Royal Reveng; The Supreme Alpha King Chooses Me

"Please, let today be different," Stella prayed in silence as she hurried toward the kitchen, already late for work.

Every day inside the Golden Anchor Pack's mansion was a battle to survive, and one wrong move was enough to earn Stella bruises that lasted for days.

So while avoiding the gazes of the other maids, Stella walked over to where a mop was waiting for her and picked it up.

But just as she turned to leave, she stumbled into Charlotte who had suddenly blocked her path, causing the bucket of dirty water to fly from her grasp.

The bucket still filled with dirty water, emptied its contents all over Charlotte and the dishes she carried to serve.

Charlotte stood in the middle of the kitchen, completely drenched, dirty water dripping from her maid's uniform onto the floor.

Shocked by what she had done, Stella shifted her gaze from the ruined meal to the furious woman glaring daggers at her. If looks could kill, Stella would have been lying cold on the floor already.

"You again, Stella?" Charlotte barked angrily.

"It was an accident, I didn't see you coming. Let me help you," Stella quickly apologized as she rushed to clean up the mess she had created.

Charlotte had intentionally come in front of Stella to make Stella fall so she would be criticized. However, she didn't expect the dirty water to spill all over herself.

"Of course, you're now blind," Charlotte snapped at Stella, who was trying to help clean her up. Before anyone could see it coming, the sound of a slap echoed through the room.

Charlotte slapped Stella hard across the face, causing her to stumble backward, her hands flying to cover her burning cheek.

Stella was severely malnourished and possessed very little strength. She barely ate nutritious food, making her painfully petite. Anyone with a heart would fear she might break under the amount of work she was forced to do.

Even an average werewolf was stronger than Stella, but Stella refused to be treated like trash.

"Why did you slap me?" Stella asked, confused as to why Charlotte would slap her despite her apology. Luna had told Charlotte that if Stella apologized for doing something wrong, she should let her be. Now Stella understood that Charlotte simply despised her.

"Of course I have every right to slap you, and I'll do it again if you question me, you useless girl," Charlotte spat, approaching Stella, obviously ready for a fight.

"I am not useless. You have no right to say such things about me," Stella argued, boldly defending herself despite being terrified of the cruel punishment Luna would give her if she got into a fight with the head maid.

"Your family doesn't care about you. If they did, what would you be doing here with us? And guess what? I overheard Alpha saying you'd be given away to a Rogue Leader as a wife since you're also cursed in the aspect of finding a mate. Looks like your life is only going to get worse. Who knows? Maybe this is your punishment for murdering your parents," Charlotte said evilly, smirking after seeing that her words were getting to Stella.

Stella's hands clenched into tight fists at her sides as she fought the urge to wipe the smirk off Charlotte's face.

"I didn't kill my parents. Stop accusing me of a crime I didn't commit," Stella warned.

But instead, Charlotte burst into laughter, completely ignoring the warning in Stella's voice.

"A crime you didn't commit? Everyone knows you killed your parents, Stella. Don't even try to earn our pity. You're cursed," Charlotte spat.

Seeing that this was only leading to a fight, Stella picked up her bucket and began walking away, only for Charlotte to yank her back by the hair.

Stella cried out in pain, trying to pry Charlotte's hand from her hair. But instead of letting go, Charlotte grabbed Stella by the collar and violently shook her.

The world spun around Stella, making her dizzy, but Charlotte didn't stop. Instead, the other maids joined in to help her.

Before Stella could fully understand what was happening, they were already pulling violently at her clothes, trying to strip her naked.

"No! Let me go! Charlotte, stop!" Stella begged, desperately trying to cover herself and stop them from humiliating her. Anyone could walk into the kitchen at any moment, and Charlotte was determined to strip her naked.

"You ruined my clothes, I'll do the same to yours," Charlotte barked before yanking hard on Stella's gown.

The painful sound of cheap fabric tearing echoed through the kitchen as Stella's maid uniform ripped in two.

"Look what you've done!" Stella cried, pushing Charlotte away from her. Just then, the kitchen door flew open.

"What's going on here?" Luna asked, rushing to help Charlotte up after she pretended to have fallen from Stella's light push.

"Stella and the maids were fighting. I tried to separate them, but Stella pushed me," Charlotte lied, beginning to fake tears.

"No, she attacked me first," Stella tried to explain, but Luna interrupted before she could finish.

