ASTRID.
It's been eight days now, and I was still in the dungeon. Each day added a slow drip of humiliation and despair to my already fucked life.
What was my actual crime? Daring to love the wrong Alpha? I kept asking myself these questions, but there was never any response.
Jaden would scoff and spit on me if he ever found out about this. Maybe I should just… run away? Leave the pack? So I'd not have to face even more shame and humiliation from everyone who would say, "I told you so."
But the question remained… Where would I go?
I had become pale. I'd thought of ripping the dress off my body more times than I could count, but that would mean I'd be naked in this hellhole, and there was nothing else to wear. So I remained in the stupid dress, looking even more stupid and pathetic.
The dungeon was a dark, damp place, with the occasional scurrying of rats breaking the silence and keeping me sane in a way.
No one had come to check on me. Not Gerald. Not my friends, Carl and Lyra. The only companion I had left was Rhia—my wolf.
The scraping sound at the cell gates snapped me out of my thoughts. I knew what it meant. One of the maids must've come to bring my meager food ration, probably with her usual sneers and mockery.
But I was wrong. It wasn't a maid. It was a guard.
I watched him open the gate to my cell, my heart stuttering in confusion.
What was happening?
"Come out. Thank your stars the Luna is merciful," the guard said, looking at me with that familiar look of disgust.
"Luna… Luna Caylie?" I swallowed hard as I stepped out, feeling both grateful and confused. Why would Luna Caylie forgive me just like that? Maybe… maybe Gerald had been pleading on my behalf. Maybe I'd judged him too harshly.
A fragile bit of hope stirred inside me, until the guard spoke again.
"Luna Skye was the one who ordered your release."
I froze.
What did I just hear?
Skye was already being addressed as the Luna?
Tears stung my eyes, burning hot trails down my cheeks.
"Go and get changed. Your new duty starts immediately," the guard said as we walked out of the dungeon.
"New duty? What's that?" I asked, confused.
I was already an Omega. My duties had always been clear – maid service within the pack. What else could they possibly assign me to?
"You've been assigned to be one of Luna Skye's personal maids."
***
I wiped the tears from my eyes as I finished getting ready for my new duty. The walk from the dungeon had been nothing short of brutal and unbearable, with all the jeers, scornful remarks, sarcastic pity, and mockery coming from everyone. I had endured it all, keeping my head down and my emotions locked away.
But what greater humiliation could await me than being made the personal maid to the woman who had taken my place?
When I arrived at the fortress, I forced myself to greet her. "Good day, Skye."
Her hair was tousled, and she looked tired, but there was a triumphant gleam in her eyes that I couldn't miss. I didn't even want to imagine the reason she looked that way this morning. I shoved the thoughts aside.
"Astrid. I do not want us to start off on the wrong foot. So, why don't you learn to call me by my title?" she said sweetly as she descended the stairs.
I swallowed the lump of shame rising in my throat. "Yes, Luna." I bowed.
"Now, that's better," she said, stopping right in front of me. She looked me over, taking her time before speaking again. "You'll go to the mall and get my dress and jewelry. Tell them the Luna of the Mountain Wolf pack sent you." She emphasized the title deliberately like she wanted it engraved in my subconscious.
"Yes, Luna," I repeated, bowing again.
"Do so now. We are expecting a very important guest later today. I need to look my best as the new Luna!" Her excitement was sickening.
"Honey? What's taking so long? You left me hanging!" I heard the voice of the one I stupidly loved coming from the inner room as he made his way down the stairs.
"I'm through, babe. I was just addressing my new maid," Skye called back, her eyes sparkling with mischief.
Gerald stopped halfway down the stairs and looked at me. His expression was neutral and unreadable.
I waited, hoping stupidly that he'd say something. Anything.
He did. But not to me.
"Hurry up with it, then. We have unfinished business in the bedroom," he said to Skye, then turned and walked back upstairs.
I didn't even notice the tear sliding down my cheek until it fell.
"Oh, Astrid… Why the tears? Did we say something to hurt you?" Skye asked, feigning sympathy as she reached out and touched my arm and burst into a loud laugh. "Get the fuck out of here and get me my dress, you ugly duckling!"
