What's her crime

“Oh no,” Stella panicked as she realized what she had done. The man's white shirt and expensive black jacket were stained with deep red wine, while she still held the bottle in her hands. The entire hall froze.

An evil smile appeared on Vivian's face as Stella glanced back at her, looking terrified, but it disappeared quickly before anyone realized she was responsible for what had just happened.

“I am so sorry,” Stella stuttered in embarrassment, accidentally looking up at him. But instead of seeing a man with anger gleaming in his eyes, she found him wearing a calm expression.

Ignoring her thoughts, Stella hastily pulled out her napkin and began wiping his suit, moving down to his waist and thighs.

“Stella, don't touch him!” Vivian suddenly yelled after watching the drama unfold before her. She had thought Stella would be punished by the Sterling Alpha for pouring wine on him, but instead, he just stared down at her in a way that made Vivian even more envious.

Why wasn't he hitting her? Vivian seethed in anger as she watched them stare at each other.

“Father, what is Stella doing?” Vivian, who was visibly panicking, turned to her father, but even Alpha James didn't bother to listen to his daughter's ranting.

The entire hall had gone as silent as a graveyard as everyone stared at Ivan Sterling, letting a maid touch him.

Everyone knew the stories of how a servant had once spilled soup near Ivan, and he had them whipped before sunset.

Another had accidentally delayed his meal, and the servant disappeared the next day. Whether the stories were true or not, no one dared question them.

Stella suddenly pulled away from him, terrified of everyone watching them and of the sparks she felt from him.

He couldn't be her mate, could he?

But before she could run away, his large palm wrapped around her wrist.

“You're bleeding,” he said calmly to the already terrified Stella, who had been expecting death.

Her brows furrowed in confusion when he took the napkin from her grasp and wrapped it around her injured hand, and Vivian nearly fainted.

Her fake concern had long disappeared, replaced by pure shock.

The heartless Alpha was helping a maid?

“You should be more careful,” he said quietly, letting go of her wrist and straightening his jacket as though he hadn't just startled everyone in the room.

Stella turned to run out of the hall, but she was roughly yanked into a corner just as she reached the door.

What followed were two stinging slaps across her face. Her hands flew to her cheeks as she looked up at Luna Emilia.

“Luna, I already apologized, and he forgave me,” Stella whispered, her eyes burning with unshed tears. But before she could recover, another slap landed on her left cheek. This time, her vision blurred with tears, and all she could do was shield her face with trembling hands.

“The Sterlings don't forgive people, you clueless child. I gave you the opportunity to witness how your cousin's marriage would happen. And how do you repay me? By ruining everything?” Luna spat angrily, every ounce of her fury directed at Stella, who stood stiffly with her eyes fixed on the floor.

“I'm sorry,” Stella whispered, her cracked voice echoing through the dining hall. She saw no point in defending herself. Vivian had intentionally caused her to trip, but telling Vivian's mother would only be like pouring fuel onto a raging fire.

“You don't speak unless you're given permission. Wherever your parents are now, I'm sure they regret ever having a cursed daughter like you,” Luna Emilia hissed.

Although she tried to keep her voice low, everyone in the room was a werewolf. They could hear every single word, even from where Luna had dragged Stella near the entrance.

A single tear slipped from Stella's eye and fell onto the floor before she could wipe it away, yet she kept her gaze lowered.

No one noticed her silent tears except the Alpha Sterling

He quietly observed everything that was happening, a slight frown forming on his brow.

Cursed? he wondered.

Despite everything she was going through, his eyes remained fixed mainly on her maid's uniform.

Was she a slave?

“Alpha, are you okay?” his beta whispered after noticing Sterling's absent-mindedness.

If Luca was being honest, he had feared for the slave girl's life the moment she crashed into Alpha Sterling. The reason he asked whether Ivan was okay wasn't because of the wine she had spilled on him.

It was because the man wasn't acting like himself today.

