The Unwanted Luna

Chapter 7

Katherine POV

I had always hated royalty. I wanted a good life, but not the royal type. It just seemed too controlled and too stressful. To have maids unclothe you, and the tension that the lives of over one hundred thousand werewolves lay on your shoulders.

For me, being rich was being accepted by my parents and finding the love of my life.

But as I stand here, minutes after Klaus left me alone, I watch as maids roam around my room, picking up my things and moving around.

“Ma, please follow us,” one of them said.

I walked with them, past the slave quarters, and then to Klaus’s room.

Klaus’s chambers were located at the center of the palace, mostly white and black interior with golden goblets and plates—anything that gold could cover.

One of the maids walked up to me and bowed her head. “I am Tessa. And your handmaid. I will always be at your service.”

I nodded with a smile. “I am Katherine, by the way.”

She took a step back, the smile vanishing from her face. “Yes, you are Katherine. We know what you are, and we know who you are. Your clothes will be delivered as soon as possible. Please stay here as Klaus instructed.”

I nod, not saying a word. I watched as they left, how they roamed around the room and never came close to me, like they hated me with all their heart.

I take my time to roam around my new cage, how beautiful it is. It is filled with pictures of Theresa and Klaus, even when they were little.

Everything in the room screams Theresa’s decoration and how she wanted it. Goosebumps crawl on my skin as I feel so lonely and yet out of place.

I am staring at one of the designs when the door creaks open.

Laura walks in, carrying a plate of food. My heart immediately drops, guilt washing over me like never before.

She was nice to me and was the only one who made me feel comfortable and not left out.

“My lady, I came to drop your food,” she informed me quietly, her eyes on the ground, avoiding me.

I walk towards her, taking cautious steps toward her. “Laura, please hear me out.”

She shakes her head and raises her face to look at me, tears standing in her eyes. “There is nothing to hear from you, Katherine. You lied to me. I thought you were my friend, but you are not. You allowed me to expose the secrets of the pack to you. All this while I thought I was telling a friend, not knowing I was telling a secret spy.”

She placed the food on the table beside the bed. “There is nothing to talk about, Katherine. You made a fool out of us all, and you killed Theresa. Our Theresa. And you might think that you are the good one and that nothing would happen, but we will never accept you as our Luna. Never. And as for me, I will never accept you even as my friend. I will take my leave now.”

I watch her walk away, watch her slam the door against me.

Gosh! How f****d up can this be? Just when I get something, I lose everything. It's like my life was never a good one. Like I would literally drag myself to just a little bit of joy only to have life snatch it away from me.

Funny how we were not the ones that killed Theresa. Theresa died way before we got there, and so did her mother, but somehow the person who did this gets to live freely while I live with a mate who hates me and who wishes me dead.

I walk toward the table and open the breakfast. Pancakes and sausage. I immediately close it back, losing all my appetite.

Since there is nothing to do, I decide to find Lia. At least she is the only one who would keep me company.

I walk towards the door only to meet a young girl standing in front of it, a smile on her face.

“You must be Katherine, right?” she asked, a sly smile on her face.

My eyes survey her body from the short red strapless gown she is wearing to the long hair and lips as red as strawberries. I don't need anyone to tell me she is a prostitute.

“Yes, and how may I help you?”

She opens the door and walks past me into the room, shoving me to the side, and sits on Klaus’s bed.

I narrow my eyes. “Excuse me. You haven't answered my question. Who are you, and why are you here? You do realize that this is my mate’s bed.”

“Oh, please,” she snorts, waving her hand in the air. She twirls the edge of her hair. “Can we please drop the act? Yes, he is your mate, but he does not like you. No one likes you, so stop acting like some important guest. Besides, Klaus sent me here.”

She pulls her shoes off and throws them at my foot. “Please arrange them somewhere, and please bring me water.”

I swallow hard, anger boiling within me. I fold my arms and walk toward her. “Have you gone crazy, or do you mistake me for a maid?” I ask.

She shook her head. “Nah. I know how the maids in the palace dress. They do not go around killing people. Well, let me introduce myself. I am Delilah, one of the best prostitutes in this pack, and your husband sent me here because he needs my service, and he said you should attend to me till he comes.”

I stare at her, trying to comprehend what just happened to me. Klaus? Asking a prostitute to not only come to his room but for me to be her servant.

Is this his idea of revenge? To make me the maid of my mate’s concubine?

Tears fill my eyes. I catch the sneer she is giving me.

