CHAPTER THREE: PLAYING HIDE AND SEEK

Tatsumi’s POV

“What the…” I muttered, my voice catching in my dry throat.

I blinked violently, shaking my head to clear the fog. I wasn’t cowering in a broken stall, and there was no dark blood on the floor. I was standing directly in front of the bathroom sink, gripping the porcelain edges so hard my knuckles were white.

My own face; pale, wide-eyed, and drenched in sweat stared back at me from the cracked mirror.

The encounter with Liora wasn't real.

“I need to get out of here,” I whispered to my reflection.

I splashed more freezing water on my face, pushing away the lingering terror. The sharp ringing in my ears finally began to subside.

I needed to focus if I was going to avoid the real monsters wandering these halls. This was the biggest, most dangerous game of hide-and-seek I had ever played, and the stakes were my life.

I dried my face with the hem of my apron and slipped out of the bathroom. But the moment my feet hit the corridor, a shadow fell over me.

“Sumi!”

I froze instantly, bowing my head low to prepare for the inevitable storm. It was Mrs. Selena, and she looked furious.

“What the hell are you doing out of line?!” she hissed, her hands on her hips. I stayed strictly mute, maintaining my cover. “If you don't want me to ring out your voice, go back to your station right now!”

I flinched, bowed deeply again, and dashed away with the speed of light before she could question me further.

As I ran, I mentally mapped out the palace layouts, and a wave of immense relief washed over me.

The dignitaries were split up: the Jackal Pack was being housed in the quieter, isolated Southern Wing, while the Bloodfang Pack was settling into the grand West Wing, clear across the palace grounds.

As long as I stayed far away from the West Wing, I could avoid Storm and Liora.

I hurried into the Southern Wing, which was currently a chaotic hive of activity as the staff rushed to settle the arriving guests. I flashed my servant ID badge to the guards at the threshold, and they casually waved me through.

Desperate to blend in, I immediately grabbed a broom from a passing cart and began sweeping, hoping to look as invisible as possible.

Just as I started to feel a false sense of security, I turned a corner too quickly and collided into what felt like an immovable stone wall.

The impact knocked me back, and a rich, intoxicating scent filled my senses. Expensive spices mixed with wild winter roses.

I knew instantly that no ordinary servant smelled that luxurious. Panic flared in my chest. I swallowed hard, closing my eyes and praying I hadn't just caused an international incident with a noble.

Slowly, terrifyingly, I tilted my head up. A god was standing in front of me.

He was breathtakingly tall, with long, thick black hair that cascaded elegantly down to his upper back.

But it was his eyes that held me hostage; dark, bottomless pools that seemed to swallow the very light in the corridor. Looking into them felt like staring into a beautiful black hole; I was mesmerized, terrified, and utterly speechless.

I blinked hard, forcing myself to break the spell.

“Are you okay?” he asked. His voice wasn't harsh or demanding like the Alphas I knew; it was deep, smooth, and incredibly gentle.

I snapped out of my trance, my mouth opening and closing uselessly. Should I risk speaking? Beneath the fabric of my dress, the silver mark on my shoulder gave a faint, rhythmic pulse. *Trust no one,* the goddess's voice echoed in my memory.

No. I couldn't risk it.

“Hello, miss. Are you hurt?” he repeated, his expression softening with genuine kindness.

I quickly shook my head, keeping my lips tightly sealed.

He offered a warm, gentle smile that almost succeeded in melting the tension right out of my bones.

Before the silence could get awkward, a hand gripped my arm tightly. “Sumi! What the hell are you doing?” an urgent voice whispered in my ear.

It was Maya, one of the few servant girls who had shown me genuine kindness since I arrived at the palace. I looked at her with a mixture of confusion and immense gratitude, but she ignored me, turning instantly toward the imposing man and bowing low.

“Alpha Caius, we are so incredibly sorry,” Maya stammered, her voice trembling slightly. “She isn't being disrespectful, My Lord. She is completely mute and cannot speak.”

I immediately followed Maya’s lead, dropping into a deep curtsy and bowing my head low enough to hide my face from his piercing gaze.

“Oh, is she now?” Alpha Caius murmured. His tone remained gentle, but there was a sharp, assessing weight to it now.

“Yes, she is, Alpha,” Maya confirmed quickly.

“Ah. That’s not a problem then. You are both dismissed.”