"Enough, Stella. I never asked you to speak. And you, Charlotte, this isn't the time for bullying. We have guests," Luna said harshly to Stella but calmly to Charlotte because she was her daughter's friend.

She pretended not to notice Stella's bruises or her torn clothes.

Stella's heart tightened.

She wished Luna would speak to her with such kindness, but that couldn't happen even in her dreams.

She was nothing but a useless slave. That was what Luna always told her.

Just as Stella dared to glance at Luna, the woman's cold eyes snapped toward her, making Stella flinch.

"You. Come with me. The rest of you, clean up this mess."

Without another glance, Luna turned and walked away.

They left the servants' quarters and entered the main section of the mansion.

Stella remained skeptical the entire time.

She wasn't allowed there unless she had been summoned to clean, and as a lowly maid, she rarely had the opportunity to witness such luxury.

She stared in awe at the breathtaking beauty surrounding her.

The air felt lighter there, gently brushing against the countless wounds covering her body.

For one fleeting moment, Stella felt free. She didn't feel like a prisoner. She felt like someone.

But she knew it wouldn't last.

"Vivian must be so lucky," Stella thought as she admired the beautifully sculpted statues lining the marble hallway.

Her thoughts disappeared the moment she felt the Gammas' piercing stares boring into her.

Quickly, she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to cover the torn gown exposing her thighs before hurrying to catch up with Luna.

Luna Emilia pushed open two massive doors, and together they entered the grand room.

Several people were already seated inside.

These must be the guests the maids had been talking about. Stella had heard from the maids that today the Sterling Alpha, a very powerful man with a cruel reputation, would be visiting their pack. From the way the maids giggled and some shrieked in fear, Stella became curious about the man rumored to be the devil himself.

"Keep your eyes on the floor," Luna warned.

Immediately, Stella obeyed, staring only at the polished marble beneath her feet as they approached the long dining table.

"Greetings, Alpha," Stella greeted Alpha James softly, bowing before quietly taking her place behind Luna once she sat down.

Alpha James didn't bother acknowledging her greeting and completely ignored her, but Stella didn't care.

Everyone in the room was seated except Stella, who nervously tugged at the torn edges of her little maid's dress, desperately trying to cover herself.

Not once did she dare raise her head to look at the guests.

Alpha James would not hesitate to humiliate her before them, and Stella didn't want that to happen.

She had learned that lesson the hard way.

Time slowly passed as Stella shifted her weight from one aching foot to the other while listening to the discussion about a contract between the Golden Anchor Pack and the visiting pack.

"How many slave women will you be needing?" Alpha James asked, his greedy gaze fixed on the young Alpha seated opposite him.

The young man's attention, however, seemed to have drifted the moment Luna entered with Stella.

"Twenty slave women. Ten young and ten slightly older," the man replied, and Stella suddenly remembered what Charlotte had said about their Alpha wanting to sell her to another pack. Could what Charlotte had said be true?

Curious, Stella wanted to glance up and see who had spoken with such a commanding voice.

She was already tired of staring at the floor.

But before she could, Luna spoke.

"Serve them more wine. Quickly."

Stella instantly obeyed. She carefully picked up the expensive bottle of wine and moved around the table, refilling the glasses.

There were nearly ten men seated with Alpha James and his wife.

Stella felt extremely uncomfortable under their gazes. It was as though she was the center of attention, and she could tell someone was keenly observing her.

The men from her own pack seemed especially bold.

Whenever she leaned over to refill a cup, they deliberately touched her exposed mid-thighs beneath the table.

Each unwanted touch made Stella flinch, causing drops of wine to spill onto the table, but neither Alpha James or Luna noticed.

It happened again and again, yet Stella forced herself to remain calm.

She couldn't afford another mistake.

Women were rarely allowed into Alpha meetings.

But with both Luna and Vivian, their daughter present, Stella wondered if the contract had something to do with Vivian too.

Were they discussing her marriage? Was she going to marry the cruel Alpha?

Perhaps once Vivian married and left, Stella's punishments would lessen.

Holding on to that hopeful thought, Stella carefully poured wine into Vivian's cup.

Their eyes met for only a split second before Stella turned to leave.

But it was too late when she noticed Vivian's foot deliberately stretched into her path, and she tripped.

Instead of crashing onto the floor, she fell straight into someone's arms, emptying the entire bottle of wine all over them.

Panicked, Stella looked up to see who it was, and the color instantly drained from her face as she found herself staring into the piercing cold eyes of the cruel guest Alpha.