Chapter 0003

“Look at her,” Zirelle said, her tone dripping with boredom. “You always find a way to make everything about yourself, don’t you, Calithea? The absolute audacity to stand tall while everyone else bows to our new Alpha.”

I didn’t say a word. My tongue felt like lead, my eyes locked on the regal form of Alpha Valen. This was a living nightmare—a cruel twist of fate I prayed to wake up from.

Zirelle looped her arm around his, leaning into his broad chest with a triumphant smirk. “This is your stepbrother’s mate. The unmarked loser I told you about.”

I risked a fleeting glimpse at him, my heart pounding so wildly I feared it would burst through my ribs.

But Valen's eyes held nothing but icy, unblinking tension. The warmth I had witnessed in that dim tavern room was gone, replaced by a ruthless, commanding gaze that could crush me into the dirt.

“I never knew Ryden had gotten himself a mate,” Valen said after a heavy silence, his deep baritone cutting through the courtyard. “I hope my arrival will mend our broken family ties.”

“Still in yesterday's clothes,” Zirelle noted suddenly, her sharp eyes narrowing as she scanned my rumpled dress. “Where exactly did you spend the night, Calithea?”

Panic seeped deep into my bones, freezing the breath in my throat. “I… I—”

“Prying into meaningless lives will only cause you distress, my love,” Valen interrupted smoothly. He reached out, his large, scarred hand gently tucking a stray lock of hair behind Zirelle’s ear. “You shouldn't waste your breath on her.”

He didn't look at me once as he spoke, but his words felt like invisible, brutal blows to my chest.

“You're right, my Alpha,” Zirelle purred, her cheeks flushing bright red at his touch. She turned her gaze back to me, her lips curving into a wicked smile. “Well, lucky for you, Calithea, starting today, you’ll serve as our personal maid.”

My breath caught. His maid?

“You’ll tend to our every need. After all, you’re my older sister-in-law,” she continued, her voice dripping with pure malice. “Right, Valen?”

“If that is what you wish,” Valen said indifferently, his dark eyes finally flicking down to meet mine for a microscopic second. “She must learn her place. Rules exist for a reason.”

The exact same phrase that had comforted me while bound to his bed hours ago now felt like a definitive death sentence. Witnessing his cold, public indifference was a reality too brutal to swallow.

A male wolf stepped forward—Valen’s Beta. He whispered urgently into the Alpha's ear, and Valen nodded curtly.

“I have pack matters to attend to,” Valen muttered to Zirelle. Without sparing me another glance, he turned and walked away, his heavy Alpha robes billowing behind him.

Zirelle and Evie spent the next ten minutes barking out a long list of strict rules, but my ears buzzed. I barely processed a single word. My fingers instinctively pressed against the hidden pocket of my dress, feeling the hard outline of Valen's stolen silver ring.

“You all are dismissed,” Zirelle finally commanded, jolting me out of my trance.

The crowd scattered immediately.

“She is an absolute bitch!” Mira hissed beside me the second the courtyard cleared. “Making you work in the packhouse kitchens was hard enough, but being their personal maid? That is going to be a living hell.”

“I will manage,” I muttered, clinging to a false sense of bravado.

“You still haven’t told me where you actually were last night,” Mira pushed.

“I… I need to go freshen up before Evie tears me apart,” I stammered, backing away from her and practically sprinting away from the packhouse.

The second I crossed the threshold of the cold, empty house I shared with Ryden, the front door slammed shut behind me and my knees completely buckled.

I closed my eyes, pressing my back against the locked wood, tears of pure anxiety threatening to spill.

What have I done?! I had slept with Alpha Valen, my mate's estranged brother. There was no scandal on earth worse than this.

“What are you doing on the floor?”

At the sudden sound of Ryden's voice, my eyes flew open. A suffocating wave of guilt washed over me, and I scrambled frantically to my feet. Ryden stared at me from the kitchen, his expression tight, his posture stiff. “Where were you last night?”

The moment the question left his mouth, a sudden, fierce wave of fury surged inside me, instantly burning away my guilt. Why did everyone suddenly care where I was after years of treating me like I was completely invisible?

“Why do you suddenly care? Don’t play the worried, caring husband now,” I snapped, my voice shaking with years of built-up resentment.

“And why didn’t you tell me you have a stepbrother? A brother who happens to be the supreme Alpha! How could you keep me in the dark about something so important?” I screamed, letting all my frustration explode.

“Because he isn’t my brother, and we don’t share any relationship!” Ryden roared back. He took a long, aggressive drink from the bottle of alcohol in his hands.

I stared at him in confusion. "But everyone is saying—"

The sudden, violent sound of his bottle slamming on the counter cut me off.

“I don’t care what anyone says!” Ryden yelled, running his hands frantically through his hair. “His late mother ruined my life and my mother’s life! We lost everything because of her taboo! That Alpha position should be mine, but every day I have to stay under harsh conditions watching the borders while he rules!”

He lunged closer to me, his eyes bloodshot with rage. It was the first time in three years I had ever seen him completely lose control. We lived like passing strangers, but seeing him unhinged like this was terrifying.

