6. “Who’s Seraphina?”

Ava’s POV

Mate.

That word, I couldn’t stop thinking about it, if I wasn’t dreaming where did it come from? Can I actually have a mate? 

I was still lost in my thoughts as I heard a slight cough from Lyra.

“Lyra? Are you awake?” I asked as I bent down to look at her and she nodded.

“I can’t sleep” I said back and she sat up as she rubbed her eyes. 

“What’s wrong?” She asked as she stared at me, I let out a huge sigh as I climbed down to sit with her.

“Remember that dream the other day?” I whispered and she nodded.

“I don’t think it was a dream” I said back and her eyes widened.

“Are you sure?” She asked.

“Yeah, I heard it again at the dinner today”

“Was it just a growl?” She asked and I shook my head.

“There was something else” I said as I instinctively bit my bottom lip.

“A voice… it said…..m…mate” I replied and a gasp escaped her lips but she quickly clasped her hand over her mouth to avoid waking Elina and Tina.

“But you are wolf-less?” She asked surprised.

“Do humans have mate perhaps?” 

“It’s never been heard of”

“Lyra” I said as I held her hands, “What is happening to me?” And she flinched a bit before covering it up with a small smile.

“You know what” She said as she put her hands on my shoulder.

“Why don’t we get some rest now and talk about it in the morning?” She asked as she gave me a reassuring look. I nodded back as I climbed up to my bed.

“Wait till in the morning” I whispered to myself as I slowly drifted back to sleep.

Bang! Bang!! Bang!!!

The sound of the door banging jolted me up from sleep as I slowly took in my surroundings.  

“Ava” Madam Rhea’s voice said through the door and my blood went cold.

“What’s going on?” Tina mumbled as she sat up.

“What did you do Ava?”Elina yawned as she rubbed her eyes.

“I don’t….”

Before I could even realize what was happening Madam Rhea burst into the room looking mad as ever.

“Ava! Get down!” She screamed at me and I immediately nodded. I barely had time to realize what was going on before I felt a stinging sensation on my face. 

Smack! The room went silent as the ringing in my ear got louder, by now other servants had gathered in front of our room to notice the commotion.

“You spilled wine on  Lord Lucian?” She asked as she pointed her finger at me. 

I clutched my cheeks as I tried to fight back the tears that threatened to fall down.

“It was an accident…. I…I’m… sorry” I said back.

“We don’t do sorry in the blood fang, I will make you never make that mistake” She said as she dragged me by the ear and pulled me out of the room.

*****

“The Blood-Fang tribe didn’t earn its title by being Mr nice guy” Madam Rhea said as she kicked me in the stomach. I gasped for air as the pain filled me.

We were currently in the courtyard and the other servants had gathered in the courtyard as they watched her punish me, from the corner of my eye I could see Tina, Elina and Lyra looking at me with pity filled eyes and Elina mouthed a ‘sorry’ to me.

“Today you are going to do extra scrubbing till I say it’s enough and you are going to also move archives to the storage room but before that” she paused as a wicked smile formed at her lips.

“Guards” she called and they approached us.

“Give her ten strokes of the whip, if she misses one double it” she said as she turned away to leave.

I slowly looked up at the guard as the whip came in contact with my skin. A loud scream erupted from my lungs as the pain shot through me, 9,8,7,6…. I lost count. I laid on the bare ground for what felt like forever before they finally stopped striking me. 

I couldn’t move my body the intense pain sent shock waves through my body.

Ah this is what they meant by the blood-fang tribe…. I see now, the rumors were right.

My eyes felt heavy as tears blurred my vision, I could see Lyra, Elina and Tina running towards me as they called out my name but then everything went black.

~~~

My eyes slowly opened as I tried to sit up.

“Ava, lay down” Tina said.

“How did I get here” I asked softly.

“After the merciless beating you passed out and we carried you here”

“Are you okay?” Lyra asked and I gave her a small smile.

“Right” 

“It’s almost noon, you still have to do your duties” Elina said with a sad expression on her face.

“You will get used to it, these punishments become natural eventually” Tina said as she tried to reassure me.

“I need to go do my duties” I said as I forced myself to sit up, but I gasped as the pain from the whip engulfed me.

“She’s not going to let us help you, we would have” Elina said as she patted my back.

“It’s fine I can manage” I said back as I took in a deep breath and slowly stood up. My legs ached beneath me as I dragged myself to the door and walked out. 

I slowly limped to the courtyard as I grabbed a brush and a bucket of water from the pavement and started scrubbing. I bit my lip as I held back my tears, ignoring the pain in my bones. 

With each movement I made, a sharp pain filled my body. 

I kept scrubbing for what felt like hours, and I was finally done. I didn’t even realize how long it took until it was dark.

I heaved a sigh of relief as I went back to madam Rheas office. 

“Madam Rhea?” I called softly as I knocked on her door.

“What” she said aggressively as she opened it and I flinched from the impact.

“I’m……I’m done with cleaning” I said back as I looked down. She remained silent for a while as her eyes searched through me, I instinctively gripped the hem of my dress as a sigh left her lips.

“Good and don’t think you are done yet” she said as she pointed towards the old pile of books. I gulped hard as I stared at it. 

“What are you looking at? Carry on”she said and I nodded as I took the books away.

The night breeze touched my skin as I limped back to the storage room to drop the books. On getting there I froze immediately.

This was the room. The same one I touched that painting, dread filled me as I backed away from the door. I stared at the old pile of books in my hand and thought about madam Rhea’s punishment.

I took in a deep breath as I slowly opened the door. I dumped the books on the table beside me and was about leaving when I saw the silhouette of someone coming from the red room. I didn’t want to snoop around again but curiosity got the better of me and I peeped into the room.

The moment I saw who was inside, I wished I just left. I tried to back away and run, but I accidentally tripped and I fell with a loud bang.

“Who’s there?” The voice called.

“Ava?” He asked as he stared at me. I let out an awkward laugh as I scrambled to my feet.

“What are you doing here?” Beta Kieran asked with a stern look.

“I came to drop some old books” I said back and he seemed to ease up a bit before he stared at me again.

“What happened to you?”

“Servant duties” I said and he nodded. I noticed a book in his hand and I caught a glimpse of the first page before he quickly shut it. My eyes had already caught the name written across it.

He cleared his throat as he locked eyes with me and I turned away.

“This isn’t a place for you, leave now” he said and I nodded.

I slowly walked back to the door as I felt his eyes on me but that was the least thing on my mind.

Seraphina? Who’s Seraphina? And why did it seem like he was hiding something.