Evelyn
I followed them, even though all the blood had drained from my veins, and they led me to the living room where Alpha Ricardo stood, his arms resting over the two-sided window.
He didn't turn, but the atmosphere was worse than the hottest furnace.
"Why did you keep me waiting?" he blurted, his eyes still fixed outside the window.
My lips quivered as Sally's words kept ringing in my ears, too loud to resist.
"If you must survive here, never keep me waiting again," he snapped, turning sharply. His sea-blue eyes met mine, and I swiftly lowered my head.
Silence stretched on. So suffocating, so unbearable, that I imagined his eyes still painfully fixed on me.
"You may leave," he breathed after several agonizing seconds.
My God. I forgot the path that had led back to the kitchen. My limbs did me no favor, I could crash down at any moment.
What kind of Alpha was he? He summoned me, made my heart skip thousands of beats, yet he didn't even say why he called me.
I was lost in thought when strong arms suddenly wrapped around mine, pulling me into a dark passageway and dragging me along despite my struggle to break free. My breath mingled with the thick air of unease as I tried to see who it was.
After several hurried steps, the arms tugged me to the entrance of the kitchen, and that was when I saw her, Sally.
"Didn't I tell you to stay off the south wing?" she barked, then pressed her lips together, glancing around nervously.
"Do you want to be killed?"
"South wing? I didn't…"
"You just went in that direction! I only pray I was quick enough to pull you out, because if Alpha Ricardo ever finds out you were there…" She huffed and shook her head.
Without another word, she left, leaving me to the cruel reality of damnation.
****
Hours later
"Here's how to make a broccoli stew," Sally said, pointing to a menu on the table while I watched her dutifully.
She poured two cups of water into a bowl and allowed it to boil.
"Get those broccoli," she instructed, and I turned to retrieve the tray of chopped veggies when I felt his looming presence by the kitchen entrance. The tray slipped from my hands with a splash, its shreds scattering all over the floor, making a mess.
"My God, you…" Sally halted mid-speech when she turned to see Alpha Ricardo standing by the door.
I could hear her heartbeat mirroring the panic in mine and feel the hot sweat already beading across my forehead.
Alpha Ricardo said nothing. His eyes lingered on the scattered shreds, then on the steaming pot, and finally back at me.
"Leave," he said. I fumbled on my feet, but he raised his arm.
"Not you."
I froze, swallowing hard as I watched Sally disappear through the door, even though he never looked in her direction.
My blood already boiled at eighty degrees in the large kitchen, with only his breath mingling with the air.
I didn't know if it was fear of trashing the tray or the quick echoes of what Sally had previously told me about his breeders, or the fact I unknowingly went to the south wing. I swear I would have peed my pants if I were a child when he took a step closer.
I stepped backward without realizing it. My back pressed against the kitchen pavilion. I felt his hand resting on my cheek, teasing the flesh there, his breath fanning my face.
The air suddenly felt choked up.
"Why are you so frightened?" he asked, his voice both cold, cruel, and indescribable.
"I…" My voice, or whatever I wanted to say, wavered on my lips.
"Do I scare you that much?"
"No…"
My breath lurched. His face darkened, his blue eyes now taking a shade of red. His jaw tensed. The muscles around his neck plummeted, leaving my chest heaving in their wake.
Then, he let go and turned to the side of the kitchen.
I swear, my ghost left me and returned as I tapped my chest slightly. I was sure I was going to die even before he laid his hands on me.
But what happened next shocked me. He retrieved the apron from the hanger, slipped it on, and turned to the steaming pot, then to the menu still lying on the pavilion.
"You look so bony. I believe you haven't eaten for a long time?"
"Ye… n…," I stammered, holding my lips with my fidgeting hands as he narrowed his gaze in my direction for what felt like an eternity. Then he pointed to the kitchen pavilion.
"Sit."
"M… me?"
I had barely said the word when he strode forward, lifted me like I weighed nothing, and placed me on the kitchen pavilion. His broad shoulders and tattoos stretched beneath his silky polo.
"Let me make you lunch," he said, turning to the pile of unchopped carrots and veggies on the shelf.
I watched with parted lips as he poured a few vegetables into a bowl of water and dumped them straight into the steaming pot, without chopping them.
A gasp escaped my lips, but he turned, and I bowed my head quickly.
The minutes that followed were both suffocating and nerve-racking. Finally, he dished the water-like poison into a bowl and set it before me.
"You need to eat," he said, his tone easing slightly. My gaze flicked to him briefly, then back to the steaming poison.
My stomach gagged as the rusty aroma hit my nostrils. I clutched my abdomen, forcing myself not to throw up.
"Don't have all day," he snapped.
My hands trembled as I scooped a spoonful of the concoction, forcing myself not to gag when it lingered in my throat, tasting like something dragged through trash.
My stomach churned in protest, but I forced it down, telling myself I would…
"I hope it tastes great?"
I found my head nodding under his watchful gaze, and trust me, he watched like a shepherd, or worse, like a predator, making sure I finished every last drop of that concoction and chewed the veggies like a cow.
"Good. Now I'm sure you have something down there," he said, striding toward the hanger to drop the apron.
I couldn't keep up the pretense any longer. I climbed down from the pavilion, rushing toward the sink to empty my guts before I made a mess.
"Ahh!" A loud cry tore from my lips as something pierced my toes from the broken tray I forgot was still littered on the floor.
Then, I felt his warm hands on my legs, carefully lifting them. His eyes were cold as he scooped me into his arms and carried me out of the kitchen.
The next thing I realized, I was in my room with a doctor who rushed in carrying his first aid box.
"It's not too deep and will heal on its own," he said after examining the bruise.
The doctor soon left, leaving the air thick with Alpha Ricardo's unreadable expression.
"Next time, be more careful."
With that, he left the room, and I exhaled sharply. I didn't know how long I stayed on the bed with that heavy weight on my chest before I finally drifted off to sleep.
By the time I woke up, it was already dark. I jumped out of bed and hurried back to the kitchen.
There, I found Sally and two other maids busily preparing something. Without a word, I rushed to pour out the warm water when Sally's hand grabbed mine.
"That won't be necessary."
"Why?" I asked.
"Because Alpha Ricardo already instructed Kate to take over for you for the rest of the day."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning, you need to rest and resume tomorrow. But…" She twitched her eyes and dropped the large soup spoon in her grip.
"Why did you leave the kitchen in that mess, littering veggies all over, even in the sink, after cooking?" she queried.
My brows knitted. " I didn't…"
Sally exchanged a look with the other maids, her face suddenly pale.
"No, you did. The floor was covered in water, veggies and broken shreds… and there was blood on the knife. You didn't have to injure yourself."
"Blood?" My heart skipped. "But I didn't…"
Before I could finish, a loud thud echoed from the hallway. The kitchen lights went off and then on.
Sally gasped, clutching my arm.
Then, from the entrance, a voice emerged. Enough to freeze everything.
"You shouldn't have come back."
Alpha Ricardo's silhouette stood by the door, his eyes faintly glowing gold.
And then, the door locked with a click.