Painful Realization

The kitchen was hot. I hated the kitchen, but I hated the stares even more.

“Move, traitor spawn. Don’t stand there like the useless thing your parents were.”

That was Martha, the Head Cook. She hated me most of all. Everyone did. It had been ten years since my parents were executed for treason, but the pack never forgot. I was the child of traitors, a slave girl, and a dirt stain on the royal floor.

“I am moving, Martha.” My voice was quiet. I never spoke loud.

“Faster! Alpha Princes Zayne and Zack are having their friends over. They want the new berry wine. You will serve it. Try not to spill it, or I will peel your skin off and feed it to the rogues.”

I nodded quickly and took the large silver tray. It felt heavy. Everything in the Royal House felt heavy.

“Look at her,” whispered a scullery maid named Lily. She was nineteen, a year older than me. “Eighteen, and still no mate. She is cursed, truly. The Moon Goddess knows not to waste a good mate on a traitor’s child.”

My throat tightened. It was true. I had turned eighteen two weeks ago. All the girls my age had met their fated mates. I was the only one left. The cursed one.

“The Moon Goddess has good plans for me,” I whispered to myself, but the words felt hollow even in my own ears.

I pushed through the swinging door and entered the East Hall.

The hall was full of laughter and loud voices. The air was thick with scents of rich cologne and expensive whiskey. I kept my head down. My job was simple: serve, do not speak, do not look anyone in the eye.

I moved carefully toward the large oak table where the twin princes sat.

Zayne was the heir. He was cold, with dark, sharp eyes. Zack was the younger twin, more easy-going but just as ruthless when he wanted to be. They were twenty, powerful, and gorgeous.

I reached the edge of the table and began pouring the deep red wine into the glasses of the royal guests.

“Watch your hands, servant,” sneered a boy named Finn. He was Zayne’s friend.

“Yes, sir,” I mumbled, keeping my eyes fixed on the tray.

That’s when it hit me.

It was not a smell. It was an explosion of heat and light in my senses. It was rich and comforting, the scent of cinnamon and….a drawing smell.

My hands shook, and the wine bottle clinked against a glass.

My mate.

My heart hammered against my ribs, so loud I thought the princes must hear it. This was it. The Moon Goddess had heard my prayers. My mate was here. He was in this room.

I stood up straighter, letting my eyes search the faces around the table, a tiny, crazy seed of hope blooming in my chest. Who would it be? A guard? A visiting royal?

Suddenly, the laughter in the room died.

I heard the scraping of chairs. I quickly lowered my head again, afraid I had disturbed them.

“What is that?” Prince Zayne’s voice was a low growl.

“That smell,” Prince Zack finished. His voice was laced with something I did not understand. Shock.

The cinnamon scent was now so strong it felt like it was wrapping around my bones, pulling me toward its source. I felt a weird, desperate ache in my chest. The bond was trying to snap into place.

“It’s incredible,” Finn whispered, sounding awestruck. “It’s the Mate Scent.”

My breath hitched. They smelled it too. Everyone was looking around the hall. The source was close. Very close.

I felt two pairs of eyes lock onto me. I stayed frozen, my body responding to the scent, leaning toward the pull of the bond.

Then, Prince Zayne spoke, his voice dangerously low. “Servant. Stand up.”

I slowly raised my head. Zayne was standing right in front of me, his tall, muscular body towering over my slight frame. His face was pale.

“Where is the scent coming from?” he demanded.

“I... I don’t know, Prince Zayne,” I stammered.

“Don’t lie to me. It is right here. It is strongest right here.” He took a step closer, his eyes narrowing, trying to locate the source. He looked past my shoulder, then to the floor. He searched everywhere but at me.

Prince Zack walked up to join his brother. He also inhaled deeply, his wolf trying to take over.

“It’s overpowering,” Zack said. He looked over Zayne’s shoulder, right at me.

Then, Zayne’s head snapped down. He saw my small, trembling hand on the silver tray. He looked at my face, my eyes wide and full of hopeful fear.

He inhaled again, deeply. This time, the wolf in him must have recognized it instantly. The scent was coming from me.

Zayne’s face went from pale to a terrifying, dark red. His wolf-eyes, golden and furious, met mine. The hope that had bloomed in my chest was instantly crushed under the weight of his rage.

I saw the silent acknowledgment pass between the twins. It was horrifying. It was a shared fate, a cruel joke played by the Moon Goddess.

“It’s her,” Zayne spat, his voice shaking with pure disgust.

Zack stumbled back as if he had been slapped. “No. It cannot be.”

The bond, which had just started to connect us, screamed in my heart. The shock was painful. It was not one mate, but two. And these two hated me more than anyone in the pack.

“Look at her,” Zayne snarled, addressing the entire room. He took my chin roughly in his hand and forced me to look up at the laughing guests, who now looked confused.

“This pathetic, slave girl. The traitor’s daughter.”

“The scent is true, Zayne,” Finn said, his voice hesitant.

Zayne released my chin, shoving me back slightly. I nearly dropped the tray.

“We are fated to the same filth,” Zayne said, clutching his hair. “The Moon Goddess has played a terrible, vile trick on the Moonlight pack.”

Zack’s face was dark. He walked over and grabbed my wrist, his grip like iron, causing me to gasp in pain.

“Why?” he hissed, pulling me closer. “Tell me why you are carrying this scent? Did you drink some potion? Did your parents’ evil magic survive in you?”

“No. I didn’t. I promise,” I pleaded, tears stinging my eyes. The pain of his touch was nothing compared to the pain of his hatred.

He pushed me away with a violent jerk. I stumbled, and the berry wine splashed over the polished wooden floor.

“Look at her, she’s a disaster,” Zayne shouted. “She spills wine on the floor! She is a slave! A wretched thing! We are the Alpha Princes! Our mate must be powerful, pure, a Luna fit for the most important pack in the region!”