I didn't get much sleep throughout the night. I was turning and tossing all through the night. My situation seemed bleak to me and I couldn't get the look on his face out of my mind. The looks on all their faces. I had been assaulted constantly in that pack. And even tonight…the way they had seen us. They knew…Eunice knew that it wasn't consensual but she acted like that to save face. I couldn't even defend myself in front of all those people. I sighed deeply. It was already too late to think much about it. They had all made their conclusions about me. There was nothing I could do to change how they thought about me. Again…my mate. If I'm being honest, I'm still bewildered that I had gotten one.
'He's not so much to us' my wolf reminded me and I sighed again. I forced my eyes shut but the sleep didn't come still. By the time the rooster crowed, I figured I had to get up. Since I was still in the tattered clothes from yesterday, I grabbed the cloak Hermes had given me and put it on again. It was a bit dusty after placing it on the floor as a cover so I dusted off the dirt and stepped outside the room. The hallway was empty unlike what I expected. I imagined that all the occupants of the other rooms would be up and about, running up and down the hallway, trying to get ready and get to work. Did I wake up too early? Or too late? I followed the part I had come through last night and I ended up in a busy kitchen. So I woke up late. I got stares standing there in my tattered clothes and unkempt hair. Unconsciously, I weaved my fingers through my hair and searched for Martha.
"Hey, you. Come here" I heard a loud voice and my eyes landed on Martha. I hurried over towards her, still ignoring the looks I was getting.
"First you wake up late and then you show up in the kitchen looking so…dirty" She folded her arms and stared at me. I scratched the back of my neck, unsure of what I should do now. The reason I had come to the kitchen was to find her because I didn't know anyone or what to do. She kept on staring and I decided I should apologize.
"I'm sorry," I said and she uncrossed her arms.
"Come with me" she brushed past me and I turned around, following her out of the kitchen. We were going down the hallway leading to the dorms and she constantly muttered under her breath as we went. I didn't catch everything she said but from the little I heard, I knew she was still displeased with me and unhappy that she had to deal with me.
"There is the bathroom" She pointed to a door far ahead.
"Get in there and wash up nicely. We don't want you messing up the whole place with your smell"
"Okay," I mumbled and went towards the bathroom. Seeing as she said nothing about a change of clothes, I took off the coat and my torn clothes. I decided to discard the tattered clothes I had been wearing and clean off the dirt with some water.
I found some bath gel in a bottle, sitting on the bathroom shelf and I decided to use it. It’s been more than twenty-four hours since I last took a shower.
After my shower, I had nothing to wear so I put on the coat and stepped outside. Martha was pacing outside the door but paused when she saw me.
"Did you plan to spend forever in there?" She asked annoyed.
'You said I should take my time' I wanted to answer but I held back. I knew speaking back to higher-ups wouldn't do me any good.
"And you still put on that dirty coat after taking a bath. Didn't they teach you anything in your fucking pack?" Why was she so angry? What would she have me do? Come out naked so she can complain about me not having a single modesty. I didn't get it. There was nothing that I would do that she wouldn't make a snarky comment about.
"And what's that face for?"
"Nothing"
"I think it's something. Do you have a problem with what I just said? Do you know what you can do? Go back to whatever hole it is you crawled out from. We don't want you around here" I said nothing, keeping my eyes down.
"Go back in and shower and toss the coat in the trash"
"B-but…"
"B-But what?"
"It belongs to beta Hermes"
"That's the more reason I want you to throw it away. Jeez. Can't stand seeing that he gave you his coat and you turned it so filthy" Maybe her issue was with me wearing the beta's clothes. Did she think there was something more to it? I couldn't let her think that. I only just arrived here and I didn't know if I'd ever leave from this place. It would be better not to allow her to hate me because of something she conjured in her head that was totally false.
"Nothing is going on between beta Hermes and me"
"Well did I ask you? Go in there and take another fucking shower. And change into this" She tossed the dress in my face. I caught it so it wouldn't drop to the floor.
"Thank you" I mumbled and entered the bathroom for the second time.
"Don't spend the whole day inside there. There's a lot of work you'll be doing today" I could hear the glee in her voice. I took another fast shower and changed into the dress she had given me. The dress was a bit on the tight side. I had seen most of the girlies in the kitchen and I kind of figured they had a type. Skinny and under a particular weight scale. I was nothing like them. And whoever had given out this dress was nothing like me. Buy I couldn't complain about anything. Not the length and definitely not the size. Whatever Martha says would be completely unpleasant and unnecessary. To be honest, I didn't want to hear it. I adjusted the dress around the hip for the last time and I folded the jacket neatly, placing it in one of the overhead cupboards. I'll come back for it later. I couldn't just toss the jacket away like that. It was part of a core memory for me. The first time somebody had been so nice to me without any reason. He just saw my predicament and instantly covered me up. I stepped outside the bathroom again.
"Thank the goddess you actually listen" She didn't say anything about the fitting of the uniform and walked away. I walked closely behind her until we arrived at the kitchen again. She clapped her hands twice and all attention shifted to her.
"Listen up everyone. This is…" she looked at me.
