Pretty Red Eyes (previously "KING, AGAIN")

17| secret lover

17; secret lover

The maids were lined up into two lines on both side of the carpet that pointed into the Palace from the main doors to welcome the arriving Alphas. While the Royal maids were supposed to do that, Chelsea hid by the corner.

Despite her bad reputation around in certain packs, she was no stranger to some of the Alphas that would be in attendance today. In fact, she was actually close friends with a few. Especially-

"Chelsea?" a confused whisper found its way into her ears. She was startled at the closeness of the source. Angling her head to face the source, recognition registered across her face and the corners of her eyes immediately crinkled into an adorable smile.

"Kyle!" she had never been more excited to see her best friend than in this moment. After being held in the Palace for awhile now, it had been nice to finally meet a familiar face for a change. Alpha Kyle's strong features broke into a casual grin as he pulled Chelsea into a bear hug without hesitation.

He sniffed the air loudly and paused a second for a thought before releasing her. "The Royal maid outfit looks good on you," he winked cheekily. "why are you here? Dressed like this and hiding?"

Shit, Chelsea cussed in her head.

"Long story," she gathered herself quickly and waved his questions off casually. "I'll fill you in another time."

Alpha Kyle raised an eyebrow at her suspiciously but nodded at her promise anyway. Being the Alpha he was, he felt a pair of watchful eyes on him so he naturally looked to the direction. Only, he had met eyes with the king himself. His eyes hardened, void of any emotions as he had looked in every gathering the past years. But there was a shift in the atmosphere that made Alpha Kyle sensed the brewing of Fury.

Alpha Kyle squinted an eye in question but did not bother voicing his wonders out loud. He quickly turned back to Chelsea and pulled on her arm.

"Come, you owe me an explanation after ditching me that day." he said playfully as he dragged Chelsea away.

+    +    +

An hour into midnight, with the moonlight shining the brightest in the dark sky, the Alphas were all finally allowed to freedom to retire into their guest rooms.

The servants were all gathered in the kitchen for their debriefs before they could retire for the day too. However, madam Chrisell suddenly came through the doors of the kitchen announcing that the King had requested supper.

A midnight snack? Chelsea thought to herself. Her face almost screwed up in reaction but she schooled her expressions in time. He had barely touched his food the entire dinner with the Alphas and now he's making everyone work an extra hour because he was hungry from his own starvation? Ridiculous.

Madam Chrisell paused in her announcement and took another look at the slip of paper in her hands before looking up again. Her eyes searched the room until they found Chelsea. And then she spoke again.

"Chelsea, you're on serving duty tonight." With those words, madam Chrisell turned and walked out as if she wanted to avoid any more interaction.

Within the doors of the King's chamber, Chelsea carefully set the tray of late dinner on the dining table for the King. According to what Chelsea had learned about the rules of the Royal servants, she stepped back exactly 20 steps from the table and stood with her eyes cast down at her feet.

Stupid, degrading rules. Since when was she a rule-abiding werewolf?

Valius went over to his dinner, his finger gracing the edge of the tray. He traced the outline of the stray as if he was deep in thought. Then, his eyes lifted and he watched Chelsea.