Chapter 5

Annaliese’s POV~

Six days. That’s how long it had been since I last saw Alpha Cassian. I didn't know if I was supposed to feel relieved that he wasn't hovering over me, shouting, or looking at me with that disgusting mix of possession and hate.

Probably I should have felt relieved. But mostly, I just felt empty and numb. He was busy anyway, everyone said so.

The pack was getting ready for the big banquet, the one where all the important Alphas from the allied packs would come. The whole place was in a frenzy, which meant the servants were worked to the bone.

I stared down at my hands. They didn't look like hands anymore. The skin on my knuckles and palms was raw, split open, and blistered from scrubbing the same floorboards in the banquet hall for twelve hours straight.

The water wasn't just water; it was freezing cold, straight from the well, and it stung every time it touched an open sore. My fingers were pruned and swollen.

I was tired. My legs were shaking so bad I didn't know how I was still standing upright. My back felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to my spine. I wanted to stop.

God, I just wanted to close my eyes and let the floor swallow me whole. But I couldn't stop. If I stopped moving, if I slowed down even for a second, the guards would notice.

They’d drag me to the side and whip me with the scorpion whip until I was unconscious. It was better to faint right here on the spot, on my knees with a scrubbing brush in my hand, than to give them a reason to touch me.

Today was the day of the banquet. The air in the pack house felt charged with excitement that I wasn't part of. It had been three days since I last ate a real meal.

Three days. My stomach had stopped growling hours ago; now it just cramped in on itself, a tight, painful knot that made me want to vomit.

I’d been surviving on sips of dirty water from the bucket I was using to mop and the occasional scrap of bread I found in the trash behind the kitchen when no one was looking.

The smell coming from the kitchens was the worst part. It was torture. They were roasting whole pigs and deer, the fat dripping onto the fire, smelling like heaven.

My mouth watered so much it made me feel sick. Every time the wind blew from that direction, my stomach twisted violently, screaming at me for food.

My dress was a disaster. It was a hand-me-down from an omega who died last winter, too big for me, the hem dragging in the dirty water. It was torn in several places, the grey fabric stained with grease and blood from my own skin. It was soaked through, heavy and cold against my legs.

I looked up for a second, just to rest my eyes, and watched the other servants. They were polishing the chairs, moving in pairs. None of them came near me. They stayed at least ten feet away, like I was diseased. I heard them whispering. I always heard them.

"Look at her," one of them hissed. "She's still here. Why doesn't the Alpha just exile her? Or kill her?"

"She's a wolfless curse," another one spat, not even bothering to lower his voice. "She's dragging the pack down. Did you see the state of the floors? She’s Pathetic. Can’t even scrub properly.”

I turned my eyes back to the water in the bucket. Their words didn't hurt anymore. Or maybe they did, but I was so mentally exhausted that the pain just slid off me like oil on water.

I was numb to it. This was my life now. This was what the Moon Goddess wanted for me, apparently. She hadn't struck me dead yet, so I guessed I had to keep breathing, keep scrubbing, and keep bleeding until she finally decided to take mercy on me. So I dipped my raw hands back into the freezing water and kept scrubbing.

"Where's that filthy wolfless creature? Where’s Annaliese?!"

A loud voice cut through the hall. I didn't need to look up to know it was Mara, the head maid. My body reacted before my brain did.

A cold chill ran down my spine, settling deep in my bones, and my hands automatically stopped scrubbing. The banquet doors had banged open. I turned my head slowly, my neck was stiff, and saw her standing there.

Her eyes scanned the room, passing over the other servants like they were invisible, until they landed on me.

The moment she saw me, her face twisted into pure venom. She walked toward me, her boots clicking hard against the wooden floor.

"Come here, you filth, right now," she snapped.

I immediately dropped the scrubbing brush. It clattered into the bucket of dirty water. I tried to stand up, but my legs were like jelly.

They wobbled underneath me, and for a second, I thought I was going to face-plant onto the wet floor. I caught myself at the last second, gripping my knee, but that tiny stumble made Mara sneer. She looked at me like I was a bug she wanted to squash.

I kept my head down. I stared at the dirty hem of her skirt because I was too scared to look at her face. I knew if I looked her in the eye, she’d hit me harder.

She walked around me in a circle, scrutinizing me. I could feel her finger pointing at my chest, almost touching me, and I flinched.

"And what are you doing here?" she spat. "When you should have been serving in the kitchen? What on earth are you wearing for today’s banquet, you curse? That dress looks like it belongs to a corpse."

I opened my mouth to explain, to tell her I had just finished the floors and was about to change, but I couldn't find my voice. It was stuck in my throat.

Before I could even make a sound, her hand came out of nowhere. It connected with the side of my face with a sickening crack.

I saw stars. White, bright lights exploded behind my eyes. The taste of blood flooded my mouth instantly. My ears started ringing, and that drowned out everything else in the room.