He had remained silent while a slave cleaned his clothes, even after she had stumbled into him. He hadn't harmed her.

He had simply watched her.

He had let her live.

That was completely unlike the man Luca knew, and it unsettled him.

He needed to know what Ivan was thinking because his Alpha could be planning to burn this place to the ground over a woman's mistake.

The young man lazily shifted his gaze from where the Luna of the Golden Anchor Pack was harassing the slave girl and met his beta's curious stare.

“She is a slave, am I right?” Ivan Sterling asked, his expression remaining stoic. However, a faint frown lingered on his face as he watched Luca's confused expression.

“Yes, she is. You don't mind that she spilled wine on you?” Luca asked, unable to hide his curiosity.

Sterling's eyes remained unreadable as he looked at him.

“Wine isn't wolfsbane, Luca. Neither is it acid. Why is she being scolded for it?” He asked, displeasure evident in his voice.

His beta blinked twice.

Was he defending her? Doesn't he know what he does when he's angry?

Luca ended up facepalming. Up till now he couldn't fully understand Ivan.

Meanwhile, Luna didn't stop hurling insults at Stella, who simply stood there and endured every word.

Stella's silence only seemed to infuriate Luna Emilia further because, this time, she pushed Stella to the floor.

To Luna, she was doing all this to please the Sterling Alpha so he wouldn't direct his wrath at them or at their daughter he was about to marry.

For a brief moment, all the air was knocked out of Stella's lungs. When she finally managed to breathe again, a painful cry escaped her lips.

“Luna, I'm sorry,” Stella cried, her body arching in pain on the floor as she struggled to stand.

At that point, Ivan Sterling couldn't just sit and watch his mate being mistreated.

“James, is this how your Luna treats your niece?”

It was meant to be a simple question, one everyone was about to ignore since what they had witnessed wasn't anything new. But the moment they recognized the owner of the voice, all eyes fell on him.

Even Luna immediately stiffened, her hand freezing in the air.

She turned away from Stella and looked toward the men seated around the table, her eyes meeting Sterling's displeased gaze first.

Swallowing hard, she glanced at her husband, who immediately gestured for her to leave because it looked as though Sterling was about to take matters into his own hands.

Luna hurried out of the hall, abandoning Stella, whose hair was sprawled across the floor as her quiet sobs echoed through the room, her whole body trembling in pain.

“I asked a question, and you would give me an answer. Isn't the young maid your niece?” the man repeated, his voice carrying a quiet warning that this would be the last time he asked.

Alpha James awkwardly cleared his throat and nervously ran a hand through his hair before shifting in his seat, trying to appear confident while Alpha Sterling watched him impatiently.

“That isn't our discussion for today, Alpha Sterling. Let's not waste our time on less important things and focus on pleasant things about you and my daughter,” Alpha James said, attempting to change the topic as he gestures towards his daughter.

However, the slight tilt of Alpha Sterling's head made him realize his answer wasn't acceptable.

“It's her punishment,” Alpha James quickly corrected himself, still trying to sound confident beneath Sterling's scrutinizing gaze. He couldn't afford to be on the man's bad side.

Sterling wasn't just anyone. He could detect betrayal without even batting an eye. Even the powerful men seated in the room feared and were intimidated by him.

“What's her crime?” Ivan Sterling asked, his expression unreadable as he stared directly at Alpha James, concerned about the slave girl he was questioning him about.

Alpha James was confused.

Why was Sterling so interested in his niece?

What was happening?

Sterling had never once glanced at his daughter since he arrived despite all his attempts to make him take notice of her.

Alpha James's hands clenched into tight fists.

Ivan was using every ounce of restraint he possessed to stop himself from rushing over to the young woman lying on the floor and pulling her into the safety of his arms.

“She killed her parents,” Alpha James spat, glancing briefly at Stella before turning back to Sterling with a serious expression.

