04

Daphne

My eyes felt so heavy as I tried to open them. I could feel my head banging so hard. I gradually opened my heavy eyes, but all I saw was darkness, and that made me gasp.

Where am I?

Staring around the blank darkness, I gave out a loud yell as I tried to get up from the bed where I was lying, but I couldn’t. My left hand was chained to the bed frame. Fear gripped me. My biggest fear was darkness as I was night blind. This has been the punishment I got from the goddess ever since I lost my mother.

That fateful night, she willingly gave herself to death just so I would be alive. It was a dark night, and until date, no one knew what exactly led to the fire accident. As a matter of fact, I wished that I died in the fire with her. After that incident, I became night blind and my biggest fear was darkness because I feel so powerless when I’m in the dark. It brings back the painful and unforgettable memories that led to my misfortunes.

“Let me out! Is someone there? Get me out of here.” I yelled in panic. The darkness… I can’t deal with it. I continued dragging my hands from the chains and the chains kept clanking noisily.

Was this the Red Moon Pack? Why would they lock me up? Why was I even bought by their Alpha?

I stared around in fear, and I felt as if there were eyes in the dark, staring at me. I quickly shut my eyes, and by the time I opened my eyes, I was in a different place.

It was like a beautiful garden. I stared around, confused. Wasn’t I chained to a bed and locked up in a dark room a while ago?

Instantly, I felt a sharp light shone on me. I raised my eyes, and saw a beautiful lady. She was dressed in a sparkling dress, and there was a golden crown placed on her glittering hair.

“Moon…. Moon goddess?” I stuttered, stunned by her beauty and aura. I quickly went on my knees.

She was wearing a pretty smile as she stared at me. “Daphne, everything happens for a reason. I’m here to show you something.”

Attentively, I stared at her as she stretched her hands to the air. Then I saw a mirror, hanging in the air. Looking into the mirror, I saw the figure of a man, I couldn’t see his face, but I saw a hideous mark on his back.

“You’ll find your mate, and he has this mark on his back. Your love is blessed, but you’ll be tested as well.” She said.

I was confused. I tried to say something, but then I felt like a hard wind blew me right back into the dark room. My hands were still chained, and I groaned in pain.

“Who’s there?” I heard a noise, like the creak of the door. I couldn’t see anyone because of the night blindness.

The light was instantly turned on, and I quickly turned my gaze to the door. I saw a lady, she was dressed in a maidservant’s attire, and had a tray of food with her.

Glaring sternly at me, she dropped the tray on the side table. I glanced at the tray, and my expression changed… dry bread that wouldn’t even be enough for a two-year-old child and a glass of water.

“Do you intend to scream everyone to deafness? If I were you, I’d behave myself and shut the hell up.” She said coldly, and I swallowed hard.

She grabbed the tray and pushed it to the side of the bed where I was. “That's your dinner.” With that, she turned to leave.

“Uhm… Miss, I can’t eat with chained hands.” I stammered, and she turned back to me. Walking straight to me, she took out a key from the pocket of her outfit and unlocked the chain.

“Listen, eat up quickly because you’ll be led to take a shower before you can go see the Alpha tonight. You’d better not keep him waiting if you still want to be alive.” She warned, giving me goosebumps.

Gathering all the courage I could, I managed to ask. “Why am I here? What is my job description?”

She scoffed at me. “Job description, you say? You’ll get to know soon.” She gave me a deadly stare one more time before leaving.

Her words made me shiver in panic. What does she mean by going to see the Alpha tonight? I couldn’t wrap my head around why I should meet the Alpha at night? Creepy!

I was smacked out of my thoughts by the growling of my stomach due to hunger. I quickly picked up the dry bread, and started digging into it. It was so tough, and tasteless. I bet if it was left to stay a day more, it would definitely turn stale. Well, I was already used to starving or eating leftovers, so it was no big deal for me.

A few minutes later, the door was opened, and a beautiful lady walked in. She smiled warmly at me, and honestly, this was like the first time in many years that I felt safe with someone.

“Hey, what’s your name?”

Gulping hard, I mumbled. “Daphne.” It was almost inaudible, but she heard me, anyway.

“Daphne, you don’t have to be scared of me. I’m not going to hurt you, okay? From now on, I’ll be your nurse, you can call me Madam Dorothy.” She patted my hair, and I tried to stay away from her. Even though she was nice, I still can’t trust her.

After a few seconds of silence, her words seemed to ring in her ears, ‘nurse’. I turned sharply at her with my brows fluttered. “Nurse? Why do I need a nurse, ma’am? I’m not sick.”

She was about to say something when another woman barged into the room. The woman looked so mean and had no warmth in her face, and that scared the hell out of me.

“This thin girl? How are you sure that she’d be able to bear his pup?” She scoffed at me, and my eyes grew in curiosity.

“Huh? Bear his pup?” I freaked out.