Shining Through Shadows

Strangers

Lydia

My heart pounded frantically inside my chest and I glanced towards the door, hoping that he wouldn’t burst through it and tear the room apart.

Jena ushered us towards a corner behind a bookshelf and once we were in place, we clutched each other closely together as if it could shield us from a ferocious, bloodthirsty wolf. Because that was what he was, right?

Minutes passed and no other sounds came, apart from our ragged breathing. While I was still scared of what could be lurking behind the wooden door, I was also curious to see the Rogue Alpha. Was he as scary and dangerous as the rumors said?

Also, I felt like the roar wasn’t out of anger. At least not only anger. It had a tinge of pain in it as well. I took a deep breath and disentangled myself from the girls’ arms, my feet silently leading me to the door. Somehow, I felt beckoned by the pained roar. Like he needed my help.

“What are you doing, Lydia!? Get back here!” Jena demanded in a whisper-yell, but I was already out of the door. Glancing both ways to make sure nobody else was there, I headed towards the giant staircase. If he roared again, perhaps I could pinpoint his location from there.

The sound of deep voices made me jump behind a protruding wooden pillar and I sucked in a breath, hoping I would be able to hide without being seen. While I was looking to help out a wolf in need, I wasn't prepared to risk my job by sauntering around the mansion in front of either guests or head-maid Louisa.

“Did you see how feral he looked?” One voice asked, making the other scoff loudly as they descended the stairs. I quickly assumed that they could only be talking about the rogue alpha.

“It won’t be long now before he turns mad and that’s exactly what we want.” The other person said with a very arrogant voice. A voice that made shivers run down my spine, and not in a pleasant way.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to take him out of his misery?” The first one asked and my stomach churned, thinking of his suggestion. They wanted to kill him, their leader? Or was it out of pity? Was he sick?

“No.” The arrogant one replied quickly, their voices coming closer to where I was hiding. It felt like the collar of my uniform was strangling me as they neared, but I decided to steal a glance anyway, my curiosity getting the best of me.

Two men with dark brown hair were descending the stairs, one of them with slightly longer hair gathered in a bun. Just like Suni had described. Both of them were handsome, and it was easy to tell that they came from a family with money, their clothes looking like they had been tailored by the best.

But their eyes… They felt familiar somehow. But from where?

“Wait.” The arrogant one with the bun demanded as they both stopped in their tracks just as they were about to descend further down the stairs, away from me.

Afraid they might’ve heard or seen me, I pressed myself further against the wall, praying that the pillar would make a decent cover for me. I couldn’t help but bite my lip to force myself to take calm and silent breaths through my nose.

“What is—“ The first one was about to ask when he was interrupted by the rude one.

“Never mind.” He said and the sound of their feet on the stairs appeared again, making me release the breath I was holding. “Let’s see how he is in a week. Perhaps we’ll reach our goal sooner than we thought.”

“We’ve waited long enough already.” Their voices were faint as they continued down the stairs, but their conversation still hung in the air surrounding me.

What were they waiting for? For the Alpha to die from madness?

I haven’t been in this house for a long time, but I had better conditions here than at home, and somehow, their conversation seemed to jeopardize my place here.

What would happen to us if the Alpha turned mad? I had a feeling they wouldn’t let us return to our homes…

Just as the thought had appeared, the sound of something breaking came from the Alpha’s floor…