“She caused the fire. Her mother was pregnant at the time, and she killed them all. She deserves death, but I couldn't bring myself to kill my own niece. So whatever punishment she suffers here is a privilege. She's cursed,” Alpha James blurted out without the slightest concern that the young woman lying on the floor could hear every cruel word he said about her.

Alpha Sterling's eyes narrowed before shifting back to the battered young woman lying on the floor.

He suddenly realized he might have been wrong about the maid looking so innocent, as though she couldn't even hurt an ant.

Perhaps the Moon Goddess would never choose a killer to be his mate.

For the first time, Alpha Sterling was at a loss for words as his eyes remained fixed on Stella, something Alpha James noticed. If this was true she'd only ruin his reputation. As if being a maid was not degrading enough, she was also a killer?

Alpha Sterling hissed in disappointment.

“Are you okay, Alpha Sterling? If the sight of her bothers you I can get rid of her,” Alpha James asked, snapping Alpha Sterling out of the million thoughts racing through his mind.

Alpha Sterling was the Alpha of the Midnight Pack, and if not for the negotiations initiated by his grandfather, he had no business being in the Golden Anchor Pack. He wasn't pleased about being here, and seeing how this particular slave was treated only worsened everything.

The Golden Anchor Pack was only a small pack compared to the Midnight Pack, so Alpha Sterling had little reason to concern himself with them until now. He barely knew anything about their family. If not for what Luna Emilia had said that the maid girl was Jame’s niece, he would never have believed that the slave girl was actually their niece.

He had heard the story a long time ago about the little girl who had burned the royal family alive, and he had never once thought he would cross paths with her.

But the girl before him didn't look like someone who could do such a thing. She looked pure to him, carrying no negative energy around her, instead she smelled so sweet like lavender.

People had criticized her, calling her possessed, and even a cursed one. She must have gone through hell if even her own uncle could say such things about her. Were they completely right about her? She was said to be only eight when the incident happened.

This incident was said to have happened to a royal family. If she was the one responsible, that meant she was a princess, right? Yet the woman he saw was everything but a princess. She looked like a slave who still smiled despite her pains. He had been observing her throughout the time she shared the wine.

A heavy sigh escaped Alpha Sterling's lips as he rubbed the space between his brows. Everyone in the room simply stared at the man. No one could tell whether he was deep in thought or merely absent-minded as he idly toyed with the wine cup between his fingers.

“It's late, Alpha Sterling. Please stay the night. There's already a room prepared for you and your men. There's enough wine to fill your bellies and women to keep your beds busy,” Alpha James offered, breaking the silence with his throaty laugh.

Indeed, it was late, but Sterling had never planned on spending the night here. He had only come to know the woman the Grand king wanted him to get married to.

He wasn't pleased with what he saw, but he never expected to have a mate, not to talk of finding her here. Was he going to leave the woman he came for and marry her cousin, his Mate? Technically she's also a princess of the Golden Anchor Pack, right?

Sterling was just about to dismiss the offer when the tiny sniffle from Stella caught his attention.

“We accept your hospitality, Alpha James,” Luca spoke up for Sterling, already understanding what the man's sudden silence meant.

This also came as a shock to Luca. His Alpha wasn't someone who agreed to sleep in other people's houses so easily. Was he now doing it because of that woman?

Alpha James nodded excitedly like a child before standing and extending his hand toward Alpha Sterling for a handshake to conclude their meeting. But Luca was quick to stop him, while Sterling didn't even spare him a glance.

Alpha James withdrew his hand, his face still filled with smiles as a sinister thought crossed his mind.

Alpha James was so greedy that he would use anyone to get whatever he wanted, and he had always had his eyes on the Midnight Pack power and its riches. The Midnight Pack was so unbelievably wealthy that gold was as common to them as water.

He saw this as an opportunity to bring his daughter, Vivian more closer to Alpha Sterling, and if he ended up marrying her as planned, that would be his greatest achievement. Even if his daughter ended up pregnant with Sterling's child tonight, that would still be excellent news.