From Pack Slave To Secret Luna

MAYA'S POINT OF VIEW! "Where the hell is she?" Beta Kyle's voice cracked through the hallway like a whip. I already knew he was talking about me. I grabbed the cleaning basket and dragged myself to my feet, ignoring the ache in my side where he had kicked me two days ago. It had not fully healed. It probably never would. The moment he saw me, he closed the distance between us in three long strides and slapped me across the face. I did not make a sound. I had learned a long time ago that sound only gave them satisfaction. So I stood there, cheek burning, fingers tight around the handle of the basket, and I stared at the floor. "Alpha Trey and I are expecting company," he spat. "And you still have not cleaned the office. What is wrong with you?" Nothing I said would help me. So I said nothing. "Alpha Thiago is coming here today. Do you understand what that means? Do you have any idea who he is?" I kept my eyes low. "He leads the Black Shadow pack. The biggest pack in the entire world." Kyle stepped closer, dropping his voice to something uglier than a shout. "We need this alliance. And if you ruin it, I will personally make sure you regret every second of it." He grabbed my shoulders, dug his nails into my skin, and shoved me toward the office. "Useless," he muttered, walking away. I waited until his footsteps faded before I let out a slow breath. Then I pushed the office door open and stepped inside. The room was already clean. Every surface wiped. Every book straight. Every chair angled just right. There was nothing left for me to do. I had already done it yesterday, before anyone asked me to. I leaned back against the door and let my eyes close for just a second. I was so tired. Not the kind of tired that sleep fixes. The kind that lives in your bones and never really leaves, no matter how long you rest. I had turned eighteen four years ago. I had counted down the days, convinced that once I was of age, I could walk out of this house and never look back. But the world outside did not care about my plans. My brother made sure of that. Alpha Trey. My blood. My pack leader. The man who had turned me into his personal servant before I was even old enough to understand what was happening. Someone cleared their throat. My eyes snapped open. There was a man sitting in the high-backed chair just around the corner of the bookshelf, half hidden from the doorway. One ankle rested on his knee. A glass of something dark and amber sat loosely in his hand. His hair was short and black, and his eyes. His eyes were the color of deep red wine, almost crimson, almost wrong, and they were already looking straight at me. I threw myself back against the door. "Is that how you greet every Alpha?" His voice was low and smooth and carried a quiet edge of amusement that somehow felt more dangerous than anger. "I am sorry." My voice came out barely above a whisper. "I thought I was alone." "Come forward." My stomach dropped. Alpha Trey was going to destroy me for this. I stepped around the corner slowly, hands still gripping the basket, and stopped in front of him. I closed my eyes and braced. "You smell different." He tilted his head. "But you are a wolf. Correct?" I nodded. "I would prefer you used words." The amusement was gone now. "I do not play guessing games." "Yes," I said quietly. "I am a wolf." "Then why did you not scent me when you walked in? Any wolf with functional instincts would have known I was in this room before they opened the door." I said nothing. "Open your eyes and look at me when you speak. It is basic respect. Has no one here taught you that?" Slowly, I lifted my gaze. Not all the way. I stopped somewhere around his collar. "My abilities were bound," I said. Silence. He set the glass down on the side table without looking away from me. "Why would someone do that to you?" I felt the familiar tightening in my chest. The question always came eventually, and the answer always cost me something. "It was a punishment," I said. Simple. Short. As close to the truth as I was willing to give a stranger. Something shifted in his expression. A small twitch near his jaw. I could not tell if it was anger or something else. Then the door crashed open. "Maya, what the hell are you doing in my office?" Alpha Trey froze when he saw the man in the chair. His entire face changed in an instant, the rage draining out and something closer to panic flooding in. "I am so sorry, Alpha Thiago. My sister should not be bothering you. I will remove her immediately." He spun around and his hand came up fast. I shut my eyes. "I would not do that." Alpha Thiago's voice cut through the room like a blade. I opened my eyes just enough to see that he had risen to his feet and his hand was wrapped firmly around my brother's wrist, stopping the strike mid-swing. He was taller than Trey. Broader. He held my brother's arm like it weighed nothing. "Maya was kind enough to escort me to your office," Thiago