HAZEL
FOUR WEEKS AGO“What do you even know how to do properly, you lazy girl?” my taskmaster yells at me, his eyes narrowing in distaste as he fixes his penetrating gaze on me. “You're a failure and a disgrace. It's no wonder your parents left you to languish on your own.”His gaze is still on me as he makes mention of my parents and he narrows his eyes more, expecting me to give him a reaction, but I don't. I won't give in to what he wants. I won't give him the satisfaction of that.No matter what he says to me today or any other day for that matter, I won't say anything negative or revolt against him for once. He should keep saying what he wants. He will leave me alone soon enough just as he always does.I stay quiet as always as he keeps spewing more and more hateful words at me. Even though the words affect me, I always try my best not to give off any reaction. I never allow anyone to see how much their words affect me. I don't want to give them that satisfaction. My expression is always neutral in the face of any adversity I come across.“You're incapable, which is why you are in this position,” he adds. “Your life purpose is to serve others, yet you can't even do that properly. What a waste.” He spits disgustingly.Well, I had been doomed right from the day my parents died and left me alone in this cruel world, so that's why I'm in this position where I serve others, and it's not because I'm incapable, because I am. I know that I am capable, and no one can tell me otherwise.But I don't say all of this. I just simply look towards the floor which is squeaky clean and open my mouth to apologize.“Sorry, taskmaster,” I say quietly.“Don't apologize to me, you filthy thing. Instead, you have to clean the floors all over again. And in addition to that, you have to wash the dishes that were used during breakfast and clean all the toilets on the first floor,” he orders.“Yes, taskmaster,” I say.“You have to do all these before 2 PM or else, you will be punished severely. Do you understand?”“Yes, taskmaster.” My head is still bowed to the floor as I reply.As soon as he is satisfied with my meek reply because he doesn't like any sort of disobedience or recalcitrant behavior, he leaves.I look down at the floor around me once more, and I'm unable to detect even a speck of dirt there. Earlier this morning, I cleaned the entirety of the flooring of the first floor of the pack house to the best of my ability, and that means I cleaned it until it was really clean.And the taskmaster had the nerve to tell me that I didn't do it properly. Just like everyone in this pack, he hates me and never misses an opportunity to take the hatred out on me whenever he can.I know the floor is as clean as it can be, but just to avoid the taskmaster's punishment, I know that I need to clean it again. So I do that as fast as possible.I fetch a bucket and mop from the storage room that houses cleaning supplies, getting to work immediately.I clean the floors twice as hard as I did before even though it had been clean enough then. I'm a very fast worker and since I have already cleaned these floors before, I'm done with it in less than twenty minutes.I quickly move to the kitchen which thankfully, is deserted by this time of the day. I'm grateful for that because if anyone was here, they wouldn't have passed on the opportunity to pick on me and make my life a living hell as they usually do, especially if it's one of the heads of the maids or the cooks.I know that I need to hurry up and wash the dishes as fast as possible before the cooks and maids come in to get started on lunch. I surely don't want them to meet me here. So I move closer to the sink and begin to tackle the mountain of dishes and pans in front of me.When I'm done with the dishes, I go back to the storage room for cleaning supplies so that I can get some for the toilets. There are a total of seven toilets on the first floor and I need to get all of them cleaned properly before 2 PM, or else, the taskmaster will have my neck.I don't even want to think about all the sorts of punishments he has lined up for me, seeing as he is such a sadistic bastard.***I'm able to get all of the work done before 2 PM and I'm thankful for that. I have escaped the taskmaster's wrath, at least for the moment. No sooner have I thought about that than I hear a set of footsteps behind me. I quickly turn around only to see the taskmaster himself staring at me hotly.“What are you standing there for, girl?” he bellows at me. “There is still a lot of work for you to do. There is always more work for people like you to do.”He continues. “What are you still standing there for? Come closer!” he orders and immediately, I do as he says.“Yes, taskmaster,” I reply.“Go into the quarters of all the taskmasters one by one, starting from mine, and pick up all the clothes in the laundry baskets. You need to wash all of them before the sun sets.”“Okay, taskmaster,” is the only thing that comes out of my mouth because I know that I cannot argue with him. I simply have to do anything he says.“Now, run along and get started. And remember that you have to complete everything before the sun sets,” he adds.