Chapter 19
1540 Words
New Chapter 19
The servant quarters, when we finally reached them, were worse than I had imagined.
The rooms were barely large enough for a single person, with thin walls that would provide no privacy and doors that looked like they could be broken down without much struggle.
The entire area felt more like a prison than a house.
"This is where you live?" I asked, unable to keep the disbelief from my voice.
"It's not so bad," Aida said defensively, though her tone suggested she was trying to convince herself as much as us. "We have our own room, and there's a window that lets in light during the day."
I exchanged glances with Lucerion, seeing my own horror reflected in his pale eyes.
As we approached what I assumed was their room, I noticed someone pacing anxiously in front of the door. It was a middle-aged woman in servant's clothing, her face creased with worry as she wrung her hands.
"Aida!" she called out when she spotted us, relief flooding her features. "Thank the Moon Goddess you're safe. I was starting to worry."
"Where's Mummy?" Aida asked immediately, her small voice filled with concern as she looked around for her mother.
The woman's expression grew troubled, and I could see her struggling with how much to reveal.
"She... she won't be coming back tonight, little one. She's been called away on pack business."
"What kind of pack business?" I asked, my voice carrying enough authority to make the woman's eyes widen with recognition.
"I... I don't know, my lord," she stammered, clearly recognizing our authority as esteemed guests. "I was just told to bring Aida her evening meal and to let her know that her mother would be detained."
She held out a small bundle of food, wrapped in rough cloth. Even from a distance, I could see that it was meager fare – a few scraps of bread, some thin gruel, and what looked like a piece of dried meat that had seen better days.
"That's supposed to feed a growing child?" Lucerion asked, his voice dangerously quiet.
The woman flinched at his tone, her fear spiking to the point where I could taste it on the air. "It's... it's the standard ration for dependents, my lord. The same as all the children receive."
"Show me," I said, taking a step closer to her. "Show me exactly what 'standard rations' consist of."
The woman's hands shook as she unwrapped the bundle, revealing the pitiful contents. The bread was stale and hard, the gruel was watery and flavorless, and the dried meat looked like it might have been edible weeks ago.
"This is what you feed children?" I asked infuriated by what I was seeing.
"I... I don't make the rules, my lord," she whispered, her face pale with terror. "I just follow orders."
"Where is Avaline?" I asked, my voice carrying the compulsion that few creatures could resist.
The woman's eyes went glassy, and I could see her will crumbling under the weight of my influence.
"She... she was taken to the woods by the Alpha's sons," she said, her voice hollow and distant. "They said she was incompetent, that she had failed in her duties."
"What duties?" Lucerion demanded, moving closer to the woman.
"Serving the guests," she replied, still under the influence of my compulsion. "She was supposed to attend to your needs, to ensure your satisfaction with our hospitality."
I felt pieces of the puzzle clicking into place in my mind. Avaline had been assigned to serve us, but Solaya had taken her place, clearly with her own agenda. Now the mother was being punished for Solaya's failure to seduce us.
"How long ago did they take her?" I asked, my voice urgent now.
"Hours ago," the woman replied, her voice growing fainter. "Before the sun set."
Aida had been listening to our conversation with growing alarm, her small face pale with fear. The food bundle she had been carrying slipped from her nerveless fingers as the full implications of what she was hearing sank in.
"They took Mummy to the woods?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.
"Yes, little one," the woman said, seemingly unaware of the distress she was causing. "But don't worry. The Alpha's sons know what's best for the pack."
Without warning, Aida bolted. She shot away from us like a small arrow, her feet pounding against the rough stone floor as she ran toward the exit that led to the forest. Her movement was so sudden and unexpected that even Lucerion, with his supernatural reflexes, was caught off guard.
"Aida!" I called after her, but she was already disappearing around a corner, her small form vanishing into the shadows.
"s**t," Lucerion muttered, his eyes blazing with concern. "She's going after her mother."
We gave chase immediately, our longer strides allowing us to close the distance despite her head start.
But Aida knew the pack house better than we did, and she was also desperate to save the life of the only one who cared for her.
The night air was cold against our skin as we emerged from the pack house and followed her into the forest. The moon was full overhead, casting silver light through the canopy and making it easier to track her small form as she crashed through the underbrush.
"This way," Lucerion said, his vampire senses picking up her trail more easily than mine. "She's heading for the deeper woods."
We moved through the forest with supernatural speed, our feet silent on the carpet of fallen leaves.
It was the sound of voices that led us to them – harsh laughter and the cruel mockery that spoke of people enjoying someone else's pain. We approached cautiously, moving through the trees until we had a clear view of the clearing ahead.
What I saw there made my blood run cold.
Avaline was on her knees in the center of the clearing, her clothes torn and her face bloodied. Solaya stood over her, her perfect features twisted with malicious satisfaction as she delivered another vicious slap to the bound woman's face.
"You pathetic little human," Solaya snarled, her voice filled with venom. "Did you really think you could sabotage my chances with the guests?"
"I didn't sabotage anything," Avaline replied, her voice hoarse but defiant. "If they rejected you, it's because they could see through your act."
The slap that followed was hard enough to snap Avaline's head to the side, leaving a red handprint on her cheek. But still she remained upright, her spine straight despite the abuse.
"You know what I think?" Solaya continued, circling her victim like a hawk.
"I think you sent your little bastard daughter to curry favor with them. I could smell her scent all over their room."
"Aida would never go near those monsters," Avaline said fiercely, her maternal instincts overriding her fear.
"I know what's best for her, and it's not being anywhere near creatures like them."
I felt Lucerion stiffen beside me at her words, his pride stung by being called a monster. But I found myself oddly impressed by her protectiveness, even if it was misguided.
The Alpha's sons stood watching the scene with cold amusement. Dion and Alistar – I remembered their names from the dinner introduction – seemed to be enjoying the spectacle of a defenseless woman being beaten.
"You should learn to mind your tongue," Dion said, his voice carrying the arrogance of someone who had never been challenged. "Especially when your daughter's safety hangs in the balance."
"What do you mean?" Avaline asked, her defiance wavering for the first time.
"Simply that accidents happen in the forest," Alistar replied with a cruel smile. "Children get lost, fall into ravines, encounter wild animals. It would be such a tragedy if something happened to little Aida."
The threat was clear, and I could see the terror that flashed across Avaline's face at his words. But before she could respond, a small figure burst from the treeline and launched itself at Dion with desperate fury.
"Don't hurt my mummy!" Aida screamed, her small fists pounding against the werewolf's chest.
Dion's reaction was swift and brutal. His hand came up in a vicious backhand that caught the child across the face, the force of the blow sending her small body flying across the clearing. She hit a tree trunk with a sickening thud and crumpled to the ground, blood streaming from a gash on her forehead.
"AIDA!" Avaline screamed, her voice filled with such anguish that it seemed to echo through the entire forest.
The sight of that small child lying motionless on the forest floor sent a rage through me unlike anything I had ever experienced. This wasn't just cruelty – it was the deliberate brutalization of an innocent child by someone who should have been protecting her.
Beside me, Lucerion was practically vibrating with the need for violence, his fangs fully extended and his eyes blazing with unholy fury. I could feel his desire to tear Dion apart piece by piece, to show him what real monsters were capable of.
"Wait," I said quietly, my hand on his arm. "Let's see how this plays out."
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