Ophelie's POV
"She can't. You can't." Astrid vented, showing her displeasure when I threw a pleading gaze at him.
"I still don't feel fine, Alpha." He hissed before turning to Astrid, who had her back turned right away.
Relief slipped out of my lips because that had been so close, and it was the closest I had come to getting in bed with my enemy. The thing that would have caused me.
"Alpha Loic." A tap at the door caught our attention, followed by a guard who spoke up.
"The Elders are here. They are requesting to see you and your breeder."
My hands tightened on the knife before I slipped it into my gown, making sure it was touching the palm of my hand.
"Let them know we will be there soon." He threw a disgusted gaze at me. "Go and get dressed, this time in the color I had given orders for you to wear. I will send for you when it's time."
My head curved before I stepped out, each step determined to make him pay. I should have known that he would try to get me to join them, but never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that he would do so while Astrid was there. He ought to accord her that respect.
The grunts and sounds of the whip being let down on someone met me, and I knew there was no way I could disobey him anymore.
The gown he insisted I wear lay on the bed when I got in. The knife was cold against my skin. My eyes swept across as I tried to discern where I could keep it that would be out of wandering eyes and hands, and I settled on the wardrobe, which would make it difficult for anyone to see that something of such a nature was in there.
My eyes fell on the body I now occupy, the once beautiful gown rendered to pieces. A sigh left my lips before the sound of a whip came across once more, and I found my foot gliding over to the mirror to watch.
Priscilla, as I had come to know her name, was bent over, almost tied, her head hung below as she took in every single whip, her tears, and screams echoed across, jabbing me so hard.
If Loic wanted to show me who was supreme and why I shouldn't go against any of his laid-down rules, then he had won. He had used the one thing I wouldn't be able to dispute or try to fight off. My maid.
He had shown me that if this persisted, then he would continue to mete out the punishment that I was supposed to get on the people who worked for me.
Slipping off the gown, my hands leaned against the table as I gazed at Adele's body, its features perfect and ready to make anyone's mind run wild with endless possibilities on what they could do to her. Tame her.
I was sure that Astrid saw that too, and maybe it made her jealousy swell even more than before, as that was why I would keep being a target to her.
"Are you ready?" A voice asked, yanking me off my thoughts.
I gulped in my spittle, turning to meet another of the maids, who would be the one Loic must have sent to bring me over to the meeting.
" Alpha Loic awaits, and the elders do as well."
" Can I ask what their purpose is for being here today? Why are they here?"
" To see you, to ask when exactly they should be expecting heirs."
My eyes turned swiftly to her as I bobbed my head before slipping on the gown I had been instructed to wear, noting how she sighed, one seeming to have been borne out of relief.
She must have heard as well what had happened, how I had made Priscilla pay for what had been my mistake, and no one wanted to be put through that.
" How is she?" The name hung above us even when I knew she could tell who it was.
" She has been sent to the infirmary after she fainted."
" I'm sorry. I know how traumatizing that must have been for everyone, and..."
" You don't have to apologize. The alpha had to choose the color because he knew he would be meeting the elders with you, and as such, you had to be at your very best to meet them. It is just sad that it has happened."
" I'm sorry. I never knew about that."
If I had known, I would have done everything to make sure they didn't get punished in my stead, no one even told me that it had to be done in the first place.
" You don't have to worry, we have to go now."
I sashayed along the hall as the emerald green gown I had on swept along the hallway before I was meant to stop in from the meeting room.
"The breeder is here, Alpha." The guards announced leaving a sore taste on my lips as I tried to take it in.
" You might be his breeder now, but you can always be more if you play the card right." Clio pointed out, causing me to roll my eyes.
" Why would I want to be something more when all I want to do is be in an advantageous spot and get close to Loic? Being something more will make me stay by his side forever."
" Not forever. You will also get the opportunity to take Astrid out. It would be a blow to her, and you will be able to get your opponent out. If you are lucky enough, you will be able to place Loic's blame on her. If you play the card right."
" Clio." I almost called out before I chided myself. Why haven't I thought about that?
" You can cite her being unable to get over you being his breeder as the cause."
I grinned, letting that in when Loic's voice came once more.
"Enter." He commanded.