The Street Rat And The Alpha

15

Maddy piled up two plates with food, one for her and one for Xavier. She did not exactly know why she decided to be so considerate but did not question it. It would not hurt to be civil with him for just one night after all.

As she made her way back to Xavier she suddenly bumped into someone or someone bumped into her.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized, deciding to rather be nice than to fight.

A fight would be dangerous and really really bad in such a place so she knew she had to just suck it up whilst she gathered the few pieces of food that had dropped. She saw no harm in doing so. To her whatever food she could get had to be savoured. Eating things that had touched the floor hardly bothered her at all. When times had gotten desperate in the past she had gone as far as to scavenge from bins.

"How dare you!? This dress is Marie Vislarie. It is worth more than you and all the humans you have ever met combined!"

Her bratty attitude made Maddy uncomfortable, how was she supposed to reply. She did not even know why the girl would name her dress. Was that supposed to give it value?

"Have you nothing to say pest! You should not even be allowed to witness such an occasion let alone serve at it. You are so filthy and you eat from the floor. Its absolutely horrific! Disgusting! Things like you are lucky to be allowed the mercy of serving us!"

Maddy was already eyeing the door. She did not feel safe. Not one bit and when she did not feel safe her primary instinct was to flee. Not to fight back with her words as she usually did but rather run far far away.

Xavier would not save her from one of his own people. No one would. They had probably never even wanted her to begin with. All they had ever wanted was to humiliate her at that very moment.

She heard the girl screeching for the guards and she turned and ran. She raced out the door, abandoning her heels somewhere on the grass.

She ran into the huge maze, barely even knowing where she was going nor that it was a maze.

The human was consumed by darkness. Not a light was there to guide her anywhere.

After a ton of blind crashing and hopelessness she reached the centre where there was only a little lantern and a bench, conveniently. The human sank down onto the bench, exhausted.

She curled up on the stone not caring about the snowy dusting and how it bit at her skin. She was used to the pain. It was far less painful than betrayal.

The ink on her eyelashes was smudging and running down as tears fell from her eyes. Why was shy crying over something so expected? Why had she been so naive?

Was she truly stupid enough to believe some made up thing about soulmates? She should have known better. They had played her for a fool.

Now she was lost and alone. But then again she had always been alone. Maybe the idea of having a soul made for her own was something she had wanted. She wanted to have a connection with at least one person in the world. She wanted at least one person she could trust.

"Maddy?"

"Go away! Leave me alone!" She yelled.

"Why are you out here, all alone? I thought you wanted to eat?" The gentle lycan asked sitting on his knees in front of her.

"As if! You set it all up! You set me up! You set me up to fail! And I failed miserably! Or was that what you wanted!? If you truly cared for me where were you when the guards chased me!? When she hurt me!?"

"Maddy I had no idea— you just went missing—"

"So that's your excuse. You know I was actually starting to trust you and you should know I don't usually trust easy. But I should have stuck to that and have known better. You are just like everyone else human, lycan, werewolf and vampire, all backstabbers. So leave me alone. Let your guards drag me to the dungeons or whatever— oh I get it your plan was always for me to end up in the Arena wasn't it!"

"Maddy I would never do such a thing! I love you!"

"Stop playing pretend."

"But I'm not! I swear on my life Maddy, I love you!"

"But you knew this could happen. You knew there was a high chance someone would take a shot at the human didn't you. You knew all along that someone would try and humiliate me but you did nothing! You did not try to protect me."

"Maddy I didn't—"

"How long did you think we could make it? How far did you think we would take it?"

"Maddy I never betrayed you. I thought that you being my mate would protect you from them."

"The same way I am sure you thought Lily being a princess would protect her."

"Maddy I had no intention to get you hurt—"

"Well I did! You don't know what it was like! I felt trapped by her! I was terrified! And you did not come! You promised me it would be fun, it would be safe. Yet it was neither."

"Maddy—"

"Please just take me back to my room. I have had enough for one night," she sighed.

The lycan king sadly slipped his arms under his mate and held her to his chest. He carried her through the maze and into the castle. He avoided the ball when taking her up and by the time he had reached her chamber she was already fast asleep.

He laid her on her large bed that made her seem tiny in comparison. He gently loosened the laces of the back of her corset and pulled the duvet over her.

He settled on a chair so he could watch her, to make sure she was safe, safe and not leaving. He could not blame himself for being so possessive. She had a free spirit and seemed just about fed up with the life of a royal, a life she hardly wanted and had scarcely even experienced.

He wondered about her past and the few small scars on her. He wondered where they had come from.  There were so many possibilities with her former lifestyle.