Rayne
As I scrub the floors of the Grand Hall clean, I ask myself an important yet heartbreaking question:Will I ever get out of here?From the time of my birth, I've been a slave. A slave to the MoonWater pack. I've never had the opportunity to be anything else. My mother was a slave, which makes me a slave, too. She wasn't born a slave, but that doesn't matter here. They don't care that she was sold into slavery by her own mate—my father—to pay off a debt he had with some ruthless men. They never took pity on her. Not once.I, along with the other workers, have been up since four in the morning to get the house ready for the big event. There will be over a hundred guests from all the packs in the area and they all have to be fed. Rooms will have to be provided. The house can comfortably accommodate a hundred guests. It used to be called a 'palace' back in the day, but things had changed significantly since the old Alpha died. His son is now in charge of the pack and he felt that 'house' created a stronger sense of togetherness and family.It's far from true. Us workers aren't considered his family. Most of us don't even know what he looks like.I caught a glimpse of him once. It was during his enthroning. Everyone was expected to be present. The slaves were supposed to be far from the crowd, so I didn't get a very good look at him. I saw that his hair was long and black, and his skin was pale. That was all. We were standing too far away from the balcony to see his face clearly. Rather, I was.The one thing I remember vividly about that day is the work we had to do to get the palace ready for the new Alpha. There was a three-day long celebration, and there were also guests that had to be catered to constantly. I heard whispers of the slaves who had to serve the rowdy crowd. The guests were mostly men. All the slaves in charge of serving them hated it. I wasn't there because I worked in a different section. I always have. I never appeared before guests. I cleaned behind closed doors. Nobody ever looked at my face. I was below most of the slaves along with many others.It was somewhat a blessing in disguise, now that I thought of it. But the work was too hard for me to be completely grateful.Today reminds me of that day two years ago. The only difference is that I was given more responsibilities this time, so I was more tired. I had to help scrub the guest rooms on the first level of the first wing. There were over twenty rooms and we were only three people. The rooms had to be spotless in record time or we would be punished. That's how it is around here. Work, work, work. No rest in between. It's a nightmare, the kind you can never wake up from."Back to work," a harsh voice behind me says.My heart skips a beat at the sound of his voice. I dip the brush in the bucket of water hurriedly, spilling it everywhere. I scrub the floor harder than before. My arms are burning and my knees hurt from being in this position for so long. I hear footsteps behind me and inch away from the Second Beta as he walks past me to supervise my work.I keep my eyes on the ground. I watch his feet move around me in circles, and at times I get the feeling that he isn't looking at the floor but at me. He's leaving dirty marks everywhere he walks, completely ignoring the fact that I've just cleaned the area he's stomping on. This is typical Beta behavior—the First and the Second Beta have no regard for wolves like me. If I dare to open my mouth, he'll silence it with his fist. Cleaning after him is the safest way to go, even if it isn't the easiest.Anything to avoid being a target.But this is all pointless because no matter how hard I try to keep myself hidden or do my work perfectly now, I've already made myself a target.I keep my face as close to the floor as possible so he won't look at it. The tip of my nose almost touches the wet floor. I scrub until my hands feel raw, and I act like I'm fully engrossed in my work. I hope that after he sees me doing this, he won't see my face and he'll think I'm just another employee. That he will walk away, seemingly satisfied with my work.Wrong."On your feet," he barks at me.I bite my bottom lip so it doesn't visibly tremble and drop the wet brush on the ground. My eyes are still glued to my old shoes. If I look directly into his eyes, he'll see my fear.Scratch that. Being who he is, he can probably smell it."I know you," he says in a low voice. This makes me tense up. I'm sure that if I look at his face, I'll see a snarl curling his lip. I didn't think he would remember me because it was dark that night.I was wrong."Out!" he shouts at everyone around me. They all stand up hurriedly and rush out of the hall, leaving me alone with him. Despair fills every empty space inside of me, leaving me full and breathless. Nothing feels worse than this. I am at his complete mercy. He is a Beta and I am nothing. Nobody cares about what happens to me. He can punish me as he sees fit, no questions asked.How will I run from him now?"You really thought you would get away with what you did?" he asks in a low voice, so low that I tell myself that maybe, he isn't that angry. Maybe, just maybe, I can get away from this unscathed.I struggle to answer him. I don't know what to say.He grabs my arms and squeezes them so hard I think they'll snap. "Look at me when I'm talking to you!"I'm forced to bring my eyes up to his face. His gray eyes are filled with hatred, pure and raw. His nostrils are flared. His fingers are digging into my arms. And then there's the scar along his hairline, healed but still angry and red. I realize that I was wrong. He is angry. There is no escaping this."I asked you a question," he says in an icy tone. "Answer me, you mutt."If I part my lips, they'll tremble. But what point is there in hiding my fear? It won't make a difference. I say, "I'm