I could cry here and make a scene, or I could walk away, head held high.

“Well, when Klaus comes, tell him that I am not his maid. He has thousands; he should use them. And if he is man enough, he will find a way to hurt me or maybe kill me to repay his mate’s death, but not make me a maid to a cheap w***e, and—”

“Oh please, you are a maid,” Klaus interrupts.

I immediately step aside and turn towards him, watching as he enters the room, putting on a black long-sleeve shirt and trousers, a pistol visible in his pocket.

He walks up to me, closing all distance between us until I can scent his wood-cigar smell and feel the heat coming from him.

He traces his hand, starting from my neck and down to my face, raising my head to look at his dark storm-blue eyes.

My heartbeat increases almost immediately. “You know, you wolves from Oro pack usually have no value for your lives. You are such cowards that you think the easier way is to die, but that is not happening. You are going to be the maid to her for tonight. It will teach you your place.”

I swallowed hard and took a step closer, pushing the hard, painful lump in my throat. “I am a soldier, Klaus. A real one. You could throw me into a river of wolfsbane, and I will survive. But you know what I will not do? Be a maid to your concubine. It will never happen. I would rather die than do such a thing.”

He glares at me, and then his expression turns into a smile, and then he takes a step backward and breaks into laughter.

I furrow my eyebrows, trying to understand what he is finding funny.

And then he does the unmistakable thing. He walks up to Delilah, who is on the bed, and leans forward to kiss her.

I turn my back to the scene, tears standing in my eyes. Whatever mate bond I feel spreads such heavy, piercing pain through my chest.

“Mmm… you taste so sweet,” Klaus whispers near my hearing.

Their lips roll with each other. “Look at us,” Klaus commands.

I stand rigid, pretending not to hear him. I can't have the memory imprinted in my head.

Delilah laughs midway, her laughter echoing in my head.

“She can't even look,” she says, mocking me.

Her words keep echoing in my head even when she has stopped, and at a point, they mix with my little sister’s voice.

“You are nothing. Absolutely nothing!” she shouts.

It mixes with my mum’s voice calling me nothing when I did not find my mate, and my dad’s voice when I told him that someone had finally picked me.

Maybe he was right. Maybe I did not deserve love. Maybe I was just the least favorite of God, and that is why things never worked well for me.

Their voices echo in my head. I press my palms against my ears, trying to stop the noise. My hands tremble. Everywhere becomes too tight for me to breathe, to think, or even say a word. It's like their voices steal my ability to breathe.

“Katherine!” Klaus shouts, his voice snapping me out of their voices.

I raise my eyes to look at him, Delilah’s lipstick stain on his lips. Tears are already rolling down my face.

A smirk graces his face. His thumb cleans my tears. “Awwn, baby. Don't cry. I know you wish you could die now. I know you wish you could leave this earth, but you can't. I won’t let you.”

He smiles at me. “But how did you feel?” he asks, shoving his hands into his pocket.

“How did you feel when I kissed and touched her? How much pain did this mate bond cause you? Huh? Much, right? So much that someone like you is crying.”

He grabs my neck, choking me. “This is how much pain I felt when you killed my mate.”

Sorrow bubbles within me, my heart mixed with pain, pain stabbing my whole being. I had grown numb to whatever he was doing.

Instead of crying, I smile at him—a broad smile, a sick smile—even as his hand is wrapped around my neck.

“You suck, bastard,” I say, staring at him. I swallow hard. “You think that I am going to die from what you did? No, I am not. I couldn’t care less. I lost my friends to this same war, but did you see me doing that? Did you see me sleeping with men to wave away my sorrow? No! Because I am not pathetic. I deal with my pain better than you do.”

His grip tightens around my neck, but I press further. “You think you can hurt me?” I ask and laugh.

“Well, you can’t, because I have received every type of pain. My parents don’t even remember my name. They call me disgusting or call me any degrading name. I am an omega whose dad is a gamma. Whose dad is a narcissist, and I have dealt with that.

You can’t hurt me. I have been passed across, and so many men saw me naked but never married me, and the only man I loved died. But at least in all this, I had my integrity, and I will continue to have it. And so you know, Klaus, I did not kill your mate. And this—” I pause, pointing at Delilah and the door.

“This will not harm me, but it will hurt you more than you can take.”

His grip loosens around my neck. His eyes soften, and a glint of sadness passes through them.

“I… Katherine…” he began, but I had already walked away from the room.

My heart heavy and aching as I slam the door behind me.