Desire for you - ALPHA ILAY

DELILAH

At that moment, all my hopes of freedom were dashed.

I had hoped that I could somehow escape from this auction, but I had not reckoned with the devil.

Ilay Edevane.

His emerald green eyes pierced me completely and sent a shiver down my spine. As if it wasn't humiliating enough that we were standing here naked, his presence made me feel weird.

He stood out from the crowd. His eyes, his striking face, his three-day beard and then there was his hair ... He was a woman's dream. As a prince, he was popular with the demons, until his fate took a turn ...

It was well known among us demons that he had to reject his mate. There was a lot of talk about him a year ago. Even among the slaves there were whispers. It was said that he had mutated into an ice-cold monster and was no longer in control of his life. But the way he looked, he didn't seem to have his life under control.

Or did he? At that moment, he ran towards Leroy, our "master", and almost strangled him. We all held our breath. Because of the distance, we couldn't hear exactly what he was saying. The only thing I heard was the clinking of our handcuffs, which were suddenly on the floor. Leroy had uncuffed us ... What was going on here?

"In future, this place will no longer exist. If I find out that any of you are trading in slaves, pray for yourselves and your already corrupted souls," he shouted to the crowd.

Ilay looked very angry and then suddenly pointed at me: "You will come with me!" He demanded, which made me swallow hard. A panic came over me and I knew that I couldn't escape from the devil's hands.

As if I hadn't suffered enough ... My mate Zamiel, a demon of a higher rank, had rejected me on the grounds that I was not worthy of him. I came from a poorer background and didn't have the privilege of living like a princess. That was just the way it was and I couldn't change it. I had crossed the street with Zamiel by chance and when he recognised me, it was immediately clear to him. But the worst thing was that he sold me to Leroy and I had no other choice. It was decided over my head. I don't even want to talk about my time with Leroy ...

I had no choice but to accept Ilay's decision. Once again, a man decided over my head. Marvellous, isn't it?

It wasn't a man, it was the bloody crown prince who decided. Without looking at my hands, I knew they were already shaking.

I ran towards Ilay like a remote-controlled robot, and not a second passed before the whole market started to burn. The only thing I could hear were the screams of the other demons, and I was gone with Ilay.

I landed hard on the ground and had no idea where we were. I looked around me in irritation and didn't dare say anything. Ilay, on the other hand, handed me a bathrobe and waited for me to take it.

Was I even allowed to do that?

I was so uncomfortable being naked that I reached for the coat, which looked expensive, and put it on.

"Thank you..." I whispered quietly, not daring to look him in the eye.

"You'll thank me later for getting you out of this situation. The reason you're here is because my cleaner has broken every vertebrae and is no longer able to clean. May will show you everything," he replied harshly and before I knew it, another woman was standing in the room.

She looked friendly and was a few years older than me. I estimated her to be in her fifties as far as her looks were concerned, but we demons were a lot older. I myself was one of the younger ones and was six hundred and seventy-one years old, but I looked like a twenty-seven-year-old.

So now I was allowed to play the cleaner ... how amusing. Demoted from a slave to a cleaner. If things went on like this, one day I would become the cook and then the head nurse of the servants... I refrained from laughing at the thought, it would certainly be inappropriate and Ilay would probably not enjoy it at all.

"What's your name?" Ilay asked, scrutinising me from head to toe.

"D-Delilah," I said, stuttering and looking down at the floor, embarrassed.

"Well, Delilah, the rules are very simple: as long as you don't cause any trouble and do your work without asking strange questions, you'll be rewarded. If the opposite is the case, you'll go straight to hell. Do we understand each other?" He raised his eyebrows and looked at me with a 'don't you dare say anything else' look.

I couldn't help but nod. He had decided my fate as a cleaner at that moment.

"I take your silence as a yes, but what I would prefer is if you used words," Ilay demanded of me.

I was admittedly overwhelmed by the whole situation and finally nodded. "Y-yes sir," I managed to get out of me in a whisper. He nodded over to May, "And go," he muttered under his breath.

I didn't hesitate another second and went straight over to May. "Follow me," she said in a calm tone.

When we were out of earshot, May smiled at me "Don't worry about him, he wasn't always like this ... At least I think deep down he's still the same." She shrugged her shoulders.

I didn't know what to say, so I started: "I feel a bit overwhelmed by this whole situation, if you ask me honestly ..."

She was still smiling at me "You know, Delilah ... you will indeed be fine in this house as long as you do what he mentioned earlier. Lina, your predecessor dropped out and he said he would find someone ..." She shrugged her shoulders and led me into a room "This is your room, make yourself at home. Your clothes are ready in the wardrobe. Your shift starts at seven in the morning and ends at twenty after dinner.

