CHAPTER 6; THE GUIDE

CHAPTER 6

~GABRIELLA'S POV~

In the blink of an eye, it was morning again—my first morning at the Mortimer’s mansion, at the dark-moon pack. The sounds of birds chirping all the way from the forest that surrounded the mansion were even more disturbing than my alarm back at Montgomery's mansion. I forced my eyes open and got off my bed, not a single second later than I usually did. To my surprise, the other maids were still asleep.

“Huh?” I asked as my eyes moved from one maid to the other. I walked around the room for a few seconds, wondering what the time was, as there was no way of telling from this part of the mansion. I rushed to the bathroom to take my shower, and after, I got dressed in a maid uniform that was handed to me by Gregory the day before. I walked out of the room and down the hall, where all the maid rooms were lined up. The entire place was completely empty and quiet; it seemed no one had awakened.

I decided to use the opportunity to explore the mansion myself. I went from corner to corner and from one hallway to the next, carefully mapping my way so I wouldn’t get lost. I found tons of comedically large pictures in each hallway, showing respected warrior wolves and members of the Mortimer family.

After walking for a few hours, I finally saw his, a large painting by Steven Mortimer. His face was something of a dream, and his eyes were nothing short of two raging blue suns, struggling for which would burn the brightest. As I stared at his picture, I got more and more immersed in his grace and wanted nothing but to be with him.

"Amazing, isn’t it?” Gregory’s voice sounded behind me, and I immediately froze. He walked out of a shadowy area behind me and moved to my right side, saying, “You’re up really early.”

“Sir, this is the time I usually wake up where I come from,” I replied as politely as I could, staring at the ground and hoping not to get yelled at.

“Sir? You can call me Gregory. I’m only a beta wolf; it’s not like you’re any less significant than I am,” he said in a calm and sweet tone. All my life, there were only ever three people who spoke to me in this manner; he was one of them. I raised my head, gaining a little confidence before him. “Thank you, Sir Gregory,” I replied with a smile.

“Why are you awake?” I asked as we both walked back the way I came.

“That’s because I’m one of the warrior wolves, the pack’s only line of defense when enemy wolves try to make trouble,” he replied.

“Oh, that makes sense. So, when do you guys get to sleep?” I asked again, and he replied with a sigh, “The warrior wolves are divided into various factions, which take turns doing nighttime guard duty. We are able to do this because there are multiple wolves lined up in the forest around the mansion, waiting to ambush anything that threatens the peace of the pack. So, a problem might actually be solved before we even hear about it. We only intervene when the threat gets to a level of war or when it becomes too much for the wolves to handle.”

I let out a sigh, then said with a smile, “You guys are doing a great job. I can’t imagine staying up all night after a long day of chores.”

“Chores? But you’re the alpha’s daughter; you should be treated like a gem,” Gregory said.

“I’m treated like a germ, alright, I’m treated like a very nasty germ,” I replied, nodding my head with my eyes shut to further emphasize how much I meant what I said.

“But I never said ge-” He was about to speak again when a loud bell sounded. We both turned to the ceiling, listening to the bell as it rang three times, then stopped.

“Well, that’s the bell. It means it’s time to wake up and get to work,” Gregory said.

I stared at the ceiling for a few more seconds, then turned to Gregory and said, “I guess I’ll be going then. Say hello to Alpha Steven for me,” I said.

The smile on his face grew wider, and he replied, “I’ll make sure he receives your message."

I turned around and walked away from him, and soon after, all the other maids rushed out of their rooms in their uniforms, randomly scattering throughout the hall like round beads.

****

I pushed open the door to our room and met the other maidens dressing up; they had all worn their uniforms and had gotten ready to head out.

“Hey, Gabriella, where have you been?” Christine asked as they all turned to me.

“Umm. I woke up, and you guys weren’t awake yet, so I decided to take a little stroll,” I replied, walking into the room and shutting the door.

“Well, it’s a good thing you came back on time because we were about to head to the big house,” Marie said.

“The big-house? What’s that?” I asked, sounding a little out of place.

“Just as the name implies, it’s a big house somewhere in the mansion that only the servers can go to. It’s a place where we cook really large amounts of foods for occasions like balls or when the alpha is celebrating a deal with one of the other packs. The alpha never goes outside the mansion, so he always insists the celebrations be done here,” Christine explained.

“Whoa, so I get to come with you guys?” I asked, staring at her with curiosity beaming from my facial expression. She replied, “As long as you’re one of the server maids, you have no choice but to come with us.”

They all pushed me back out the door and dragged me in whatever direction they wished. I watched them move for a few minutes and finally stop in front of a large wall.

“Is this it? Where’s the…” I was about to ask when a trap door suddenly opened underneath us. We dropped down at extremely high speeds, and all I could do was scream for my life and hold the other girls tightly.

As we dropped lower and lower into the ground, the aroma from the various foods being prepared became stronger. Each of these meals was mostly comprised of meat, as we werewolves weren’t really fond of eating human food.

We finally got to our destination, and my hair was a complete mess. I turned to the other girls, and they all seemed just fine.

“I think that elevator needs fixing,” I said as we walked forward.

I turned around to see the place we had just fallen into, and it was nothing short of amazing. A large underground kitchen was made for the most trust-worthy wolves. A place where the most delicious meals were prepared. My eyes moved around in awe, watching as all the maids used their utensils and kitchen weapons like pros. Staring on with excitement, I could tell my day was about to get interesting.