When Tables Turn

LUCY

It wasn’t easy at all working in a kitchen full of werewolves.

No one spoke to me.

I worked in silence as Cassy and Mary, two cooks, kept an eye on me.

I was chopping some onions that Mary gave to me when one of the she-wolves purposely bumped into me. The impact caused the knife I was holding to slip, and I cut the palm of my right hand. It was a deep cut, the blood quickly gushed out, and I winced.

The girl who bumped me smirked. “You should be more careful,” she said menacingly.

“You should put a Band-Aid on that before you get an infection. The medical aid kit is in the servants’ bedroom,” Cassy said, handing me a cloth, and I quickly put pressure on the wound because the bleeding wouldn’t stop.

I ran back to the servants’ bedroom, and I quickly ran through all the wardrobes. It didn’t take long for me to find the medical aid kit. I wiped my wound with some sterilizer, and I covered it with a Band-Aid.

On my way back to the kitchen, I noticed a young lady walking by. She was heavily pregnant, yet she looked like she couldn’t be older than eighteen.

She seemed to be sneaking around.

We locked eyes as we crossed.

I knew right away that she was human.

How many more of us were there in this castle?

Back in the kitchen, Cassy and another woman were finishing up chopping the onions.

“Lucy,” Cassy introduced me, “this is Emma.”

“Hi Lucy,” Emma smiled at me warmly, “it’s nice to meet you.”

“I just saw a woman in the hallway,” I said in a hushed voice, “she’s pregnant and I could’ve sworn she was human.”

“Her name is Lily,” explained Emma, “She’s the king’s stepsister, and she is half human. Well spotted.”

“She has the senses and half the strength of a wolf, but she can never transform into one because her mother was human,” added Cassy, “she defies everyone. Her stepmother, the Queen, arranged her marriage to the royal advisor, Jason, in hopes of taming the young notorious princess, but that didn’t work. She was still screwing around with every royal guard she would set her eyes on, so the royal advisor got pissed and got the princess pregnant whether she liked it or not. She has been locked up in their room as punishment, but I’m sure she found a way to escape again.”

Knowing there were other humans around was comforting.

“How old is she?” I asked, “she couldn’t be older than fifteen by the looks of her.”

Emma laughed.

“Oh, Lucy! Don’t you know werewolves hardly age? I am sure you noticed most werewolves here look so young and pretty? Lily is young but not that young. She is twenty-one years old. Her husband is the older one though, he must be in his thirties I heard from rumors,” she whispered as we made our way back to the kitchen.

I was beyond shocked. That girl couldn’t have been twenty-one! I was turning twenty-one, and I wished I looked that young and cute. I bet I looked fifty compared to all these angels.

Emma must have noticed the shock on my face, and she giggled. I was actually starting to like this side of her—it was so human.

“Oh, wait until you see the king! I’m sure you would totally pass out if Lily’s age shocks you. Follow me, we need to get some roses for the table decor from the gardens,” she said with a smirk as she opened a door near the kitchen that led outside.

The rose garden was very close, and it was beautiful.

I blushed a little in embarrassment. I didn’t mean to get so shocked. I mean, it was expected that these supernatural beings would be extremely beautiful and angelic, but it was still shocking to me. I would never get used to this.

“Is the king also…you know, old but young, ma’am? I heard he is so evil,” I blurted out before realizing I had actually insulted her king!

“I wouldn’t say I am evil… There is a difference between being evil and providing justice,” a deep voice said right behind us.

Emma and I both squealed in shock as we looked behind us.

There he was…

The King.

THE ALPHA KING

The second I laid eyes on her, a rush pumped through my body.

It was like nothing I had ever felt before.

My whole body wanted to lunge at her.

Claim her, my wolf whispered to me.

It couldn’t be.

I was the King, and she was human.

There had to be some mistake.

She’s the one, my wolf insisted.

The energy from the moment must have been too overwhelming for her because I watched her faint right in front of my eyes.

The wolf inside me winced with pain.

Her pain was my pain.

That human was my mate.