser drawers, I found a stack of letters, recent letters. I scanned through the top few and smiled to myself. That was all I needed. The doorknob turned and I quickly shut the drawer and went to the other side of the room. Kelly entered while I was absently dusting her bookshelf. She turned up her nose as she looked around. “The maids do a better job than this,” she sneered. “Then maybe you should have one of them clean,” I said. “I’m not trained for it.” “I like humiliating you a lot more. Now, brush my hair,” she demanded. Kelly walked to her vanity and sat down. She unpinned her hair and let it all fall down her back. She picked up a brush and held it over her shoulder. “I’m waiting” I set the feather duster aside and took the brush. Slowly, I ran it through her golden hair. Every time I hit a snag, rather than gently brush it out, I yanked the brush as hard as I could, breaking through the tangles. “Ow!” Kelly cried when I did it for the third time. “If you’re going to be my maid, you have to do things right. Otherwise, I’m not staying silent.” “Threaten me all you want,” I muttered. “What does that mean?” Kelly questioned. She tilted her head back, angling her eyes toward me. “Nothing” I shook my head and she turned her head back. I kept brushing, looking around her room. There was a pair of scissors on a desk across the room and an idea tickled the back of my mind. Quickly, I stepped away and snatched the scissors, returning before Kelly noticed I was gone. I started brushing again, rucking the scissors into my pocket. “Do you have a hair tie?” I asked. Kelly dug around on her vanity and handed me an elastic band. I sl*pped it on my wrist and gathered her hair in my hand like I was going to put it up in a ponytail. Instead of using the hair elastic, I pulled the scissors from my pocket and lopped off Kelly’s hair in one straight cut.  Chuckling, I stepped back. “You’re all set.” Kelly reached up and felt her hair. “Wh–what!?” she cried. She jumped up and whipped around, glaring at me. “What the hell did you do to my hair?” “Short hair is in. I think you look better this way, I grinned. I held out a fistful of her hair and dropped it on the floor, the strands floating around loosely. “How dare you!” she snapped. “You’ll learn, Kelly, that threatening me will never benefit you,” I said, crossing my arms. “You’re such a b*tch! I’m going to claw your eyes out!” Kelly pulled her other shoe off and jumped to her feet. I got in a defensive position, ready to fend her off if I had to. “Bring it on. But if I win, you’ll keep your silence without my waiting on you.” I grunted. Kelly sniffed. “We’ll see.” With an angry cry, she rushed at me. I pushed my hands into her chest and she fell to the floor again, whining and hissing. “What’s happening in here?” Kelly and I both looked to the door where Blake had let himself in. “I could hear you all the way down the hall.” “This little b*tch cut my hair and broke my shoe! She’s trying to sabotage me,” Kelly cried, pointing at me as she sat on the floor. Blake arched an eyebrow at me. I shrugged as he came to my side. “That is interesting. My dear Nora, you keep surprising me,” he smirked.