VALERIA

The disdainful stares didn’t take long to arrive when they eagerly stood, expecting the King, and only saw his ugly maid.

"Where is His Majesty?" one of them asked, glancing toward the door that had already closed.

"The King cannot come personally. I will be making the selection."

I don’t even know how I managed to get those words out when my throat was drowning in thousands of negative thoughts.

"Seriously? That’s disappointing. What kind of taste could she have?"

"Maybe she’ll pick the ugliest out of envy."

"Who are you to be doing something as important as selecting the possible future Queen?" a redhead with exotic features asked haughtily.

She was much taller than me, intimidating, probably a Beta.

All the women here were high-ranking she-wolves, but my anger was so consuming I couldn’t care less about their pedigree.

"If you have any complaints, you can take them up with the King himself. He’s the one who sent me," I replied, shoving my irritation deep inside.

I wouldn’t