sorry."It's all I can say.His lips curl slowly into a smile. He shows me all his perfectly straight, white teeth. "Oh, are you? You have no reason to be sorry now. You'll be sorry once I'm through with you."He turns with his hand still wrapped around my upper arm. He gives me a tug and I almost crash against him. He walks a few steps then stops. I drag my eyes up and see a woman standing a few feet away from us.Her eyes are wide and she slowly pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose as she looks back and forth between the two of us. She's holding a gray garment bag in her left hand."Yes?" The Second Beta says to her impatiently after a few beats of silence.She clears her throat and says, "I need this girl. Urgently."His expression doesn't change and his hand tightens around me. "What for?""It is a private matter," she says to him while rushing toward us. She closes her hand around my wrist and starts dragging me. The Beta doesn't release me. The woman turns back and gives him a look. "It's an emergency. You will have her back in a few minutes. You can wait here, if you like."I close my eyes briefly, praying that he releases me. It wouldn't be much because it would buy me time, even if only a few minutes. The woman is staring at him intently. Thankfully, he releases me. My arm drops to my side heavily and I allow the woman to drag me out of the Grand hall.My heart is racing. I stare at the back of her hand and wonder what she wants from me. I've never seen her around here before.We exit the Grand hall through the huge double doors and walk down a long corridor. I know where this leads. We stop in the parlor, right at the foot of the staircase. She hands the garment bag to me and says, "Take this upstairs. Third floor, fourth door on your left. Hurry!"I stare at her with wide eyes. "I'm a lower-level worker. I'm not allowed upstairs."She widens her eyes impatiently at me. "This is a matter of life and death." After she says this, she gives me a hard shove so I'm forced to take the first step. "Go!"I start taking the stairs. As I ascend the staircase, I look back at her. She keeps watching me until I disappear from sight, then I hear her retreating footsteps. If I'm caught up here, I'll be in even more trouble, but what keeps me going is the thought of going back to the Beta. I'll have to eventually but if I can delay the moment for a bit longer, I'll be thankful.I reach the third floor undetected. I count all the doors until I reach the fourth one. I look from left to right before raising my hand to knock on the door lightly. It doesn't take long for someone to open it.It's so abrupt that I jump back a little. There's a woman standing on the other side of the door with wide eyes."Where have you been?" she asks me. There's disbelief in her voice. Or perhaps it's wonder. I can’t tell the difference."I came here as fast as I could," I answer, handing her the garment bag. She takes it from me and hands it to a man who's standing behind her. I notice that his eyes are lined with gold paint. I've never seen anything quite like it.I turn to leave yet her voice stops me. She scoffs and says, "Where are you going?"I turn around and meet her eyes. She keeps looking at me with the indecipherable expression on her face. I don't answer her. I don't know what she wants from me, and I'm waiting to see if she'll say anything.I am now thinking about the Beta, whom k have to return to downstairs. My heart is racing and my palms are wet at the thought of him.It's the only thing that has my full attention.Eventually, she throws her hands in the air and says, "You do realize how late you are, don't you? The Alpha will have our necks if he doesn’t see you walking down that aisle in ten minutes!”I blink slowly and say, “What?"Rayne“Come on," the woman says while closing her hand around my wrist. I try to ask her what she meant by that but she doesn't seem to be listening to me. With a sharp tug, she pulls me into the room. The door is closed behind me. I look back at it, confused. She pushes me onto a chair and says to the man with the gold eyeliner, "Pass me those brushes, will you?"I scowl. What is she talking about? Why do I have to be seated here? Why does the Alpha have to see me walking down the aisle? I try to remember if the woman who gave me the garment bag gave me any other instruction. She didn't. A brief glance around shows me that there are four people in the room in total. The woman I just talked to, the man with the gold eyeliner, another woman who is plumper and shorter than the woman who handled me, and a tall, slim man who's wearing all black. His hair is in his eyes, and his green eyes are almost piercing through me. He has lines on his cheeks, but he isn't an old man. He's just too
RayneI open my eyes. There's too much light this time and I put a hand up to shield my eyes. I can't open them all the way, not yet anyway. There's a ringing in my ears that doesn't go away even after I scratch my throat. My head hurts and inside of me, there's a rumbling. Like a storm. It isn't hunger. It's something else, something that makes me feel on edge and terrified. When my eyes have finally adjusted to the light, I look around me and see a strange room. The kind of room I shouldn't be in. I'm lying on an enormous poster bed with red covers and sheets. Directly across from me, there's a large dresser with candles and a vase with fresh flowers. The floor is carpeted, and the windows are open, hence why there's so much light in the room. I sit up hurriedly, ignoring the spinning in my head. I rub my face with my hands and keep my eyes closed until the spinning stops. When I open my eyes, I see that I'm still wearing the white dress. The right sleeve is bloodied, and when
