Mated to the Enemy's Triplets

Chapter 3: The Servant's Mask

POV: Seraphina

The Crimson Shadow palace was not a home. It was a fortress made of dark gray stone that reached for the sky like sharp claws. Guards stood at the huge iron gates, their eyes watching everything. They wore the red wolf symbol on their armor. Just looking at it made my stomach feel sick.

I kept my head down. I was Sara now. Sara was scared of guards.

I walked to the gate and spoke in my quietest voice. "Excuse me," I whispered. "I heard you were looking for help."

One of the guards looked down at me. He was huge. "Who are you?" he grunted.

"My name is Sara," I said, making my voice tremble a little. "My pack... it's gone. I have nowhere else to go. I can work hard."

The guard looked me up and down. He probably saw a skinny, dirty girl with scared eyes. He didn't see an Alpha. He didn't see a threat. He just saw someone useless. That was exactly what I wanted.

He grunted again and pointed toward a smaller door. "Go there. Ask for Patricia."

I hurried to the door and knocked softly. A woman opened it. She was tall and thin, with gray hair pulled back so tightly it looked like it hurt. Her face had no smile on it. This had to be Patricia, the Head Omega who ran the household.

"What do you want?" she asked. Her voice was sharp.

"I'm Sara," I whispered, bowing my head. "I'm here for the servant job."

She let me in and led me to a small, plain office. She sat behind a desk and stared at me. It felt like she was looking right through me. For a second, I was terrified she would see the real me, the fire and anger hidden inside.

"Tell me about yourself," she said.

I told her the story Matthias and I had made up. "My pack was the Quiet Stream Pack," I lied. "We were small. Rogues attacked a few weeks ago. I... I was hiding. I'm the only one who got away." I squeezed my eyes shut and made a tear roll down my cheek. "I have nothing left."

Patricia watched me, her expression not changing. I thought for sure she wouldn't believe me. But then, her face softened just a tiny bit.

"Life is hard," she said, her voice a little less sharp. "We have no room for lazy girls here. You will work from sunup to sundown. You will do what you are told without question. Do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," I whispered, looking at the floor. "Thank you, ma'am."

"Good," she said, standing up. "You'll be on the cleaning staff. Your room is in the west wing with the others. You start tomorrow at dawn."

She had believed me. The first part of my plan had worked. I was inside.

Patricia led me through endless hallways to the servants' part of the palace. It was dark and narrow, very different from the big, fancy halls in the main part of the castle. My room was tiny. It had a small, hard bed, a rickety wooden dresser, and one small window that looked out at a brick wall.

It was nothing like my bright, sunny room in my old home. But that was good. It reminded me of why I was here.

As Patricia left, a girl who was in the room next door poked her head out. She had bright red hair in a messy braid and a face full of freckles. She looked about my age.

"Hi! You must be the new girl," she said with a big, friendly smile. "I'm Mara."

"I'm Sara," I said quietly, giving her the shy look I had practiced.

"Don't mind Patricia," Mara whispered, leaning closer. "She seems mean but she's okay. Just do your work and stay out of trouble."

I looked at Mara, and a strange feeling washed over me. I felt like I knew her from somewhere. Her eyes were a bright, familiar green. Had I seen her before? Maybe in my old village? My mind raced, but I couldn't place her. It was a dangerous feeling. I couldn't afford to know anyone here.

I pushed the feeling away. "Okay," I whispered. "Thank you."

"You look tired," she said kindly. "Get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a long day of scrubbing floors!" She grinned and disappeared back into her room.

I closed my door and leaned against it. That feeling of knowing her was still there, like a little bell ringing in the back of my mind. I had to ignore it. I couldn't have friends. I couldn't trust anyone. I was here for one reason only: to get close to Alpha Magnus.

The next week was full of hard work. I scrubbed floors, polished silver and dusted furniture until my arms and back ached. I kept my head down and my mouth shut. I was the perfect "Sara." No one gave me a second look.

One afternoon, I was cleaning the tall windows in a hallway that overlooked the main training courtyard. And that’s when I saw them for the first time. The Alpha's sons; the triplets.