“Yes, taskmaster,” I answer just before I hurry in the direction of the taskmaster's quarters.This is always how my day goes by as I go along doing chore after chore that I'm assigned with until nightfall comes. And even then, I don't get a chance to rest until the taskmaster decides that I can. And that's when I finally get a chance to have my first and only meal of the day which is nothing but leftovers.I know that I'm only a maid, but another thing I know is that I deserve to be treated better than this. There are a lot of maids who work in the pack house, and all of them are certainly treated better than I am. I don't know why I'm always treated differently. Maybe it's because everyone here hates me. And even then, I still don't know why they hate me.***I'm now in the laundry room of the pack washing the clothes I was asked to wash and as I do that, I can't stop my mind from straying to different thoughts.I can't help but wonder about how my life would be if my parents were still alive. What will my status in this pack be if they are here and we are living as a happy family? I think.No matter what happens, I know for sure that if they are alive, my life will certainly be better. There is no way it won't be when I have two loving parents by my side. They would…Just then, my train of thought is interrupted when a barrage of ice cold water is suddenly dumped on my head, and immediately, I recoil from the cold feeling it gives me.I quickly turn around to see that it's the taskmaster again. He is standing while holding a pitcher which he no doubt poured the water on me out of, and glaring at me hotly. If looks could kill, I do not doubt that I would be dead by now.I wonder what I have done wrong again and I really hope he doesn't think it's worth a punishment. He can yell at me all he wants, but I just don't want to be punished. I would do anything to avoid that. I still don't say anything as I wait for him to speak.“Is there anything you can even do right?” he asks, and I don't say anything in reply because I know that it's a rhetorical question and it doesn't need an answer.“If you couldn't pick out all the dirty clothes from the laundry basket in my quarters, then how are you expected to wash them clean? Which day will you learn how to do anything properly?”“I will go and bring them all out right now,” I say hurriedly. At this point, I'm desperate to avoid any sort of punishment.“You better do,” he says, fuming before he goes out of the laundry room.I quickly rinse the soap suds from my hand and dash out of the laundry room which is on the grounds outside the pack house, going into the pack house itself to get the clothes.At least, I haven't been punished even once since the day began, and I'm grateful for that.***When I'm done with washing all the clothes and I have spread them out to dry, I step out of the laundry room. As usual, I only managed to complete the task just before the deadline. It's still something, though.I face the horizon, looking towards the sun which is just about to start setting, and just as I look towards the direction of the path that leads to the pack house, I see the taskmaster standing right in front of me, and I hold a hand to my heart in shock.HAZELI run a brush over a particularly hard patch of the floor. It seems like there is something sticky on the floor and I know that I surely have to get it off since I don't want to incur the wrath of the taskmaster. So I scrub harder and before long, the sticky stuff is gone. Then I retrieve my mop and continue cleaning the floor, using the bright lights of the second floor as guidance. Earlier, when I finished washing those clothes, and I met the taskmaster just outside the laundry room, he didn't have much to say to me. It seemed as though the shock I had experienced when I first caught sight of him had been for nothing and thankfully, he hadn't made a mention of any punishment.He just asked me to go inside and clean all the living rooms on the second floor, and I nodded, and replied to him with the usual, “Okay, taskmaster,” before I rushed into the pack house to do as he asked.Now, I'm cleaning the second living room on the second floor and as I survey my work, I'm quite sat
HAZEL“What’s wrong with you, girl? Why can’t you just do anything properly?” the head taskmaster yells harshly at me.The ferocity in his tone is enough to make me cower in fear. He has always been harsh to me right from the beginning, but this time is different. He looks so angry that I don’t even know what to do or say about it.“How dare you think of washing my clothes with that of one the other taskmasters?” he growls.So that’s the problem? It doesn’t sound like something to be worried about so why is he making a big deal out of something so little? It just seems like he is making a mountain out of a molehill. But as usual, I don’t say any of what I’m thinking out loud. I always keep my thoughts to myself and it has served me well so far. No one needs to know what I’m thinking as it might get me into trouble. As if I’m not already in enough trouble every single day of my life, I think.“And the worst part of this whole situation is that you didn’t wash my clothes with just anyo
HAZEL As I wake up the next day, the first thing I do is jump out of my bed as I head to the little bathroom that I alone use. When I’m there, I wash my face and brush my teeth. I don’t bother to take my bath since I know that doing it won’t serve any purpose because soon enough, I will be doing all sorts of chores that will make me get dirty or sweaty easily. So I quickly dry my face with a worn but neat towel before I step out of the bathroom, and then I go back to my cubicle of a room to change my clothes. When I’m done with that, I step out of my room, moving towards the second floor as I have some work to do there. Yesterday, when I was done with my work in the kitchen, I had done a few other chores before I was finally discharged by the taskmaster, but not before he gave me a list of the chores I would do this morning. The first thing I do just before I climb the stairs leading to the second floor is get some supplies from the storage room which is at the bottom of the stair
