Chapter 2

AMELIA

My eyes fluttered open slowly at the persistent tapping of someone on my arm, my vision still blurry.

"Hey, wake up," a voice called out to me in my unconscious state.

Was I dreaming? No, I wasn't.

I recalled the bodyguard's handkerchief over my nose, but I couldn't remember what had transpired after that. I still felt lightheaded as I blinked my eyes, wading off the blurry vision as I stared blankly at a stranger, a girl staring at me with a puzzled look.

"You should get up, he will be here soon," she said, but her words sounded so low I couldn't make sense of it. My eyes left hers as I looked around my surroundings. Where was I? Where did those men bring me to?

"W-Where am I?" I groaned, sitting up slowly as I placed my hand on the back of my head. 

My eyes sweep across the expansive room, taking in the sight of towering stacks of sacks filled with an assortment of foodstuffs.

The air carried the earthy scent of grains and the subtle sweetness of dried fruits. It dawned on me that I was sitting on the floor of a storage room.

"Get up," the girl said in a low voice, pulling me by the arm as I got on my feet, my eyes still scanning the room with a confused look.

She pulled me out of the storage as we stepped into the kitchen. My eyes widened as I scanned the massive kitchen space. Boys and girls my age and some older crowded the space in an apron, some cooking, some washing the dishes, some mopping the floor, some secretly talking to each other. 

I had been here countless times with my mother when she was alive during the weekends or when I was on school holidays. 

I was in Alpha Hector's mansion. I gulped, letting it all sink into my thoughts that this was real. 

"He is coming," the girl who had pulled me out of the storage room announced, rushing back to my side after peeping at the window in the kitchen. 

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice when she had left my side to the window. 

Who was coming? Was it Alpha Hector? 

Everyone who was once working rushed to form a straight line immediately. As they all bowed their heads, the girl joined in, signaling me to do the same.

What was going on? 

I walked over disoriented and joined the straight line, bowing my head, wondering who was coming. It had to be Alpha Hector. 

Maybe I could plead with him to reconsider bringing me here. I peered through my lashes, wanting to see who it was as I heard the sound of the heels of a shoe clicking loudly on the wooden floor.

The footsteps drew nearer and the kitchen door swung open, revealing a young boy. My eyes quickly scanned him from head to toe and I felt a knot in my stomach as I saw the whip in his right hand.

Looking back at him through my lashes, his hair, his face, the resemblance. I knew this face. I had seen it once when I came with my mother to the mansion.

He was Alpha Hector's son, Zayn Andino.

He looked around the kitchen briefly before walking down the line, the sounds of his booted heels filling the room, making my heart race in my chest.

He finally stopped in front of me, grabbing my face and lifting my head up to meet his eyes. I stared into his dark blue eyes, feeling a knot twist in my stomach. There was something about his gaze.

It felt like he could see right through me.

"What is your name, child?" He asked in a low voice.

Child? Of course, they considered me a child at this age, but coming from him, it sounded like an insult.

"Ame-" I was about to respond, but I felt the girl next to me pinching me secretly, a sign for me not to respond. I swallowed my words back, my lips trembling as he stared at me closely. 

"Amelia Wright," He said my name with a distasteful look.

He knew who I was. 

"The daughter of that little witch," Zayn scoffed, with a repulsive look on his face. 

Witch? How dare he call my mother a witch? 

She wasn't a witch, she was one of us. 

His hands tightened on my jaw as though he had read my mind. Could he read my mind? I panicked.

"I told my father to have you killed. Guess he was in a good mood," she smirked.

Kill me? Why would the Alpha want to kill me? Was it over the debt? I wanted to ask him, but I couldn't bring myself to.

"You are in the Alpha's mansion now and for your own good, you will do well to do your duty as the servant of this mansion. Is that understood, Amelia?"

"Y-Yes Y-Yes," the words rushed out of my mouth without hesitation.

"Yes, what you little twat?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Yes Alpha Heir," he corrected me, his eyes flaring up.

"Y-Yes, a-alpha heir," I stuttered. 

He stared at me for a moment before letting go of my face. I adjusted my jaw, wincing in pain as I bowed my head back.

He walked back down the line, then stopped in front of the door.

"Lunch should be served in ten minutes," he ordered before leaving and closing the door behind her.

Everyone exhaled, deeply relieved that he had left. A look of joy fell on their face as they rushed back to their work post. 

The girl quickly gave me a mop and said, "Stay busy, they're always watching," then ran off to help wash dishes.

I held on to the mop, my eyes getting filled with tears as it started to dawn on me that I was no longer a student with dreams of a bright future; I was now a servant in the house of the Alpha, indebted to him and his family.

The mansion, once a place of comfort and security, now felt like a gilded cage.

"Don't just stand there, get to work," one worker yelled at me as the tears I was holding back finally fell from my eyes and ran down my cheek. 

My mother just died. I was supposed to be mourning her, not doing any of this. I cried inwardly.