Chapter 5: The Welcome Party (5)

Thad pushed aggressively past his brother and Evelina. He intentionally bumped my shoulder hard enough to make me stumble. "This is completely ridiculous," he muttered. He aggressively avoided looking at my bleeding hands.

As the last of the gossiping guests exited, Jaren appeared silently at my right side.

"Your hands are bleeding heavily," Jaren stated in a quiet, clinical tone. "We should treat those deep cuts before they risk infection."

I looked down at my throbbing fingers. Thin, bright lines of red cut through the paleness of my skin. Blood and expensive champagne. A fitting summary of my entire life in this house.

"They are just minor cuts," I said softly.

"They are not minor," Jaren replied. "They require proper medical treatment. Immediately."

There was an undeniable firmness in his tone. It was a tone of protection I had never heard him use before. He had certainly never directed that protective instinct toward me.

Kaelen led the way down the quiet corridor. He opened the door to a private, heavily warded sitting room located just off the main ballroom. The antique furniture was plush. The ambient lighting was incredibly soft. Kaelen silently gestured for me to sit on an expensive velvet chaise lounge. I obeyed instantly. I was highly aware of my ruined, soaked dress staining the priceless cushions beneath me.

Jaren disappeared into an adjoining washroom. He returned carrying a heavy leather medical kit. He knelt directly on the floor in front of me. He opened the kit and began diligently cleaning the glass cuts on my hands. He used a shocking amount of gentleness. His fingers were long, steady, and precise. He worked with the focused efficiency of a warrior who had tended to combat injuries countless times.

Thad paced the perimeter of the small room like a caged animal. His deep agitation suffocated the room with heavy pheromones.

"This is a massive mistake," Thad repeated for the third time. "She is just a servant girl. Why are we bringing her in here?"

"Because," Kaelen snapped. His voice lashed out like a physical whip. "I said so."

Thad instantly stopped pacing. For a long, tense moment, the two dominant brothers stared each other down. A silent, intense mental communication passed rapidly between them through their pack bond.

I simply sat there in silence. The sticky champagne dried uncomfortably in my hair. The blood was carefully wiped away from my damaged fingers. I watched three of the most feared, powerful wolves in the entire region suddenly treat me as if I were something precious. They were treating me like I was something worth protecting.

Like I was something worth fighting for.

The dark irony of the situation hit me hard. For eighteen agonizing years, these three men had been my ultimate tormentors. They were the privileged heirs who watched me suffer daily and did nothing to stop it. They were the Alpha bloodline who could have lifted a single finger to end my servitude at any point. They actively chose to look away.