I Hid My True Form For 18 Years — Until My King Was Poisoned In Front Of Me
Part 1
Scrubbing the sprawling palace floors as a lowly maid, I learned to ignore the cruel whispers.
Being branded the wolfless one felt like a blessing in disguise.
To the royal court, my inability to shift was nothing more than a tragic defect.
Pity was far safer than enduring their sheer terror.
If anyone discovered the monstrous creature lurking beneath my skin, the mockery would instantly turn into a hunting party.
My survival depended entirely on this quiet deception.
Three young guards stopped by my bucket, their boots tracking mud across the stones I had just cleaned.
“That’s her,” the tallest one sneered.
“The wolfless one.”
“Not like she’s pretty enough for anything else,” another added.
I kept my head down and scrubbed harder.
Being called wolfless was my greatest cover.
It was the lie that kept me alive since I was eight years old.
“You deaf as well as wolfless?” the guard demanded.
“Is there a problem here?”
The voice came from behind me, warm and effortlessly commanding.
All three guards froze.
Tyler was leaning against the stone archway.
With his golden hair and bright blue eyes, the Alpha King looked like a god who had just wandered into the servants’ corridor.
“Your Majesty,” the first guard stammered, dropping into a deep bow.
“Wasting her time,” Tyler finished lazily.
“And mine.”
The guards scrambled away like frightened mice.
I wrung out my cloth with a heavy sigh.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” I scolded quietly.
“Done what?” he blinked, the picture of innocence.
“Walk down a corridor in my own palace?”
“The guards, Tyler,” I hissed, glancing around to ensure no one was watching.
“How many times must I ask you to call me by my name?” he groaned.
“I told you, only when we’re in private.”
“This is private.”
I stared at him.
He had always been like this.
Since the day he found me hiding in the woods eighteen years ago, a terrified child fleeing pitchforks and screams.
He brought me to his castle, claiming I was an abandoned orphan.
He never knew he was harboring a monster.
“I have news,” Tyler said, matching my pace as I walked toward the kitchens.
He grabbed my wrist, his grip warm and familiar.
“I’m getting married.”
The heavy bucket slipped from my fingers.
“I know,” I managed to say.
“To the princess from the north.”
“She found her fated mate and broke it off,” he grinned, his scent spiking with bright, effervescent joy.
“The alliance holds, but I’m finally free.”
My chest tightened.
“Then why are you talking about marriage?”
“Because there’s an engagement ball next week to present my bride.”
He stepped closer, his expression so open it hurt to look at.
“There’s no other woman for me.”
I forced my breathing to stay steady.
“Who is she?”
“Someone I’ve loved for years,” he said softly.
“I’ll see you at the ball,” I whispered, pulling my hand away before my heart shattered completely.
A week later, the silver silk dress he sent me felt like armor.
I stood at the edge of the grand ballroom, practically vibrating with anxiety.
The entire court was assembled under thousands of golden candles.
Lord Craig, Tyler’s most trusted advisor, slipped through the crowd to stand beside me.
“Have you heard the news?”
Craig asked smoothly.
“His Majesty insists on keeping the bride a surprise.”
“I have no idea,” I lied, scanning the room.
“Whoever it is, she won’t be suitable,” Craig murmured.
“I have my daughter prepared to step in once we make him see reason.”
Before I could process his scheming, the crowd parted.
Tyler crossed the polished floor.
He looked breathtaking, the candlelight catching in his hair like spun gold.
He reached me without hesitation and took my hand.
“Tyler,” I tried to warn him.
He didn’t listen.
He pulled me up the steps of the dais, turning us to face the silent, staring court.
“My lords and ladies,” his voice boomed.
“I am honored to present to you my intended bride.”
He turned his gaze down to me.
The room erupted into shocked whispers.
I ripped my hand from his grip and ran.
I burst through the terrace doors into the freezing night air.
“Where are you going?”
Tyler asked, the door clicking shut behind him.
“Is this a joke to you?”
I demanded, tears blurring my vision.
“Mocking a maid?”
“Mocking?” he looked like I had struck him.
“You said you’d marry me.”
“When did I ever say that?”
“Last week in the corridor!” he argued helplessly.
“I told you I was free to marry the woman I loved.”
“You didn’t say it was me!”
“Who else would it be?” he pleaded, stepping closer to wipe a tear from my cheek.
“I’ve loved you since the minute I found you.”
I stared at him, paralyzed by his earnestness.
“I’m nobody,” I whispered.
“You’re the woman I love,” he declared, dropping to one knee on the cold stone.
“Will you do me the honor of being my wife?”
He looked up at me with such pure devotion.
“Say yes,” he breathed, pulling me down into a kiss that tasted like salvation.
“Yes,” I gasped against his lips.
He laughed, a brilliant, joyous sound, and spun me in his arms.
“I cannot wait until we’re mated,” he murmured into my neck.
“All mine.”
The word sent a spike of pure terror through my veins.
Mated.
When shifters mated, the bond allowed them to feel everything inside their partner.
He would feel the beast I kept caged.
He would know I wasn’t wolfless.
My mother had looked at me with pure horror the day I first shifted.
I could not survive seeing that same revulsion on Tyler’s beautiful face.
If he felt the jagged, venomous creature lurking beneath my skin, his love would turn to disgust.
I had just agreed to marry the only man I had ever loved, and now I had to find a way to destroy it all before he discovered what I truly was.
