Did You Think I Wouldn't Know?

Did You Think I Wouldn't Know?
Arthur was losing it. He was losing his sanity.
The fire in the hearth crackled behind him but all he felt was cold. Cold fury that refused to leave since last night. Since he found out the ugly truth that slapped him in the face.
Her. It was her. She was her.
"Shit!" He cursed loudly, pacing his room like a wounded beast.
His hair was wild and messy, his eyes dark and bloodshot and his heart.... was drowning in rage.
He reached for a glass of whiskey on his table. Two bottles lay empty on the floor beside him and a half drained bottle sat carelessly on his bed.
It was useless. They were all useless. They failed to curb the anger that wanted to kill and explode.
He felt like a fool who had just been played.
She was the woman in his dreams. She was the woman his wolf couldn't let go of.
She was the woman who had trembled under his touch, whispered his name.... and she was the woman he wanted to kill.
His hands tore at his hair with vengeance. He settled into his chair, breathing and thinking hard.
It couldn't be her. It shouldn't be her. But it was, it fking was.
And he should have known the moment they collided. The unusual fury that tightened her voice. The fear in her eyes when he came close. The way she avoided his gaze.
He should have known but he was a fool.
Arthur smashed the glass on the floor, shattering to useless shards just like his dignity.
She knew but she hid it. The same voice that called his name in the dark, shot him insults that cut too deep.
She had looked him in the eye, hid it all behind her stubborness while he was craving a ghost that was her all along.
"Fk no" he snarled furiously, reaching for the bottle.
'....when you need a warm body to sin'
She had insulted him and he couldn't even figure out her barbed insults. She was his enemy, the slave but now.... she was his.
The idea was so ludicrous it made his lips twist with cruel humour.
Fate was playing some kind of twisted game. And he was the pawn.
'She's mine' the wolf mumbled within him.
"Shut up you fool!" He hissed, tightening his grip on the neck of the bottle. "You knew all along"
'I said. Everyday. She's mine' the wolf bit back, itching to fight back.
Arthur wanted to rip it out and burn it. He took a long swig of the alcohol, wondering what went wrong with him that night.
It had to be her? She had to be the one in his room. She had to be the one he claimed in a moment of primal weakness.
He had slept with the enemy. And she mocked him with her silence.
He dug his hand into his pocket and brought out the damned necklace that cursed his thoughts.
He turned it back and forth. Blue like the stone in its centre. Blue like her eyes. Blue like memory.
He tossed it onto the bed, he couldn't look at it anymore. Not without remembering her blue eyes.
Arthur dug his fingers into his temple, praying this was some dream.
'Alpha please' her voice echoed again, tempting him. 'Alpha... don't'
He could see her on this very bed, swathed in his sheets, her face flushed with need but torn with pain.
'Alpha please'
His fingers twitched, looking for something to break or kill. His fury was growing by the minute.
She knew the abominable act that had happened between them and kept it hidden while holding his gaze.
He hated her for it and hated his wolf for wanting her.
She'd learn what happened to those who fooled him, the Alpha. And he wasn't looking back.

The morning began with a quiet aura that troubled Myra. She couldn't help but notice the slight change in the air.
It felt like a dark storm was looming above her, like a shadow over her skin. It unnerved her.
Her cheek still hurt, her hand was still sore yet she was plunged back into this torture.
She had stopped counting the days, stopped wincing at the brutal tasks, and stopped waiting for mercy or reprieve.
She felt her neck tingle again, the same feeling whenever she thought of the Alpha. She looked around but the corridor was empty.
Yet she could feel eyes on her.
Myra dragged her attention back to her task. She had bruises to nurse, a pack to destroy and a people to one day save. She couldn't waste her time getting paranoid again.
She turned to pick up her bucket but her eyes fell on the window instead.
Her reflection was a shadow. She was a shadow. Her heart stung at the pitiful state she had been reduced to.
Haggard rags, dull eyes set in dark circles and cracked skin. Exactly what they wanted from her, to look and feel like a slave.
