Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Aneira

The corridors were nearly silent by the time I finished the western guest rooms.

My arms burned with exhaustion, every movement heavier than the last after hours spent hauling laundry, scrubbing fireplaces, changing linens, and polishing floors until my reflection stared back at me from the stone.

The estate felt completely different at night. Earlier, the halls had been crowded and overwhelming, filled with servants rushing between duties and voices echoing through every corridor. Now everything had gone still beneath the dim lanternlight.

Rain tapped steadily against the tall windows overlooking the mountains beyond Ashfang while shadows stretched long across the walls. Most of the servants had already disappeared downstairs for the night.

Lucky them.

Marla had assigned me one final task before bed; I was to clean the western corridor outside the council hall after the meeting ended and the elders cleared out. Apparently no one was allowed near the area while the council gathered.

Which meant, unfortunately for me, I was still awake.

I knelt beside the stone floor with a bucket of water resting near my knees, scrubbing carefully at the dark tiles beneath the lantern glow. My sleeves were damp from dirty water while loose curls kept slipping free from my bun no matter how many times I pushed them back. The faint scent of soap clung stubbornly to my hands.

I scrubbed harder.

If I worked well enough, maybe eventually they’d stop looking at me like I didn’t belong here.

Unlikely.

Still…

The estate was warm. The meals were regular. And for the first time in years, I didn’t have to wonder whether someone would come pounding against my door demanding rent I couldn’t pay.

That alone made the aching muscles worth it.

I dipped the cloth back into the bucket before reaching farther across the floor.

Heavy footsteps echoed somewhere down the corridor.

My body tensed immediately.

Those were not servant footsteps. They were too controlled. Too deliberate.

The council meeting ended hours ago. Everyone should have left by now.

Dread curled slowly in my stomach as the sound moved closer against the stone floors.

Then the air changed.

I felt it before I looked up.

Power rolled through the corridor so heavily it seemed to press against my skin itself.

Gods.

My stomach dropped instantly.

The Alpha.

Panic flickered through me as I scrambled to move aside too quickly, the wet cloth slipping from my fingers. My elbow struck the bucket hard enough to tip it sideways.

Water spilled across the floor immediately.

Straight toward his boots.

Horror slammed into me so fast my breath caught painfully in my throat.

No.

No no no.

“I’m sorry,” I blurted instantly, dropping lower onto my knees as I grabbed for the cloth again. “I’m so sorry, Alpha, I didn’t mean to—”

The words died in my throat.

Because he still hadn’t moved.

Slowly, I looked up.

Alpha Kale stood only a few feet away, dark coat draped broad across his shoulders while shadows from the lanternlight carved sharp lines across his face. The scar near his jaw caught briefly beneath the golden glow before disappearing back into darkness.

Up close, he looked even more dangerous somehow. Like violence sitting perfectly still.

His silver eyes rested on me silently.

Not on the spilled water.

Me.

The weight of that gaze sent heat creeping painfully up my neck.

“I’ll clean it,” I said quickly, reaching for the cloth again. “It won’t happen again.”

Still nothing.

Why wasn’t he saying anything?

My pulse hammered painfully in my ears as I wiped uselessly at the water spreading across the floor.

The silence stretched too long.

Fear crawled slowly beneath my skin.

Then finally, his deep voice reverberated down the halls.

“What is your name?”

The question startled me enough that I looked up again.

“A-Aneira.”

His expression didn’t change.

But something strange flickered behind his eyes for half a second.

Like recognition.

Impossible.

“You’re the new servant.”

That wasn’t a question.

I swallowed hard. “Yes, Alpha.”

Again, silence settled between us.

Gods, wolves like him were terrifying.

Not because they shouted.

Because they didn’t have to.

I lowered my gaze quickly, scrubbing harder at the floor just to give my hands something to do.

“You’re shaking.”

Humiliation burned instantly through me.

“I spilled water on the floor in front of the Alpha,” I muttered before I could stop myself. “I think fear is a reasonable response.”

The moment the words left my mouth, my entire body froze.