said, his voice completely calm. "Since you were not at the front of the house when I arrived. As you promised you would be." He let go of Trey's wrist and straightened his jacket. "I would say she is the only one here who understood the importance of my visit." My brother's jaw went tight. He looked at me. And I saw it in his eyes. The promise of what was coming later. "Go find Beta Kyle," Trey said, each word slow and controlled. "Tell him our guest is here." I nodded and left the room as fast as I could without running. The dining hall was quiet except for the sound of pages turning. "Beta Kyle," I said softly. He looked up from his newspaper and the glare he gave me could have peeled paint off the walls. I had spoken without being spoken to. We both knew it. "Alpha Trey sent me," I added quickly. "He is in the office with Alpha Thiago. He wants you there." Kyle stood, folded the newspaper slowly, and walked past me. He stopped just behind my shoulder. His fingers wound into my hair and yanked my head back. He held me there for a moment, not saying anything, just making sure I felt it. Making sure I remembered. Then he let go and walked away like nothing had happened. I pressed my hand flat against the wall and breathed. Just breathe. I found small tasks to keep myself busy and away from the office. I rewashed the kitchen counters even though they were already clean. I rearranged the pantry by size. I swept a hallway that did not need sweeping. Peace was never something I got to keep for long. "Maya." My brother's voice. Coming from the direction of the office. I set the broom down, smoothed my shirt, pressed a small smile onto my face, and walked back. The moment I stepped through the door, I felt it. Alpha Thiago's eyes were on me. Not the way people usually looked at me, like I was furniture they had to walk around. He was actually watching me. Every step I took. Every small movement. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. "Go get champagne and glasses," my brother said. "We are celebrating." I went to the drinks cabinet, found the bottle, found the glasses, and carried everything back. I set them on the small table beside Alpha Thiago's chair and began to pour. He reached over and took the bottle from my hand. "I can manage mine," he said quietly. My cheeks went hot. Not from embarrassment. From dread. Because I saw the way Trey was staring at me across the room. I had been too slow. I should have poured before I came in. I should have already had his glass ready. I should have. "Maya is your sister?" Thiago's voice broke through my spiraling thoughts. "She is," Trey said, the word carrying more bitterness than pride. "Why do you treat her the way you do?" The room went very still. No one ever asked that question. Not out loud. Not to my brother's face. Trey's expression did not c***k but something behind his eyes shifted. "Maya was responsible for the death of our parents," he said. I felt the words hit me somewhere deep, in the place where I kept everything I was not allowed to cry about in front of people. "Responsible how?" Thiago asked. His voice was low and even, but I felt the weight underneath it. Trey leaned back in his chair and looked at me with the kind of disgust that takes years to grow. "She served them Wolfsbane." The silence that followed was the loudest thing I had ever heard. Thiago did not look at my brother. He looked at me. And I could not read his face at all. It was too still. Too controlled. The kind of face that had made a decision and was not yet showing it. My heart hammered in my chest. What had my brother just done to this negotiation? What was Thiago thinking? Was he about to stand up and leave? Was he about to agree with Trey? Was he going to look away from me like everyone else always did? "Is that what they told you?" Thiago said at last. His eyes had not moved from mine. "Is that the story they gave you?" I did not understand the question. Trey opened his mouth. "I was not asking you." Thiago's voice dropped even lower. "I was asking Maya." The door behind me swung open without warning and Beta Kyle stepped into the room, his dark eyes scanning the space before landing on me with an expression I knew too well. Whatever celebration was happening in this room, for me it was already ending. Kyle crossed his arms and smiled slowly, the way he always did when he had thought of something new to take from me. "Alpha Thiago," he said, his voice smooth and friendly, "I hope my pack has been making you comfortable. And I hope our little servant has not been causing you any trouble." Thiago finally looked away from me. And the look he gave Kyle was something I had never seen directed at him before in my entire life. It was the look of a man who had already made up his mind, and not in Kyle's favor. "I want everyone to leave this room," Thiago said quietly. "Except for Maya." Would Kyle obey? And if he did, what did Alpha Thiago want with me alone?