VALERIE By the time I’d arrived back downstairs, the foyer had filled with the wafting scents of fresh-cooked meats and baked bread. I wasn’t sure why I had been invited to dinner when it was probably more fitting for a servant to be in the kitchen actually cooking the meal, but I couldn’t deny that the smells wreathing me were irresistible. Flavor was not something we experienced often back at the slave shop. The aunts complied to the Alpha’s orders to feed us meat and milk every week, but seasoning and sweets were something we only caught a whiff of when the windows were left open on a windy afternoon. I rounded the foyer and stood at the threshold of the dining room, watching servants buzz around the table. They dropped off platters full of food, and laid out silverware in a distinct order. The sight made me nervous. Which spoons was I meant to use? Which knives and forks? One of the servants pulled back a chair when he spotted me and gestured for me to sit beside the Alpha, ac
VALERIE The Alpha had a point. Why would those vampires have risked their privileged lives to go up against the council? The council was full of hardened, unforgiving men. They would have been deprived of their luxurious lifestyles and been put on trial immediately, if not imprisoned entirely for their crimes. It was so like the high class to think they were above the treaty. It was so like vampires to believe they were above everyone. There had to be more motive behind their crimes. Vampires we not the most powerful creatures, but they were certainly smart. Smarter than the average human, and much smarter than the average wolf. Lucas frowned. Even his frown looked pretty. “Perhaps they’re after something…more attractive?” “Yes, much more attractive,” said the Alpha. “Attractive even to you and me.” I did not miss the rough, disgruntled edges to his voice as he said, “It’s related to the prophecy.” Lucas’s frown eased into a look of interest. All hint of playfulness had vanished
ValerieSo that was it.That was why the Alpha had wanted me.It was not that he saw past my imperfections, but rather, my flaws were useful to him. He wanted to…use me.I should not have been surprised. All my life, I was made fun of for my mark. Even long before I had been taken in as a slave, children pointed and laughed when they saw it. I recalled the way the neighbor kids used to point and said, “Look! She has a stain on her neck!” And for a long while, I thought it was just that—a stain.For months, I tried to scrub it off in the bath, even making it bleed at one point. Eventually, I came to understand that it was not a stain at all. It was a part of me and I would never be rid of it.I had never expected that for the past several years, it would be the one thing keeping me from living a life of slavery and abuse. I had also never expected that it would be the one feature on me that caught the Alpha’s eyes. That he would be the one to take me from the shop and feed me delicious
ValerieMy heart beat like a drum in my chest the entire walk back to the Alpha’s room. Every step he took echoed against my ears like a firecracker. I was beginning to sweat at the thought of what awaited me in that room.Once the doors were closed…what would happen?And to think, just a moment ago I was upset he didn’t want me. Stupid girl…By the time we reached his room, I was beginning to tremble at the knees. The guards stepped forward to open the heavy doors for us, and I tried to keep my legs from buckling beneath me as I followed the Alpha in. I hoped they would leave the doors open, but the heavy things were sealed shut behind us, the sound of their heavy wood booming through the halls.I could not go much further on weak knees, so I hung by the doors, watching as he approached his large desk. A white box rested atop a pile of neat documents. I couldn’t recall it being there before. Surely one of the servants had been ordered to bring it up.Why couldn’t I have switched plac
XavierFor the most part, the slave girl had been entirely emotionless. From the moment I spotted her in the shop, she wore only one look on her face—a calm, submissive expression, which sometimes shifted with fear. But otherwise, remained still and unmoving.Now, for the first time, something else shown on her face.It wasn’t quite a smile, but a semblance of something close. A flutter of excitement, or perhaps surprise.Hope. That was the look she wore. A look of hope. How refreshing.“I-I’m sorry. What did you say?” she asked.She was skittish. A stray, seeking help, but too timid to approach all the way. I wanted to reach for her, but I couldn’t allow myself to scare her off.She stammered. “I—You said I…”“You’ll be free,” I assured her.The unsure expression on her face pulled a chuckle out of me. This one was different. She was smart and in control of her emotions. But somewhere beneath her calm was a raging storm. She had a temper; I could smell it. And I could smell the grief
ValerieFor breakfast, we sat at the long dining table. Once again. Lucas sat on one side while I sat beside the Alpha on the other. The only difference now was that Lucas’s pet hadn’t shown up.I wondered where she was. Had she left last night?Her presence, from what I had noticed, had entirely vanished.For dinner the night before, the Alpha and I had sat at a completely different table to eat. It was a much smaller room, with much more comfortable chairs. I wondered why we didn’t eat there again. Was it Lucas’s presence that brought us to this table?I liked the other room much better.I could hear my own thoughts there.Breakfast, however, was just as marvelous as always. Smells wafted from the table and roused a hunger in me I didn’t know I had. Not just savory meats and side dishes this time, but desserts as well—fresh baked bread and cookies and cakes.I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had cake.And then, goodness, the fruits! Fresh fruit littered about, sliced elegantly i
ValerieI was escorted back to the Alpha’s room once he’d left. The servant who accompanied me was aloof and cold. He sat not a word as he led me to the room, and not a word as he left me there at the door.I was beginning to feel like none of the servants really liked me. I could understand why, what with all the special treatment I’d been given, but it wasn’t as if I’d asked for any of it. It wasn’t my fault that I’d been selected by the Alpha for whatever this insane undercover mission was. If anything, I had hoped to make friends with some of these people. Why did it feel as if I was so below them?I did my best to greet them when they came to clean the room or to bring me water or tea from the kitchen. I waved when I passed them in the halls, and I made sure to thank them every time I needed their assistance with something. But still, they loathed me. Probably due to all of the privileges I’d been granted. I was allowed to use any facility I wanted in the castle. I was treated m
ValerieHer pack?No way. Samantha was a wolf?She wasn’t like any werewolf I had ever met before. She wasn’t tall and muscular, she wasn’t physically imposing or dangerous-looking. She was…tiny.Samantha laughed at the expression on my face. I must have been making an obvious one.“If you’re wondering, no. I’m not human. I’m a werewolf, just like our Alpha.”“But you don’t…” I didn’t know how to say this without coming across the wrong way. I swallowed. “You don’t look like…”“I look like a human, right?” she asked. “I’m an Omega. We’re much…smaller. I’m sure it’s easy to mistake me for a human, so don’t worry about it.”An Omega. I stifled a gasp. It hadn’t been polite to ask, but I couldn’t help it. I knew the wolf society had a very strict pecking order when it came to their hierarchy. I knew Omegas were at the bottom of that hierarchy, but I had no idea they looked so…human.“I’m guessing you want to know why I’m here,” Samantha said. She wore a warm smile that made me feel a lit