Aria
It was time for breakfast and I was unlucky that one of the snarky maid servants came to dress me up today.

“Where is Kiana?” I found myself asking and I winced as the servant tightened a corset around my waist. It was too hard to breathe and I found myself gasping for air.
“How would I know?” She replied with a hint of annoyance in her voice.
As if the corset wasn't tight enough, she kept pulling on it and I was quite sure she did it out of spite. It felt like my insides were about to burst.
“Not so tight, please.” I rasped out and she finally stopped. I let out a sigh of relief. She finished dressing me up and left without a word.
In a few minutes, I would have breakfast with the royal family which included seeing Sheila again. I really wanted to eat in my room but Serene had insisted that I come down to the dining hall and it was almost impossible to say no to Serene.
So there I was, dressed in a stunning red dress which now that I thought about it was a bit much but there was no time to change. I truly dreaded eating at the dining table because there was always some kind of drama.

There was always something to fight about and I was always at the receiving end of Sheila's cruel remarks. I was so sick of it. But my consolation was seeing Lyall. He just made everything better. I couldn't explain it.
I held my dress with my two hands and hurried down the hallway amidst the usual whispers. I needed to get to the dining hall fast. Sheila would have an excuse to pick on me again if I turned up late and I really wasn't in the mood for that.
I flung open the doors to the dining hall and let out a silent groan as all members of the royal family were all seated. I flashed Serene a small smile who looked lovely in a light blue dress which completely covered her body. Her hair was tied in a neat bun and wisps of it framed her beautiful face.
“Ugh, there she goes again showing up whenever she feels like. There’s a protocol in the palace, you know. You cannot do whatever you like. But I wouldn't blame you though. You're not a royal like us, how could you possibly understand?”

