CHAPTER 2

I was still on my knees when the order came.  

"Elara." You're my dad. The big room. Right now.”  

Ronan's voice sounded like a whip going down the stairs. I walked around in my dress that was wet from the rain. "My legs felt heavy." My heart hadn't stopped beating, but the strange tug in my chest had. It looked like it was trying to get away from something because it was running too fast.  

It was getting full in the main hall. There were fighters all along the walls. The kitchen girls were standing by the doors. The older people in the pack sat on the long benches. The light from the morning hit the stone floor I had just cleaned. When I walked in, everyone looked at me.  

He was sitting at the head of the big table. His hair was neat and dark. His clothes were clean. He looked clean. Had always. ""There she is," he said. He smiled but not all the way to his eyes. "Our little sister working hard."  

A few people laughed inside their heads. I looked at the dirt the whole time.  

Ronald slowly moved toward me. Every step made a sound. When I woke up this morning, the stairs were covered in mud. "In my home." He stopped in front of me. "Do you think they put it up?"  

I didn't say anything.  

"Pay attention when I talk to you."  

I put my chin up. His eyes were very cold.I had a question for you.I said, "I don't know." In the big room, my voice was soft.  

"You have no idea." He said them again as if they didn't taste good. "You scrubbed these floors early in the morning." You went up these stairs. Still, there was mud. "That's weird."  

He turned around to face the group. "Maybe she wants us to behave like animals. "Perhaps she is so sad about the dirt that she brings it inside."  

Not as rough laughter. I felt hot up my neck.  

He looked at me again. "Get on your knees."  

I knew the words would come soon. I took a seat. "The stone broke my bones."  

"Say sorry," he told her.  

"Sorry,"  

"Better." So everyone can hear how sorry you are.  

"I'm sorry about the muck."  

He shook his head. Not good enough. Tell them who you are.  

My throat got tight. I also knew this part.  

"I work for this pack," I said.  

"And?"  

"I don't have a rank." No sound. Not a single one. "No place at the table."  

Ronan nodded as if he were a teacher who was proud of a slow student. "All right." Say, "I'm glad I let you stay."  

The words stuck around. I made them leave. "Thank you."  

"Again."  

"Thanks for letting me hang out."  

We were almost face to face when he stooped down. Even though I was the only one who could hear what he said next, everyone was still looking as he lowered his voice. "You should be." "If Father were still alive, he would have kicked you out as soon as he saw how weak you became." "Well, I feed you at least."  

He got up and spoke louder. These things happen when bloodlines don't work right.Don't forget that.  

His finger snapped. A bowl of cold muesli was brought up by one of the kitchen girls. He picked it up and put it on the ground in front of me.  

He told her to eat. "Like all the other dogs."  

No one moved. No one spoke. I looked at the plate. There were skins on top of the porridge. No matter how sick I felt, I picked up the wooden spoon. "I had eaten." It was soft to swallow every time. They couldn't see anything in my face because I kept my eyes down.  

Ronald threw the bowl away when it was empty. It made noise on the stone.  

He said, "Go back to work." "The sheets in the guest rooms need to be changed." Delta Kael Draven doesn't sleep on dirty sheets.  

The name once more.  

I felt that same little pull in my chest. Not as easy as before. Without thinking, I put my hand on my ribs.  

Ronan closed his eyes. "Is something wrong?"  

"No."  

"Then leave.  

I got up. It hurts to kneel. I ran for the door on the side that led to the laundry rooms. I could hear the pack talking quietly again behind me. Some of them seemed amused. Few people seemed to be at ease. They didn't speak for me in any way.  

Mira caught up to me about halfway down the hall. She took a few steps with me, her eyes fixed on the road ahead."You should have stopped when he said your name," she said in a low voice. "That's the kind of thing he wants."  

I didn't answer.  

She looked at me and then away. "They say Kael Draven kills Alphas who are a waste of time." Ronan has the shakes. That makes him worse.  

I understand.  

She stopped. "Just...don't look up today." "Please."  

She left and went to the kitchens. I kept walking.  

It smelt like soap and wet wood in the laundry room. I went to the best guest room up the back stairs and got some new sheets from the shelves. It was a big room. Lots of windows. A bed for two. I changed the sheets carefully. From corner to corner. Free of wrinkles. Ronan was going to look.  

I was working when I felt the pull come back. Soft. At first. Then stronger. As if something woke up from its sleep. My hands moved more slowly. I waited for them in the middle of the room.  

That was the end of it.  

I made the bed. I cleaned the table. I put water in the pitcher. Every job was clean. That's right. I learned a long time ago that doing great work was the only way to stay hidden.  

As I walked back through the hall, the house looked different. Once more, footsteps. Voices are louder. Warriors with a purpose on the move. Someone yelled at them to look at the gates. Someone else yelled for more meat to be brought up from the shops.  

I sneaked down the stairs for the maids so no one could see me. I almost ran into two scouts at the bottom.  

They didn't even look at me for long."Over the northern ridge already," one said. "He'll be here by twelve o'clock."  

When Ronan comes to ride, he wants the whole pack to be in the yard.  

"Seven of the servants?"Most of all, the servants. He wants to show how good a boss he is.  

They kept going. I leaned against the wall and waited for their footsteps to stop.  

Before noon  

Ronan had just made me kneel in the yard where Kael Draven would stand. He had seen this pack before. He would see me.  

I felt a strong twist in my chest, so I took a deep breath.  

I thought for a moment that I heard something in my head. There were no words, just a low, unsettling noise. As if a wolf were to see how strong its cage is.  

After that, it was gone.  

I pushed off the wall and moved on to the next task. I stayed steady. I looked blank. But my throat hurt from the pain of my heart, and each step felt like it brought me closer to something I couldn't name yet.  

A horn from the lookout could be heard from the outside.  

One long note.  

Then another one.  

It was loud enough to be heard through the open windows on the pack grounds.  

They were there.