Chapter 006: Into His Quarters

~Seren~

Pain shoots through my leg the moment I push myself off the floor, and for one humiliating second, I regret every stubborn decision that leads me into this room in the first place, because falling in front of the Alpha and his Beta is clearly not the kind of memory I want attached to my existence.

I grit my teeth and straighten. The overly long maid uniform hangs around like an enemy sworn to destroy whatever dignity I have left.

I swear, if I survive long enough in this pack, I’ll burn every piece of fabric Gwen forces me to wear.

I take one step and the sharp sting in my ankle immediately betrays me, my limp is obvious.

“Careful,” Beta says, moving slightly forward like he intends to help me.

I instantly glared at him, “Forget it.”

His brows raise in amusement. “I was only trying to–“

“I know, and I’m trying to leave,” I cut in sharply. That earns a quiet sound from him that suspiciously resembles a suppressed laughter.

I ignore him completely.

Instead, I turned towards Draven. Shit! That was my biggest mistake…because the moment his eyes met mine, that strange pull tightened inside my chest so suddenly that I nearly lost my balance for a second time.

My wolf shifts restlessly beneath the seal wrapped around her, reacting in ways I do not understand,and I hate that my body betrays me every time he looks at me.

No…Absolutely not!

I straighten my shoulder despite the throbbing pain in my leg and force my voice into something firm and cold.

“We are not mates,” I say clearly. “Or whatever it is that you keep calling me!” Neither man interrupts and that only irritates me.

“I am a maid,” I continue refusing to look away from Draven now. “And you are the Alpha, which means whatever confusion that happened earlier needs to end immediately because I will not entertain that kind of intimacy next time.”

Draven remains still.

I narrow my eyes slightly, “and just in case you mistake me for a harlot because of this ridiculous mate nonsense, let me make myself very clear, Alpha. I am here to clean your room and not to throw myself at you!”

Marcel coughs suddenly into his fist, clearly trying not to laugh. Draven slowly raises his brow.

I do not wait to hear whatever response that forms in his mind, I turn immediately and limp out of the room before my pride suffers further damage. The moment the door closes behind me, I exhale.

By the time I reach the maids’ quarters, my legs feel like it is being stabbed repeatedly anytime I step down properly and irritation burns through me stronger than the pain itself.

I slam the door shut before sitting heavily on the edge of the small bed assigned to me. Then I lift the ridiculous uniform, a bruise blooms across the side of my leg, darkening already under my skin.

“Oh, wonderful!” I mutter bitterly. I poke it once and instantly regret touching it.

“Stupid room. Stupid dress. Stupid Alpha and Beta. Both of them are insane…really insane!”

A quiet laugh interrupts me and I stiffen and glance sideways. A girl sits on a bed beside mine now, watching me with curious eyes.

“Why are you complaining?” She asks.

I lower the uniform immediately. “That’s none of your concern,”

Instead of looking offended, she smiles wider and that surprises me. Most people either avoid me or decide they hate me within minutes. This one seems determined to survive rejection.

“I’m trying to be friendly,” she says lightly.

“I’m trying to rest,obviously.”

The girl studies me carefully for a moment before nodding slowly, “Well,” she say, standing up, “you still need medicine for that bruise.”

I glare at her, hiding my bruised leg. “I don’t!”

“You limp so badly, you could have seen your face while walking into this room.”

I narrow my eyes at her, she simply shrugs and walks away before I can dismiss her again.

I lean back slightly against the wall and close my eyes, hoping silence will settle around me long enough for my thoughts to organize.

The moment I stop moving, my mind immediately returns to Draven. ‘ Mate’ the word echoes again.

I rub my temples in frustration. “No, absolutely not him.” I refuse to lose my sanity because of one arrogant Alpha.

The girl returns before I can continue arguing with myself internally. This time she carries a cloth with a container filled with medicine that smells like herbs.

“I brought this before Gwen noticed,” she says quietly.

“I told you I don’t need help.”

She doesn’t reply, she mixes the medicine and I stare at her for a moment, then sigh. My leg actually hurts and she walked all the way here with the medicine.

“Fine,” I mutter reluctantly.

Victory flashes across her face as she sits beside me again. She works quietly while applying the medicine, her movement surprisingly gentle despite how rough most maids behave around each other in this place.

“What’s your name?” I ask finally.

“Ivie.” She replies still focused.

“I’m Seren.”

“I know,” she says casually. “Everyone knows.”

I pause. “Why?”

Ivie glances up briefly. “Because the Alpha threatened to kill people over you.”

I blink once, then groan. “Wonderful.”

She laughs softly, then her expression turns curious again. “Why don’t you socialize with other maids?”

I raise a brow then sigh tiredly. “Ivie, I appreciate the medicine, but I am exhausted and would like to sleep now.”

She nods. “Alright, have a good rest.” She says softly standing up.

She turns towards the door to leave, just then the emergency bell rings. The entire quarter erupts, maids rush from every direction, panic spreads through the quarters as everyone scrambles to the main hall.

“What is happening?” I ask Ivie.

“Move!” She says quickly.

The moment I entered the main hall, I realized I’m the only one standing normally. Every maid has her head lowered. I glance around in confusion, then footsteps echo.

Draven walks in and his Beta walks beside him looking less terrifying. I fold my arms loosely around my waist instead of lowering my head.

If Gwen wanted obedience and submissiveness, she could buy a different maid because I wasn’t trained to be submissive to threats.

Beta’s eyes meet mine across the room and he winks. My irritation spikes so fast that I scoff loudly before I can stop myself.

Gwen looks like she may faint. She immediately bows deeper. “Alpha. Beta Marcel,” she says quickly. “What brings you to the maid's quarters?”

Marcel…that’s his name.

Marcel steps forward before Draven can answer. “We apologize for arriving impromptu,” he says smoothly, though amusement flickers in his eyes when they meet mine. “We are looking for Seren, the maid assigned to the Alpha.”

Every head slowly turns towards me. Oh, fantastic.

Marcel smiles wider. “She will now be assigned to serve only the Alpha, and will be moving into his quarter tonight.”