Not a Maid

“Don’t mind her, new girl.” The young girl beamed at me. “Old Gisela’s bark is worse than her bite. Although she'll whip you if you disobey her.” She was a pretty, petite girl with bouncy blonde curls peeping from under the cap she wore. A sprinkle of freckles adorned her button nose, and her large brown eyes were warm and friendly. “We’d better get going. Come.”

“You don’t look like a wolf,” I blurted out as I followed her to get cleaning supplies.

She giggled. “And you don’t look like a hunter. But I don’t have a wolf.” Her mouth turned down, and she looked sad. “I am an omega. Without a wolf. So, basically, I am human, as far as the pack is concerned.”

“Is that a bad thing?” I was human too.

She looked over her shoulder and back at me with an expression I was all too familiar with – fear. “Shh! They’re coming. Take the mop. Wait here, I’ll fill the bucket with water. Don’t move and keep your head down.” She hurried away and left me alone to worry who ‘they’ were and why she was so afraid of them. Sophie was one of them, wasn’t she? Even though she considered herself to be basically human.

I found out who ‘they’ were promptly. Two men and a girl. From the way they dressed, I guessed they were ranked wolves. I tried to hide in the shadows, but my scent gave me away. One man pulled me from my hiding place and the mop dropped to the floor.

“I thought I smelled a human.” He grinned, showing a mouthful of gleaming teeth. “Hey, don’t look away,” he said as he grabbed my face. “She’s pretty.” He dragged me to show his friends. “Why haven’t we seen her here before?"

“Isn’t she the one the king bought?” the girl asked, lifting my hair from my neck. “Hmm, someone had a taste of her,” she giggled, noticing the purple bruise on my neck which I tried to hide with my hair.

“No, I don’t think she’s the one. Why would she be here in a maid’s uniform?” the other man said. He came closer and smelled my neck. “Let’s take her back to our room. She can do some cleaning there.”

The three of them laughed, and I didn’t like the way it sounded.

“I- I’m supposed to help Sophie…” I protested.

What should I say? Should I tell them who I was? But I couldn’t, afraid they might hurt me.

“Oh.” the dark-haired man said, pouting his lips. “Well, I suppose then we shouldn’t keep you.” But he wasn’t letting go of me.

The girl was behind me, playing with my hair. She leaned over and licked my cheek. “Hmm. You taste good,” she purred into my ear.

“Lola, you’re such a tease!” the other guy holding me laughed. “Just look at her face.”

Her hands slid to my breasts. I tried to pull away, but she squeezed hard, and I cried out.

“Such a baby! Feel how soft she is, Ferdi.” She pushed me to him, into his chest.

“What the fuck are you doing?” That thunderous voice lashed over us and they released me so abruptly that I lost my balance and fell to their feet.

“My king!” Three voices rang out simultaneously, their heads bowed.

“Explain yourselves!” he roared. He emerged out of the shadows like a specter.

“We were just playing, your Excellence. This new maid…” the dark-haired man began, but the Lycan interrupted him with a wave of his hand.

“Erina! Get up and come to me.”

I scurried to my feet and hurried to him, careful not to look at him directly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sophie ducking into an alcove.

“This slave belongs to me.” His eyes flashed lightning bolts over the three of them. “Let me be specific. No one touches her. Do you understand?”

“Yes, yes, of course, my king.” They all affirmed. Keeping their heads down, they stayed that way until the Lycan turned on his heel.

“Come!” he addressed me and I had to run to keep up with him as he made his way up the broad stone staircase.

At the second landing, I was out of breath and had to stop. I just couldn’t carry on any further. When he realized I wasn’t following, he turned back and lifted me over his shoulder, carrying me the rest of the way. “You’re unfit,” he said. “I’ll have to do something about that.”

I wouldn’t dream of asking what he meant by that.

He took me to another room, a library, from what I could see being carried upside down. I was dizzy.

“I leave you alone for a second and you get yourself in trouble,” he said when he put me down.

A second? I looked at him in astonishment. Had he been there all that time watching me?

He strode to a corner of the room, where a fire blazed in the gigantic stone fireplace, but which did little to heat the vast room. I stood awestruck by the immensity of the place. Bookcases reaching up to the domed ceiling. A spiral staircase led up to a second floor that went almost right around. The comfortable couches and chairs that invited one to curl up with a book… How long has it been since I had the simple pleasure of reading?

The Lycan’s harsh tone slapped me out of my daze. “Did you swallow your tongue?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.

“No, Master.” I rubbed my sweaty palms off on the dress, dreading what he planned.

“What in hell’s name are you wearing? Why are you dressed like a maid?” He circled, inspecting me.

My voice wavered. “This was the clothes y-you had Gisela bring me.” Wasn’t that what he wanted?

He shook his head. “Well, this won’t do. No matter. Take it off.”

“W-what?” No…

“Take. It. Off. All of it.”

I knew if I didn’t do as he said, he would rip the clothes off my body. The fire heated the surroundings, but still my skin broke out in goosebumps and my nipples pebbled under his scrutiny as I peeled off the uniform. He scooped the clothes up in one hand and threw them into the fire. The fabric sizzled and curled in the flames in a strange dance. It gave off a sweet smell, like burned sugar. I kept my eyes on the flames.

“You are not a maid. You’re my slave. Do you know what that means, Erina?” His voice sounded less thunderous.

I shook my head and caught his eye. The way he looked at me made me want to sink into the floor.

“Well, you will find out.” He sat down on a couch next to the fireplace. His eyes became a strange opaque color, only for a few seconds, and then they returned to the stormy gray again. “Come here.” He beckoned with his finger, suggesting the space between his legs. It was too close.

“M-master?”

“E-erina…” he mocked me. “Come. Here. Do not make me repeat myself.”

I moved like a puppet and took my place in front of his couch. He pulled me closer, so I was standing right between his thighs. I could hardly breathe. How would I ever survive this?