*
I was exhausted. Skye had made sure I did almost all the chores in the large fortress, all alone.
I looked tattered and worn out.
"Look at her. What was she thinking?" a maid said as they walked past me while I scrubbed the floor.
"Such a fool. Now she serves the actual Luna. What a shameful pity," the other maid replied, and they let out a hearty laugh.
"She wants to become Luna. What makes her think she's capable? So pathetic," the third maid chipped in.
I felt my anger rising. But who was I to fight?
"I heard the Alpha King is coming today," Vera, the first maid said, changing the topic, and I heaved a sigh of relief.
"I wonder what he wants. Just hearing his name gives me the chill," Gwen, the second maid said, dusting the dining table.
"I wonder why he doesn't have a mate yet. Probably because of his ruthlessness and cruelty. I wouldn't be surprised. Someone who got his wolf at fourteen and became Alpha King at nineteen? He's such a..." Vera was about to say, but Gwen cut her off.
"Shhhh! The walls have ears! Even though we think he is a monster, he is still the Alpha king!" Gwen warned.
I paid close attention to them. I had always heard about this Alpha King everyone feared, but I'd never gotten the opportunity to see him. Perhaps this was my chance to finally put a face to the name that haunted so many people.
Still, something never quite added up. How did the Truettes manage to hold the Alpha King title for forty straight years? Gerald once explained that the crown wasn't hereditary. It was contested every decade among the three families descended from Alpha Mohegan, the first Alpha King who rose over four hundred years ago.
Of the three lineages, our pac, the Mountain Wolf pack, was the smallest, and year by year, it was slipping deeper into insignificance as other packs were beginning to lose trust in us. The Bellamys have ruled for twenty years, while the Truettes have ruled for forty unbroken years. That imbalance was more than just unfair… it was dangerous.
Gerald always said it was crucial for one of his brothers to claim the title this year. If not, it might be the final blow to our pack's standing.
"Hey, bitch! What are you looking at? Coming up with ways to also seduce the Alpha King the way you did with Gerald?" Vera snapped at me.
"I'm... I'm sorry." I said and quickly walked out of their presence, covering my mouth with my palm.
"Ouch! Watch it!" a familiar voice yelled when I accidentally bumped into a hard figure.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry, Gerald," I apologized when I saw who I had bumped into.
"It's Alpha to you, Astrid. Watch where you're going!" Gerald said, sounding cold and unrecognizable.
"What happened to you? Why... why treat me like a piece of trash? I thought you loved me," I cried. "We shared a lot together... You promised..."
"Enough with the soap opera, Astrid. Don't get me started on all that," Gerald said with a sigh. "Get back to work. Our guest will be here any moment."
He tried walking away, but I instinctively held his hand. "You didn't even care to visit me in the dungeon. I have faced so much humiliation because of you... Gerald," tears flowed freely from my eyes.
"At least I granted Skye's request to have you released, despite all you did to her!" he said through clenched teeth, a vein popping up in his forehead.
I was confused. "All I did to her? What are you talking about?"
"Oh. You thought I wouldn't find out, right? You cheap whore! Stay the fuck away from me and never talk to me ever again!"
"Gerald! Please! Talk to me... I've never... I..." I held onto the hem of his shirt, but I quickly let go when I saw Skye coming out the door.
"Is everything okay? Babe? What's going on?" Skye asked Gerald, venom dripping from her words.
"It's nothing. She's just being the cheap whore she's always been," Gerald replied. "Where are you going all dressed up?"
"Oh, I'm going to see the doctor. I've been feeling sick... Who knows? I might be pregnant, you know?" Skye said with a wide smile.
I almost choked on my tears. Pregnant? How? It hadn't even been up to two weeks since the coronation... Is that even possible?
"Be home in time to welcome the Alpha King," Gerald said and planted a kiss on Skye's forehead.
Skye walked past me, hitting me hard with her shoulder. I fell harshly to the ground, and so did her phone.
My gaze traveled to the phone, and I caught sight of something... something really unsettling.