Mated to the Alpha: Sold to the King novel Chapter 25

Chapter 25: 0025

Lorelei POV

My head snapped up toward the voice and found three maids standing there.

The girl holding Skye’s plate had a weird smirk on her face, one I recognized all too well from Callista, and that alone told me everything I needed to know about her. She was trouble. The two girls standing beside her were clearly her followers.

"I haven’t forgotten," Skye whispered, lowering her head.

The three of them chuckled loudly.

My chest tightened.

I couldn’t believe this.

Skye was actually being bullied, and it reminded me so much of how my own family and pack used to treat me back home. What made it even worse was the way everyone else in the room acted like nothing was happening. Nobody looked over. Nobody spoke up. Everyone simply minded their own business.

I mean, I could do the same.

It would definitely be safer.

But how much longer was I supposed to keep standing by while people walked all over me and everyone around me?

"You should really be grateful we let you have the scraps we don’t want," the girl continued with a nasty grin.

My fists clenched tightly beneath the table as I stared at her.

As if sensing it, her gaze flickered toward me, and the smirk on her face immediately twisted into disgust.

"And what are you looking at, stray?" she hissed, leaning closer to our table.

Ah.

So I already had a nickname.

"You must be the new garbage he dumped here."

"Leave her alone, Chelsea," Skye pleaded immediately, her voice trembling so badly that I could hear the fear in it. "She just got here. She doesn’t know anything yet."

She barely got the words out before Chelsea swung her hand.

The slap echoed through the dining hall.

Skye’s head snapped to the side, and her claws left several thin scratches across her cheek.

Still, nobody reacted.

Nobody said a word.

"Shut up," Chelsea sneered. "What are you? Her owner? Nobody asked for your—"

She never got to finish.

The second I saw Skye get hit, something inside me snapped.

Maybe it was because I was tired of watching people abuse others just because they could. Maybe it was because I was tired of being powerless. Or maybe seeing Skye lower her head and accept it reminded me too much of the person I used to be.

Whatever the reason, I didn’t think.

I was on my feet before I even realized I had moved.

My hand shot out and connected with Chelsea’s cheek so hard that the force sent her stumbling backward.

A loud crack echoed through the dining hall, and the other maids gasped.

Skye’s eyes widened in horror while Chelsea herself looked too stunned to react for a second.

Then silence fell.

Not normal silence either.

The entire dining hall seemed to stop breathing at once. Conversations died in the middle of sentences, spoons froze halfway to mouths, and every single pair of eyes turned toward our table.

Only then did it occur to me that maybe slapping the girl who apparently bullied everyone here hadn’t been the smartest decision.

Chelsea’s hand flew to her left cheek, where a bright red mark was already blooming against her pale skin.

For a second, she just stared at me.

Her eyes were filled with pure disbelief, as if she genuinely couldn’t process what had just happened.

Then the shock quickly melted into rage.

"You..." she choked out. "You pathetic, low-life stray."

Beside me, Skye immediately scrambled out of her seat and pressed a hand against her bleeding cheek. She grabbed the fabric of my uniform and started frantically tugging on it.

"Ella, no! What did you do?" Skye hissed. "Get down! Apologize to her! Please!"

"Why should I?" I asked, refusing to back down. "Aren’t we all maids here? She’s dressed exactly like the rest of us, so what gives her the right to bully everyone?"

"You bitch!" one of her minions snarled as she stepped toward me.

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