Chapter 4

Berrilyl's POV 

The raw pain in his eyes told me that it was a memory he'd rather keep buried. But if he was going to punish me, I deserved to know, right?

“Cage, I don't what happened to you or why you have those paintings of me –if it is me, that is, but you're going to have to open up at some point. Otherwise, all this is pointless,” I told him.

“Fine!” The iciness in his tone startled me. “You came into my pack, pretending to be a wolfless human with no memories. We found you lying at the pack borders and I took you in…”

“I hate to interrupt you but now, I am more than certain that wasn't me. First, I am not wolfless and I've certainly been in any form of distress my brother cannot take care of. I have lived in the palace all my life,” I cut him short. 

“You ask questions, and then argue with the answers,” he hissed, irritated.

“Because you seem to have all the wrong answers! Whatever happened to you, I had no hand in it. If this is your revenge, then it is a waste!” I retorted.

“Get out!” He growled and I flinched. 

“I… I'm just telling you the truth…”

“I said leave!” He snapped, and I didn't waste any more time leaving the room. 

As I exited the palace, I couldn't help but wonder if I was going back to my cell. My stomach was suffering and I needed to eat as soon as possible.

“Berrilyl!” I heard my name suddenly and traced it to Liah. I walked over to her. 

“Where have you been?” She asked. “Don't tell me you were still working in the mines till this hour. It is dangerous being there alone as a female.” 

The incident with Cain flashed in my mind. I didn't doubt that. Some men were just animals.

“Come, I prepared a bed for you beside me,” she chirped. “Warning, it's not big or comfy like your royal bed.”

“Not surprising,” I chuckled. “Please tell me you were able to preserve some dinner for me as well.” 

“I did,” she nodded. “It was porridge, by the way and absolutely horrible.” 

“I'll live,” I sighed. I just needed to eat. As we walked towards the slave quarters, I decided to ask her about Cage.

“I have a question,” I started. “Your Alpha… did he have any woman in his life that looked just like me?”

“That is a weird question,” the surprise in her features was evident. “hmm…. I'm not sure the Alpha has had any woman in his life, talk less of one that looks like you.”

“Are you serious?” I asked.

“Yes. Alpha Cage despises women. He doesn't even let any get close to him or his chambers. I don't know if you noticed but he has only guards around him. His meals are prepared by male chefs, and even his chambers are cleaned by male workers. A maid rarely comes close to him. You have to be the first female we've seen interacting with him,” she said. 

I was short of words. I couldn't believe I was actually hearing this. 

Maybe what happened to him had something to do with it. I cursed my impulsive self for cutting him short while he was talking. 

We arrived at the slave quarters, and I lost my breath immediately. Not only was it compacted with about fifty people in one room, it stank. 

“How are you able to survive here?” I asked her. “Even my cell is better than this. At least we had space to walk around.” 

We literally had to step over people to make it our bed. 

“This place smells. Don't you people wash off after work?” I asked her. 

“Only a few. The majority are too exhausted to do anything so they just wash in the morning or carry on like that,” she shrugged. It was almost shocking how easily the words fell off her lips. 

These people were dirty, and the least they could do was clean up to have a good night's sleep. 

By the time I got to our supposed bed, I was even more shocked. It was a tattered mattress that certainly had bugs in it. 

“You sleep here?” I asked.

“What do you think? You passed about thirty of them, were you expecting a bigger bed in the middle?” She teased. 

I didn't find it funny. At this point, it was better to sleep on the floor. At least then, I wouldn't have to deal with bed bugs. 

“You should see your face now,” Liah chuckled. “you look petrified.” 

“I am.” 

“Sit, let me get you dinner. I had to hide so no one would steal it,” she said. 

“I thought you said it was horrible,” I said incredulously.

“It is,” she shrugged. “But we have a lot of hungry people and the portions are small.”

“Oh, that makes sense,” I muttered.

I took in the room while she left, struggling to breathe properly. I was going to fall seriously sick at this rate. 

These people clearly knew nothing about hygiene.

Liah returned soon enough with a small plate. 

“Here.”

“Thank you,” I smiled. 

My smile faded as soon as I opened the plate. It was small, certainly, but it didn't exactly smell good.

“Is it stale?” I asked her.

She shrugged, “Taste it.” 

I didn't want to, but my stomach grumbled in protest, so I picked the spoon. I held my breath and shoved it into my mouth without thinking about it. 

I threw up in the plate almost immediately. 

“It is stale and tastes like vomit!” I complained.

“Welcome to our world, princess.”