They were training with other pack warriors. Even from far away, I could feel their power. It was like a wave of heat coming off the courtyard. My wolf, the part of me that I kept locked away, stirred for the first time in years. I pushed the feeling down and my hatred for them rose up like poison.

One of them was bigger than the others, with broad shoulders and thick muscles. His hair was dark and wild. He fought with two axes, spinning and attacking with a scary force. He moved like a storm. That was Kieran , the warrior. He was pure, brute strength.

Another brother was leaner and moved with a different kind of energy. He wasn't using an axe. He was practicing with a bow and arrow. While the others were clashing and shouting, he was calm and focused. He fired arrow after arrow, each one hitting the very center of a faraway target. That was Dante , the thinker. He was all about being smart and precise.

The third brother was not fighting at all. He stood off to the side, watching the others. He had the same dark hair as his brothers, but his face seemed kinder. As I watched, one of the warriors got a cut on his arm. The third brother walked over, placed a hand on the warrior’s arm, and a soft, gentle light glowed from his palm. The cut healed right before my eyes. That was Lucian, the healer. He was calm and gentle.

Looking at them, I didn't see three different men. I saw three parts of the same monster. The sons of the man who burned my home. The princes of the pack that murdered my parents.

My hand tightened on my cleaning rag. I hated them. I hated them so much it felt like it would burn a hole through my chest. Seeing them made my mission feel even more real. I would not just kill their father. I would take away their future, just like they had taken away mine.

Every day, as I cleaned, I was also exploring. I memorized the hallways. I learned which stairs were creaky and which doors were always locked. I listened to the other servants talk.

They gossiped about everything. They talked about how fierce Kieran was, how smart Dante was, and how kind Lucian was. But most importantly, they talked about the Alpha.

"The old Alpha is in a foul mood again," one cook said.

"He barely leaves his study these days," another whispered. " He just sits in there with his maps and his whiskey."

And that’s when I heard the key to my whole plan.

"Every night," an old servant told Mara and me, "right before he goes to bed, he has one last glass of whiskey. All alone in his study. He says it's the only thing that helps him sleep."

My heart gave a leap. He was always in his study alone every night.

That was it. That was my chance.

For the next few days, my cleaning tasks took me all over the palace. I made sure to "accidentally" take a wrong turn down the hall that led to the Alpha's private wing. I saw the big oak doors of his study. I saw the guards who stood there during the day, and I noted when their shifts changed at night. My map was complete. My plan was ready.

Then, one evening, my chance came sooner than I expected.

Patricia came into the servants' dining hall. "We are short-staffed for the Alpha's dinner tonight," she announced. "Sara, you're with me. You'll be helping serve the wine."

My blood ran cold. I wasn't ready to be that close to him yet. But I couldn't say no because that would be suspicious.

"Yes, ma'am," I whispered, my heart hammering against my ribs.

A little while later, I was standing in the grand dining hall. It was huge, with a long table that could seat fifty people. At the head of the table, in a chair that looked like a throne, sat Alpha Magnus.

He was older than I expected, with gray hair at his temples. But his eyes were sharp and cruel, just like I remembered from my nightmares. He looked powerful and mean, like a wolf who had won a thousand fights and enjoyed every one.

He was the man who had laughed while my mother died.

I held a heavy pitcher of wine, my hands shaking so badly I was afraid I would drop it. My job was to walk around the table and fill the glasses of the Alpha's top warriors and his.

I had to walk right up to him.

I took a deep breath and started to move, keeping my eyes on the floor. “Be Sara. Be Sara,” I told myself over and over. “You are small. You are invisible.”

I filled one glass, then another. My feet felt like they were made of lead. With each step, I got closer and closer to him. I could smell his scent; old, powerful, and stained with darkness. It was the same scent that had filled my house that terrible night.

I was standing right behind his chair. It was time to fill his glass.

My hand was trembling as I reached forward with the pitcher. I tried to pour the wine, but my arm was frozen with fear and hate.

He must have sensed my hesitation. He didn't turn around. He just spoke, his voice a low, dangerous rumble that shook me to my very soul.

"You're new," he said, his voice cutting through the noise of the room. "Look at me when I speak to you.”