Everyone was nice until they found out!

I had woken up later than I was used to. I had needed that sleep for what felt like an age. I stirred slowly, my limbs stiff, my eyes squinting at the sliver of sunlight slipping past the thick grey curtains. The room was warmer than I expected… far too cozy for someone like me. A maid. A gift… and nothing more.

I got up, slowly dragging myself to the window and pulling the curtains apart. My breath caught in my throat.

Mountains stretched far out in the distance, their snowy tips kissing the clouds. Trees rustled in the soft wind. The Moonstone Pack’s grounds were massive. It didn’t feel like home. It felt like a well-decorated cage.

I had no idea why Alpha Kaidon had taken me as his maid. Was it some kind of joke? A favor for his friend? A punishment for me?

I leaned my forehead against the cool windowpane and closed my eyes, but all I could see were the faces of my aunt Nina and my twin nieces, Gigi and Gaga.

“Maybe he’ll feed you to his wolves,” Nina had said as she threw my bag at me like trash.

“Or maybe he’ll chain you to his bedpost,” Gigi giggled.

“I hope it’s worse than what you got here,” Gigi said with a sneer. “You deserve more misery. And maybe death.”

Their laughter echoed in my mind like an infection that wouldn’t heal.

My heart clenched as I wrapped my arms around myself, trying not to cry. I hated crying. It made me feel weak. And I'd cried enough in that house to last three lifetimes.

Suddenly, the door burst open, snapping me out of my thoughts.

A tall man stood there… probably one of Alpha Kaidon's men. Dark beard. Muscular arms. No smile…

Yeah, no smile…

He didn’t say a word at first. He just threw a bundle of cloth at me.

“Put that on,” he said.

I blinked, staring down at the rough grey dress in my hands. “Why?” I asked quietly.

He raised a brow at me like I had just asked the stupidest question in the world. “Because that’s what maids like you wear.”

Then he stormed out, slamming the door shut behind him.

I didn’t argue; I didn’t cry. I just stood there, clutching the dress to my chest. That was the beginning of my new life in the Moonstone Pack.

I wore the uniform.

I obeyed orders.

I kept my head low.

I smiled when I was supposed to.

And I hid the biggest secret of all… my wolf had never surfaced.

At first, things weren’t terrible. The pack was disciplined but civil. A few of the other maids would nod at me in the hallway. The cook, Martha, was kind and often slipped me an extra piece of bread during breakfast.

“For working hard,” she would often say with a smile.

“Thank you” was all I knew how to say.

I wasn't used to the care, so you wouldn't blame me.

There was even one warrior, Jules, who liked to joke with me when no one was looking…

“You could easily pass for my lord's personal maid,” he often said.

But the peace didn’t last.

One morning, I heard whispers as I entered the dining hall. Heads turned immediately. Conversations stopped mid-sentence. I tried to ignore it, but I could feel it… eyes burning into my back, silent judgments circling like vultures.

No one was telling me anything…

By afternoon, the whispers had turned into a storm.

“She hasn’t shifted?” I heard one of the kitchen hands say.

“She’s twenty-five,” another maid chimed in. “What kind of wolf doesn’t shift by now?”

“She’s not a real werewolf,” someone else spat. “She’s a freak.”

When Martha handed me a bowl of soup that evening, her hands trembled, and she wouldn’t meet my gaze. She muttered something about being busy and rushed away.

The next day, a young warrior bumped into me on purpose and muttered, “Watch it, mutt,” under his breath.

Another time, someone left raw meat in my laundry basket.

One of the older maids refused to let me sleep in the shared quarters anymore. “I’m not catching whatever’s wrong with you,” she said, nose wrinkled like I was a disease.

I tried not to let it get to me, but it did. Every word chipped away at the shell I had built. It reminded me too much of home. Too much of the pain I thought I had escaped.

I avoided people. I worked quietly. I spoke less. I cried into my pillow again… something I swore I wouldn’t do.

And I began to think about leaving.

I didn’t have a plan. I didn’t know where I’d go. But anything had to be better than staying where I wasn’t wanted.

So one night, when the moon hung low and heavy in the sky and the wind howled through the trees like it was grieving for me, I decided I was done.

I slipped out of my bed quietly, careful not to make a sound. I wore a dark cloak I’d found in the laundry room and tiptoed out through the servant exit. I had memorized the guards’ rotations. I knew when they would take breaks, where they would walk, and how long they stayed at each checkpoint.

It wasn’t much, but it was something.

The cold bit at my skin as I crept through the gardens, crouching behind the hedges. My heart pounded so hard I could feel it in my ears.

“You’re doing this,” I whispered to myself. “You’re getting out. You’ll find somewhere new. Somewhere safe.”

I reached the edge of the garden, where the forest began. Just a few more steps and I’d be hidden by the trees.

Just a few more…

“Going somewhere?”

I froze.

That voice.

Low. Deep. Mocking.

I turned around slowly, dread pooling in my stomach.

One of the guards stood there, arms crossed, a smug grin on his face. I couldn’t remember his name, but I recognized the jagged scar running down his cheek.

He stepped forward, slowly. “Alpha Kaidon doesn’t like when his property wanders off.”

“I’m not…” My throat tightened. “I’m not property.”

He chuckled. “Could’ve fooled me. You’re his little birthday gift, remember?”

I took a step back. “Please. I wasn’t stealing anything. I was just…”

“Running away?” he finished for me. “Yeah, I figured.”

He lunged forward and grabbed my arm.

“Let go!” I yelled, struggling.

But he held tighter. “You think it’s that easy to walk out of here? The Alpha’s not gonna be happy.”

I looked toward the forest, so close, yet so far.

I was caught.

And suddenly, everything went still.

He narrowed his eyes on me. “Let’s see what he says about this. I can bet death will be your companion.”