CHAPTER 6

AMAYA

That question was the last thing I expected to come out of his mouth.

I don't know what he thinks he saw, but whatever it is, I won't be the one who'll stoke the fire he seemed intent to light.

Lucian was still a mystery to me, and laying all my cards on the table was a terrible play.

So I quickly school my expression and say, "I'm sorry, I don't understand the question."

"You don't strike me as someone who is slow, so you're either telling the truth or you're a very good liar," he replies.

"I gain nothing by lying to you. I'm at the bottom of the food chain here, so I literally have nothing to gain."

He contemplates what I said for a while before he finally nods.

"I'll believe you for now, but don't for one second think I'm letting this go. I know my brother, and something is definitely up with him. You might not be a part of it yet, so I won't drag you along," he says.

Damn, that didn’t sound good. What I want is for him to back off, not double down. This was going to be a problem.

"Like I said, I don't know what you're going on about. The only thing I'm concerned with is doing my job, which entails serving you, and to do that, I need to know what your preferences are," I tell him.

He looks at the tray in my hand and says, “As long as you serve me, I’ll eat whatever you give me.”

His words spread warmth within me, and I felt my wolf stir a bit, which was weird, but I chose to ignore it.

“Then you won’t mind if I drop this tray in your room and head out because I still have a lot of things I need to get done.”

He smiles and says, "Sure. But I'll be seeing you around, and I look forward to getting to know you more."

“The feeling is not mutual,” I mumble as I drop the tray and leave his room.

Back in the kitchen, I am met with a mountain of dishes that need to be done, and I know that this was Evelara's doing.

She must have told the rest of the staff not to do anything.

Whatever I must have done to her, I can't put my finger on it, but she was hell bent on frustrating the hell out of me.

Well, she was the Luna, so I guess she has the right to do what she deems fit.

I grab the liquid wash and begin cleaning the dishes. I was already tired from all I got done today, and all I want is to crawl into my bed and go to sleep.

I need the strength to brave another day, and I couldn't do that without getting proper sleep.

"What did my brother want with you?" I hear a voice behind me ask, scaring me, which causes me to almost drop a plate.

“Darian, you scared me!”

But he doesn't show any sign of remorse. Instead, he continues to stare at me with his jaw clenched, like he is trying hard to restrain himself.

“You’re not supposed to be in the kitchen,” I tell him.

“This is my house. There’s no room that’s off limits to me,” he replies. “Now answer my question. What did my brother want with you?”

I shrug and say, “He just wanted me to serve him.”

"I know Lucian, so I know he wanted more than that," he counters.

"Then if you know him so well, why don't you go and ask him then. You both seem to have a good relationship, so it shouldn't be a problem for you."

“Don’t try to act coy with me, Amaya. I don’t like to be trifled with,” he warns.

"I'm not doing anything, Darian. What I would like to be doing is my job, but you're here distracting me from doing that," I say.

"Stay away from Lucian," he growls in a low voice.

"I might be a slave, but I don't think you have the right to tell me that," I reply.

He chuckles like I had just said something funny.

"What you need to understand is that in this pack, everyone answers to me, and I have the right to tell you to do whatever I like, and when I tell you to stay away from Lucian, you will stay away from him."

I felt rage simmering inside me and found myself wishing he wasn't the alpha, so I could slap the shit out of him, but doing that would basically be signing my death sentence.

The fact that I still feel tethered to him by the mate bond didn’t mean anything to him. After all, he has already rejected me.

"Does Evelara know you're doing this?" I ask, and I see his jaw tick in annoyance, which tells me that I had struck a nerve.

“I don’t answer to anyone,” he replies.

“So you don’t mind me telling her what you just told me?”

"You will not tell her anything else; that will be the last thing you ever say with your mouth," he threatens.

"Got it. Now, can I get back to work? You're well aware that your mate hates me, and I don't want to do anything that'll anger her any more than she already is," I say to him.

He looks at the dishes in the sink and asks, “Why’re you hand-washing the dishes when there is a perfectly good dishwasher over there?”

“Because, Evelara demanded that I hand-wash them myself,” I answer.

He seemed to have something to say, but thought better of it before he strolled out of the kitchen, and I finally let out a breath.

I hate how he made me nervous. This had to stop. I can't keep punishing myself when he couldn't care less.

After all, I had a plan and I intend to execute it to the letter.