Suddenly, his hands gripped my shoulders, “How can an Alpha’s firstborn son be reduced to absolutely nothing?” His fingers dug painfully into my skin.

“Do you now get what I mean?” He rasped, his voice breaking before he abruptly let me go.

He turned his back to me, violently grabbing his sentinel uniform from the chair.

For a split second, my heart reached out to his pain. But as I took a tentative step toward him, the memory of what had driven me into a stranger's arm flashed in my mind, and I stood rooted to the ground, watching silently as he left.

His outburst revealed a deep-rooted agony, I’ve never seen but I wasn't naive.

Ryden had left out the reason why he lost his position, and that was something I needed to uncover.

Left alone in the quiet house, I hurried into our small bathroom, tearing the rumpled clothes off my body. As I smelt Valen’s intoxicating scent still lingered on my body.

Turning the water on scalding hot, I scrubbed my skin raw, desperate to wash away every single trace of his touch, and memory.

But it was a vain attempt. My mind kept replaying every breathless, sinful second with him. The only way I was going to survive the catastrophic consequences of what I had done was to avoid him at all costs.

As soon as I dressed in my plain maid uniform, I headed straight back to the packhouse.

“Your very first duty is to make sure Alpha Valen’s master bedroom is crisp and clean.” Evie ordered, as soon I reported to her.

My desperate attempt to stay away from him was already failing on day one.

Stepping into the dark, spacious master bedroom, his familiar, powerful woody scent hit me like a physical wave.

Everything in the grand room belonged to the man who had seen me in ways no one else ever had.

I moved through his private space like a lost child, tidying his belongings, until my eyes landed on the heavy leather jacket I had pried off his broad shoulders last night.

I held the dark leather delicately, my chest tightening. Before I could stop myself, I buried my face in the collar, inhaling his intoxicating scent deeply.

A sharp, electric sensation shot through my entire body, causing me to involuntarily squeeze my thighs together, lost in the memory.

“Aren’t you done yet?”. A voice jolted me, and I spun around, clutching the jacket to my chest, as I faced Betty.

“What exactly were you doing?”. Her round accusing eyes were fixed on me.

“I…i was just…”. I stuttered hopelessly, praying the heat on my face wasn’t visible to her, “I was arranging his clothes. Evie told me to”.

“I’m in charge of the laundry”. She muttered, yanking the jacket off my hands, as she went to grab the laundry basket.

“I’m done here, excuse me”. I bolted from the room first, my heart racing, before she suspected anything.

By evening, I was exhausted to the bone, but my torture wasn't over. At the last minute, Zirelle decided to host a tea party for her circle of venomous friends.

“Isn't it incredibly generous of you to keep her as your personal maid?” Alice, Zirelle’s most devoted shadow, said as she sipped her tea. “I mean, having her around you… I'd worry her bad luck might spread.”

Zirelle sighed dramatically. “Oh Alice, this is the best I can do for her. What kind of sister-in-law would I be if I abandoned her?” Her voice dripped with false virtue while the others laughed softly.

“If her own father doesn’t want anything to do with her, she shouldn’t expect anything less from the rest of us.” Alice scoffed.

I looked away, knowing she was right. My own father had never treated me like his daughter.

“But isn’t it a bit risky?” Nelly suddenly asked, having been quiet until now.

“What do you mean?” Alice asked, curiosity glistening in her eyes.

Nelly’s gaze slid slowly toward me. “Well… she’s not ugly. Men notice faces like hers, and Alpha Valen is still a man, after all,” she added with a sly smile.

The fragile peace in the room shattered instantly. Zirelle surged to her feet so violently her teacup clattered against the glass table, spilling tea everywhere.

“How dare you?!” she shrieked. In a flash of lethal speed, she grabbed Nelly by the throat. “Are you implying Valen would ever look at a wretched creature like her?!”

“I… I only repeated what I heard in the corridors!” Nelly choked out, her face turning pale.

Zirelle released her instantly, her eyes flashing with dangerous territorial rage. “What exactly did you hear?”

“Some of the kitchen maids were talking,” Nelly gasped, clutching her bruised neck. “They said there was a strange woman's scent on the Alpha’s leather jacket. A sweet, distinct scent… that didn’t belong to you.”

A blinding wave of panic flooded my throat, making it impossible to breathe.

Zirelle screamed in fury, scattering everything left on the table. “Bring whoever started that malicious gossip to me. Right now!” She ordered the guards.

My mind immediately went to Betty. She was the only one who had handled the jacket, and she had caught me with it.

My hands began trembling so violently I had to press them against my thighs to hide it. Please, Goddess, let it not be her…

After what felt like a torturous eternity, the door burst open. The guards dragged a struggling figure into the room, throwing her at Zirelle’s feet.

I held my breath as the girl pushed her hair out of her face. Her wide, horrified eyes scanned the room, bypassing the guards and bypassing Zirelle, until they landed directly on me, standing frozen in the corner.

It was Betty. And from the look in her eyes… she knew.