FIVE
1224 Words
LILY:
The car jerks to a stop outside the Central Palace, and before I can even exhale, Vergil is out, slamming the door behind him without so much as a glance in my direction. His strides are long, and I can barely catch up. The guards and maids line up at the entrance to receive him.
“Welcome, Alpha Vergil,” they chorus, bowing. As soon as he is gone, their faces contort in disgust as they look at me like I am dirt.
I walk slowly, gripping the folds of my dress, trying not to care. My father is one of them, but I am learned. I broke out of the peasant curse, but still they look at me like I have earned nothing. They are supposed to bow to me because I will be Luna, and it is not like I want so much respect to trample on them, but at least an acknowledgement.
One maid squints at me like I’m something stuck to the sole of her shoe.
“Are we seriously supposed to call that Luna?” she mutters with venom in her tone. Laughter ripples through them like wildfire, but I do not turn.
“She must have begged him on her knees,” another one spits.
“Desperate little thing,” a voice rings out loud enough to echo across the compound.
“She looks like a charity case in that dress.” I clench my fists, digging my nails into my palms, but I do not give them the satisfaction they want.
I keep walking with my chin high, even though my legs tremble under me. The shame wraps around my throat, threatening to suffocate me, and I pretend not to hear them, heading inside the house to find Vergil. Inside the reception, I raise my head just in time to see him standing on the spiraling staircase, arms folded, and brows wrinkled.
He looks down at me like I’m a stain on his floor.
“I don’t have all day. Come up, so I’ll show you to your room.”
Your room? Not our room? I swallow the lump in my throat, the bitterness of humiliation sliding down like glass shards. My legs feel heavy as I climb the stairs, dragging myself higher. I feel their laughter still crawling on my skin. I feel like a child being paraded through a castle she doesn’t belong in. Soon I am standing in front of an enormous room. It is beautiful, and even my salary as a doctor cannot afford this, but I do not really care about the aesthetics. Not when my insides are splitting quietly.
“This will be your room. Make yourself comfortable, as there is already a fine selection of dresses fit for a Luna,” he says, and I force a smile on my face, though I want to scream.
I wonder if he’s laughing inside at me like the maids. He turns to leave after he says this, but the voices tugging at me don’t let me.
“Where will you sleep?” I ask, before I can stop myself. My voice sounds small.
He pauses in his tracks.
“What do you mean?” he asks, voice flat like ice cracking. I open my mouth to speak, but he doesn’t let me. “This is the biggest palace in all four Hound Packs. It has more rooms than any house in this pack, so how is where I will sleep a problem?”
My heart thumps hard in my chest, threatening to suffocate me.
“We… we are married, and trying to sell the point,” I stutter, hating how fragile I sound. “We are selling the point fine, and no one has to know we do not sleep together except the both of us.”
With this, he slams the door shut, causing a shudder to run down my spine. I flinch, as if his rejection were a slap. My head feels faint, and my pride is cracked in too many places to hold. I push myself to sit on the bed before I collapse on the floor completely.
**
A knock comes just as I’m trying to piece myself back together. I sit up straight, wiping my cheeks because I do not want any of them to see me cry. I am already a laughingstock to them, and I have to hold up what is left of my dignity.
The door creaks open, and a maid steps in. She carries a silver tray with a tall glass of water.
“I brought you this,” she whispers, her eyes not meeting mine. “Alpha Vergil asked me to.”
I am startled at the mention of Vergil’s name, because it almost seems like I am nonexistent to him. She hands me the glass, and I take it, wrapping my fingers around it. I notice how she can barely look at me, and it pushes me to speak.
“You are here to mock me, too? Take notes so the others can laugh harder at lunch or something?” She lifts her head quickly, shaking her head.
“No, I don’t believe in that sort of thing,” she says, and my face lightens up a bit as I sight the fear in her eyes.
She takes a step closer—a brave one at that.
“You give me hope,” she whispers. “That someone like me might not be stuck here forever. That it’s possible to be more than what they tell us we are.”
I am too stunned to speak.
“I admired you from the moment your father sent you to school. My parents… they never believed in that. They say our bloodline is born to serve the Alpha. Born to scrub the floors, carry trays, and bow until our necks break.” Her voice cracks, and I can feel her hurt. “But you made it out, and you are back not as a servant but a potential Luna.”
“But I am barely standing as it is.” I clutch my glass tightly, not feeling the praises.
“Then let me help you,” she says.
“How?” My eyes shoot towards her, and I try to surpress the flicker of hope in my chest as I do not want to be disappointed.
“Can I…” She attempts to close in on me. “The walls have ears, and I cannot lose my job.” She lowers her voice.
I nod at her, and she leans in as she lowers her mouth to my ear, whispering something impossible that sends a jolt through my chest. My eyes widen, with my pulse hammering in my ears. She pulls away like nothing happened. Then, without another word, she slips a folded piece of paper into my hand and walks out, closing the door behind her. I stare at the note for a moment before unfolding it with trembling fingers.
For a moment I contemplate tearing the paper, but then I realize I almost have nothing to lose. My mate cannot recognize me, and I am trapped in a loveless marriage, so what could be worse?
“Hello, I would like to report the case of a possible fake marriage.”
- Writer
