Mate!

Elena's POV.

My entire world seemed to be collapsing around me.

How could I possibly clean Alpha Killian's room for a week consecutively without running into him?

I've avoided him like plaque all my life, it has been rumored that he detests weak people, all he wanted was active subjects who would protect the pack even in his absence.

While the policy was undoubtedly admirable, it did however not favour people like me who were born weak. 

In order to avoid further humiliation, I tried my possible best to stay off his path no matter what it takes. Whenever I get tasks to clean up his room, there was only one way out for me.

Kaitlyn.

I switch places with her whenever the mistress insists that I take charge of the Alpha's room.

Whatever Joy she derives from cleaning Alpha Killian's room remains a mystery to me.

With the exception of our occasional position swapping to appease one another, Kaitlyn and I are not really friends. She detested being seen in public with me.

Immediately the house mistress wrapped up her speech and walked away, I quickly turned around in search of Kaitlyn but there was no sight of her.

"Hi... Uhm... Have you seen Kaitlyn?" I turned to ask one of the nearby ladies.

She casted me an irritated glare, drawing out a long hiss and walked away.

Okay, what seems to be my offense now?

I breathed out heavily and dragged my gaze to the floor in frustration.

I was startled when I felt a light tap on my shoulder and quickly turned to see one of the palace maids standing next to me. She had never spoken to me before.

"Kaitlyn got a sudden message and left for her house immediately," she said and turned away from me.

Wow, that was strange.

"T... Thank you," I managed to blurt out and rushed towards Kaitlyn's house.

*

I placed a soft knock on her door and waited for response.

Shortly afterwards, the door creaked open revealing her sad face.

What's with the sad face? 

"Elena? What are you doing here? I hope no one saw you coming?" She furrowed her brows immediately her gaze landed on me. 

"No one saw me," I mumbled.

Her word really stung me deeply but I had other pressing situations to worry about.

"I have something for you," I said and she nodded her head urging me to go ahead.

"House mistress has instructed me to take charge of Alpha Killian's room service for the next one week," I flashed her a small smile.

I had expected her to leap up in joy per usual, but instead, her face crumpled into a sad frown.    

What could be wrong?

"I'm afraid we won't be able to switch places this time, my mom's sick and I'm staying in with her today," she replied.

Oh no, this is bad.

"I'm really sorry about your mother," I managed to mutter and she nodded.

I suddenly went blank, how could I possibly convince her to abandon her sick mom for my sake? Or for whatever obsession she has for Alpha Killian?

Suddenly, an idea struck me.

"Kaitlyn, I can stay in and take care of your mother," I offered.

She furrowed her brows at me, chuckling dryly.

"I can't leave my mother in your care Elena, and besides, house mistress already granted me the day off to take care of her, she's gonna punish me if she finds out about this," she replied.

I nodded my head slowly and dragged my gaze to the floor feeling bashful.

There's no way out for me at this point, the only option was to face the situation heads on.

"Hey listen, this will be easier if you keep your head down the whole time and try to partly cover your face, he won't catch a glimpse," she said and I casted her a quick glance.

"And if it makes you feel any better, Alpha Killian never returns to his room till late in the day, most times I never run into him despite how slow I clean," she added.

I could feel a gleam of hope simmering inside me, maybe I can do this without colliding with him.

"Also, there's a secret entrance through the backdoor passage, that could be of help too," 

My face suddenly lit up in a grateful smile.

"I really appreciate this Kaitlyn, thank you so much, and I wish your mother a quick recovery," I blurted out, turning around and dashed off.

**

I arrived at the Alpha's quarter, carefully walking through the secret entrance and into the house before proceeding towards Alpha Killian's room.

Thankfully, I met an empty room.

I immediately felt a sense of calmness wash over me, the atmosphere surprisingly pleasant.

Killian's room was huge, obviously made for someone of his statue, his bed was made with the finest fabric, the floor covered in a deep maroon furs that was so soft and smooth that it practically massaged my feet as I walked.

Aside the decoration, the room itself was finely scented, laced with a mixture of fragrance and his sweat. Strangely, I found the combination quite intriguing to my sense. I felt so drawn to it. 

"You have to be quick Lena," Narla's voice snapped me out of my chain of administration.

I exhaled a deep breath and set out to dust the furnitures, trying to be as quiet as I could possibly be.

I continued to bury myself in the work at hand, as I forced myself to scrub and dust faster, while also fixing the bed. I suddenly wished I possessed some sort of supernatural powers to blink and everything sets clean in a second, but sadly, I didn't. 

The sun was starting to crawl out of it's spot and I was afraid, Killian will return in no time. It is of utmost importance that I finish up and be long gone before he arrives. 

I hastened the speed at which I worked, and in a short while, the room was sparkling neat, well except for the garbage.

I quickly packed them up into the garbage basket and headed towards the door, almost immediately, the door flew open in a flash startling the living daylights out of me, I was so shaken that I lost balance of my foot on the floor, which had me spiraling towards the ground.

I was almost reaching the floor when I felt a pair of strong hands grab my wrist pulling me back up, but surprisingly, I never landed on my feet instead I crashed into a warm body.

I suckled in a deep breath, grateful that I hadn't fallen and broken my bones but suddenly an adorable fragrance hit my nostrils hard.

"Mate!" Narla howled.