I gasped and stumbled backward. I hit the ground hard, my knees scraping against the rough wood. My vision blurred, not just from the hit, but from the hot tears that instantly filled my eyes. The pain radiated from my cheekbone down to my jaw.

"Listen to me, you disgusting filth," she yelled, leaning down over me. "You better be in your best behavior today! And go have that dress changed! Alpha Ronan is coming over, he’s our most important Ally. If you embarrass us, Alpha Cassian will make you wish you were never born! Go be in the kitchen now!"

I nodded frantically, unable to speak past the lump in my throat and the blood in my mouth. Tears were streaming down my face.

I forced myself up, my legs still shaking, and bolted toward the kitchen doors. I didn't look at the other servants, but I heard heard the low laughter following me as I ran.

I kept my head down, sobbing, wiping at my mouth and feeling the wetness of blood on my fingers, just trying to get away before someone else decided to hit me.

——————-

Two hours later, I managed to find a uniform that didn't look like it had been dragged through a swamp. It was still old, and it was at least two sizes too big for me, hanging off my shoulders like a sack. But it was clean, or clean enough.

I slipped into the kitchen through the back entrance, keeping my head down. The cooks were shouting, banging pots, and dishing out food onto gold platters.

The head maid was there, barking orders at everyone. I stayed near the wall, trying to make myself invisible.

When it was finally my turn to get a tray, my hands started shaking. I couldn't stop them. The cook looked at me, sneered, and slammed a heavy golden tureen onto my tray.

Soup sloshed over the side, splashing onto my wrist. It was hot, but I didn't flinch. He didn't care if I spilled it; he just waved me away like I was a fly.

I gripped the handles of the tray so hard my knuckles turned white. My stomach cramped so badly I thought I might vomit right there on the floor, but I swallowed the bile down.

I walked out into the main hall. The noise changed. It turned into a low hum of conversation. The room was massive, lit by crystal chandeliers that cast bright light over everything.

Everyone was dressed in expensive attires. It screamed luxury. I looked at the polished floor and the gold-trimmed plates, and I knew I would never touch this kind of life. Not in this life. Not until I died.

I kept my head down, staring at the shiny boots of the guests as I passed. I had to be careful. If I bumped into a single person, even by accident, I was dead. I moved slowly, my legs feeling heavy.

Then I stopped. I was an idiot. A complete, stupid idiot for stopping.

A figure stepped into my path. I didn't need to look up to know who it was. The air felt heavier, charged with that familiar, oppressive energy.

My legs just gave up. They wouldn't move. It was like the mate bond in my chest, that stupid, traitorous pull, was holding me there, rooting me to the spot. I looked at his boots first. Then I forced my eyes up, against my better judgment.

Moon goddess. Why did he have to be so beautiful? It made it hurt worse. Alpha Cassian was wearing a black shirt that fit him perfectly, his dark hair slightly ruffled like he had just run his hands through it. His face was cold.

I stood there, frozen, waiting for him to look at me.

He did. His dark eyes swept across the room and landed right on me. For a second, the whole world stopped. But then, just as quickly, he looked away. He treated me like I was air.

He turned his head and walked over to a Beta woman and kissed her on the cheek right in front of me.

My chest squeezed tight. I forced myself to look away, blinking back the sting in my eyes, and kept walking.

I made it to the other side of the hall. This was where I was supposed to deliver the soup. The table was occupied by the guest Alpha. I noticed him immediately because he was smiling. It was a sunny kind of smile, the complete opposite of Cassian. He looked relaxed.

I didn't want to stare, so I lowered my gaze to the floor. It was rude to look an Alpha in the eye, especially a guest.

I took one step forward.

Then, two familiar figures moved in my peripheral vision. Before I could react, someone stuck their foot out. At the same time, a hand shoved my shoulder from behind.

I stumbled. My grip slipped. The gold tureen tilted.

Time slowed down. I watched in horror as the hot, brown liquid flew through the air and splashed directly onto the chest and lap of the Alpha sitting at the table… Alpha Ronan.

All the blood drained from my face. God, I was dead. I braced myself for the roar, the backhand, the order to execute me.

But it didn't come.

Ronan slowly looked down at the mess on his clothes. Then, he lifted his head. He wasn't angry. He was staring at me with an intensity that made my skin crawl. His eyes dropped to my neck, where my pendant had slipped out from the oversized collar of my uniform during the struggle.

He reached out, not to hit me, but to gently brush the silver metal with his fingertip.

"Interesting," he murmured with a hidden meaning. "You possess something very rare, little one. Are you okay?”

Before I could pull away, a shadow fell over us. The temperature in the room dropped instantly. Ethan was there. He looked at the soup on Ronan, then at Ronan’s hand touching my pendant, and finally at my terrified face.

A low, terrifying growl rumbled from Cassian’s chest. He grabbed my arm, snatching me away from Ronan. “And who asked you. To. Fucking. Touch. What’s mine?”

The entire grand hall immediately fell silent