Kill The Luna

71

I slowly helped myself to push up off the hard floor, my teeth gritting tightly as a sharp, agonizing heat flashed through my waist and ribs. Ella immediately dropped to her knees beside me, her face pale with worry as she wrapped her arms under my shoulders, carefully helping me stand back up on my shaky legs. The moment she made sure I was safely balanced against the stone wall, a fierce, protective rage exploded across her features.

She turned her head around and shouted at the top of her lungs at the moving figure. "Hey! You! What on earth is wrong with you? You don't have a single bit of respect inside your soul! You just slammed right into her and you didn't even bother to say you are sorry!"

The middle-aged nanny stopped her boots on the wooden planks. She slowly turned around to face us, a cold, calculating look taking over her eyes. She was holding a heavy silver platter in her hands, and resting right in the center of the tray was a tall glass filled with a dark, stained drink, looking as if she were taking it to go give to one of the high-ranking warriors in the house. She let out a soft, mocking hum and began walking back toward our position, her hips swaying slowly.

"Oh, goodness, I am so sorry," she stated, her voice dropping into a sweet, dripping tone of fake concern as she stopped right in front of my face. "I am really, deeply sorry for that clumsy little accident, girl. Did you happen to hurt your fragile little yourself on the floor?"

I clutched my bandaged ribs, my eyes narrowing as I closely watched her fake smile. "No, it is completely okay. I am perfectly fine," I responded flatly, wanting nothing more than to get away from her.

Instead of backing away, the woman kept pushing herself deeper into my personal space. She reached out her hands and started aggressively touching my shoulders and arms, pretending to check my fresh dressings for blood. The unwanted contact made my skin crawl.

I raised my bandaged fingers and forcefully pushed her hands away from my chest. "No, for real, I am telling you that I am completely fine!" I snapped, my tone dropping into a sharp growl.

The nanny shifted her heavy body back a couple of steps, her features instantly twisting into a highly dramatic, exaggerated expression of deep pity. She placed both of her hands flat against her chest, letting out a loud, heavy sigh. "I am just really, truly sorry, dear. I feel absolutely horrible to see you like this," she murmured. But the very second the polite words left her mouth, she gave the silver tray a sharp, deliberate tilt forward.

*SPLASH!*

The tall glass tipped over, and the dark, sticky fluid poured directly onto my clean dress, soaking completely through the fabric right over the center of my chest side. The freezing liquid stained the white cloth instantly, seeping through to hit my fresh bandages underneath.

I froze entirely in that exact instant, my breath catching in my throat as the cold wetness spread across my skin. I stood there in absolute despair, my jaw dropping open in total, paralyzing shock as I stared down at the dark stain on my chest. Ella’s eyes widened to the size of saucers, her mouth opening in pure surprise as she looked between me and the dripping tray, completely stunned by the sheer cruelty of the act.

Suddenly, the quiet hallway filled with the sound of cruel giggles and hushed whispers. Three other house maids had started gathering around the corner, watching the entire scene play out. They stood in a small circle, pointing their fingers and laughing at my ruined clothing while I stood there helpless.

The nanny’s fake look of pity instantly vanished, replaced by a wide, triumphant smile as the two other maids rushed over to stand right behind her back, supporting her actions with smug grins. "Actually, I am not sorry at all," the woman laughed, tossing her head back as she scoffed at my ruined dress. "I was only joking with you before. I was only sorry for what I was already about to do to your miserable face."

I clutched my damp gown, my voice shaking with a mixture of raw anger and deep humiliation as I forced myself to look her in the eye. "Why... why are you doing this to me? What did I ever do to you?"

The nanny’s smile completely vanished, her face tightening into a mask of pure, ugly hatred as she stepped even closer, her eyes burning with malice. "We don't want a freak like you living inside our beautiful palace!" she hissed, her teeth bared as she pointed a finger directly at my nose. "Everything in this pack house was perfectly peaceful and fine until the exact day you showed up here! Go right back to the deep hell you crawled out from!"

The maids behind her nodded their heads eagerly, muttering their agreement as the nanny kept barking her accusations into the quiet hallway. "We all know the truth about you, Fedora! We know that whole missing routine was just a clever part of your little play! That was exactly why you chose to come sneaking into our borders through the rushing water, wasn't it? You did that just so you wouldn't be easily suspected of your evil intentions and your dark sorcery!"

She threw her hands up in the air, her voice rising to an angry, accusing shriek that echoed off the stone walls. "And now you have completely poisoned our great Alpha's mind with your witchcraft! You made him risk the precious lives of our own pack people just to go out into the forest and save your useless body! That was your grand plan all along, wasn't it? To weaken our defense!"

She clutched her silver tray tightly, glaring down at my ruined clothes with a look of supreme disgust. "We absolutely do not want you here, girl! You have no permanent day or place in this territory! You are nothing but a dangerous spy and a bringer of pure chaos!"

With her venomous speech finally finished, she turned her back to go, flipping her long hair over her shoulder as she prepared to walk away. The other house maids instantly fell in line beside her, walking with her down the corridor, laughing loudly and cheering her up for putting the outsider in her place.

But before they could even take three full steps down the hallway, a massive, deafening click echoed through the corridor. The heavy iron security doors of Michael's private room suddenly burst wide open.