Chapter 4 The Hour Had Come

Nanny Kate strolled around the palace garden, admiring the beautiful flowers she had planted over the years-daffodils, lilies, daisies, sunflowers. There were so many beautiful flowers, their colours shining under the cool morning sun, yet the urge to burn it all down still raged within her as if it were yesterday. Within these gardens, she had raised and trained the Alpha's daughter for the future that lay ahead. Her mission in the palace was almost complete, but she had one thing left to destroy before returning to where she came from: the Alpha's love for his mate.

She had tried to separate them for the past twenty-two years, using all types of schemes to destroy their relationship, but their bond was annoyingly strong, they couldn't even stay mad at each other for a full day. The only time they had stayed angry at each other for long was when Idris announced his plan to give the Alpha title to Ava's mate, and even then, Kate had tried to give Idris a drug that would make his sexual urges uncontrollable and push him to sleep with another female wolf, whom she had sent to his room as a servant under false pretences. But how foolish she had been. Instead of taking the bait, he simply went to Sera and begged her to stay the night with him. Kate hissed audibly as the memory faded in her mind.

She took her gardening tools and walked out, feeling proud of all she had accomplished over the years. Her Master would be so proud when she finally returned. She had succeeded in gaining the trust of the Luna and Alpha by proving herself trustworthy, hardworking, and diligent. Everything in the palace was under her control, and no one ever doubted her orders because they knew they came directly from the Alpha's chambers. She had laid low all these years because her master had told her to, and he was right. Now, she possessed power, and her time had come to destroy those who had caused her pain.

Her heart ached as she recalled her kind ma and pa. She had been only ten years old when the little prince Idris caught her father delivering a package from the forbidden realm into the palace. After the late Alpha saw the contents of the package, which no one knows about to this day, he ordered the execution of her father, and everyone connected to his bloodline. At that time, her mother had worked in the palace as a maid, so the news had reached her quickly through a good friend who overheard the Alpha. Silent tears rolled down Kate's cheeks as she remembered how her mother had placed her in a box, leaving the pack under the guise of a milk delivery to another pack. Her good mama had given her all their life savings, thrusting it into her hands and telling her to take care of herself and to ensure their bloodline lived on. Kate remembered begging her mother to come with her, but her mama had refused, saying she couldn't leave her mate behind. Her mother had kept a brave face, kissing her goodbye. As the cart was about to move, Kate had almost screamed, but she held it in, knowing her mother's efforts to save her would be in vain. Turning back one last time, she saw her mother being dragged away, wailing and screaming, held down by wolfsbane and that the last she ever saw of her mama.

After arriving at the new pack, which became her place of torment for the next several years, she left the cart with everything her mother had given her. She didn't even care for her own safety as she wandered through different alleys, silently crying and praying that, by some miracle, her parents' lives would be spared. That's when she realized two men were following her, cornering her against a wall. At that age, she hadn't yet shifted, so she couldn't escape. Luckily, they only took all she had and left without harming her. That night, she slept in a dumpster, crying alone in silence, fearing someone would find and harm her.

While in that dumpster, she pondered how a little boy could be so cruel as to report a man, knowing his entire family would be executed. That was when her hatred for Alpha Idris of the Viridian Moon Pack, her own pack, began. She endured many harsh places as she struggled to fend for herself, some things too painful to recall. She would never forget losing her innocence at fifteen to an old man just because she hadn't eaten for days, and he offered her a piece of bread. Not thinking clearly, she accepted it, though she normally would have tested it first by giving a stray cat and waiting for an hour to see if anything had happened to it before taking it herself. But in her state, she couldn't think straight. The next thing she knew, she woke up in a dumpster, without clothes. That night, she had wept like never before and that's when her master appeared to her for the first time.

He was tall, with short, silky brown hair neatly styled, and his midnight-dark eyes exuded a sense of depth and intelligence. He was the most handsome man she had ever seen, and if he hadn't met her in such horrible conditions, she would have chosen him as a mate and rejected whoever she was fated to, in a heartbeat. He had a pull to him she couldn't quite fathom. His pale skin contrasted sharply with his dark eyes. He gave her clothes, shelter, and food, and told her of his hatred for the Viridian Moon Pack. He offered her a deal she couldn't refuse, revenge. From then on, he trained her and took care of all her needs. He became her rock, and her sole purpose was to please him.

Kate breathed deeply, as if it could somehow ease the pain she felt. The memories of her life after her parents' execution still haunted her from time to time, but not today. She wouldn't let herself get distracted from the goal ahead.