Gods.

What was wrong with me? I had basically spoken back to him.

My stomach dropped straight to the floor.

Slowly, I lifted my head again.

But the Alpha only stared at me.

Then something dangerously close to amusement flickered briefly across his face.

It vanished so quickly I almost thought I imagined it.

“You talk too much,” he said calmly.

I blinked.

Then, before my brain could reconnect with my survival instincts:

“You ask a lot of questions for someone who doesn’t like talking.”

Silence.

Complete, horrifying silence.

I stopped breathing entirely.

What. Was. I. Doing?

My face burned so hot I thought I might actually die right there on the floor.

The Alpha stared at me for one long second.

Then another.

Then, unexpectedly, a quiet sound left him.

Not quite a laugh.

Closer to disbelief.

Confusion must have shown on my face because his expression hardened almost immediately afterward, as though the reaction irritated him.

Without another word, he stepped around the spilled water and continued down the corridor.

Just like that.

I remained frozen on the floor long after he disappeared around the corner.

My heart still hammered violently against my ribs.

What in Nythera’s name had just happened?

It took several minutes before I could force myself back into motion.

Even then, my hands felt unsteady as I wrung out the cloth and finished cleaning the corridor. Every few seconds my thoughts dragged helplessly back toward the interaction.

The way he looked at me.

The strange pause after I told him my name.

And Nythera help me, the almost-smile.

No one had ever described Alpha Kale as someone capable of amusement.

Terrifying? Yes.

Cruel? Sometimes.

Merciless? Frequently.

But not amused.

By the time I finally finished scrubbing the last stretch of floor, the estate had gone almost completely quiet. Only a few lanterns still burned along the walls as I carried the bucket downstairs with aching arms.

My entire body felt exhausted.

I just wanted sleep.

The walk back to my room passed in silence. Most servants had already disappeared behind closed doors while the distant storm continued rumbling softly beyond the estate walls.

When I pushed open my bedroom door, I stopped short.

Folded neatly across the bed sat several pieces of clothing.

I blinked in surprise before stepping farther inside.

Two dark dresses.

A thicker wool sweater.

Fresh aprons.

Even a heavier winter cloak folded carefully near the pillow.

For a long moment, I simply stared.

Then slowly, my fingers brushed across the thick fabric of the cloak.

New.

Not torn.

Not patched.

Not secondhand.

My throat tightened unexpectedly.

No one had bought me clothes since I was a child.

A small note rested beside the folded garments in sharp handwriting.

“Dress properly. —Marla.”

Something uncomfortable twisted quietly in my chest.

I sat carefully on the edge of the bed, staring at the clothes for another long moment before exhaling softly.

Maybe Marla wasn’t terrifying all the time.

Only most of it.

The small bathing tub beside the corner hearth had already been filled with warm water sometime while I worked downstairs. Steam curled faintly from the surface.

I stared at it in disbelief.

Warm water.

Just for bathing.

Gods.

Back in the shack, heating enough water for a proper bath took nearly an hour, and even then I usually gave up halfway through to save firewood.

Here, someone had simply… prepared it.

For me.

The realization felt strangely overwhelming.

I undressed slowly before sinking carefully into the tub.

Heat wrapped around me instantly.

A quiet moan nearly escaped my throat at the feeling alone as tension slowly loosened from muscles I hadn’t realized hurt this badly.

Nythera.

I could live in this tub forever.

Steam curled around the small room while rain continued tapping softly against the tiny window above the bed. For the first time all day, silence settled around me without judgment attached to it.

But unfortunately, my thoughts refused to stay quiet.

They kept drifting back toward silver eyes and a voice calm enough to make my stomach tighten.

You talk too much.

Heat crept back into my face immediately.

Gods.

Why had I replied to him? Why had he looked at me like that afterward?

I sank lower into the water until only my eyes remained above the surface.

Maybe if I drowned myself now, I’d never have to see him again.

Unfortunately, knowing my luck, Marla would probably drag me back out just so I could finish tomorrow’s chores first.