We curtsied once more, and the moment his permission was given, Maya yanked me out of the corridor like a flash of lightning. We ducked into a secluded passage behind a heavy tapestry, and I finally let out a long, shaky sigh of relief.

Once Maya was entirely sure Alpha Caius was out of earshot, she smacked my arm sharply.

“You are so lucky I was passing by!” she scolded, though her eyes were wide with worry. “You cannot just bump into a noble like that, Sumi! Much less Alpha Caius Moonveil of the Jackal Pack…one of the most powerful Alphas in the entire kingdom!”

I couldn’t speak, so I just looked at her, trying to communicate the sheer depth of my gratitude through my eyes.

“Argh, this is useless,” Maya sighed, throwing her hands up at my stubborn silence. “Just promise me you’ll try to avoid the nobles for the rest of the week. Stick to sweeping the back corners and cleaning empty rooms. Maybe then you can get out of this state summit with your head still attached to your body.”

I gave her an eager, grateful nod, bowing my head again in appreciation. Maya offered a quick, fleeting smile before turning on her heel to return to her duties.

“Phew. That was entirely too close,” I breathed in a hoarse whisper once I was alone.

Yet, as I picked up my broom to refocus on my work, my mind stubbornly flickered back to the handsome stranger. Alpha Caius Moonveil. He truly looked like he had been molded by the hands of the Moon Goddess herself.

‘Damn it,’ I thought, a sinking feeling settling in my stomach. ‘I just hope I can stay out of trouble.’

By some miracle, the rest of the first day was a total success. I made it through my entire shift without catching so much as a glimpse of Storm or Liora, and my secret identity remained perfectly safe.

But the next day was Tuesday. The night of the Grand Ball.

To my horror, I discovered I had been reassigned to the main serving team for the event. The mere thought of being surrounded by hundreds of powerful, sharp-eyed wolves made my skin crawl with anxiety.

All day, I kept my head down, silently praying to the heavens for guidance and protection.

Hours later, the nightmare officially began.

I stood near the edge of the grand ballroom, balancing a heavy silver tray filled with crystal wine glasses.

The hall was breathtakingly massive, illuminated by towering crystal chandeliers and filled to the brim with the most important, dangerous elites in Astrid. Everyone was draped in gleaming crowns, heavy silk, and priceless jewels.

I forced myself to feel small. Small was good. Small meant I wouldn't stand out.

“I can do this,’ I told myself, taking a deep breath.

A formal bell chimed through the hall, signaling the servants to move out into the crowd. I filed into the ballroom, deliberately keeping myself squeezed into the center of the serving group.

I began passing out drinks, keeping my gaze firmly fixed on the polished floorboards. I kept a constant, terrified watch for the two monsters I had spent my entire new existence trying to avoid. For the first hour, I was doing well. In fact, I was doing too well.

Then, the ambient temperature in the massive room seemed to drop below freezing.

A sudden, suffocating silence fell directly around me, as if the classical music and aristocratic chatter had been instantly muffled by a heavy blanket. I turned ever so slightly, trying to balance my heavy tray, and that was when I felt it.

The air directly behind my back solidified with pure tension.

I turned around. Excruciatingly. Slowly. And there he was.

Alpha Storm Thor.

He was even more terrifyingly beautiful than I remembered from my past life. He stood like a conquering demigod, his short black hair perfectly neat and his jawline sharp enough to cut glass.

But it was his eyes that stopped my heart; those cruel, unreadable silver eyes that had calmly condemned me to execution.

Right now, those silver eyes were locked directly onto mine across the crowded room. The heavy tray in my hands began to tremble violently, the crystal glasses clinking together like warning bells.

He looked like a living nightmare draped in a royal suit of dark crimson and gold embroidery, the Bloodfang crest glittering proudly on his chest.

“Stop,” he said.

The command was low, quiet, and impossibly cold, carrying an alpha frequency meant entirely for me.

I froze, entirely paralyzed. My eyes dropped instantly to the floor to break contact, but it was already too late.

“Look at me,” Storm commanded, and the raw, unyielding authority in his voice was absolute.

My body actively fought my mind, refusing to obey my desire to run. He moved closer, his dark aura suffocating me entirely.

When he spoke his next words, they hit like a physical blow, making my knees buckle beneath my apron.

“You thought you could hide from me, little fox?”

The heavy silver tray completely slipped from my paralyzed fingers. The crystal wine glasses shattered loudly against the marble floor, splashing dark red wine everywhere, and in an instant, every single eye in the massive ballroom turned to look at me.