ALPHA REDEMPTION PATH

CHAPTER THREE

Diana's POV:

All he needed me to do was clean.

I had to clean his entire suite, which was equivalent to one entire annex. I thought to myself, it was easy right? I mean All I had to do was clean and make every where good to look at.

Oh yeah, if only it was that easy.

First off, I had woken up late. And alpha Lucian was pissed about my lateness. I thought he would punish me or something for it, but he didn't mention it.

Then he told me what to do.

I should have known that it was a trap. I shouldn't have relaxed, thinking to myself that it was fine, that I was fine. I shouldn't have thought it was easy to get done.

First was the living room. that wasn't hard to do. Then the kitchen, then his bedroom and the bathroom, then the guest room, and finally his study.

It should have been easy? Right?

"Start all over." Alpha Lucian said. His finger hand cought some dust on a book shelve. He wiped the dust on my uniform.

Start all over? It had taken me all day to do the entire building. How could I just start all over?

I stared at him, hoping that he would take the hint and maybe tell me to do it tomorrow or something. My head whipped to the side before I could even register that he had slapped me.

"Keep your eyes down unless I tell you otherwise." He spat in anger.

My head was throbbing with the force of the slap. My cheek felt hot, and I was sure it was going to leave a nasty mark.

"Yes, alpha Lucian ". I said, trying to keep the tremble out of my voice.

It wasn't any better.

I ended up finishing the cleaning in the early hours of the morning. I was up all night, scrubbing and dusting and wiping. So hard that my hand turned raw and blistered.

But I was safe here? Wasn't I? I wasn't looking over my shoulder, worried that they were coming.

I crashed on the small bed in my room. I was given a small dark room close to his suite, Incase he needed me to do something. How kind of him right?

I barely got two hours of sleep till I was called again, rudely woken up by the loud bell.

And so it began again.

****

I wasn't sure how long I was going to keep taking this. It was a struggle everyday to get up and do my work. I barely got three hours of sleep every night, and as if that wasn't enough, alpha Lucian still forced me to warm his bed at night.

It was a terrible experience. And what made it even more painful was the fact that he was my mate, but he had rejected me! And yet he still....

It had only been a week. And I felt half dead already. When I was constantly on the run, I thought I had it hard back then. But here, this was pure hell.

If this was the cost of safety, it was too much to pay.

"Are you okay?"

I snapped out of my dark thoughts. Eva's face came to focus in front of me. "Hi Eva." I said.

"You look very pale." She said. "What's the matter?"

I had hoped I wouldn't see Eva again. But fate had a funny way of acting, right?

"I'm fine." I replied. I drank some of my water and ate a piece of bread. I wasn't hungry, but I had to eat if I wanted to get any work done today at all.

The servants dining hall was full of chatter and activity. It was an hour in the morning when we just had to eat and take a breather before the day started.

This was my first time joining them.

"I heard you're working as alpha Lucian's personal maid. How is it?"

I stared at Eva blankly. "How is it?"

Eva nodded. "It's the most coveted position here. Every girl envies you right now."

Envies me? Do they have any idea what's it like to work yourself to the point you can't even lift a finger anymore? Having to redo your work over and over again because alpha Lucian was a perfectionist? How it feels like having your body used against your will?

I laughed bitterly. "They can have it."

"Oh, I guess you don't like it then."

I rose to my feet and carried my plates. "I'll see you later Eva"

"Bye..."

I had to return to work.

I walked out of the dining hall and towards alpha Lucian's suite. Each step I took made my heart beat even more.

I don't want to do this. I want to go back to that barn where life was simple and I....

And I suffered.

I walked inside the house, and I instantly felt his aura. And he was angry. I kept my head down, remembering his rule of no eye contact.

"You're late." Alpha Lucian's voice made my heart drop to my shoes.

I bowed my head. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"Save your excuses." He snapped. "Raise your head up. What is this?"

I looked up. He was holding a shirt, a simple white shirt. I felt confused. Was this one of his many tests?

"It's a shirt," I replied, my voice cautious.

"And what is this?" He pointed to a point on the sleeve of the shirt.

I looked closely. And it was a crease. I felt my blood run cold. "It's a ....a crease"

"Redo it." He said, tossing the shirt at me. I caught the shirt, careful not to rumple it any further.

"Yes, alpha Lucian." I replied.

I took the shirt to the ironing board. Perhaps I should have been more cautious, perhaps I should have turned my back to him.

I heard the sound of a whip cutting through the air before a stinging pain exploded in my back. I cried out in pain , my knees going weak from the sudden pain.

"Continue your work." He said, his voice sounding bored.

My hands trembled as I held the iron. I moved it over the crease, another lash ripping through my back. I bit my lip hard to hold in the pain.

Again and again.

The smell of burning fabric reached my nose. I realized in horror that I had burned the shirt.

"That's sad isn't it?" He mocked me, the whop tearing through the fabric on my back.

"Please stop!" I cried out, my legs giving way under me. I grabbed the board hard, the iron slipping out of my hand and hitting the floor.

"Get up." He commanded.

I couldn't move. The pain was intense, it was spreading through my body fast. The tears flowed down my eyes. It hurt a lot.

Lucian sighed. He grabbed my head and dragged my body up, throwing me over the board.

"Will this happen again" He asked.

I shook my head "no! No please....I can't take it any more..."

"Don't worry. You've got more left in you." He said, and I heard the sound of his belt unbuckling.

I'm not sure anyone heard my screams of pain. Because no one came. And by the time he was done, it wasn't just my back that was bleeding.

I can't take this anymore. If I stay here any longer, he will kill me. I just know it.