ARIA.
Lyall was on his feet in no time. He snatched his shirt from where it was draped over a chair and slid it in before rushing back to me and placing a hand on my cheek.
In a soft whisper, he spoke. "I need you to stay calm, okay? You don't need to hide or anything. Just stay here and try not to be afraid."

I nodded and he walked towards the door and pulled it open. My fingers got buried in the sheets and I kept from bursting into literal tears as Lyall slid out of the door and shut it.
"What the hell are you doing in there with that whore!" Sheila screamed. I could barely hear Lyall's voice over her yells. "Why weren't you in bed for the whole of last night?! Because of you, I stayed fucking awake the whole night, waiting for you to return to bed but you decided that spending your night with a whoring woman was the best option, huh?!"
"Sheila!" He growled. "Get a grip of yourself!"
When she replied next, I could hear the tears in her voice. "No! I won't! You don't expect me to accept this!"
"But I have a right to spend time with her! Have you forgotten that we need an heir before the year ends?"
Her voice cracked. "But all you have to do shouldn't take a whole night! You should always return to our bed when you are done with her!"

"Like you wouldn't feel bad?" He laughed. "I know how it angered you when you found this out. Now, imagine bedding my mistress and coming back straight to bed, smelling like sex! Would you like it?"
"You can always take a bath, Lyall," She burst into tears. I could feel her pain from where I sat and I hated that life had to turn out this way to her. I could tell that she not only cared about him, but she was in love with him. That was the worst situation to be with anyone. A very terrible situation.
Closing my eyes, I looked up to the ceiling and laid back in bed, counting down as I waited for their argument to be over.
Well, it only got worse because the door open again. I sat up immediately in panic, unable to even get out of the bed when I had the chance to. There she was, glaring at me like I was the reason for her nemesis. Her fists were clenched and not even Lyall could stop her.

"Don't you know when to stop, you bitch?!" She snarled, her eyes turning amber. Fear gripped me and I knew she was out to hurt me. "You take and take and take and yet, you still want more, huh?"
I could say nothing. I looked at Lyall who shook his head at me not to speak. "C'mon, honey. Let's go. We need to get you out of here. We can talk about this outside this place."
"No!" She swatted his hands off her and turned back to face me. "We will talk about it right now! No one is talking about nothing later, get that?!"
Sighing, he nodded. "Very well, then. Let's talk about it here. But mind how you raise your voice. We don't want rumors spreading."
"Let it spread," She hissed, giving me a disdainful glare. "We all know who is going to be blamed for ruining my marriage."
"Can we leave, Sheila? This isn't making sense. You can yell at me all you want. I was the one who insisted on spending the night with her. She wanted me to leave. She feels guilty for the way things are turning on her. Remember she didn't want to do this? She was forced just for the sake of me getting an heir."
Sheila scoffed. "So you decide to pick a very beautiful woman? One you would be unable to resist, huh?"
"I want to make a beautiful child," Lyall replied through gritted teeth before taking her hand and guiding her out of the room. She left an imprint of fear in my heart and when I fell back into the bed, tears streamed down my cheeks. Things got worse with every passing day and no matter how I tried to think little of it, it always returned to slap me right in the face.
Picking myself off the bed, I made my way out of the room, hoping I didn't encounter any maids on my way back to my room but that was literally impossible as it was fully morning and the Palace was bustling with activities.
I lowered my head in shame as the maids taunted me and made fun of me. I was called a whore and a maniac for seducing the King and trying to spoil their marriage. I was called overambitious for seducing the King and by the time I returned to my room, I had burst into full-blown tears, sobbing as I flew into the bed.
I didn't see Daneesha seated at the other corner of the room and when she cleared her throat, I immediately wiped my tears and looked up at her with a false smile before pushing to my feet. "I didn't see you there."
She smiled, but it didn't get to her eyes. "You must have forgotten that I am now your personal maid. Why are you crying?"
I sniffled and shook my head. "It's nothing you should worry about, Daneesha."
She shook her head and walked over to me. "No, it is everything I should worry about. Mind telling me what exactly is wrong?"
My lips trembled and I covered a hand over my face. "The Queen barged into the room I was with the King this morning. She called me all sorts of names and left, talking about how I would be blamed for snatching the King from her and trying to spoil their marriage.
Daneesha frowned. "Has she forgotten that you were literally forced into this, huh? Did she know that you also had no choice in this?"
I heaved a deep sigh. "I am trying so hard not to break under pressure. Everyone literally hates me for this. The maids call me a whore and all sorts of names but I don't want to be here! I want to run far away from here!" I cry out even if I know so well that isn't true. Even if all I want is for Lyall to be mine, for Sheila to be sent away so I can finally be his, I hate that I have to hide the fact that I am his one true mate all because he is married to Sheila and can not break that legal bond tying them together.
Raking my fingers through my hair, I heave a deep sigh before sitting at the edge of the bed. Daneesha joins me and takes my hand in hers.
"I know how this is for you and even if I don't understand or can not relate to how it feels for you, I think the best thing for you is to endure."
I let out a sad laugh. "It's not as easy as you make it seem."
"In what sense?"
"The pressure on me is too much. Soon enough, everyone in the Pack will be aware of the fact that I am the King's mistress. I would be treated with far worse disrespect than I got as a servant. Do you know you are far more privileged than I am?"
She laughed and shook her head. "No, don't say that. You are lucky enough that the King has found favor in your sight. That he wants you so much he can't even leave you once you both are done..." She clears her throat. "It's obvious he's more than attracted to you. Your only way out of this is getting pregnant and giving birth to the child. Once all of that is over, you can leave when you want."
"I wish it were that easy," I muttered, wondering how I would survive without Lyall in my life. He is my mate for crying out loud and I love him. He already professed his love to me last night. How can I leave when I already have that idea of a man loving me to death no matter what? How?! Lowering my head, I rake my fingers through my hair, holding back a scream of frustration.
"You're right. It would be hard to leave your child. That is when the trouble comes. It's hard for a mother to separate from her child after a bond has been shared between them both for such a long time." Daneesha replied. She was partially right. She pushed me to my feet and took my hands. "I don't think we should worry about that now. Let's get you cleaned up and dressed. Then I'll have breakfast served in your room. The Queen doesn't want you at the dining table."
Of course, she didn't.