CHAPTER 7: Push

Earlene

I was still staring at the door when it swung open again.

For a brief, foolish second, I thought Thorne had come back to finish whatever he wanted to say.

Instead, a robust, older woman marched into the room. She wore a thick grey gown that buttoned tightly all the way up to her neck. Her greying hair was pulled back into a knot, and her face was set in an unsmiling expression.

She didn't knock and she didn't hesitate. She walked straight toward me, stopping only a few feet away.

"I am Jane," she said. Her voice was brisk and entirely devoid of warmth. "I am the head maid of this wing. I have been assigned to prepare you for the evening."

I looked into her cold, evaluating eyes. It made me wonder if the freezing temperatures of the North did more than just chill the stone. It seemed to seep right into the people, making them as unfeeling and cold as the atmosphere outside.

"Thank you, Jane," I said quietly, trying to maintain a polite tone. "But I don't need much preparation. Just a place to sleep."

However, she ignored my response. She stepped closer and reached out her large hands toward the laces of my dress.

I took a quick step back, my hands coming up defensively. "I can undress myself," I said. "I prefer privacy."

Jane dropped her hands, but her severe expression did not soften in the slightest. She stood tall, looking down at me with a strict, intimidating glare that reminded me of the cruel palace guards back home.

"You are a guest of the Alpha," Jane stated firmly. "And I have a job to do. The Alpha expects it done properly. You are meant to be helped, and I will not be the one to tell him I failed to perform my duties because you were feeling shy."

"I am not used to being waited on," I tried to explain.

"It does not matter what you are used to," she replied flatly. "You are here now. Turn around."

She stepped forward again, leaving absolutely no room for argument.

I stood still. I felt entirely out of my depth. In the South, I was the invisible bastard. I bathed myself in cold water and mended my own torn clothes in the dark.

Having a severe woman forcibly assist me felt invasive, but the mention of the Alpha's strict expectations trapped me. I did not want to cause trouble on my very first night.

I lowered my hands and allowed her to work.

Jane unlaced my ruined dress with efficient movements. She didn't speak another word as she helped me step out of the fabric and handed me a thick, long-sleeved nightgown made of cotton.

Once I was changed, she gathered my old dress, gave a stiff nod, and left the room. The door clicked shut, leaving me completely alone in the massive, quiet chamber.

The night was restless. The bed was too large, the furs were heavy and the crackling fire was the only sound in the dead silence of the fortress.

When morning finally came, pale grey light filtered through the thick glass windows. I was already awake, sitting on the edge of the mattress, when a soft knock sounded at the door.

The door opened slowly. Three maids filed into the room, carrying a washbasin, fresh towels, and a folded gown.

They were led by a young girl who looked to be around my age. She was very different from Jane. She was small, and her hands were trembling visibly as she set the metal washbasin on a small wooden table near the fire.

"Good morning," I said, trying to offer a small, encouraging smile.

The two older maids in the back kept their heads bowed, moving silently to clean the hearth. The young girl flinched at the sound of my voice. She didn't look up. She kept her eyes glued firmly to the stone floorboards.

I stood up and walked closer to her. "What is your name?" I asked gently.

The girl swallowed hard. "Hannah, my lady," she whispered. Her voice was so quiet I barely heard it over the crackling flames.

"It is nice to meet you, Hannah," I said. I reached out to take a towel from the stack she was holding, hoping to ease her nerves. "Can you tell me what time the castle usually wakes up? Or where the dining hall is?"

Hannah clutched the remaining towels tightly against her chest but she did not answer.

"Hannah?" I prompted, frowning slightly. "I just want to know where the Alpha usually eats."

She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head in a quick motion, her eyes remaining fixed on the floor.

She backed away from me in absolute silence, her shoulders hunched as if she expected me to strike her for asking a simple question.

I stopped pressing as the heavy realization settled in my stomach like a stone. She wasn't just shy. She was terrified of breaking a rule.

Thorne had placed me in a beautiful room, but he had ordered the staff not to speak to me. He was deliberately cutting me off from the rest of the fortress.

I let the maids finish their work in suffocating silence. They helped me wash and brought me the folded clothes.

It was a simple, elegant winter gown made of deep blue wool. It was fitted at the waist with long, tight sleeves that trapped the heat against my skin. It was much heavier than anything I wore in the South, but it was warm.

Once I was dressed, the maids bowed silently and hurried out of the room, closing the door behind them.

I stood in the center of the chamber, smoothing the thick fabric of the gown. I looked at the heavy stone walls around me.

Thorne expected me to sit in this room, isolated and voiceless, just like I had been for nineteen years in my father's palace.

I set my jaw. I had not survived the trip across the continent just to become a ghost in a different castle.

I decided to leave the room.

I walked purposefully to the door. I pulled it open and stepped out into the stone corridor.

The hallway was poorly lit, relying on the flickering torches on the walls. The air out here was significantly colder than inside my chamber.

I barely took two steps before I stopped.

Vane was standing a few feet away.

The Vanguard was leaning casually against the stone wall, his massive arms resting at his sides. He wore dark leather armor, and a long iron sword was strapped to his hip.

He didn't look surprised to see me. He looked like he had been waiting for exactly this moment.

I straightened my spine, refusing to let him see the sudden spike of anxiety in my chest. I started walking again, intending to walk right past him and find my way to the main hall.

Vane pushed off the wall. He didn't draw his weapon. He didn't use cryptic threats or raise his voice to intimidate me. He simply looked down at me with cold, evaluating eyes.

"The Alpha ordered you to remain in your wing," Vane said. His voice was flat and absolute.

I stopped a few feet in front of him. "I am not a prisoner," I replied, forcing my voice to remain steady. "I am going for a walk. I want to see the rest of the fortress."

"The rest of the fortress is not for you," Vane stated simply. "Please return to your chamber."

I felt a flash of hot anger. First the silence of the maids, and now a guard telling me where I was allowed to breathe. I was tired of being told to hide.

I lifted my chin, locking my eyes onto his. "I am not going back inside," I said firmly.

I took a deliberate step forward, refusing to be caged.

Vane did not argue. He did not issue another warning. He simply crossed his massive arms over his chest and took a single step directly into my path, creating a solid, unmoving wall of muscle that silently dared me to try and push past him.