HAZEL But I don’t know the answer to that because he doesn’t say anything just then. Instead, he walks around the kitchen, his eyes roaming over the whole place. He does this for a full minute but he still doesn’t say a word. His eyes are expressionless so there is no way for me to know what he is thinking.My heart is beating fast in apprehension as the taskmaster walks forward until he is standing just in front of me. What does he want with me?Then opens his mouth to speak. “I have just come from the second floor before I headed over here,” he starts, and as he says that, the apprehension I’m feeling increases because I know exactly what he went to the second floor to do, and his next words prove that my thoughts are right. “I inspected the bathrooms I assigned to you to wash.”My heart is beating so fast that I almost think the taskmaster can hear it as I wait for his next words. Even though the universe does not favor me most times, I really hope he will say something favorable
HAZELThe biggest hall in the pack house has already been decorated and transformed by the best decorators in our pack. I'm really happy with the way it turned out because the decorators arrived late, and I had already felt that it wouldn't be possible again.The biggest task has been accomplished and the rest of the things that are supposed to make the welcome ceremony a success are just little and can be done quickly.Since I'm done with my work, I decide to move around the pack house to make sure everything is in order, even though it's really not my job to do that. I don’t know why I decide to do it, but I just want to because I feel that I have to know if everything is in order in preparation for the King’s arrival. The next hour goes by really fast. It’s really faster than we all expect, and the fear that we have all been trying to hide starts creeping in; the fear of everything being a failure and of not impressing the King at all. I surely don’t want something like that to
HAZELImmediately, I lower my gaze and bow my head. My hands are shaking and I'm so scared to look up to see if he noticed anything. Then our taskmasters start ushering everyone in. I look at my fellow maids and nervously bite my lower lip to stop it from shaking, but it doesn't work. We wait for the guests that came with the King to all come into the hall before we disassemble our line and fix ourselves around different parts of the hall instead, as we await the needs of the guests. Presently, I'm looking around the whole hall except for the King’s face, even though I can feel his gaze on me. My whole body is shaking, and I can’t help but wonder how everything is going to end.If I can, I want to leave and not come back at all just because of how scared I am. My wolf continues to whine and chant the word, ‘mate’ but I'm trying so hard to be normal, so I just ignore her."Welcome to our pack, Alpha King. We are so happy with your presence," our Alpha and the taskmasters chant in uni
HAZELThe King starts to move back, and he pulls me along with him. I try to pull away, but he is too strong. As I trail behind him, I can hear people having side talks and they seem so surprised at the way everything turned out. Well, they aren’t the only ones feeling that way. I'm surprised too. I never thought I would get noticed by the King, not to talk of getting embraced by him. I can only wonder where he is pulling me to… and why.The King continues to pull me along, albeit gently, with him until we get to his bedroom. I have never entered the bedroom before, so when he opens the door and wants to pull me inside, I flinch and refuse to go in. "I want you to come in. We have to talk, Hazel," he says and pulls me in, closing the door behind us immediately. He finally releases my wrist and I wince quietly at the sore spot on it as I slowly rub the pain away. He sits on his bed and squints his eyes at me. I can tell that he is thinking about something, but I don't know what it i
ETHANI stand near the bed in the suite where I will be residing for the duration of my stay in this pack. The suite has been tastefully furnished to suit me but I think about none of that as there are other pressing matters on my mind. I’m stunned. Really stunned, in fact. I didn’t think Hazel would have the audacity to reject me, a whole King of the East, seeing as she is just a maid in this pack. I know for sure that she felt the mate bond, so why would she reject being my mistress like this? I was sure that she would say yes and yet, she said the exact opposite of that. I’m really dumbfounded and this is not something that happens to me frequently as I always know what to say at any given time. But the thing is that I’m a bit relieved because she didn’t reject me outright. She only rejected the idea of being my mistress. At least, there is still something to stand on. And this means I can try again. She was probably in a bad mood when I asked her the first time so I have to tre