As I entered the kitchen, ready to plate the food I was supposed to take to Alpha Evan, a large body bumped into mine, sending me careening behind me into a pile of dishes. The ceramic fell to the floor behind me with a resounding thud, breaking into a hundreds of pieces, the sound so loud that pretty much everyone had stopped what they were doing to look at me. Both anger and embarassment rushed through me in equal measures, making my cheeks heat up. "What the hell, Melody?" Michel's voice boomed in the silence that ensued as I struggled to get up from the floor without hurting myself. My hand had only just healed from the previous incident with the broken champagne glasses and the last thing I wanted was another cut. I looked up to see who had pushed me, only to see that it was Laurent, one of the pack's gammas sneering down at me. He and Nick were the best of friends and often took turns trying to humiliate or hurt me. It was their definition of fun. I had thought that after

"Why?" I couldn't help but blurt out on instinct, his sudden dismissal of me hurting me more than I cared to admit. He had never been cold to me save for the one time in front of Alpha Adrian and that too had been an act. So this, him suddenly being so cold and rude stung like no other. I knew for a fact that he didn't like sharing things about himself. And I'd always tried not to push him for answers. Besides, he'd been answering me just fine up until a few minutes ago. I figured since he'd willingly divulged his past to me, we were somehow closer to each other now. That I had the right to ask questions and that he would answer me. Apparently, I'd been wrong. "Because I want you to. Because I'm not a saint like you," he said to me, his voice sharp. Not a saint like me? What was he going on about? "I'm not some saint, Evan. I'm just me. Melody," I told him, my words slow, careful. "That's just what the problem is, isn't it?" He replied, his tone sardonic. Turning around s

"Have you seen Raymond?" I asked Jen, one of the kinder slaves who often helped me. "He might be somewhere in the kitchen. That's where I last saw him," she told me on her way to the Ball room, an assortment of beautifully selected flowers in her hand, blue and white, which was the theme for the night. "Thank you," I shouted at her over my shoulder as I ran towards the kitchen, looking for Raymond. After visiting Miss Lillian, I realised I didn't have much time to say my goodbyes to Raymond and I had to do it tonight itself for I didn't know how or when I'd be leaving tomorrow. I had just opened the door to the kitchen when someone coming from the inside slammed right into me. Strong arms held me, keeping me from falling as I lost my balance. "I'm so sorry, I was in a hurry," I heard a man's voice say and it took me only a moment to realise that it was Raymond. "Raymond!" I exclaimed once I'd righted myself and pulled away from his hold. "Mel! Thank Goddess you're here, I

The Imperial Ball was finally over and the guests had been leaving since morning. All the servants had been tasked with either cleaning up the guest rooms- changing the bedsheets, cleaning the bathrooms and such, or helping the guests load their luggages into their cars. I had been tasked with cleaning the bathrooms. Yeah, it's as fun as it sounds, which is not at all. I had been at it for at least four hours when I realised it was finally time for lunch. With an excited grin, I made my way towards the kitchen, ready to take food to Alpha Evan's room. I was hoping that he would finally tell me what the plan of action was, let me in how he was going to take me with him. I mean, it was me he was taking with him, so I obviously had to be let in on the plan for it to work successfully, right? And if he was going to do it today like he had told me he would, then now was as good a time as any to tell me everything. "What are you doing here?" Michel asked as soon as I stepped foot int

"This is it," Alpha Evan said, opening the wooden doors and letting me in. "This is your house?" I asked, slowly walking in. After walking away from the painful scene of Miss Lillian and Raymond sobbing as the small room I'd called home burnt to shambles, Alpha Evan had shifted into his wolf in the woods. I had sat on his back much like I'd done a few days ago and then he had run all the way from our pack to his, stopping hours later at this house which seemed to be situated on a hilltop, over looking the town underneath. "It is," Alpha Evan said, walking in and closing the door behind us. I took in our surroundings. On the outside, it had looked like a quaint, cozy little place with a small garden, a picket fence and cobblestone pathway. The inside was much the same. The whole place held an antique look with an open plan living room and it's cozy looking fireplace placed in front of an equally cozy looking sofa set, complete with a plush carpet. Off to the side was a typical k