Chapter seven

Serafine's POV 

I dropped the bowl as I couldn't bring myself to eat the bloody fresh beef.

I heard footsteps and looked up to see Gamma Bane. He stood before me. Hands in his pocket.

His eyes directed to the bowl. Then back at my face. “Get up. Let me show you to your room.” 

I stood up and followed him. He led me down a dim stone hallway behind the stone mansion. He stopped in front of a narrow wooden door.

“This is your room,” he said flatly.

He pushed the door open, and a musty smell met my nose. I waved it off. But the smell lingered. The room was no bigger than a storage room. Dust coated everything. The single bed sagged in the middle, its sheets stained and patched. A heap of rag clothes sat crumpled in the corner. 

My heart sank.

“This… this can’t be right,” I whispered.

Gamma Bane lifted a brow. “This is where the Alpha wants you to stay.”

His tone suggested arguing was pointless. He simply turned and walked away.

For a long moment I just stood there, numb. The Alpha truly hated me enough to put me here. I didn't know what I did to make him hate me so much. But I did know I couldn’t sleep in this filth. So I pushed the door closed and exhaled shakily. 

“Okay… you can do this,” I whispered to myself.

I grabbed the rag clothes from the corner. They were soft from wear, thin, but usable and clean. I folded them on top of each other in a corner. And dusted the bed frame, the walls, and cleaned the floor. Dust swirled up around me, stinging my eyes and nose.

My arms trembled with exhaustion, but I kept cleaning until the room resembled something livable. I strolled toward the tiny attached bathroom. It was dusty and dirty. The light flickered when I turned it on, and the tiles were cracked. I managed to clean it a bit before agreeing to take a bath.

The warm water was a relief for my sore muscles and stressed skin. Washing away many days of sweat and dirt. I closed my eyes and let myself breathe for the first time in days. They opened to find a huge masculine shadow standing behind the thin curtain that served as the bathroom door.

My heart hammered. I crossed an arm on my chest instinctively, to cover my breast, and placed a hand on my pubic area. 

“Who's there?” my voice trembled.

There was a low feral growl. My breath hitched. It was the same one I heard while trying to escape into the forest.

My hands trembled as I took steps backward until I hit the wall.

“Please…” my voice failed me. I burst into tears.

The shadow disappeared, leaving me frozen for a second. I took a deep breath. Enough to keep me from collapsing, and hurriedly rounded up my bathing. I grabbed the tiny brown towel by the corner. Dried my skin, and wore an oversized shirt I picked from the heap of rags.

I stepped into the tiny room cautiously. It was empty. Goose bumps rose on my skin. My heart pounded.

If no one was here… then who—what was behind the curtain?

My exhaustion was stronger than my panic. My body felt like wet sand, too heavy to carry. I crawled onto the tiny mattress. The second my head touched the flat pillow, darkness swallowed me whole.

I didn’t know how long I slept, but the violent pounding on the door jolted me up. My skull throbbed sharply as I struggled to sit up. 

“Who’s there?”

Another hard knock.

“Human, open the door. Now.”

Gamma Bane? What was it this time again?

I forced myself up, legs wobbling as I padded barefoot across the cold floor. When I opened the door, Bane stood with a small metal plate covered with an old cloth.

He pushed the plate into my hands. “You refused dinner, so I grabbed what was left in the kitchen. You have a weak body. You can't afford to skip meals here.”

My eyes stretched open a bit. Vision cleared.

“Thank you,” I said softly. 

I uncovered the plate. It contained some pieces of bread, a bit of cooked meat, and a halved apple. My stomach twisted, empty and grateful.

I was about to close the door when Gamma Bane cleared his throat.

“One more thing.” His voice dropped, tone suddenly serious.

My head snapped up. “What?”

“The Alpha requests your presence.”

Everything inside me froze. “Wh–what? Now?”

“Not even a second later.”

My fingers tightened around the plate. “Why would he want to see me?” I whispered.

Gamma Bane’s jaw ticked. “I don’t ask him questions. I just deliver his orders.”

“But I haven’t done anything wrong today. I did everything I was asked to do.”

He huffed a humorless laugh. “You’re a human living in an Alphas' packhouse. That alone is enough to piss half the wolves here off.”

What? Wolves?

I swallowed hard, throat burning. “Did I just hear you say wolf?”

Gamma Bane's gaze hardened. He grabbed my left arm. “Let's go. You ask too many questions.” 

I quickly dropped the plate on the floor before Bane pulled me along with him, forgetting the wolf matter.

My chest tightened painfully as I thought of meeting him. 

What does he want with me?

Gamma Bane led me into an elevator. There were few others already in it. They glared at me like I was poison. I didn't mind. I was too busy thinking why a man who hates me so much wants to see me in the middle of the night?