A cold light gleamed in her eyes. She would bring Arthur down. She would bring them all down.
"I'll make you a slave if it's the last thing I do" she vowed, hardening her resolve.
She was no longer the weak princess they could bully. She was the woman who would stab him while smirking.
It fuelled her determination.
While she went through the usual heavy chores, her neck began to itch again. She brushed it curiously but felt a little spark in her fingertips.
What was it? Why was it tingling?
She shrugged, hardly bothered. It was just another bruise that refused to leave.
But she couldn't shake off the feeling of being watched. Sometimes in the hallway, sometimes in the kitchen but always... always behind her back.
But whenever she turned, she would see no one. Weird.
As the afternoon light pierced through the shiny windows, she found herself on her knees in the west wing, mopping floors.
She dipped the rag in the bucket slowly, feeling eyes on her again. They burned a hole into her back.
Then she heard footsteps coming her way.
"The marginal rate for the taxes...." Lucien said as he walked into view.
Alongside the Alpha. Dressed in his royal regalia and cold stare, he was a bit aloof today.
She could sense unknown anger rolling off him in waves and it made her tense.
"Talk to advisor North and see what we can do about the taxes" he said, his voice neither calm nor cold.
Acting on instinct, she glanced up and their eyes locked.
He raked his eyes over her, his demeanour turning frosty as the seconds passed.
What ticked him off this time?
She looked away, barely interested in any silent battle with him. It was not time yet.
His gaze lingered on her for a little more before he disappeared out of her sight.
She sighed with relief. She hated being in his presence, it taunted her.
But it seemed there was still more to come.
When evening came, Nora ordered her, "The Alpha's study needs cleaning. Go there right away"
She froze. Clean what?
"Sorry?"
Nora pursed her lips. "You are not deaf. The study needs cleaning and he specifically asked for you"
Her stomach tightened to rocks. She had never been inside the study before. And why did he ask for her?
"Can't someone else go?"
"Are you questioning the Alpha's orders? Have you forgotten your place here?" Nora's questions hit her like a slap.
Of course she hadn't. She was their slave, she had no voice.
Her legs were stiff as she walked in the corridor that led to his study. The moon was high, a pale translucent ball that lit the dark corridors.
She paused before a door with a huge gold crescent. With a soft gulp, she turned the knob open and waited for the door to reveal a room cluttered with shelves and a single desk.
Sweat slicked her skin, her breath drawing tighter than the last as her feet pushed her in.
This was déjà vu. His scent of spice and smoke engulfed her, taking her back to the night. Back to the—
"Not now Myra" she muttered, shaking out of those thoughts.
She clicked the door shut and walked slowly to his desk. Papers littered, ink was splashed across the table and a single candle glowed faintly.
Her fingers brushed the smooth edge of the table then picked up a scroll. She looked around before taking a glance.
'To the Alpha of IronClaw Pack.....'
She frowned. Who was that?
She lost interest and dropped it, fixing her gaze on a dusty old self lined with books. Curiousity urged her to get closer but she squashed it.
She had no business meddling around. She was here to clean.
But as she scrubbed the table, she felt something—or someone was watching her.
"Who's there?" She asked cautiously.
No answer came, not a soul appeared.
Her nerves were on edge, her eyes alert and sharp as she scanned the room. She knew someone was here, her instincts never lied.
But what if it was the Alpha? Like the night of the banquet?
She backed toward the door slowly, eager to leave. "I know you're here Alpha"
The response she got was silence that kept her heart in fear. Like the calm before the storm.
She turned the knob and pulled the door open. "At least the door isn't closed" she muttered, her shoulders relaxing a little.
She took a single step then out of nowhere, a hand reached from behind her and crashed the door with a force that echoed fury.
Myra forgot to breathe, her color drained. She should have known.
She felt a wall of heat pressed against her back, a presence she hadn't heard approaching.
Then his voice came, low and hoarse with unrestrained rage,
"Did you think I wouldn't know it was you?"