Chapter 7: Assigned To The Alpha

DEXTERA

The room Sansa offered me wasn’t big—just a box-shaped space with the barest essentials a room could have. A bed, a tiny table, a worn-out stool. A small window.

“This is where you’ll be staying,” Sansa said, her eyes raking over me one last time. “Rest for a while. Your first set of chores begins soon.”

When she left, I sat on the mini bed at the center of the room. Not bad… if you're used to confined spaces. The space was clean, at least, and I had nothing to unpack. The small bag I had packed back in Bisclaveret was nowhere to be found. Not that I expected it to be here. Hell, I didn’t even know how I got here in the first place.

If I wanted answers, there were only two people I could possibly ask: Roxanne, Deucalion... and the Alpha. The monstrous Alpha. But I doubted I’d be seeing either of them anytime soon.

A sharp, sudden knock startled me. I waited and it came again.

I stood slowly, debating whether to say “Come in”—but trust wasn’t a currency I could afford right now. I was naive about where I was and how things were run here.

I pulled the door open, careful and guarded.

A pretty lady stood outside, about my age, her eyes flickering between me and the tray in her hands. The tray was covered with a thin white cloth.

“Madam Sansa said to give you these,” she said.

I lifted the cloth and saw a neatly folded dress, identical to the one she wore. A black knee-length dress with a cream apron-like design stitched to the front and a matching cream band for the hair.

Our eyes met.

“This is your maid uniform,” she added.

I picked up the dress, running my fingers over the fabric. “Thank you.”

She didn’t respond.

“Madam Sansa said to get dressed and come with me. We’re getting duty assignments for the next few hours.”

I nodded and shut the door. Changing quickly, I studied the fit. I didn’t have a mirror, but I could tell it clung where it should and hung loose where it needed to. Surprisingly decent.

When I stepped back outside, the girl gave me a brief glance and turned, leading the way without a word.

I followed in silence.

Part of me wanted to ask questions...about the pack, about the Alpha, about the fate of the girl they’d called Riley, but my instinct screamed at me to keep my mouth shut. At least for now.

She led me through a narrow path that opened into a small courtyard tucked within the servants’ wing. Unlike the grand servant halls in Bisclaveret, this place was humble—no polished marble or golden fixtures. Just a clean cobbled floor, stone benches pushed against the wall, and a scent of soap lingering in the air.

There were about twenty-five maids already gathered, lined up in straight rows and columns. Their uniforms matched mine, but I could tell from how they carried themselves, backs straight and eyes lowered, that they weren’t new like me. They belonged here.

Without a word, the girl who brought me here slipped into the last row. I followed her lead, standing beside her and trying to blend in. My heart beat faster with every passing second. I could feel the weight of being the outsider, the new one. The one who didn’t belong.

Madam Sansa stood at the front, reading out names and assigning duties. She spoke with authority that commanded silence. Each name she called replied with a simple “Yes, Madam,” and moved accordingly. Not a single question was asked.

I wondered what I would be assigned. Laundry, floor scrubbing, kitchen scraps?

But just as she neared my row, a man who seemed to be probably a guard or staff member walked swiftly to her and whispered something in her ear. Her posture stiffened for a moment.

Then, her eyes lifted and locked onto mine. Silence ensues. Something told me what she was going to say next wouldn’t bode well for me.

Madam Sansa straightened, speaking loud enough that I heard her clearly from where I stood. “Dextera.”

I held my breath. I knew it.

“You are assigned directly to the Alpha as his personal maid for the rest of the day.”

The words hit me like a slap.

I froze.

For a second, no one moved. Then slowly, every head in the courtyard turned in my direction. Twenty-five pairs of eyes stared at me, some wide with shock, others narrowed in suspicion. A few girls stared with awe. A few with… pity?

I couldn’t tell which was worse.

Why me?

What kind of punishment or favor was this?

My mouth was dry, and my legs felt like they weren’t mine anymore. I didn’t even know where I was supposed to go.

But I knew one thing for sure: whatever awaited me behind the Alpha’s door wouldn’t be anything I was ready for. How the hell was I going to face the monstrous Alpha? Didn't he just kill a maid because she trespassed?

I'm so doomed for.

The moment the instructions were fully handed out and the crowd began to disperse, I didn’t waste a second.

I walked up to Madam Sansa, careful not to look like I was protesting, but I was. My voice trembled with restraint. “Madam Sansa… please, I...I don’t think I can be the Alpha’s personal maid.”

She didn’t flinch, only glanced at me with a raised brow, like she’d expected this.

“I mean no disrespect,” I added quickly, lowering my eyes. “It’s just that I don’t know the Alpha… or the way this pack works. And I’m still recovering. My body is sore, I can barely move properly from...” I swallowed hard on nothing, “...from what happened before I got here. I might offend him unknowingly. Please, just assign me something else. Anything else.”

For a moment, she said nothing. The silence stretched long enough for my pulse to feel like thunder in my ears.

Then she replied. “You should be thankful you’re still breathing, girl.”

Her words stunned me more than any slap would have.

“Many don’t get second chances after trespassing here. Especially not those who enter the Alpha’s territory uninvited, without explanation.”

I lifted my gaze, confused. “I didn’t trespass... I don’t even know how...”

She stepped closer, just enough for her next words to fall heavy on me. “Obedience is your only shield now, young lady. Serve without question. Obey without complaint. That’s the only way you’ll continue to live.”

Then she turned and walked away, leaving me frozen, chest tight and throat dry.

I wanted to scream, to cry, to demand someone explain how I’d ended up here and why fate had dragged me into the jaws of a pack I didn’t belong to; but I didn’t.

Because in that moment, I understood. I wasn’t here to be heard or considered.

I was here to survive. I have to.