Evelyn
"This will be your room from henceforth," one of the maids led me into a particular room that wasn't too big nor too small.
A two-seated bed was by the center, and a wardrobe by the side alongside a table and a small stool.
"By the way, my name is Sally, and I will be working directly with you," she let out a soft chuckle, the kind I had never heard for a long time, and I somewhat cherished it.
After I was shown my room and the different departments of this new palace, Sally made sure to help me know the rules and restricted areas, laying emphasis on the south wing of the palace, Alpha Ricardo's quarter.
"Never go to that wing, even if instructed," she emphasized as a note of warning, cautiously.
I returned with her to the kitchen where I would be resuming duties, and soon it was pretty dark. Sally left me to tidy the messed-up dishes, which was when a guard walked in on me.
"Come with me."
My heart never stopped pounding after what happened back there at the moon pack. Alpha Rufus had returned with a few guards who carried me along, and I had thought they were taking me to the dungeon. But to my greater dread, they tugged me into a car with two men dressed in black livery adorned with silver badges.
My heart raced again when I realized I was now in a different pack, which I figured was Alpha Ricardo's. So when the guards announced that I should come with them, my heart skipped a beat. I hadn't set eyes on the said Alpha since the hall.
I followed the guard with trembling feet into a large room that looked like the living room, with beautiful luxurious decor and large couches in every corner. Seated at the head couch was Alpha Ricardo, a glass half-filled with red wine in his grasp.
He stirred the wine as the guard bowed and left, while my knees fumbled slightly. A gasp left my lips.
Silence. It stretched like an eternity with him stirring his wine and taking a sip, looking at nothing in particular that I could pick out.
"I believe you've been informed of your place in this palace," his voice was cold and stern.
"Y...e...a."
"Good. There will only be a wedding after you survive the three-month duration."
Wedding? What wedding?
He stood up as if reading my thoughts and strode towards me, leaving a small, decent space between us. But enough to snap off the leftover oxygen in my lungs.
Now standing next to me, he looked like an ancient god, a walking evil, a dying boom, one of those you watch only in horror movies.
His muscles stretched out of his white polo, and tattoos scattered around his neck, disappearing into his shirt.
I flinched, swallowing hard beneath my trembling body.
"I see you weren't properly informed, but I will do just that. You were sold to me in a treaty of three months' trial, and in these three months, if you survive, you will be my breeder for a year." He tugged his arms into his pockets, taking a step backward.
"In these three months, you have only two rules." He looked across, "Never say no or yes to me, and never cross the south wing of this palace for any reason in the world." He sounded both menacing and ruthless while listing his said rules.
The hours that followed were both torturous and tormenting, leaving my face pale with lines of dried tears.
My reality, a life as a breeder to the most ruthless and meanest man I had ever seen all my life?
I sniffed, head on the pillow, as sleep refused to steal away the cruel reality of my existence.
By the time I opened my eyes, it was already morning. I hurried out of bed and freshened up, leaving the room abruptly.
I remembered Sally telling me Alpha Ricardo had a penchant for punctuality, and I wouldn't want to sign my death note yet.
I hurried with the tray of steamy coffee to the dining room, my heart drumming in my chest. By the time I was done setting it down, I turned to leave.
"Three seconds late."
His voice snapped me off my feet, and I almost hit my arms on the dining table.
"Sally didn't do a proper job?"
"No, she…"
God.
"Yes... Goddess..." The rage in his eyes burned deeper than I could comprehend.
"Didn't I tell you never to say those two or three letter words?" His arms raised, and my breath hitched. Just when I felt them getting to me, he tugged them back into his pockets, turned, and left.
"Make sure to have a proper meal, because you sure can't stand my wrath in such a bony frame."
The air left my lungs as I stared at the cup of steamy coffee on the table and then back at my arms on my chest.
I returned to the kitchen, breathing in short gasps as the maids in the kitchen all turned with bursts of laughter, doing a poor job of covering their lips to make it less obvious.
I slumped by the kitchen pavilion, my head lowered, when I felt Sally's arms on my shoulders.
"Now, I would advise you to be strong. This is just a tip of the iceberg."
"What do you mean?" I narrowed my gaze, and she gasped.
"Normally, none of his personal maids or breeders ever lived up to a week, not to think of three months."
My fear was visible as goosebumps appeared on my skin.
"But why is that? Does it mean they die of heart attack or from severe treatment?" I queried, and she shook her head.
"Not that. Alpha Ricardo usually killed them brutally with his bare hands."
The air left my lungs as I tilted my head to the side where the maids were pretending to be busy with their activities.
"Is he that ruthless of a beast?"
"Watch it, please. I never had this conversation with you." Sally abruptly withdrew her arms from my shoulders, briefly moving over to the door as though inspecting it properly before releasing a breath.
"If you must stay up to a week, please never say those words, because he could be anywhere," she snapped angrily, moving past me to check the steaming pot.
After what felt like two minutes, she spoke.
"To correct that notion, Alpha Ricardo is not a beast. He only suffers from an incurable illness, and it's believed that his anger and ruthless nature emanate from that, shaping him into the dreaded Alpha he is today, without a Luna nor an heir."
She cleaned the area around her mouth. "We never had this discussion. Am I clear?" I nodded, tapping my chest gently to ease off the dread and panic that had already eaten deep.
But as I turned to leave, a faint thud echoed from the corridor, followed by a soft, strangled cry.
Everyone in the kitchen froze, including me. The laughter suddenly died instantly.
Sally's hand tightened around the edge of the counter, her eyes wide with horror.
"Not again…" she whispered under her breath.
Before I could ask, the door burst open, and two guards stepped in, their faces grave.
Their eyes landed on me.
"Alpha Ricardo requests your presence. Now."