Chapter2
1190 Words
ADRIANNA.
The next day, by noon, my limbs felt like they were stitched together with iron. Every muscle ached, and my arms hung heavy as I scrubbed the same stain off the same kitchen floor I’d cleaned three times already. My hands were raw and red. I hadn’t eaten since the pitiful bowl of soup I’d slurped last night, and even that had been tasteless and sludgy. But I kept going. There was no choice.
“Faster!” Ms. Kendra snapped behind me, arms folded as she stood near the doorway. “You think you’re tired? Try doing real work, mutt.”
I didn’t answer. I just kept scrubbing.
“You better finish everything before sunset,” she added, voice sharp. “Just because the others are gone doesn’t mean you get to laze around. You’re not going to the coronation, and don’t even think about sneaking out.”
I didn’t want to go anyway. All that ceremony and celebration, people dressed in their best, wolves with power and purpose. I had no place among them.
She left with a huff and the sound of her shoes echoing down the hall. A few minutes later, the front doors slammed shut, followed by the laughter and chatter of the other girls as they left in their groups, dressed in borrowed clothes and light perfume.
I stayed behind, alone at last.
The silence was blissful.
I finished the floor slowly, taking my time. No one was around to shout. No footsteps. No voices. Just the creak of the old building and the soft sound of my breathing.
When I finished, I snuck into the old linen closet and reached behind a pile of moth-eaten sheets to pull out a worn, crumpled book I’d found months ago. The cover was half torn, the pages yellowed, but I had read it so many times I nearly knew the words by heart. Still, it was the only escape I had. A world where girls like me could be more than dirt under someone's shoe.
I curled up in the corner, knees tucked under me, and opened to the first page.
“The princess walked alone through the forest, but she was not afraid…”
I let the words carry me away, pretending for a moment that I wasn’t in a dusty orphanage but somewhere else. Somewhere free.
The door burst open.
I jumped, the book falling from my hands.
A woman stepped in, tall and broad-shouldered, with her hair pulled back in a tight bun. Behind her trailed a line of girls in identical uniforms, black skirts, crisp white shirts, and little silver pins shaped like moons.
“There’s another one?” she said sharply, staring right at me. “What are you doing just sitting there? You’re late!”
“I…I’m not…”
She didn’t let me finish. With a snap of her fingers, she tossed a folded uniform at my chest.
“Get dressed. Quickly. We’re already behind schedule.”
“But…” I fumbled with the fabric, completely lost. “There’s been a mistake. I wasn’t supposed to…”
She gave me a look that shut me up. “If you’re not dressed in two minutes, I’ll personally see you’re scrubbing toilets till dawn. Understood?”
I nodded quickly, clutching the uniform.
She turned and marched off with the other girls, leaving me blinking in confusion.
This had to be some mistake. But the threat in her voice was clear enough. I didn’t have the luxury of arguing.
I changed in the empty laundry room, pulling the shirt over my head and smoothing down the skirt. It didn’t fit perfectly, but it would do. I didn’t even have time to look in a mirror before I hurried after them.
We were loaded into a van and driven toward the main hall of the pack, the ceremonial building only the important wolves ever entered. I had never seen it this close before.
The hall was enormous.
Marble steps led up to grand arched doors, tall enough to fit a giant. Silver lanterns glowed along the path, and the building shimmered in the fading light like something out of a dream. My breath caught in my throat as I stepped inside. The floor gleamed like polished ice. Chandelier after chandelier hung from the high ceilings, their crystals sparkling in a way that made me dizzy. The scent of roses and warm bread floated through the air.
Everywhere I looked, people were dressed in silks and velvets, with jewelry that caught the light and hair styled to perfection. Laughter bounced from gold-gilded walls, and the music from the string quartet swelled like waves around us.
I stood frozen for a moment, gaping.
A girl next to me sneered. “Try not to drool on the floor.”
Another girl leaned in. “Who let the servant rat in?”
“Seriously,” the first girl continued, looking me up and down. “How did you even end up with us? This is a formal event, not a stable.”
I dropped my gaze. “It was a mistake,” I mumbled.
“I’ll say.”
The woman from before clapped her hands, silencing the chatter. “Line up! You’ll be serving the guests. No talking, no eye contact. Be invisible unless spoken to. If you break anything, you’re out. Understood?”
“Yes, ma’am,” we all echoed.
She handed out trays with glasses of wine and small appetizers, then shooed us forward into the main room. My hands trembled slightly as I took a tray and moved through the crowd.
The first few guests barely acknowledged me. One woman took a glass without a glance. A man grunted when I accidentally brushed his sleeve.
“Watch it,” he snapped. “Stupid girl.”
I kept moving, head down, steps slow.
More insults followed, careless, cutting remarks, some about my appearance, some just meant to remind me I didn’t belong here.
But I didn’t let them sink in.
I just needed to get through the night.
I circled the room twice, offering drinks and avoiding sharp elbows and cruel laughter. My arms were beginning to ache from holding the tray. My feet burned. But the music helped, soft and full, and the scent of pastries almost made me forget the hunger clawing at my belly.
A lull came after a while. Guests were seated. Conversations quieted.
And then, the room shifted.
A hush spread like a wave from the doors.
The music paused.
The woman near the dais cleared her throat, her voice carrying across the marble hall.
“All rise for the heir of Silverton. Son of the late Alpha Galen. Tonight, he takes his place as our new Alpha. Welcome, Heir Theron.”
Everyone turned.
The doors swung open.
And there he was.
He was tall and broad-shouldered. Dressed in black and silver that gleamed under the lights. His dark hair was swept back, and his eyes, silver and pale, scanned the room with
quiet, effortless power.
My breath hitched.
Because when his eyes moved over the crowd…
They stopped on me.
- Writer
