Chapter 1: Before The Fall
“Why the hell is everyone so f*****g loud!” Thalia cursed under her breath, as she huffed while looking for something to do with the anger she felt. The stupid noise from well…everyone was finally getting to her.
The chatter filled the servants’ corridor, making Thalia grind her teeth as she tried to fold the linens which she had picked in her hand. She tried but failed to tune out the stupid excited gossip about some visiting alpha she couldn’t care less about.
Sometimes she honestly wished she could turn into one of those giant wolves from the old legends, the ones in her mother’s stories. Those wolves could tear through armies, could run faster than horses and just disappear into the wilderness and never be found.
But real wolves could only half-shift. Just the sharp claws, glowing eyes and elongated fangs when they shifted and that was just…it, she really wished it was more than that.
She’d always wondered where those legends came from, why people told stories about something that didn’t exist. Probably the same reason they told stories about heroes and happy endings and s**t. Imagination was easier than reality.
She bit her lower lips as she stared at the linen, her thoughts momentarily floating as she thought about the events of the past months that brought her to this miserable moment.
Five months ago she’d run from one hell straight into another, and honestly it was getting tiring for her.
Her real pack, Shadow Peak, didn’t exist anymore, burned to the ground by these same Red Claw bastards while she’d been on the run, and somehow she was still breathing when she shouldn’t be.
The irony of ending up as a maid in the pack that destroyed her home would’ve been funny if it didn’t make her want to scream until her throat bled.
Nobody here recognized her though, and thank the Moon Goddess for small mercies because even the servants who’d made her life hell back in Shadow Peak walked past her every day without a second glance, and she knew why, she looked different now, more slim with curves and had eyes that was haunted for someone who was only twenty-two.
They all thought she was dead anyway, probably killed in the chaos or something, and honestly she intended to keep it that way, just survive and make it through one more day, that had been the plan.
But then she had stupidly fallen in love with the wrong man, and not just any man.
Thalia turned her attention back to the linens, her fingers gripping the fabric too tight as she didn’t want to think about him. But the more she ignored it, the more she kept thinking about him until she finally dropped the linen in irritation, gritting her teeth as she looked around the corridor.
She waited until the corridor was empty, said f**k it before slipping out through the servants’ entrance. She honestly needed air. Just a few minutes where she didn’t have to smile and bow and pretend everything was fine.
She took different twists and turns to avoid places where they were lots of people until she finally arrived at the forest path.
The forest path was familiar beneath her feet as she walked deeper into the trees. Here, at least, she could breathe. Here she didn’t have to listen to excited gossip about festivals or deal with the head maid dumping work on her or feel like s**t anymore.
She reached the stream and stopped at the water’s edge. The decorative stones made a natural bathing area that nobles used in summer, but right now it was just hers.
Her wolf whined in her chest, restless and anxious.
“Not now,” Thalia whispered, trying to push calmness through their bond. “We just need to get through today.”
But her wolf whined again, louder this time, and Thalia’s frustration finally broke.
“Shut the f**k up. I’m doing the best I can.”
She stared at the water, her mind spinning through the same thoughts that had haunted her for months. How much longer could she keep running because of her sin? Where else could she go?
She couldn’t go to house Varyn, it was out of the option, they were too close to House Morales and she’d be found within days. The Sharia Clan were very hostile to outsiders and she honestly couldn’t risk them digging into her past.
Thalia groaned as she ran her hair through her hair, groaning a bit as she scratched her roots while she considered other options.
The smaller packs in the southern territories were constantly at war with each other, no place for someone trying to disappear.
Red Claw had been her best option, or so she’d thought. But Marcus had ruined that by making her believe his lies, and now she was more trapped than ever.
Her wolf whined again, but this time the sound was different. A warning.
Thalia turned around fast, her heart jumping.