We all wear uniform during this time, your hair must be tied up in a tight bun or plait and you'd best try to avoid contact with Ilay. Achira, his cousin, is very pleasant and you can talk to her openly, but Ilay? It's best if you go to his room while he's away to get it ready." She showed me a pile of sheets: "You'll find out what you have to do in this manual. You'd better get in the shower right away and freshen up a bit. In our house, a decent and good appearance is expected, especially as the king may come here at any time. Be prepared for anything," she winked at me and left me alone with these words.

I sighed in frustration and looked around me.

Considering that my room was for me, it was relatively large, bright and cosy. It was elegantly furnished, just like the rest of the house. The bed was in the corner of the room, where May had probably laid out my service suit for me.

I saw another door in my room and ran into it. It was my personal bathroom with a toilet and a shower.

That was at least a thousand times better than being in Leroy's captivity. At least I could make friends with that ... I would no longer have the fear that something might happen to me.

I was always harassed, with men always trying to kiss me or even touch me. Since Leroy knew I was still a virgin, he never let that part happen. The value in the market was the deciding factor for him and the only reason for him to protect me from being raped.

I did as May told me and grabbed my clothes and went into the bathroom with them.

I let the hot water run in the shower and stood under it. I savoured the warm water splashing down my body. Why couldn't the world stand still forever?

I grabbed a rose petal shampoo and washed my hair and body, clearly enjoying it. With Leroy, showering was a luxury, once a fortnight. Great, wasn't it? With my long hair, I had always feared a lice infestation, but I was just lucky in this aspect.

After I had washed the foam off me, I got out of the shower and dried myself off. I dried my hair with the hairdryer and plaited it into a long plait. My black hair was so long that it reached down to my hips as a plait. I looked in the mirror cabinet and saw that there was still a set of make-up.

I applied my make-up discreetly and looked at myself in the mirror. I liked that a lot better.

My face finally looked decent for the first time in a long time, the make-up gave me a certain freshness and the most important thing was that I felt clean.

I could actually get used to that ...

I put on the white shirt, the skin-coloured tights and the tight-fitting black skirt, which didn't even go above my knees, and looked at myself in the mirror.

What I still had to get used to, however, were the high black shoes with an eight-centimetre heel. How do you clean in them?

I would probably find out.

I bit my lower lip and walked out of the bathroom and looked at the papers lying on the small desk. I sat down and looked through them.

The list of work activities was long and I realised that my core area was Ilay's room and office. That's probably what May meant by her words ...

Then there was the list that I had to provide him with coffee at seven sharp. I also had to help with breakfast and put the tray of food in his office ...

Damn, that list was long and this was just the first page of it.

Everything was described in this manual about how things should be organised. If I didn't know any better, I'd have to learn this book by heart.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door and I wondered who it could be.

It was May, she smiled broadly at me and scrutinised me from head to toe "Wow, I didn't think you could look so beautiful. It looked completely different earlier," she remarked and I didn't know whether that was meant as an insult or a compliment.

"Thank you," I said quietly and intertwined my fingers.

"Come with me, I'll show you round the house, it's huge, but nothing you can't learn." I stood up and followed May out of the door.

"The west wing will increasingly be the part of the house you'll be in the most," she explained to me as we walked through the corridors. "Your room is on the same level as Ilay's so that if he needs anything, you can be there as quickly as possible. Don't keep him waiting too long. His patience is limited at the moment," May explained to me and continued walking.

She stopped in front of a large door and looked at me. "No one is allowed up here," she said, looking at me seriously.

I looked at the door and the lock that was attached to it and finally nodded "Do I need to know anything?" I asked May cautiously, to which she shook her head "No, this used to be Ilay's mum's wing. He wants everything to stay the same, so you stay away from it," she emphasised again. "Understood," I whispered quietly, although my curiosity was piqued.

May showed me the rest of the house and we ended up walking into the kitchen. There was a woman there with wild brown curls. She didn't look like one of the staff, which led me to believe that she must be Achira.

May walked straight up to her "Good morning, Achira, I'd like you to meet someone," May said to her and even called her by name.

Achira turned to me and looked at me with wide eyes. Her mouth stopped and she didn't say anything else.

"This is Delilah, our new employee. She will be replacing Lina," she said to Achira as she scrutinised me and looked as if she had seen a ghost.

"Good afternoon, miss," I said quietly, not knowing how to behave.

After looking at me for a few more seconds, she finally offered me her hand and forced herself to smile. "Call me Achira, I'm not as formal as my cousin," she finally said. I nodded understandably.

This whole situation stank to high heaven, or was I just mistaken?