“If you move that slow, you won’t be finished by lunch,” one of the kitchen maids suddenly said. She looks as young as I am. “If you don’t want to be punished by Mathilda, you better work fast.”“Are you concerned about that slave, Lea? Don’t talk to her and let her be punished. It has nothing to do with us,” said another maid who was more hostile towards me.The others didn’t bother going near me and just keep on throwing glares as if I were a sore thumb.I didn’t have breakfast and my body felt tired and weak. I was also trying to be careful with the plates but with the great number of dishes I need to clean, I doubt if I could finish it before the two hours end.The sound of shattering the plate echoed in the kitchen when a plate slipped from my hand.My eyes widened at the sight of the broken plate.“Uh-oh. Seems like someone will receive a beating today,” the maid named Philippa said in a mocking tone. Among the kitchen maids, she seemed to be the most hostile one towards me.My
“Of course, you can have anyone you want, Alpha,” said Luke in a polite tone. I noticed his people are very respectful to him so I wonder how Lucian managed to keep his men all these years even when they were living in the shadows as a secret pack. Maybe he is a good leader just like his father, Alpha Benedict, was. “I trust you won’t fail our people and give the best punishment to our enemy’s dearest daughter. I’ll excuse myself then,” Luke bowed his head before leaving. “You can leave now, Mathilda.” Lucian’s steps were silent but with his voice getting louder, I could sense him nearing. He stopped a foot in front of me and even though my eyes were on the floor, I felt his stare. Mathilda left right away and now we are alone in the hallway. “Follow me to my room.” My heart shuddered at the thought of us alone in his room again. It felt like I was a kitten entering the lion’s den. His mere presence posed danger and I don’t think I’d ever feel safe around a man like him. When w
I picked up the small bottle and brought it to my pocket. I finished my meal fast and went to the servant’s bathroom. Then I looked into the bottle to see what it was. No label was written outside so I had to take off its lid. The sticky liquid inside was familiar. As I smelled it, I realized it was a medicinal ointment for wounds. Did Lea just give me medicine for the cuts on my arms? A small smile formed on my lips. Lea acts cold and aloof but in truth, she’s a kind person. Even when everyone sees me in a different light because I am my father’s daughter, she didn’t mistreat me. She keeps on helping me. After my work in the kitchen, I thought Mathilda would make me work in the garden again. But to my horror, she told me to bring snacks to the Alpha in his study. I felt the urge to tell her to ask someone else to do it but I might receive another session of beating if I do that. So I had no choice but to obey. “Why are you still not moving?” Mathilda glared at me when I stayed in
“If there is nothing else, I shall leave,” I said softly after a long minute of standing by Lucian’s side. It seemed like he doesn’t need my service anymore. “Did I tell you to?” From the papers he was busy with, his eyes flicked up to mine, sending a burning sensation in my stomach. I had a decent lunch but why do I feel so weak when he’s looking at me this dark? “I just assume that you want me to…” I swallowed the bile in my throat. “I thought I need to work alongside the maids during the day.” I just felt like it would be better for me to work under Mathilda even when I get punished for my clumsiness, than be at Lucian’s side. His presence suffocates me, it’s like I can never be safe around him. I don’t know why I feel that way. Maybe because the first time we met he promised me unfathomable wrath. I am someone at his disposal, the reason why every second around him is like lying in a bed with an axe hanging on my neck threatening to end my life at any moment. “Yes, that is righ
I was told by Lucian to stay in the car. He went to the building alone and his men also stayed in the car. I had never been in the council before, so I just stared out of the car’s window and saw the building was tall. The council is the law enforcer of the city. They hold the districts together and make sure that the people follow the law. However, when it came to changing alphas, they don’t concern themselves with it. And now that I see Lucian can easily enter the council after seizing a pack like a savage, he must have a connection with them. I don’t feel bad though. The Alpha’s position is his rightful place and it was only right for him to claim it. Peering through the window, I noticed the sky was gloomy. It seemed like it was going to rain soon. I just stayed silent while looking outside and watching people pass by. I don’t know how long it had been, but when I saw Lucian going out of the building, the rain suddenly poured. “Damn,” he muttered when he got inside the car. He
I want to deny that I was staring at him because I was embarrassed, but I know doing that is futile, so I just stayed silent and faced the window on my side, refusing to even catch a glimpse of him. The window's glass started to blurry because of the rain but I still looked outside. Thankfully, he didn’t mock me more and gave me silence. Soon the car parked in front of a warehouse somewhere at the outskirts of the city. I hesitantly and nervously followed Lucian out of the car when he got off first. The afternoon breeze met me as I stepped out. The sun was setting, which explains why the air is beginning to become colder. I looked around and saw an old dilapidated building in front. There were no houses around and beyond the building is a vast field. The place is silent and it seems like other than us, there is no one else here. I felt the urge to ask Lucian what are we doing here but I remember that Slaves do not ask questions, they only answer. So I just kept it to myself and walk
LUCIAN My eyes flicked to Igor, one of the men I brought as guards, when he pushed Elisa forward which caused her to fall to her knees. The dirt from the ground went to the gray skirt of her dress. My jaw clenched. For some reason, I was suddenly enraged. “Did I tell you to push her?” I couldn’t hide the annoyance in my tone as I asked Igor. She is my slave, therefore I only have the right to do whatever I want with her. Nobody else holds that power. I can’t tolerate it, not even my people. “But she wasn’t listening, Alpha. I was trying to help—” “Well, your help wasn’t necessary,” I cut him off. “She goes with me in my car. How am I supposed to share the same seat with her when she’s covered with dirt?” I can feel the veins in my temples pulsating because I was very pissed. “She’s my slave, not yours so you can’t just hit her when you like. That is my job. Do you get me, Igor?” I don’t know why I’m so angry about it since it’s just something trivial. But the ferocious beast in me
ELISA Sitting beside Lucian with tears in my eyes, I allowed the haunting memories to surface and a shiver ran down my spine, eliciting an involuntary tremor that coursed through my entire being. The recollection of that harrowing scene, etched deeply into my mind, seemed to replay with vivid clarity, as if time had momentarily folded in upon itself. Lucian, a figure whose name would forever be linked to terror in my memory, held absolute control over the situation. Each crack of the whip seemed to slice through the air, the sound reverberating with a chilling resonance that echoed within my soul. The men, subjected to this merciless punishment, bore the physical and emotional agony in their anguished cries, their pleas for mercy like desperate echoes in the night. My heart sank as I remembered being forced to bear witness to the unimaginable brutality. Lucian, a sinister master of manipulation, had intentionally stripped away my agency, entrapping me in a web of horror from which t