Chapter 007

Vivica’s POV

I woke up to the sound of Crisy’s asking me to open the door, saying someone was waiting outside.

My eyes opened, slowly absorbing the faint light that filtered through the sheer curtains.

I got out of bed and went to the door. The moment II opened it, a woman pushed her way through, followed by a maid.

“You must be Vivica. The Alpha’s…mate?” The woman stated, a clear trail of disgust glinting on her face.

“Yes. I’m Vivica. How may I help you?”

She scoffed and muttered under her breath, “Help me? As if.”

“Well, Vivica, I’m Felicia. Alpha Adrian hired me to transform you. He doesn’t like what he is seeing so…” she trailed off, scanning me as if I’d been  freshly picked out of a trash can. 

“Adrian said that?” My voice came out low and devastated.

“Well, not literally, but isn’t that what he means if he has to hire a professional like me?” Felicia turned toward the maid, who nodded in agreement.

“Anyway. I don’t have much time to waste here. Ms. Arella swept out her entire wardrobe and asked me to buy her new stuff. In a nutshell, I can’t be with you all day.”

“Okay.”

“Melissa, show me the closet.”

“Sure, Felicia.”

Melissa led the fashion expert to the closet, and I followed them. I might be new here and without any rights to monitor what they did, but my experience as a maid at Red-Bone had taught me a lot. I had been blackmailed so many times when someone snuck in and slipped a noble’s belongings in my stuff. 

Felicia’s nose stayed in the air as she rummaged through the things in the dressing room.

“Everything here looks old and familiar,” she complained, her fingers fiddling with a mesh dress.

“They aren’t old. I think they are very beautiful. I haven’t seen such fancy dresses in a while,” the words left my mouth before I could think. 

“Well, I’m not surprised—considering you were a maid at your previous pack” Felicia spat out. She quickly covered her mouth. “Oh, did  I say that outloud?”

I looked down. I  couldn’t even hide the shame that engulfed me when she said that.

“Aren’t these Arella’s? Why are they here?” she questioned, Whipping her head around to look at me. 

I hastily put my hands up. “I didn’t take them.”

“They are her old ones,” Melissa chimed in. 

“Really?” Felicia chuckled. “Aren’t they usually given to the orphans?”

“Yes. It’s just that the Alpha brought her unannounced, and we didn’t know what to do regarding her clothes.”

“Well, I guess it doesn’t matter, since she said they are the  most beautiful dress she has seen in a while.”

I had had enough of their snide remarks, so I blurted, “Are you guys done? I need to have a bath.”

“No, we aren’t. Go have a bath, we’ll be here doing our thing.”

“Actually. I—“

“Go on,” Felicia dismissed me.

I hesitated, unsure of what to do now that my plan to send them away hadn’t  worked.

A knock at the door called for my attention again. I went to answer it, praying it would  be Adrian.When I opened the door, I came face- to-face with a strict looking woman in a knee-length lavender gown and black bouncy curls.

“May I come in, Ms. Hale?” She asked in a cold, yet respectful tone.

My eyes drifted from her to the stack of clothes and shoes on the rolling racks .

“Oh these. They are from  Alpha Adrian.”

“Alpha Adrian sent you with these?” My eyes narrowed into slits.

“Is there a problem?”

“Not at all. I’m just confused about the Fashion expert in the dressing room if he asked you to bring these.”

“Fashion expert? What fashion expert?”

——

“Elena, you don’t have to blow this out of proportion. It was just a harmless prank suggested by Arella.” Felicia, the ‘fashion expert’ who had walked in trash-talking me, groveled at Elena’s feet. 

Apparently, she wasn’t a fashion expert at  all, nor had she been sent by Adrian. Arella had sent her to make fun of me while invading my privacy.

“If you should be apologizing to anyone, it’s her, not me,” Elena  spat, her brown eyes were void of emotion.

“Apologize to her? Isn’t  she just  a maid from the Red-Bone? Why should I apologize to her when my family is far more reputable than hers?”

“I heard her parents are deceased. She doesn’t have any family 

or  background” Melissa blurted out.  Felicia’s head snapped toward her, then back to me.

“If that’s the case then the clothes truly suit you.”

“Really?” Elena sounded just as shocked as I was. “I guess I should table this 

with  the Alpha.”

“Nooo! Please don’t” Felicia begged, clutching one of Elena’s arms.Then she turned to me, her face contorted in what was clearly disappointment at the  fact she had to apologize to me.

“It’s fine. You don’t have to apologize.”

“Quiet,  Ms. Hale!” Elena shut me up, startling everyone in the room. “I can see it hasn’t clicked in your head that you’ll be Luna in a matter of weeks. Is this how you intend to bring disrespect to the throne—by being a pushover?”

“I wasn’t being a  pushover. I was only…” My words failed me.

 ‘Kind?’ My wolf teased. “You know you are just being plain stupid. You are repeating the same pattern that left you shattered and broken.”

“Cat got your tongue?” Elena mocked. She turned to me with a stern look. “If you are going to rule next to my Alpha, then you must learn to act the part. We don’t want some weakling posing as a kind person,ruining everything he took years to build.”

I nodded, and with a new found confidence I tried to stand up for myself. 

“Felicia and Melissa, you two owe me an apology for barging into my space,ruining my morning, and being disrespectful to me and my late parents.” I formed the words in my head, but my mouth trembled when it parted to say them.

“I—I’ve forgiven them.” I blurted  instead. 

Elena let out a frustrated groan.