Chapter 2 His Personal Maid

Then suddenly, another thought...another voice. I guess it is his wolf.

(No. It's not her. She's not our mate). I can't sense it.

Oh, Moon Goddess. I had no idea what was going on but relief filled me at the words. Yes! Now let me go, I thought.

But instead, Alpha Evan lifted my face, warm fingers under my chin. Oh, Moon Goddess. He was huge. He dwarfed me like I was nothing more than a child.

But more than his size, it was the incandescent joy that flooded his mind that blew me away. Pure happiness. My breath caught in my throat, and for a second, I wondered if the secret childhood dream I'd long ago grown out of was about to become true.

Was this a man who would see me in the dark, take me away from this miserable life and from all those who hated and abused me?

Was this man going to tell me he had been waiting to meet someone like me all his life and save me from a lifetime of hurt and despair?

He lowered his head and put his lips to my ear.

"You," he said, "are going to my personal maid from now on."

Maid? I was already a maid in every definition of the word for Dark Moon. If Alpha Evan wanted a maid -- or slave, more likely -- then I wasn't changing stations considerably.

But why me? Why had he wasted time ordering his soldiers to comb the ranks of Dark Moon to look for a maid, slave, whatever it was he really wanted? And why had he specifically chosen me when he could have someone far more sophisticated? Or more importantly, someone who wasn't a mixed-breed disgrace?

All eyes were on me. They probably thought Alpha Evan was seconds away from beheading me. Although my presence was at least suffered at the Dark Moon pack house as a quasi-slave to my half-sisters, there were traditional packs who would rather see me dead. Was Scarlet Pack one of them, they were probably wondering.

The man I should call father was close enough at the base of the platform that I could hear his thoughts. ( Looks like this half-breed can be useful after all), he mused.

Oh. How nice of him to have a minimum of faith in my value.

Unlike him, however, the soldier that had called for me a moment ago was speaking loudly and insistently with Alpha Evan through mind-link, the distinctive ringing of it different from simple thoughts.

(Is this the person who saved your life?) he asked. There was no sign of skepticism in his voice, only burning urgency. (Evan!)

But Alpha Evan remained silent as he stared at me instead of replying to his subordinate.

(Why isn't she answering me?) he wondered to himself.

But how could I? How could this be happening? I wasn't in range of most of Dark Moon or Scarlet, but anyone looking on who had overheard what the Alpha had said to me was also frozen in dumb shock.

Alpha Evan was wrong. He was looking for someone who had saved him nine years ago, whatever that meant, but it wasn't me.

And yet... the words he had said to me were no invitation or request. They were an order.

If I argued, if I disobeyed, what would happen to me? The rumors of Alpha Evan's ruthlessness were no exaggeration. There was a reason packs simply surrendered without a fight when he announced he was about to take one over. Like Dark Moon.

"... Yes, Alpha," I whispered. "I understand." That was what he wanted to hear, wasn't it?

But he remained silent even then, only nodding at me to leave. No, a stray thought:

(She has a nice voice.)

A single compliment, but not kind or admiring -- assessing. I took no comfort in it as I turned and left the platform, making sure to keep my expression neutral. How was I not shaking as I went down the steps and moved back into the gathered Dark Moon crowd?

Elly and Maria's thoughts struck me first, coated thick with vicious envy. What the hell is that, Elly seethed. (Why does Alpha Evan want to take her? She's trash!)

And then came the other thoughts as I passed between the other Dark Moon pack members.

("What did she do?)

(Why did he call her up there?)

(She's practically a slave. Why wouldn't he just kill her? Half-breeds...)

(I must not have heard right. Did he say he wanted her to be his maid?")

I didn't have answers to those questions either no matter how I wanted them. All I could do for now was obey.

***

I remained in my bedroom with my single duffel bag half-full of clothing and belongings. That was all I possessed; it had been no difficulty to fit them all. If anything, the most uncomfortable thing was being allowed to remain idle in here for this long at all. Around this time, I would normally be cleaning my half-sisters' bathrooms.

... I was leaving. I was really leaving. I'd dreamed of breaking free of Dark Moon for so long, but never in my wildest dreams would I have thought it would happen like this. Not that I would miss it either way.

The pack house had never felt like home, and Alpha Kris, Elly, and Maria had always made it clear they were my masters, not family. I didn't even have any friends to say goodbye to. When I was small, I used to sneak off to play with the children of the human slaves, but Elly had put a stop to that long ago. Even back then when we were only children, she took delight in my misery.

Forbidding me from ever leaving the pack house except for school, locking me in my cramped bedroom whenever important guests came by, even turning the human slaves against me over the years simply became my everyday.

But I was leaving it all at last.

I prayed I would never have to come back.