The First Day

Elsa’s pov

The halls of the pack house were still cloaked in shadow, lanterns flickering dimly as I followed Lila toward the Luna’s chambers. My body ached from yesterday’s meeting, from the endless cleaning and the gnawing hunger, but I forced myself upright.

There was no room for weakness now. Not when Crystal was waiting.

When we entered, Crystal was already awake. She sat before her gilded mirror, brushing her hair with deliberate, graceful strokes. Her reflection met mine in the glass, and her lips curved into a smile that made my stomach knot.

“Well,” she said lightly, setting the brush aside. “My little maids. How prompt.”

Her eyes flicked over Ruth and Dahlia with mild interest, then lingered on Lila with a smirk. Finally, she turned to me—lingering, savoring.

“You will start by preparing my bath. Elsa, of course, will fetch the water herself.”

The others glanced at me nervously, but none spoke. I swallowed hard, grabbed the pails, and made the long walk to the kitchens.

By the time I returned, my arms burned, my dress clung damp to my back. Crystal’s chamber was thick with the scent of roses and lavender. She lounged lazily, enjoying my exhaustion.

“Pour it slowly,” she instructed, as though speaking to a child. “I wouldn’t want the water to be lukewarm.”

I bit down on my tongue and obeyed.

Hours bled into each other.

She made Ruth polish the silver jewelry boxes. Dahlia dusted shelves. Lila arranged gowns carefully in the wardrobe.

Me? I scrubbed the marble floors on my knees until they gleamed. I washed her undergarments by hand, while she hummed in delight, watching. I fetched trays, folded blankets, picked up pins she dropped deliberately to see if I would bend and retrieve them.

Each time I thought the humiliation had reached its peak, she found some new way to twist the knife.

“You missed a spot,” she would sing-song, pointing to a floor I’d already polished twice.

“Slower, Elsa. Do you want me to trip and ruin my skin?”

“Careful with the lace, it’s more valuable than you.”

Her laughter rang in the air, light and poisonous.

Lila tried to help when she thought Crystal wasn’t watching, slipping me a cloth or taking some of the heavier trays. But Crystal always noticed.

“Don’t bother,” she told her sweetly, her eyes gleaming with malice. “Elsa likes to work. Don’t you?”

I clenched my fists, but my answer was steady. “Yes, Luna.”

The words tasted like ash, but I would not give her the satisfaction of seeing me falter.

By midday, my knees were raw from kneeling. My stomach churned with emptiness, but when the food tray arrived, Crystal’s smirk returned.

“Three maids, three plates,” she mused aloud. “But four maids present. How curious.”

Lila stiffened beside me. Ruth and Dahlia froze, their forks halfway to their mouths.

Crystal tapped her chin theatrically, then pointed at me. “Elsa won’t be eating today. She’s stronger than the rest of you, after all.”

The others looked horrified, but none dared object. Lila’s eyes filled with tears, though she quickly hid them by lowering her head.

I forced myself to bow slightly. “As you wish, Luna.”

Her smile widened. “Good girl.”

When evening fell, I thought at last I’d be dismissed. But Crystal had other plans.

The great hall was buzzing with warriors preparing decorations for her convocation. Flowers were delivered, banners unfurled. Caleb himself stood at the far end, speaking with Rowan, his presence towering over everyone.

And it was there that Crystal struck again.

“Elsa,” she called sweetly, her voice carrying across the room. Heads turned. Conversations hushed.

“Carry this.” She pointed to a massive chest of silverware far too heavy for one person.

My arms ached at the sight. Yet I obeyed, bending and lifting until fire lanced through my muscles. The chest wobbled dangerously, but I held on, my teeth gritted.

Lila rushed forward instinctively to help, but Crystal snapped, “Not you. Let’s see if our former Alpha’s mate is still strong enough for menial labor.”

The words cut through me, louder than the whispers that followed. The crowd of pack members stared openly now, drinking in the humiliation.

“Look at her.”

“How far she’s fallen.”

“Once the Alpha’s chosen… now a servant.”

The chest pressed down on me, heavy as all their stares combined. I staggered, nearly dropping it. My knees buckled.

And then Caleb’s gaze met mine across the hall.

Cold. Detached. Unmoving.

Not a flicker of pity. Not even recognition.

Only the silent command: Endure.

Somehow, I made it across the hall. Somehow, I set the chest down without collapsing. My arms trembled, my vision blurred, but I refused to fall.

Crystal clapped her hands together lightly. “Wonderful,” she said, her smile dazzling as the whispers thickened. “Truly, Elsa, you do have your uses.”

The humiliation burned hotter than the ache in my body. I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks, the wild fury of my wolf pacing restlessly inside.

Fight, she urged. Show them you’re not broken.

But I shook my head ever so slightly. Not yet. Not here.

If I lashed out, Crystal would win. Caleb would let her. The pack would cheer for my downfall.

So instead, I straightened. I raised my chin. And I glared at Crystal with all the fire left in me.

Her smile faltered—just for a heartbeat.

But it was enough.

Later, when we were dismissed, Lila hurried to my side, clutching my hands. “Elsa, I’m so sorry. If I could have…”

I cut her off gently. “Don’t. This isn’t your fight.”

Tears welled in her eyes. “She’s going to keep doing this. Every day. She won’t stop until…”

“I know,” I said softly. My voice shook, but the determination in me was steel. “Let her try.”