Chapter 17

Samantha’s Pov

I wiped my eyes as I walked down the halls. Luca didn’t follow behind as I had hoped, so I decided to push the thought of him to the back of my mind. I headed to the kitchen and spotted Mikala. We were close now, although not close enough for me to call her my friend.

“Hi,” I called, and her attention shifted from the dough she was kneading. She wiped her hands on her apron and strode over to where I stood by the door.

“Sam! I thought you were having your training?”

“I’m done with that for today,” I said, pushing the day’s rundown out of my head.

“Are you still busy, or did they let you go on a short break?”

She laughed heartily. “Well, I could go on a short break since I’ve been working all morning. Why?”

“Let’s go out. Do something fun. I’m so confined in this castle that it’s choking me. I feel suffocated already, so I need to go out and explore Silver Rose Village.”

Or avoid a certain king.

“So, you need a tour guide?” she teased.

“And a friend, yes,” I giggled in response. She nodded and walked back to whisper something into Madame Cherie’s ear. Madame Cherie was the head cook in the castle. Like the other younger staff and maids, Mikala was under her watch. I liked Madame Cherie. For a woman probably between sixty and sixty-eight years old, she was remarkably sharp and treated everyone like her own child.

Including Luca… Goddess, we promised we wouldn’t think about him right now.

Madame Cherie gave a nod of approval, and Mikala shrieked with excitement and removed her dough-stained apron.

“Hurry,” I groaned, then involuntarily turned when I bumped into someone.

“I’m sorry, m’lady,” a soft voice whispered, and she scurried off into the kitchen before I could respond. That voice sounded familiar, like I’d heard it before.

I craned my neck to see her properly, but she was overshadowed by other workers busy with their tasks. I walked into the kitchen and started toward where she stood beside a taller maid chopping vegetables.

“Hey! I’m ready now, let’s go.” I hadn’t even noticed Mikala beside me until she tapped my arm.

“Oh… uhm… sure. After you,” I said, still looking at the woman.

“What are you staring at? Let’s leave before Madame Cherie complains about us clustering in her kitchen,” Mikala giggled and dragged me out.

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“So… this is another one of the many bars in Silver Rose. I know you're probably tired of hearing that, but this one is different,” Mikala giggled. “Every night, the men gather here to listen to the singer. She doesn't sing words, but her voice is pretty loud and beautiful. Some people say she sounds like a whale and prefer a different type of music, but most claim she's probably blessed by the moon goddess. Everyone who listens goes home with a blessing that night.”

“Crazy, am I right? The Silver Rose Pack makes up stories for entertainment. Some older pack members tell stories too, but we don't really listen to them because they come from the tribe that migrated to this location. Basically, they are the first generation of Silver Rose.”

I looked back at the bar in front of us. It had tables outside its entrance, each with daisies centered on the table. It didn’t really look like a bar from the outside, more like a café, but it had decorations befitting a night bar. I guessed they were multi-purpose: a café by day and a bar by night.

“I didn’t know Silver Rose had interesting stories like this. All my life, I’ve been fed stories about how cruel this pack is, but so far, they’ve been accommodating.”

“I guess it’s fun when you’re new around here. They aren’t all that accommodating, but flexible. Here, pack members don’t just accommodate or listen—they fight too. They’re just different about it.”

“Makes sense,” I said.

“So…” Mikala smiled and poked me on the side. I smiled back, masking the pain so she wouldn’t notice my injured rib.

“So?”

“So what’s really going on between you and the Alpha? I know I’m not supposed to pry, but I was too curious not to ask.”

“It’s fine. There’s not really much,” I lied. “He took me in as his woman.”

“And?! Come on, I know there’s more.”

“There isn’t. That’s the truth, I swear.” I didn’t know if Luca would want his maid to know that we are mates. We haven’t completed our bond yet and weren’t planning to, hence the lies.

I like Mikala… but this I cannot tell.

“Why do you think I’m hiding something?” I looked back at her and asked.

“For starters… you both look at each other like you want to rip each other’s clothes off.”

“I think that’s what sexual attraction means,” I laughed.

“Tsk! You’re avoiding my question. It’s something more between you two. It’s like this elephant in the room, and you both completely avoid anyone else in the room…”

“You’re exaggerating. We’re just sexually attracted to each other.” At least I am to him.

“So you’re not fated mates?” she inquired with a quirked brow.

“No, we aren’t.”

“Oh… that’s sad then. I thought you both were, since the attraction was evident and with that announcement. I hope he does find his fated mate. Silver Rose Pack needs one before the children pups are hit with the sleeping sickness.”

“What is the sleeping sickness?” I asked.

“Oh, you didn’t know? The Alpha is in his late thirties, and he needs a strong Luna for our pack, or else everything will go downhill,” she said, sadness in her eyes.

“What’s going to go downhill?”

“The people of Silver Rose fall ill and die.” I could see the fear in her eyes. I hadn’t heard about this before, and Luca never mentioned it. Why did he omit this vital information and ignore me all this while?

“The children die first, and then the older wolves fall ill and die too. At first, the children get sick with the sleeping sickness, where they don’t wake up. Everyone has been careful and too scared to bring it up, hoping the Alpha would find a Luna for the pack. That’s why the council agreed to have him choose a Luna from an allied pack—but unfortunately, that didn’t work.”

“How much time does he have to choose his Luna?”

“Not much… last week, I heard one of the maids’ children–Penelope’s child–was sick with the flu. No one talked about it because they know the sickness has started. The Alpha has to find his fated Luna or choose one from an allied pack alone. Never from an enemy pack like Blood Rose, as it is forbidden and would endanger Silver Rose.”