"Nevaeh" I spoke out loud.
"She is a new addition even though we don't need any. Don't be too surprised when you see her in the hallways. Now come with me Nevaeh" The others went back to their duties as she was done addressing them and I followed after her.
"Like you've heard countless times already. We do not need a servant at this point. But what can I do? You have no specific duty but you'll be involved with everything.
"I don't understand"
"As expected. It simply means that your duty is anything you're told to do. Cleaning, scrubbing, cooking, washing, serving at the table. Anything at all. Normally the servants are divided into categories and you only handle tasks you've been assigned in that category. But that isn't the case for you. At any time, you can be called to do anything maybe because one of the servants is ill or unavailable or simply because your assistance is needed. Whatever the case, you must attend to your call immediately.
"And if I'm already doing something?" She stared at me and I felt the need to explain further.
"Are there any tasks more important than the others?"
"No. They are of equal importance. Unless it comes to matters that concern the king" I nodded.
"I understand"
"Good. We are on the same page now. What did you do with Hermes coat?"
"I threw it away" That felt like the best answer and she nodded.
"Good. Listen to your superiors and keep your head down. We wouldn't have any issues. Okay?"
"Okay," I nodded. That was what I planned to do anyway. Stay invincible for as long as possible. Stay away from everyone while performing my duties, especially the men. I planned to stay away from them. Directly or indirectly, they seemed to be an origin of pain and torture for me. There were a few good ones out there but I guess I'll never get to know them.
"As long as you stay away from what doesn't belong to you. Wolves around here are very territorial"
"Understood"
"Good. Now start with scrubbing the laundry floor. It is unfortunately a tedious duty and hasn't been taken care of in a while" With that she disappeared. I knew I had to get to work quickly but I was left in the middle of the hallway with no knowledge of where the laundry room was or where I could get cleaning supplies to clean the laundry room. I would like to think Martha had forgotten to show me to where it was but she definitely did this on purpose. Luck was on my side today and I heard voices. I followed the sound and stumbled on a group of servants lingering around. Their conversation paused as soon as they saw me.
"H-Hey" I stuttered, unsure of how their reception would be.
"Who are you?"
"I've never seen you before"
"Are you the new girl?" Three of them spoke at once.
"New girl?"
"Yes. I heard from the kitchen that there was a new servant that Martha wasn't fond of"
"Really?"
"Yes. I'm the new servant"
"I know Martha can be a bit too much but why doesn't she like a new servant? Who brought you here?"
"The King"
"The king? That's shocking"
"He went on a trip and came back with a servant?"
"That has never happened before?" They started talking amongst themselves, ignoring me. Time was going by quickly and I didn't want to get into trouble for not doing my duties.
"Please where can I find the laundry room?" Again, their conversation ceased.
"The laundry room? Martha really gave you the laundry room. She must really hate you" I get that. But I need to find the laundry room.
"It's downstairs"
"But we are on the ground floor," I said confused.
"That's what you think hun. Come I'll show you to the laundry room. Do you have cleaning supplies?"
"No"
"Agnes please help us get what she'll need. I'll show her to the laundry room"
"Thank you," I said genuinely.
"That's okay. We servants have to stick together" She nudged my shoulder but I remained stiff.
"I can't help but notice you're different. From the rest of the servants, I mean"
"I'm a little on the big size," I said but she chuckled.
"I'm not talking about your weight hun. I'm talking about you…your specie" My frown deepened as my confusion grew. What did she mean by my specie?
"You seem like a wolf"
"Aren't we all wolves?" She laughed harder.
"Where did they find you from really?" I said nothing as we continued walking. We went down a flight of stairs and she opened a door, revealing a very large room.
"We aren't all wolves darling. The servants here are not"
"Then if you aren't wolves…what are you?" A loud noise from above interrupted us and she vanished, leaving me alone.
