Blood Night Prisoner

Happy Birthday

         Three years later.......

         The dirty, dinner dishes were piled high in my arms and it was taking every ounce of concentration I had to navigate around the people still sitting at the long dining tables in the pack house. On any normal night there could be thirty to fifty people congregated here but tonight there were almost twice as many. The large room was designed to seat about one hundred people but I have never seen this many actually here. It was going to take forever to get the mess cleaned up before I had to make sure all the extra rooms upstairs had enough fresh bedding and towels for the visiting members. As a House servant, it was my job to do the cooking, set up and cleaning of meals as well as cleaning, laundry, sewing and any menial tasks that were asked of me. It was my job to have them done before anyone even needed to ask. And those jobs needed to be done without mistakes, otherwise I would be punished. 

        I, carefully, made my way to the kitchen and deposited my armful of discarded plates onto the counter next to the large sink. It was an industrial size kitchen so there was enough room to do the work I needed to do fairly efficiently. There was a small group of us that were assigned to House duty and we worked well together. We had developed our own little system to get things done so no one would stick out for doing something wrong. We were the Invisible Ones. We had to be to survive. I'll admit, it was a mundane existence, but the nonstop work kept me from thinking about my childhood and how different life used to be. How different I used to be. A few days could even pass quietly without the reminder, until I would hear the Alpha hiss in my direction.

       "Why isn't the food out?! My men have been training all day and they need their meal HOT" as a dinner plate would go whizzing past my head. "Fill my mug! Why is it empty?! You are so f*****g lazy.....this is your job! This is why I didn't kill you." 

        The satisfaction would be evident on his face each time he taunted me. The old Alpha's daughter.....demoted to being the maid. It fed his ego each time, that he had the power to do as he wished. I had spent a few days down in the cells when they had originally taken over. By the time they brought me up to the Great Hall before Alpha Dean, I lived my own personal hell. I was desperate to die by that point. They knelt me before him as he sat in the Alpha's seat in front of me while I waited for him to give the word to finally kill me.

       "It's never been our way to be baby killers," he drawled as he sat with his head resting on the back of his chair. He looked bored but I knew he was anything but. "Even though I should kill you for being my enemy's kin, your brothers swore fealty to me so I'll allow you to stay on the condition of your service." He turned his head to me and he had a gleam in his eye. "If you can stay alive until you come of age at eighteen, I'll let you swear your fealty to me then. After that, I'll think about giving you to one of the unmated pack members for a wife. If you can earn that honor."  he said sarcastically.

        From that day on, I went from being treated as a princess to being ignored by my old pack or taunted and harassed by the alpha's men. I didn't blame my pack members for ignoring me. They had their own families to worry about. No one wanted to risk bringing the attention onto them. They all witnessed the sadistic nature of this leader and his men and knew the price if they went against him. At least I could count on them just ignoring me rather than them joining the 'new' members in their verbal abuse.

        "At least we'll have time to finish up dinner service and get to setting up the rooms during the ceremony" smiled Cadence. "The Alpha's son arrived this afternoon but spent the day on the training fields with the warriors. Kelly and Ava already finished packing up the food and put away the clean dishes. I can go out there and finish up wiping down the tables."

        I turned to her with an appreciative look. She always knew what to say to get me to calm down when I was stressed or upset. Cadence and I became really close once we started working together. She was like the older sister I never had.  I hated to be out in the Dining hall, exposed to the men. 

       "Thanks! If you can do that, then I can go upstairs to make sure the Junior Suite is ready for him." I shot her a smile and I turned toward the rear kitchen door. It opened up to the long hallway that connected to a few storage rooms, a staircase that led upstairs and at the end, the stairway leading down to the cells. I took a deep breath and hurried toward the staircase leading up, concentrating only on those steps and trying not to see the other staircase. The one that led to my nightmares. 

         "Don't forget to meet us back here in the kitchen tonight after the festivities" Cadence called down the hall to me. "We're having cake for your Birthday! Ava made chocolate for you." I turned and smiled at the word chocolate! 

          "I'll be there with bells on!" I giggled back. It meant so much to me that the girls wanted to celebrate my eighteenth birthday with me. Growing up, I had always dreamed about this day. That dream, obviously went very differently than how it went now but no matter what the details, it meant that I was finally considered an adult. The possibility of being paired with someone or even finding my mate was the one luxury that I dreamed about. It meant that I could finally get out of my position and out of the packhouse. I wouldn't have to deal with the snide, daily comments or the warriors groping my ass as I walked by while I was cleaning. I wouldn't freeze in terror when I would glimpse a guard walking toward me on his way to a post. I could go somewhere away from here and start over with someone who would hopefully treat me well. I wasn't going to hope for love. I knew that was far reaching, at best and probably not going to happen. Especially if Alpha Dean paired me off with someone who didn't have a mate. But having someone who would treat me nicely? That could be possible couldn't it?

        I finished climbing the stairs to the fifth floor. There were only two large suites on this floor and they were both absurdly large and luxurious. The Master Suite was Alpha Dean's domain. I tried to stay away from that suite unless it was absolutely necessary. I didn't need him to come up with any more excuses to abuse me. I walked to the opposite end of the hallway from the Master Suite to the Junior Suite. I opened the double doors and let myself in. My footsteps were immediately hushed by the plush, charcoal gray carpet. The King size bed sat against the wall in the middle of the room and was covered in velvety soft, black, down comforters. Layers of luxurious pillows lined the back of the bed in front of the large Mahogany head board. Next to the bed were two large suitcases that were waiting to be unpacked. In the corner of the spacious room was a large, stone fireplace. I lit the fire to get the room cozy for it's new occupant and then walked over to the french doors that led out to the balcony. I opened them wide and the cool evening breeze drifted in. There was something different in the air tonight. There was an energy that I could feel that made the hair on my body stand up.  Out of nowhere, my wolf perked up and began to excitedly pace. What was making her so worked up? 

       I walked onto the large balcony and looked out onto the training field. The flood lights had been shut off and I could see the horizon in the distance over the thick trees. The beautiful dark blues and blacks of the sky with all the luminescent stars scattered through it meeting the blackness of the forest. I sighed deeply and turned around to go back to my chores when I suddenly smelled the most delicious scent I've ever smelled! It was like nothing I had ever smelled before. It was earthy and musky but held an exotic spicy sweetness. I lifted my nose and inhaled deeply, not able to get enough of it while my wolf began whining. With my eyes closed, I stepped back into the room trying to figure out what could be so delicious. When I opened my eyes, I jumped in surprise!

        Standing in the doorway to the room was the source of the beautiful scent. He stood, towering in the doorway, watching me. His head tilted up with his nostrils wide, scenting the room while his eyelids closed as he took it in. I couldn't help but take a step closer, as if a magnet were pulling me. His eyes snapped open and locked onto mine and I heard a low growl emanate from him. Slowly, he began to move forward toward me keeping our gaze locked. My wolf was whining and panting excitedly now. He stopped a few feet in front of me and another low growl escaped his lips as he breathed the word.

           "Mate".