Bride of the Blood Oath

Impure

“I know it’s hard to believe”, she continued, “but I want to help you. Contrary to what most of us think, I think you’ve been suffering quite a lot. I think I want to help you because you’re well reserved and deep down you seem like one who can do more than others may believe, others including yourself”, she said.

That made it two people that believed that I had some inner strength that others aren’t just seeing.

“How can you help me?”, I said, fighting the urge to roll my eyes. I wanted to be helped, but I didn’t think it was possible to help me.

“I don’t fight wars. I’m as weak as you are or even weaker, but in case you didn’t know I spent most of my younger days being a prostitute. I know the weaknesses of great lords. I think I’m powerful in my own way”, she said.

I looked around hoping that nobody heard what she had just said. I didn’t think it was proper of her to voice out to me that she was once a prostitute.

“Oh don’t worry, lady Rosalind already knows I was a prostitute. It was her brother lord Richard who had previously laid with me and made me his mistress for a while that gave me a spot at the kitchen. But lady Rosalind doesn’t find me as a threat so she let me do one of the things I know how to do best which is cook”, she said. “You didn’t know about this?”

“No I didn’t”, I said, shaking my head.

“Anyways, I can give you tips to not getting rejected if you get another chance of mating again. Do you want my help?”, she asked.

I wanted to laugh at the thought of having another mate. There was no way another werewolf would want to get mated with me after being rejected twice, and almost raped. I was already partly impure in the eyes of many.

“If you felt that you were very powerful when you were a prostitute, why did you quit being a prostitute?”, I asked.

“You smart ass, who said anything about quitting?”, she responded with a sly smile and I looked at her in shock.

How was she able to juggle the separate duties of being a kitchen head and also a prostitute?

Ironfang Bastion was an unsafe place for prostitutes. The werewolves here did a lot of unspoken things to prostitutes and Rosalind allowed them to do whatever they wanted with prostitutes. She even entertained the open assault of prostitutes and other weak Omegas in shows. I had no idea how her brother was able to convince her that someone who sells her body was fit to oversee the kitchen. But if Constance thought that she was safe, she wasn’t being serious about staying alive. Rosalind was wicked. I believe not many people knew the extent of her wickedness.

“I think you shouldn’t–“, I wanted to protest, but she interrupted me rudely, her smile fading away instantly.

“I don’t need your advice. I know exactly what I am doing because I am doing all that I do to try to stay alive and feed my children. If you need my help meet me at the door of this storage room when the kitchens have closed. Make sure you’re not being followed and make sure you bring some money to me because knowledge isn’t free”, she said, grabbing the basket in my hands.

I knew the discussion was over for now and it was my cue to leave, so I did so quietly.

Nobody gave me a task at the kitchen which I was thankful about because I was able to sneak back into my room to get some money.

All children of the Baldwin family were given an allowance every month. It was a decision made by the small council when my father was alive. It was one of the things that Rosalind couldn’t change. I was happy there were some things that she couldn’t just manipulate easily.

I grabbed some money from my little box which I hid under my bed and slipped it into my bra. In as much as some people knew I was given allowance, I didn’t want anyone to know that I knew how to save and had lots of money for a twenty year old.

I made my way back to the kitchen because I couldn’t stay in my room. If I was caught outside the kitchen by Rosalind or one of her devoted servants, I was going to get even more punished.

Soon it was time for the kitchen to close. I fought the urge to sleep as I made my way to the storage room door as Constance had asked me to.

When I arrived she was there already reading on some piece of paper. I walked behind her and saw the contents of the paper. It was a list of some ingredients for the kitchen.

“Oh my god”, she said, completely startled by my presence. “When did you get here?”

“Nearly two minutes”, I said.

“You’re as quiet as a vampire. Are you sure that isn’t one of your strengths that you don’t pay attention to?”, she asked

I couldn’t answer her question, but it made me think deeply. A lot of people that I had been around had complained that I loved to sneak up on them, including Rosalind. But the truth was that I only walked up to these people or just decided to be around. I never actually snuck up on anybody.

This was the first time someone had ever called my stealth a power. It gave me the feeling that perhaps deep down I was more than I viewed myself to be.

“Anyways”, she continued when she saw I wasn’t going to reply to her. “It’s time to learn how to keep a mate.”

She used her keys to open up the door and we both walked in.

“Is there a lesson on how to GET a mate?”, I asked.

Constance must have found my question funny because she laughed, but I was actually serious about my question.

“I’ve never been mated before Edith. I have only been a slut. So there’s no way I would know how to help you get a mate unless you want to use the prostitute method which doesn’t work for many because powerful men don’t mate suits”, she said.

“Stop calling yourself that”, I said.

“I will because that’s what I am. I’ve accepted that fact because I am doing it for a good cause. My money?”, she said, stretching out her hand.

I dropped the coins in her hands not wanting to argue with her. If being a prostitute was a means to feed her family I couldn’t blame her. All I could do was feel bad for her because she wasn’t safe.

“Take off your dress”, she instructed.

“What?”, I asked, my heart racing.