RayneI immediately lower my eyes and think of something to say to him. Anything that might explain why I'm here. I don't come up with anything.The next few seconds are perhaps the most painful of my entire existence. I'm torn between staying and running, and the problem is that I know I can't run. I'll have to stand here and take whatever it is he's going to give me. And sure enough, he doesn't disappoint. "Are you testing me?" he asks in a low voice. "Is that what this is?""Forgive me, Alpha," I say, not meeting his eyes. Instinctively, I take a step back from him. I feel his eyes following every move I make. "I didn't meant to...I wasn't—""Then why are you here?" he says through his teeth. How do I explain to him that I need the Second Beta to see me so he doesn't punish Denise for lying to him? How do I guarantee that I didn't come here to spite him? That I would never willingly cross his path if I had the power to do so?"I'm sorry," I say in a voice barely above a whisper
Rayne I don’t leave the room for anything. I don’t want to risk running into the Alpha or his sister. She didn’t come looking for me to warn me to stay away, which I was kind of expecting. Maybe she’ll do it later. I don’t know. I’m hoping she won’t because I wouldn’t know what to say to her without revealing the truth. I feel bad that she was yelled at because of me. She didn’t do anything. She didn’t give me the dress. She just tried to help me. Guilt gnaws at me. I don’t want to seem like an ungrateful person. She’s the only person apart from Denise that tried to help me. She couldn’t judged me harder because she’s the Alpha’s sister but she understood my side. She knows I’m innocent, but she also knows that my side of the story doesn’t matter in the great scheme of things. I never meant to let her down. As for Denise, she said she knew the dress was worn by Alaska but she only wore it once. It was in the laundry room for a couple of years without being worn. She never asked
RayneI shake my head when Denise walks into my bedroom with my dinner. “You can take it back. I’m not hungry. I don’t want to waste food.”She tilts her head, pity etching her features. “You have to eat something. Not eating will only make your body sick and weak.”In a low voice, I ask, “Is the Beta there?”She shakes her head. “No. He’s downstairs with the rest of them. Having dinner. But one of his goons is near the top of the stairs. Probably on the lookout for you.”I sigh heavily and cover my face with my hands. “I can’t believe this is happening. I did what you told me to do. I told her the truth. But I guess it was too late.”Denise puts the tray down beside me and takes a seat on the edge of my bed. “She summoned me and gave me a scolding as well. You shouldn’t feel bad.”“What did she say to you?”“She said she knew I helped you with the dress, because of my position of course.” Despite her words, she’s smiling. “She also warned me to stay away from you. She doesn’t want me
MaxI wake up to the sound of screaming. I look around quickly. It doesn’t take me long to realize that there isn’t anyone screaming. I was probably dreaming. But as I try to lay back down, I can’t seem to shake off this feeling that I’m in danger. I don’t know why I feel this way. I rise from my bed and walk toward the balcony. The doors are open. They’re always open, so I don’t know why I feel this paranoid today. I look around and see nothing but darkness. All I hear is the sound of crickets, and the occasional howl from far away wolves. Nothing to be worried about. Still, this feeling persists, and the more I try to ignore it, the more it weighs on my conscience. What is this? I’ve never felt anything similar to this before. I close the balcony doors and walk toward the bureau. There, I pour myself a drink. My nervousness doesn’t pass. I grip the glass in frustration, suppressing the urge to hurl it across the room. My uneasiness doesn’t allow me to go back to bed, so I pace
Rayne I’m in my new room—the one the Alpha said I should occupy. It’s much grander than the one I occupied before but it’s not something that pleases me. I don’t care about such luxuries. I’m more concerned about how Lady Veronica will treat me after what happened. Especially since he contradicted her. I shouldn’t have told him that she knew about the Second Beta. I didn’t mean to. It just slipped out. I was under so much stress that I didn’t think twice before answering, and now I’ve framed her. I hope she won’t hate me forever for this. I lied in the first place. She had no reason to believe me the second time around. I could easily be lying about the Beta just because I wanted to justify my presence at the dinner last night. She was just trying to do the right thing. She doesn’t deserve the Alpha’s harsh treatment. As for the Second Beta, I’m glad that he’s dead. I never thought I’d think this way about anyone. I’m not the kind of person who hates intensely. I just wanted t
RayneThe feeling of relief and bliss hasn’t left me yet. It’s been three days since the whole incident with the Second Beta. He wasn’t given an honorable werewolf burial—which consists of a cremation. Instead, he was buried so his body can rot under the ground. By then, everyone knew what he had done, so there was no point in trying to pretend that he was an honorable wolf. According to Denise, the Alpha had to answer to the council why he had killed his Beta. She knew this because she was the one serving waters and coffees during the whole meeting. It was a task that was supposed to be for one of the lower servants, but she decided to go herself so she could learn what would be said there. “The Alpha wasn’t pleased to see me there but it wasn’t like he could kick me out,” she had told me. I frowned and asked, “Why?”She shrugged and continued telling me what she heard. The council consisted of the Alpha, the First Beta, and some of the higher ranking generals of the pack. Alask
RayneI’m ready in the early hours of the morning because I’m too anxious for my little shopping trip with Lady Veronica. It didn’t help that Denise kept telling me to watch out for her. She doesn’t trust her for some reason, and frankly, I think she’s just exaggerating. Denise can be quite dramatic, and I’ve already established that I can’t take most of her advice. If I’m on guard and on edge, she’ll notice, and then I’ll be even more awkward. Isn’t it enough that I’m nervous?When the time comes for me to go downstairs, I’m dressed in the best of my old dresses but Lady Veronica doesn’t look impressed. She offers me a tight smile and says, “Shall we?”We’re accompanied by four guards. They walk on either side of us until we reach outside where there is a carriage waiting for us. We climb inside and one of them closes the door. I sit facing her and expect her to say something to me but she doesn’t. Maybe I should have said something but I couldn’t think of anything to say that wasn
Rayne I stand by as Lady Veronica pays Marjorie and then follow her out of the tent. I can't get over how great I feel in these clothes, and how different I feel altogether. I can barely contain my own excitement, despite the circumstances. I’ve always dreamt of looking this beautiful, and now that I don’t have to borrow anyone’s dress, I feel much better about it. Even the guards are looking at me differently. It’s uncomfortable to be ogled, though, and I wish they would look away. I also wish Lady Veronica wouldn’t be so cold with me. It’s just that at times, I don’t understand her. She’s my friend one second and then a stranger to me the next. “Rayne,” she says, stopping and whirling around to face me. “I’ve got to do something quick. I won’t be long. Will you stay here with the guards?”“Yes,” I say, nodding. She takes off after giving the guards a firm look and we stand near a stall and wait for her return. I fold my arms and look around. There are a few more people now, and