Episode 17
583 Words
"Oh, so you don’t know who she is?" Lady Saskia suddenly covered her mouth with her hand, feigning surprise. "She was once a servant to the deposed heir."
Lady Helena brows lifted in amusement. "Oh, her? The one who was cast aside like a piece of rotten meat? He didn’t even look back at her, did he?"
Raina lifted her head slightly, meeting the woman’s smug gaze. The next moment, a sharp slap landed across her cheek not from a hand, but from the heavy embroidered sleeve of Lady Helena gown.
The impact forced her head to the side, her skin stinging as the scent of the noblewoman’s perfume clung to the pain.
"What is that look?" Lady Helena voice turned cold. "How dare a lowly servant like you look at me like that?"
Raina clenched her fists against the pain but kept her voice steady. "I only meant to correct the Lady's misunderstanding. I was neither used nor discarded."
A stunned silence followed. The Alpha Mistresses had expected Raina to cower, to beg. Instead, she spoke back.
A slow chuckle came from Lady Saski. "Oh my, how bold."
Helena face darkened with fury. "Your Majesty, such an insolent mutt should be dealt with immediately! How can a mere servant dare to talk back to a noble born?"
Alpha Darius, lounging lazily looking at the mirror, only smirked. "I don’t intend to kill her. I’d rather see how long she can keep up that defiant attitude."
He turned to the guard by the door. "What is the punishment for a servant who disrespects a high ranking noble?"
"Submission and lashes, Alpha. Fifty strikes should suffice."
Darius nodded. "Good. Take her to the courtyard."
Raina bowed her head, her jaw tight.
Almost immediately, the guard drag her up from the floor and taking her outside.
She had barely stepped out when she collided with a broad chest. A solid familiar scent hit her nose.. Smoky leather.
"Raina?"
The deep voice sent a shiver down her spine. She stepped back in reflex, tilting her head up to meet his gaze.
It was her supposed mate, Prince Axel.
This was the first time she was seeing him after the massacre..
Her breath almost stopped. Memories flash through her mind, memories of his cruelty, the pain he had inflicted upon her.
Her fingers twitched, instinct demanding she lower her eyes, bow, submit. But she forced herself to hold her ground.
Axel piercing gaze shifted from the guard and over to Raina’s, pausing on the faint claw marks still healing on her arms, the dried blood on her fingertips. His jaw tightened.
"You’re serving in my father's court?" His voice was unreadable.
Raina swallowed the bitter taste in her mouth. "I take my leave, my Prince."
She turned quickly, walking away before he could stop her.
The guard stole a glance at Axel before rushing towards Raina who was no out of his grip.
The path led through the North garden, where autumn leaves had begun to fall. Their scent filled the air.
Yet, despite their beauty, all Raina could see was the blood that had once stained these very grounds. The screams of the fallen still sounding in her mind.
She had knelt here once before. Begged here. Lost everything here.
Her throat tightened as the memories clawed their way to the surface.
Then, a voice. A low, familiar voice that sent a ripple through her.
"You’re hurt again."
She turned, and there he was.
Prince veyne!
- Writer
