Chapter eight

Serafine's POV 

The elevator stopped with a soft chime. Gamma Bane stepped out first. I followed.

The floor we were on was nothing like the lower levels. It was spacious, quiet, the air smelled of cedar and oud. A single hallway stretched ahead with a huge double door at the end.

Gamma Bane knocked once.

“Enter,” a deep voice said from inside.

It belonged to him. My pulse hammered.

Gamma Bane pushed the door open, and I walked into the office.

I froze.

The man sat behind a large glass desk with the blonde on his thighs, his arm tightly wrapped around her waist. Her giggle is loud and sweet. She leaned into him.

My heart twitched sharply. A burning sting shot through my chest, down to my ribs. I didn’t understand the pain and hurt I experience whenever I see her with him. Was it jealousy? Or something else?

I didn't know.

His winter gray eyes connected with mine. Cold but dangerously beautiful. I looked away quickly as my chest hurt the more.

Aric stood nearby with a stack of papers in his hand.

“About time,” the man said, his gaze sliding over me like he’s bored. “Begin.”

Aric cleared his throat and started reading.

“Rule one: You are not allowed to talk to anyone. Rule two: You are not allowed to bring anyone into your room or sleep in anyone's room. Rule three: You are not allowed to leave the packhouse for any reason. Rule four: Speaking to ranked wolves without permission is punishable. Rule five: Disobeying orders results in confinement or more…”

My fists clenched. Each word punched my pride. I bit my lower lip as he listed more. He finished reading, and the cruel man looked at me.

“Any questions?” he asked.

“I’m not your subject,” I snapped. “Those rules don’t apply to me.”

Silence enveloped the room. The blond stiffened in his lap. Aric stilled. Gamma Bane shot me a warning look.

The man rose up, lifting the blonde gently off his thighs. An unfamiliar energy radiated from him and filled the room. My bones chilled. Pulse hammered as more of the energy rolled out of him. 

“What did you just say?” he growled, walking towards me.

My cheeks heated, but I lifted my chin. “I said I’m not your subject, so your rules don’t apply to—”

His hand punched the desk beside me, cracking the glass top.

I jumped. Shaking.

“I bought you,” he snarled, “You belong to me now.”

My breath hitched painfully.

He continued, “You dare defy me?” His eyes narrowed. “You’ll be my personal maid onward.”

What?

No. No, no, no.

“You start now,” he added. “No rest.”

My mouth opened, but nothing came out. 

I lowered my gaze because arguing again would only make things worse.

The man smirked deviously. He dismissed me with a flick of his hand.

I resumed work that night despite my exhaustion. I hadn't even eaten. The leftover Gamma Bane had brought me was still untouched in my room.

My muscles and bones protested. But I had no choice. I continued working. Cleaning the man's incredibly wide bedroom. Scrubbing his bathroom walls. Cleaning his study room. Reorganizing book shelves. Running up and down the stairs when the elevator became restricted. 

My stomach growled nonstop. My head throbbed. But I couldn't afford to incur the man's wrath again.

By the time I was cleaning the floor outside his bedroom, my eyes kept shutting. My body felt too heavy. And at some point, without meaning to…I fell asleep on the cold floor.

My eyelids blinked open. I jolted up at the sight of the man's monstrous height hovering over me.

His jaw clenched. Eyes glowed gray.

“You slept on duty,” he said in a dangerous tone.

I scrambled to my knee. “I—I didn’t mean to—I was just—”

He turned away from me and strode down the hall.

“Get up,” he ordered. “Follow me.”

My legs vibrated. I obeyed.

Outside, the morning air was crisp, but my heart was pounding too hard to enjoy it. I followed him to a courtyard, where a black horse was waiting.

He mounted it with effortless grace and looked down at me.

“You will run fifty laps around the packhouse. No stop. No rest. This is your punishment for sleeping on duty,” he said.

My lungs collapsed. But I nodded obediently.

“Start,” he commanded, and I began running. He rode behind me slowly. Watching.

I ran lap after lap until my legs burned like fire. My throat dried and itched with each breath. Black dots danced in my vision. 

I fell repeatedly, but I forced myself to rise. He was watching. And I didn't want more punishment. 

At the end of the fiftieth lap, I collapsed to my knees, breathing heavily.

He looked down at me and pulled out a small bottled water. He gave it to me.

I hesitated. Looking at him and wondering if he meant it.

“Take it. You must be dying of thirst,” he said, “I don't want you dead.” 

I snatched the bottle from him and gulped in every liquid in it. It wasn't enough. But I was grateful for it.

“Get to the kitchen. The day’s work has begun,” he said, and rode off.

I hissed and dragged myself back into the packhouse. Dizzy but determined to avoid any further punishment. I pushed open the kitchen door and stumbled into a tall man with sharp blue eyes.

I moved back instinctively. 

He smirked mischievously. 

“Well, well,” he murmured, blocking my path, “so you’re the little human everyone’s whispering about.”

I took a few more steps back. He stepped forward.

My gaze fluttered around the kitchen. There was no one else beside him and I. 

Where has everyone gone to?

My back hit against the wall. The man smirked. His blue eyes accessed my body hungrily. He closed the gap between us. 

His hand held my arm, fingers digging into my skin painfully. “Relax. I just want to—”

“Let go,” I whispered, but fear cracked my voice.

He laughed. “Why? No one cares what happens to slaves—”

A thunderous roar splits the air.

“TAKE. YOUR. HANDS. OFF. HER.”