4. In My What?
1307 Words
Raine POV
I woke up in an entirely different room from the lavish mansion I had fainted in.
The first thing I did was sit up, and almost immediately I wished I had not. My eyes scanned the place and the sight that greeted me was enough to make my stomach turn.
“Where are we?” I asked Zariah, narrowing my eyes.
“In your room, Raine,” she replied carefully.
“In my what?”
“Your room. You might look around to see if something comes back to you. I mean, you’ve always liked picking flowers and drawing portraits… even though you’re terrible at it.”
Her words began to fade into the background because I could not focus on them. I was too busy taking in the mess around me. The walls were bare, cracked in some places. The furniture looked like it had been rescued from a garbage pile. The bed creaked just from the weight of me sitting on it. And the smell—it reminded me of mold, dust, and something sour all mixed together.
It looked like a dog house. Honestly, even the dogs back in my world lived better than this. At least their cages had polish, cushions, and heating. This place had nothing. The only thing I could say for it was that it was neat. Zariah must have been the one keeping it arranged, because I doubted the Raine she knew had the strength to do it.
“Here, take this medicine,” Zariah said, stepping closer with a small cup in her hand.
I lifted my palm to stop her. “Dude, chill out. I didn’t actually faint. I was only pretending.”
Her eyes widened. “What? You had me fooled! I had to rummage through the medicine stash in the house to find this drug. Do you know how hard it is for someone like me to do that?”
I sighed and leaned back on the creaky headboard. “Zariah, we’ll talk about that later. Right now, I need something more important than medicine. I need information.”
She blinked at me. “Information?”
“Yes,” I said firmly. “Information about the toxic people I am dealing with in this house. Because heaven forbid I spend more than a week in this dog house. If I am going to survive here, I need to know who is who, what makes them tick, and how to use it against them. Back in my world, I learned quickly that knowledge is the sharpest blade.”
I rubbed my temples, frustration bubbling in me. The Beta had humiliated me without lifting a finger. Bella had mocked me and the maids had laughed behind their hands. Even the guard at the gate had looked at me like I was dirt. And now here I was, shoved into a glorified storage closet and expected to accept it as my “room.”
Not a chance.
I looked at Zariah, my voice low but steady. “So tell me everything you know. Start with Bella. Start with my so-called father. And don’t you dare leave anything out. If I’m going to climb out of this hell, I need to know exactly whose neck I’ll need to step on first.”
“I am not really great with gossip. So you will have to ask me the questions yourself,” Zariah said softly.
I stared at her for a long second, nearly giving her the stink eye. Gossip? Did she really just call the information I asked for gossip? No wonder Raine and this girl were bullied left and right. If this was the kind of servant she had, then of course they were treated like dirt. The servant is only as sharp as her master.
“Fine,” I said with a sigh. “Let’s start with the basics. What is my family surname?”
“It’s Evernight. You are Raine Evernight. The Beta is Liam Evernight. Madame is Aurora Evernight.”
The names rolled around in my mind. Evernight. It sounded important. Powerful even. Yet here I was, stuffed in a room worse than a kennel.
“Alright. What about those bitches and their mother?” I pressed.
“They are the Knights. The mother is Elaris Knight. Bella Knight is her daughter, obviously,” Zariah answered quickly.
I leaned forward, eyes narrowing. “Between the two of them, who do you think is the most dangerous? One of the first rules in war is to know your enemies.”
Zariah hesitated, then lowered her voice. “On the outside it seems like Bella is the most dangerous one. But I think it is the mother. She’s a green tea b***h. She pretends to be kind and helpless in front of the Beta so he pities her. She plays sweet but her heart is sharp. There was one time she even bought you a dress in front of everyone. She knew you would not accept it, but she still did it just to make herself look generous.”
My teeth clenched so hard I thought they might break. Typical. The old Raine must have been too stiff and too proud to play along. If it had been me, I would have smiled sweetly, taken the dress, and then told her to send me more. When you want to beat snakes, you don’t reject their gifts, you strangle them with it.
“What else should I know?” I asked, trying to keep my voice even.
Zariah looked pained. “Bella has three close friends, and together they bullied you all through high school. They made sure you were alone, mocked you every chance they got. And then there is Trevor… Bella’s boyfriend. He is the Alpha’s son. He also picks on you.”
I froze. “Wait, hold up. Did you just say high school? I just finished high school and I’m only about to start college?”
“Yes,” Zariah said carefully, as though she was afraid of my reaction. “But it is not exactly like a human college. Here it is more of a training school. Everyone who hopes to have a rank or respect has to train there. I pray the Beta enrolls you. If not… you might end up as an omega in the future.”
Her words hit me like a slap.
Omega?
No. Not happening. Not in this life, not in any other. I had been Mia Volkov, heiress to one of the deadliest Mafia families to walk the earth. I had run drug cartels, weapon deals, and men who bowed at my command. Even as Raine Evernight, wolfless and unwanted, I would never allow myself to fall to the bottom of the food chain.
“Hell no,” I muttered under my breath. “I’d rather die than be an omega.”
I took a breath and forced myself to focus again. “Now to the most important question. How did Liam Evernight and Elaris Knight actually meet?”
The moment I asked, Zariah stiffened. She quickly stood, walked over to the door, and peeked outside like someone might be eavesdropping. When she was sure no one was near, she came back to me and leaned in close.
“Rumors say…” she whispered, eyes darting nervously around, “that they were high school sweethearts. They promised each other marriage.”
I felt my lips curl into a smirk. Finally. Now that was the kind of juicy detail I could use.
So that was the weakness. The Beta’s so-called compassion for Bella’s mother wasn’t just pity. It was history. Old flames never die, do they?
I leaned back on the bed, my smirk widening. “Now that,” I said slowly, “is interesting.”
- Writer
