CHAPTER 6

I didn't believe I could be degraded further than I already was but tonight showed me that was a possible feat.

Forced to watch the affectionate display of love Shawn and Rhea were putting on as well as the disgusted and contempt-filled gazes on me, I was at my wit's end and I was only a minute away from breaking under the pressure of it all.

"Maya, I didn't think you would make it," Rhea said, all smiles like the despicable white lotus that she was.

Why didn't I notice it earlier? All the signs were there but I was too blind to see it.

Alpha Blake finally noticed me as well, his gaze on me scrutinizing, "I see you are doing well?" He mumbled casually as if he had not subjected me to a lifetime of pain and humiliation.

"Yes Alpha," I forced back the lump rising in my throat and tried to force myself to remain composed but my shivering hands betrayed my emotions.

"It's evident Maltida has done a great job teaching you," Lucia, Alpha Blake's mistress spoke up, her eyes flashing with pity at my obvious misery.

I gave her a quick, surprised glance, was she the one who had me brought out of the dungeons?

Why? I couldn't think of any reason that would make her extend a helping hand towards me.

We had never even interacted. All I knew was that she was the Alpha's treasured mistress who we all expected to replace the dead Luna but for some reason, Alpha Blake had kept her as a mistress.

"Maya has always been a fast learner, she will have no problems," Rhea chipped in, a mocking smile tugging on her lips.

She took a sip of the wine in front of her, swirling the red-coloured liquid elegantly.

Undoubtedly, she exuded poise and sophistication and had the perfect bearing of a future Luna.

Shawn on the other hand didn't even glance at me but kept his gaze fixed on Rhea, he looked completely smitten and enthralled.

"It won't be long before she rises through the ranks again."

Her words sounded like words of encouragement but they were masked condescending and derogatory remarks highlighting my fall from grass to grace.

I gripped the tray in my hands even tighter until my knuckles turned white, but kept my head raised.

My dignity, standing and position may have been stripped away but I still had my will and I wasn't willing to let that go.

"I heard your form is different from the rest of us, you must be happy to have set a new precedence in this Pack. Your turning is surely a moment that will be remembered for decades." Lucia said, her eyes boring deep into mine.

Was she trying to help me or sabotage me? I could not fathom her actions at all.

Reminding Alpha Lukas of the unprecedented phenomenon of my turning and the bad omen it could represent would not do me any good but her earlier statement showed that she had rendered help to me, albeit a little.

"It doesn't matter, no matter how different she might be, she's just a wolfless she-wolf." Alpha Blake replied icily.

His words caused me to jerk my head towards him in surprise, what did he mean wolfless?

"She isn't wolfless, we all saw her turn," Shawn commented and I realized he had been following the conversation all along.

"Well now she is, her wolf is undetectable. Even an Omega can do better than this."

His voice wasn't low but loud enough so the werewolves closest to the podium could hear and they began murmuring and whispering silently to themselves.

"This is the best outcome, the Moon Goddess must be punishing her for her sins."

"The Heavens aren't blind to evil deeds after all."

Their words drifted over and a profound hollowness opened up inside me without warning.

Wasn't there a single person who felt an ounce of pity or guilt towards me?

The underlying fear I had following the subsequent absence of my wolf was finally confirmed by Alpha Blake's words and the looks of righteous retribution surrounding me and I staggered backwards, my spirit sinking like a stone in water.

"That's not possible, I am a wolf. I turned, you all saw it." I made one last futile attempt to redeem myself and my identity.

It was all I had left, the moment that was gone, I would lose my sense of rootedness in our community. I would be alienated.

"There is no place for a werewolf that isn't even connected to her wolf side." Aloha Blake waved his hands nonchalantly and the tears I was trying to hold at bay gradually came trickling down.

He was sealing my fate all over again, demoting me to an even lower position than I previously stood.

A triumphant smile crossed Rhea's face, she had me right where she always wanted me, beneath her.

Up until the moment the celebrations ended, my mind was a blurry mess.

I was not taken back to the dungeons but was led to the housekeeper's lodge by Matilda, it was where all the maids lived.

My heart felt like it was being squeezed by a cold, metal fist and I could not even rejoice at the upgrade.

In a moment of desperation, I tried to summon my wolf but I got nothing except the sound of crickets that disturbed the eerie silence in the room I was assigned to.

"I don't deserve any of this, none of this should have ever happened," I finally broke down under the weight of my despair and drops of anguish rolled down my cheeks.

I missed my Father and I desperately wanted to go home.

Home sounded like a foreign word that existed in the deep recesses of my memories.

As I lay on the bed, feeling my tears pool beneath my cheeks and wetting the soft fabric, I became sure of one thing and that was the fact that I had to leave.

This Pack had ceased to be home.