RayneDenise brought me a fresh set of clothes that was in my old drawer along with everything else that belonged to me. Granted, my clothes are all plain and not at all suitable for my 'new position' as she told me, but at least they're better than the bloodied mating dress. Besides, I don't think anyone will care about what I'm wearing. I don't even want to think about being the Luna of MoonWater. Once I'm dressed in my old and comfortable clothes, I sit on the bed and hug my knees. I'm deathly afraid of leaving this bedroom. I'm afraid of coming across people who will openly judge me for what I did. I'm afraid of the Betas. The First Beta is scary because of his strictness and lack of mercy but it's the Second Beta who truly terrifies me. I wonder what he thinks of me now. He was waiting for me and even looking for me the day of the mating, so he undoubtedly knows what happened. What's going through his mind? I bet he's even angrier than before. Now, I'm not so easily accessibl
RayneI’m dressed in Denise’s best clothes. She might not think they’re better than what I was wearing before but they are. I twirl around in front of the mirror in my bedroom and take in my appearance. Her ‘best clothes’ consist of a black dress with a tight bodice and flared skirt. It’s presentable—that can’t be disputed—but it puts a little too much emphasis on my cleavage. She has also helped me put my hair up in a loose chignon and my neck is fully exposed. She has also spritzed some perfume on me. She claps her hands and says, “Wonderful. You look like a different woman! All you need is to put on a little weight to fill out your hips and you’ll be perfect!”I don’t agree with her. I don’t think this dress is appropriate at all. “Can I get a shawl or a coat? Something to cover up a little bit more?”“Nonsense!” she says, waving her hand at me. “This is perfect. This is an outfit worthy of the Luna of MoonWater.”“Denise, my circumstances are different. You know that.”“Nonsense
Rayne Denise looks at the damage that was done on her dress first. Then, she looks at my face.There is no point trying to hide the black eye that the Second Beta gave me as punishment for...I don't know. I guess it's everything. He hated me when I was a slave but he hates me even more now. I thought that being 'Luna' would protect me from him. I was wrong. I take the dress off and dress into my old clothes. Thankfully, he didn't hit any other part of my body. He did, however, tear at the dress with his claws. He ruined the straps. I'm not even sure if she can fix them. "Did the Alpha do this to you?" she finally asks. "No," I say, staring at my lap. "The Second Beta did it."Denise frowns and lets the dress drop to the ground. "Rayne, you can't be serious! The Second Beta?"I look away from her. "Don't tell me that you don't know he targets all of the worker girls. Because if you do, I won't believe you.""I didn't plan on denying it," she says stiffly. "You know as well as I
MaxI gulp down the entire glass of whiskey and refill it as soon as I slam it down. There's a pain behind my eyes that I can't seem to rub out of them. In fact, rubbing my eyes worsens the pain. A curse leaves my lips and I finish my drink. Behind me, the door opens. I don't bother turning back to see who it is. It seems there's always someone in my room who has an opinion to give me, as if their 'opinions' can make any of this better. "Drinking again?"I roll my eyes to the sound of her voice and pour myself another glass. When she sees this, she rushes to my side and puts a hand on my arm to try to stop me. I give her a black look but she doesn't release me or back away. "You need to stop this, brother," Veronica says. "Killing yourself isn't going to make any of this better.""Who says having a few drinks is going to kill me?""You know what I mean," she spits. "Everything you do, you exaggerate. There is no limit with you. If you keep this up, you'll drink yourself right int
Rayne I wake up to the sun in my eyes. I try to shield my face with my hand but it doesn’t stop the stinging in my eyes. I blink repeatedly as my vision starts to clear, and only then do I see Denise standing beside the bed with an inquisitive expression on her face. “I’m curious,” she says, tapping her foot against the carpeted floor repeatedly. “How long did you intend to keep sleeping? Until noon? Until tomorrow?”“What does it matter?” I ask sincerely. My heart sinks at the thought. “It’s not like I have anything to do anyway.”“Of course you have something to do,” she says, as if whatever she’ll say next is obvious. “You have an audience with the Alpha’s sister.”I sit up fast, so fast that my head spins. “Why? What does she want from me?”“You know I can’t answer that question,” she says. “You’re going to have to find out yourself.”I sigh and hug my knees. “Can’t I say no? I don’t want to have to be yelled at by another superior. I don’t know if I can take it.”Denise scoffs
Rayne "Oh, Rayne," Denise says as she paces the bedroom floor. "This is bad. This is terrible! Why didn't you tell her about him? Why?"I shake my head. "I don't know. I got scared!""Scared of what?" she asks loudly. "What could possibly have scared you? Look at what you've gotten yourself into!"I lower my eyes and rub my scalp with my fingertips. I can't describe how desperate I feel. The Second Beta, the person who scares me more than anyone else, is going to be my bodyguard. He'll be close to me at all times and 'protect' me from harm. How is he going to protect me when he's the only one harming me?I'm screwed. I'm done for. I now wish more than ever that I could go back in time and tell her that I take back what I said. That the Second Beta gave me the black eye. That he's a monster who loves the pain and suffering of others. The only people he takes care of are the elites of the pack. He treats the servants like garbage, and he's twice as cruel to the servants girls like me