Chapter 6: Assigned As A Maid

DEXTERA

I shook my head, unable to comprehend the whole thing. Is this some kind of drama?

Adding to my dismay, he uttered with the deepest of masculine voices I've ever heard. “Get ready. Someone will come show you where you'll be staying.”

I wanted to hold him down, ask him more questions of how this whole thing came to be, but I couldn't. He left as soon as he said what he had to.

I dropped to my knees, completely scared of what the next few hours had in store for me. Crawling up to where Roxanne sat, silently watching me, I shook my head in refusal, tears clouding my eyes.

“This can't happen, Roxanne.” I said, holding back tears. “I can't be your Alpha's property. I need to leave, else, I'll be doomed for.”

Roxanne finally stood, her face unreadable. “Young lady,” she said softly, kneeling beside me. “Do you think I don’t understand how it feels to lose everything overnight? To wake up and find your life sold off like cattle?”

She looked too calm that my panic made me feel even more exposed.

“I didn’t sell you,” she continued, brushing a strand of damp hair from my forehead. “But someone did. And now... you’re here. In Astrald. Under Thor’s rule.”

Hearing his name...Thor...sent more chills through me. I'd heard stories. Whispers of his savagery. The way he burned an entire rogue camp just because one dared challenge his border patrol. The way he killed without thinking twice. One mistake was all it took. The thought of belonging to a man like that made me want to tear out of my own skin.

“I don’t belong here!” I choked out, gripping her arm. “I didn’t ask for this! I was trying to escape, not trade one prison for another!”

Roxanne sighed, gently removing my hands. “I know. But this isn’t your pack anymore. This is Woodhound. And here, things don’t work the way you’re used to.”

I felt like screaming. My baby...gone. My freedom...stripped. My body...weak and sore.

And now I was a property. A monster's property.

How much more could the goddess take from me?

“Lie back on the bed,” Roxanne said gently, guiding me by the arm. “Let me run one more check before they come for you.”

Still reeling from the confusion of my new reality, I let her ease me back onto the very spot I’d jumped up from not long ago. Her hands moved quickly as she completed whatever examination she needed to do. Then, she handed me a small white pill.

“Take this,” she instructed, watching me closely. “I don’t know what your fate will be from here, but… if you ever get the chance, come back for treatment. Otherwise, your chances of conceiving will keep dropping.”

Her words scared me, but it wasn’t the only thing clouding my thoughts.

I sat up, locking eyes with her. “What’s going to happen now?”

Roxanne didn’t meet my gaze immediately. She was already moving around the room, packing her tools and cleaning up whatever mess remained.

“I really don't know,” she said finally. “But Deucalion… he’s serious about what he said. He’s a lot like his Alpha. You should expect him back any minute now.”

“Deucalion?” I asked, brow furrowed. “You mean the tall one who just left?”

She nodded. “Yes. That’s Thor’s Beta—Deucalion Vale.”

As soon as Roxanne mentioned Deucalion's name, the door burst open.

He entered with the same commanding presence as earlier, but this time, he wasn’t alone. A woman followed closely behind him. She looked older and poised, her gray-streaked hair pulled into a tight bun. She wore a dark green uniform that fit with brutal precision.

“This is Madam Sansa,” Deucalion said curtly, his voice like cold steel. “She’s the head of the domestic quarters. She’ll be assigning you your first duty.”

I said nothing. My lips refused to part, my throat too thick with dread. I only stared at him, wishing I could disappear.

Deucalion’s eyes narrowed seeing how rooted I was to the spot. His voice dropped even deeper. “On your feet. Now.”

Still frozen, I looked at Roxanne, silently and desperately pleading with her. For a moment, she wouldn’t meet my gaze, but then, slowly, she looked at me and gave a slight nod. A nod I couldn't quite understand what it meant.

I stood reluctantly, and followed Madam Sansa out of the small room. We walked through winding corridors and quiet hallways that led to wherever she was taking me. Deucalion on the other hand had gone in another direction.

Eventually, we reached a long, rectangular space with small stone rooms branching off it. This must be the servants’ wing—or as she called it, the domestic circle. It's not shabby like the maid quarters in Bisclaveret, but strangely comfortable. There was a sense of harsh order, a quiet structure that felt safer than Bisclaveret’s cold opulence.

I trailed behind Madam Sansa in silence, until I suddenly heard soft, trembling sobs.

Two young women stood against the wall, tears streaking their faces. Madam Sansa stopped, brows creased. “Why are you crying?” she asked in a clipped tone.

One of them, barely more than a girl, swallowed hard. “It’s Riley,” she said shakily. “She...she offended the Alpha. She tried to seduce him…”

The other girl trembled. “She didn’t mean to… he was just...”

Their voices died as two guards passed by, carrying a figure shrouded in white cloth. The scent of blood filled the air faintly.

Madam Sansa sighed deeply, but said nothing. It's more like she understood what happened and was tired of such.

I couldn't help myself but ask. “What… what happened to her?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

Without turning, Sansa answered coldly. “She trespassed. Of course, she was killed.”

She paused and faced me squarely. “This place isn't easy for maids, especially ones like you. One single mistake, you could die.”