03 Don’t You Dare It

Raina's POV

I found myself obligated to stay with Tristan and Natasha until lunchtime. They conversed animatedly, Tristan completely engrossed in her presence—attentive, tender, and considerate. I felt invisible, merely a bystander, observing and catering to their every whim. Thankfully, Tristan was summoned away to attend to other affairs, signalling my impending freedom to tend to my own tasks.

"Show your Luna her room," he ordered me.

"Yes, Alpha," I said because he often took offence if I did not respond properly.

He walked away without glancing at me, and I asked Natasha to follow me. While we walked, I minded my business. The look she and her mother initially gave me was reason enough to tell me she wasn't a fan.

"I know you have been warming his bed," she started, and I wondered why she needed to go there.

"Know that once we are mated, I will make sure your services are no longer needed," she said. I thought of a reply but held my tongue for now. It wasn’t just my life and freedom that were on the line. Hopefully, one day, I won't be a prisoner anymore, and I will be able to put all this behind me.

“How does it feel knowing you gambled and lost? You rejected your mate because you wanted to be Luna. Now look at you, a bloody slave and a whore. You are a perfect example of regret. You are pathetic and shameless," she said when we got to the door of the Alpha’s house.

I opened it so she could walk in. I could easily take her, but the invisible chains that bound me were too tight.

She walked in and looked around the place.

“Alpha Tristan has good taste,” she said, admiring what was going to be her new home. She looked at me and smiled.

“To Tristan, you weren’t even worth bringing here. Just something he could bend over the desk and ease his tension. A tool and nothing else,” She said and giggled.

I didn’t let her words get to me. She struck me as someone who liked to gloat, so it was okay.

“Always wrapping a scarf around your neck. It won’t take away the fact that you gambled and lost. Wearing the mark of a lesser man, a bloody prisoner,” she said and laughed. I could understand her rage. She was one of the girls who badly wanted to mate with Dean. I wished Dean had chosen her.

We continued the walk through the Alpha’s opulent home. Natasha admired everything. Tristan had gone all out to make the place a haven.

While I led her to her room, I thought of everything in the past. I was the only one that stood up for Tristan. I was the only one that talked to him; I was the only one that wanted him. They all wanted Dean because he was next in line.

Today, I am the pack’s enemy. The gold-digging whore that rejected her fated for money, position, and power. The beginning never really mattered.

“Here is your room, Luna," I said, opening the door to the room I had prepared for her, and she walked in with a smirk.

Natasha walked about her room, admiring the place. I didn’t know if I should wait for her to dismiss me or just leave. I didn’t want to incur Tristan’s wrath, so I remained.

I still had a ton of work to do, and I knew if I lingered with her, I would get in trouble with Tristan. I am sure she knew, too, hence the delay.

“Would you need anything else, Luna?" I asked her, and she paused and then looked at me with an evil smile. She was enjoying this.

"Better start counting down your whoring days. Once Tristan and I are mated, I do not want to see you near him anymore," she said, and I wanted to chuckle; I wasn’t the one going to him. He was the one coming to me at the packhouse.

“I would appreciate it if you could do that, Luna; as you know, I am not the one chasing after him,” I said.

She raised her hand to slap me, but I caught it, and I squeezed. I knew it would get me in trouble with Tristan, but I wasn’t going to let her hit me. My compliance was simply because of what was at stake. I wasn’t a meek woman.

Natasha was in shock, trying to get out of my grip.

“ You bitch! I will tell Tristan you tried to hurt me,” she said, and I nodded.

“Please go ahead, I don’t care, but don’t you ever try to do that again,” I warned her. I knew Tristan would side with her. It didn’t matter. As long as I knew what to expect, I would be prepared for it.

I used that opportunity to excuse myself knowing I would have hell to pay when she reported me to Tristan.