I didn't need to look to know it was Sheila. I clenched my teeth and offered a quick apology.
“Sheila!” Serene exclaimed. “Do you have to be so uncouth all the time?”
“You are the uncouth one! And she is too,” Sheila pointed at me and I glared at her. Even her ethereal beauty and her beautiful emerald green dress could not hide the fact that she was a bitch.
“I mean look at you. Who wears a dress like that to breakfast? Do you think we're throwing a party here? Or are you just here to seduce the men?”
“Enough!” Lyall said sternly and I noticed his presence for the first time. He looked handsome as always but there was something off about him. “Take a seat, Aria.” He said without meeting my eyes and I obeyed instantly.
Unfortunately, the only seat available was next to Mason and I realized that when he whispered in my ear.
“Damn, you look so good in red. You should wear it every day.”
“Fuck off, creep.” I rolled my eyes and he let out a laugh.
“Ugh, look at her flirting,” Sheila added and I had the sudden urge to smack her in the mouth but I simply ignored her and dished up my meal instead.
“So,” Kendrick started and my eyes darted to him. He had been oddly quiet since I came in. “Lyall, I heard you had a meeting with the council yesterday.”
All eyes shot to Lyall and he looked deeply uncomfortable. “Yeah. It was nothing serious.”
“So it had nothing to do with the Lycan Confederate?” Kendrick pressed on like he knew something.
I raised my eyebrows. What was he on about? What was this about the Lycan Confederate? I mean I knew they were a really big deal but I couldn't say I was familiar with all the details about them.
Lyall's eyes widened but his surprised look was gone as soon as it came.
“It's nothing to concern yourself with, Uncle Kendrick. Like I said earlier, it’s nothing serious.” Lyall replied stoically and a muscle in Kendrick's jaw ticked which he quickly masked with a smile.
I cast a quick glance at Lyall and furrowed my eyebrows in concern. He ran his fingers through his and was trying as much as possible to avoid everyone’s gazes. That was odd.
“Honey, are you okay?” Sheila placed her hand over his and my wolf growled in anger at seeing another woman's hands on my mate.
“I'm fine.” He answered curtly, not making any move to remove her hand. My eyes met Selene's and she gave me a look of sympathy. I tore my eyes away quickly. I didn't want to be pitied.
My eyes kept wandering to Sheila and Lyall's entwined hands and a wave of jealousy bubbled inside me which only increased by the minute. I wanted to yell at Sheila. I wanted to tell her to get her hands off my mate but I couldn't do that now.
All I could do was shoot glances at them which unfortunately didn't go unnoticed.
“What are you looking at? Never seen a queen and king hold hands before?” Sheila sneered at me and my face reddened in embarrassment at being caught staring.
“I wasn't looking,” I muttered under my breath and she chuckled icily.
“Liar. You'll never have him, you know,” She ran her fingers across Lyall's neck and to my dismay, he didn't pull away. He only looked mildly uncomfortable. “He is mine just like he was all mine last night.” She smirked and my breath hitched. I understood her insinuation perfectly.
Lyall slept with her. Again. My eyes stung with tears. How long was I supposed to keep ensuring this? We were mates for fuck's sake! Mates! That meant that we were made for each other and only each other. The mate bond was sacred and marriage was almost nothing in the face of a mate bond.
Why did Lyall fail to understand that? Why did he choose to keep hurting me like this? It just showed that I meant nothing to him. Absolutely nothing.
“Ugh. Could you keep the details of your sex life to yourself?” Mason said, clearly disgusted and Sheila shot him a glare.
“I'm just speaking the truth. She needs to know her place in this palace.”
“You know, Sheila. This is so uncalled for. All you've done is insult her and call her names and she didn't say a word to you and you just kept going. What the hell is your problem?” Mason snapped, clearly annoyed. I raised an eyebrow, amazed that Mason was speaking up for me. What in the world was going on?
Sheila's nose flared and her hand instantly dropped from Lyall's neck. “Why are you defending her?!” Her eyes went wide and she scoffed. “I knew it. You two are sleeping together, aren't you?”
My blood ran cold and I stilled just as I felt pure anger radiating off Mason. My eyes darted fearfully at Lyall and he looked like he could kill Mason in that moment.
“You're such an idiot, Sheila,” Mason said, staring daggers at her before turning to me.
“Come on, let's get out of here.” Before I could protest, Mason grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the dining hall just as I heard Sheila laughing in the background.
“They didn't deny it! They are really sleeping together!”
I felt everyone's eyes on us just as we left the hall and my heart thumped in my chest. Shit. We were in huge shit. Everyone was going to assume I had been sleeping with Mason because it looked like I was. I gulped, remembering Lyall’s icy expression.
“Let go of me!” I yelled, yanking my hand off Mason’s once we were outside the hall. “What the hell are you doing?”
He turned to me with a scowl. “What does it look like I'm doing? I'm taking your side!”
“But I didn't ask you to!” I yelled.
I knew I was being very ungrateful right now but in a way, Mason only made things worse. If the rest of the palace got wind of the rumors that we were sleeping together, it would be hell for me. And Mason would go unscathed because he was—well— Mason.
“Wow, this is the thanks I get for saving your ass there? Just wow.” He exclaimed incredulously.
“Stay the hell out of my business, Mason. I do not need your help and I do not need saving.”
A bit of silence ensued between us as we glared at each other, breathing heavily.
“Why do you let them do that to you?” He asked quietly.
“What?”
“Why do you let them treat you like this? I mean you always let Sheila walk all over you when it's not your fault that you became Lyall’s mistress,”
I raised an eyebrow and he scoffed. “Don’t give me that look. I know he forced you into it.”
“How did you—” I started to ask but he cut me off with a wave of his hand.
“I just do. If she wants to be mad at anyone, she should take out her anger on him. And I've seen the way the servants and the guards treat you. Why do you allow it? You're the king’s mistress you know. You're levels above them and you deserve to be shown some respect around here.”
I gaped at Mason, eyes wide. I had no idea he had been so observant about everything that had been going on in my life and all this time I thought he was just a dumb, self-absorbed prick. He wasn't so dumb after all. But he was still a self-absorbed prick.
“I—'' I started, truly lost for words. “I don’t– it's not like I allow them to treat me badly. I just don't know how to stop it. Do you expect me to fight everyone in the palace?”
He raised his hands in exasperation. “No, I'm not telling you to fight everyone. I'm telling you to stand up for yourself, especially to Sheila. Lyall chose you and she has to learn to deal with that and if she doesn't, you have to make her.” He said, taking a few steps closer.
My heart thumped in my chest as I looked him in the eyes. I couldn't bring myself to believe all he was saying. Why would I stand up to Sheila when I shouldn't even be here in the first place?
Lyall didn't choose me. He just needed a breeder. After he had gotten his heir I was pretty sure I would be discarded and things would go back to the way it was.
If he truly wanted me, he would let everyone know that we were mates. But there was one question on my mind right then and I was dying for an answer.
“Why do you care?” I whispered.
He paused, taking a deep breath. He averted his eyes. “For some reason, Serene seems to really care about you and that means I have to care too.”
I raised my eyebrows at him. I was too busy trying to wrap my head around what he was saying that I didn't notice that his hand was on my arm. “Serene?” I asked, trying to put two and two together.
If Serene cared about me, why was Mason taking it upon himself to care about me for that sole reason? What in the world was going on between those two? I was too deep in thought that I didn't hear light footsteps behind me.
“Get your fucking hands off her,” Lyall growled behind me.