I never got the chance to see that girl again or ask her to explain her words from that day. Roughly a thousand servants were working at the castle. That was almost ten times the size of Kaden's pack. I would never meet all of them one-on-one and the chances that I would meet that girl again was very slim. There was no one else that I could ask about what she had said so I let it go. That day, it took me six hours to scrub the laundry room clean on my knees. By the time I was done scrubbing and washing, my knees felt sore and my arms were trembling. My stomach had been cramping because of the lack of food and I remember feeling very dizzy as I tried to find my way to the kitchen after my tedious work. A meal was waiting for me and I gobbled it up. One of the women was nice enough to inform me that I could ask for my meals whenever I wanted it. The days went by and I healed completely from the attack of that night. I didn't run into Martha and only received the list of my duties at t
As expected, the issue from dinner didn't end there. I knew there was no way I would get out of a punishment after my reaction. And even though I shouldn't feel disappointed or let down by my mate's reaction, I still was. It was so disgusting to hear. That it was okay to be touched against my will because I was wearing clothes that were too tight or too short. And it wasn't even my fault in the first place. I had nothing to wear. I had been taken from my pack with no belongings. The only thing I had on me was the tattered clothes and the coat beta Hermes had given to me. Martha didn't want me to wear that and gave me little clothes. Maybe it was my fault for not speaking out and requesting for new and better clothes, that could size me perfectly. But who could I have possibly asked? Anyway, I was given the tiniest brush ever to scrub the whole of the ballroom. So on my hands and knees, I scrubbed the massive ballroom. I didn't get anything to eat because I was upset at everything an
KING THANE’s POV Hermes couldn't stay at a place. He kept pacing the office and muttering something. His agitation was upsetting my wolf and my wolf couldn't be calm. "My lord we need your approval on this" One of the men in the office handed a paper over to me and I glanced through it. "Why do they need my approval to hunt?" "It's crossing into another's pack territory" "And they can't discuss it with the alpha of that territory?" I snapped at him. "I'm not giving permission to intrude on another alpha's land. He can if he discusses with the alpha of that territory" "What next?" Hermes chose that as the perfect time to say something. "I don't get how mates act crazy" There was a long pause as we all stared at him. He probably didn't realize that he blurted that out loud. "Out everybody" I commanded and they grabbed their things, fleeing from the office. "What was it that you were saying about mates?" "It didn't use to be like this in the past. Everyone loved the mates
The days were running by quickly and so were the tasks that I had to handle. In just a couple of days, I'll be done with the punishment I'd been given. I stayed out of everyone's way and nobody showed up in front of me, except for Helios. Since that first day we met, he made it a mission to see me every day. I was unsure about him because no matter how nice and kind he acted, I was convinced that there was something about him. My wolf agreed too. Often times when he would drop by and try to help me in any way that he could, I would start to think again that he was a nice person and I was just overthinking it. But I'll dismiss that thought as fast as it came. It was better to trust your instincts. I tried to get him to stop coming but he was insistent. It was simply like he was redoubling his effort to be around me each time I tried to get him to leave. He was too forward to completely ignore his existence so I just had to endure for a while, make up a silly excuse, and be on my way.
She didn't stop pulling me along until we were far from the supplies room. We went into the kitchen and she let go of my hand, holding the counter and breathing rapidly. "Fuck. If he finds out I lied, he'll be fucking furious and he'll try to find me. I just risked my neck for your sake" "Thank you," I said sincerely. If she hadn't come, I wouldn't have been able to get away from that man and I'll probably still be pressed against the wall praying to the damned goddess to get me away from there. "What's your issue with him anyway? Everybody knows that Helios is bad news...most of the men in the king's circle are. We try to stay away from them" "I was doing just that but somehow, he found me. I don't even know how he did" Nobody knew that I was going to the library today or did he see me while I was going to the supplies room? "It's bad news if he has his eyes on you. You have to report" "Who could I report to?" "Martha" I couldn't stop the scoff that left my mouth. She looked
My discussion with Amaris cleared my questions about the different species but the other part.....I shouldn't be upset about it. Fuck! How many times have I told myself that whatever he did was none of my fucking business? I didn't care about him or what he did because I didn't want him. Countless times I said this to myself but I couldn't help but wonder. He had fallen in love without waiting for his mate.....No. He had no respect and absolutely detested women for what his previous lover had done to him. He...."No. No" I said to myself. "It's none of my business""It is your business" my wolf screamed in my head. "It is our fucking business. He should have waited for us. We are his mate and we would have never cheated on him" I said nothing but she remained restless. She was getting impatient as the days went by. She wanted us to see our mate ignoring the fact that he saw us as loose and hated our existence. "He only thinks that way of us because we were falsely accused. If you
I packed the shards of glass, cleaned up the mess, and returned to the kitchen. Dinner was already underway and I doubt they had any need for me. I was nervous as I waited, wringing my hands nervously. The servants serving the appetizers returned to the kitchen with dirty dishes and retired for the night. Same for the girls serving the main dish and then dessert. Amaris was shocked to see me waiting in the kitchen and she approached me. "Why are you still here?""I messed up. Martha may need to see me before I can retire for the night""She's busy and won't have anything to say to you. Go to bed. If there is anything that needs to be said, it will be addressed tomorrow. But you have no reason to fear. They let it go at the moment it happened so nobody will be remembering it" Amaris words were supposed to be comforting but they did nothing to comfort me. Knowing my luck, they won't forget it and I'll get punished again. But I listened to Amaris and returned to my room. I wasn't able t
There are only a handful of people still left in the staff quarters. I headed straight to my room and sat at the edge of my bed. I was upset but there was nothing I could do. I couldn't even scream at anyone. It wouldn't do me any good. I looked forward to going out and for no reason, I was ordered not to leave the castle. I didn't get what went through the king's mind. And I probably still wouldn't get it even if I was to stay here for ten years. He didn't like me or want me but he brought me here to serve and limit my movement in many ways, this was like the prison he had taken me from. The only difference would be Kaden's absence but I could see Kaden in some of the men that were here. Frustrated, I took off the clothes that Amaris had lent to me and climbed on top of my bed. In a few minutes, I fell into a deep sleep. I was lying on my back, looking up at an unfamiliar woman. Her face was red and her palms were over her mouth, muffling her sobs. I was concerned by the heavy emot