Chapter 5 A Slave Among Wolf

I tasted blood, my vision spinning as she loomed over me, her eyes blazing with anger. “You ruined my dress!” She turned to Kaden, her voice breaking with false tears. “She did it on purpose, Kaden. She’s trying to humiliate me.” Kaden’s eyes flashed with anger as he stood, his towering presence suffocating me. “You dare to insult your Luna?” “No,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “I didn’t... I would never...” But my words meant nothing. He grabbed my arm, dragging me to my feet, his grip bruising. “You’ve crossed the line, Ella. You’ll pay for this.” I opened my mouth to plead, but he backhanded me, his strength sending me crashing to the floor once more. Pain exploded in my head, and I tasted blood again. Lila’s laughter rang out, sweet and mocking. “Take her to the dungeons. Let her rot there until she learns respect.” The guards seized me, dragging me away as the crowd jeered and laughed. My vision blurred, pain radiating through my body, but I refused to cry. I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction. As the darkness closed in around me, one thought echoed through my mind. One day, they would pay for this. I would survive. And I would make them all pay. Life as a slave in the pack house was hell. It wasn’t just the cruelty of Lila and Kaden’s cold indifference that tormented me. It was the constant abuse from everyone around me. The other servants despised me. They saw me as a traitor, a cursed wolf who had tried to trick the Alpha with dark magic. Lila had spread her lies well, poisoning their minds against me. Mira, the head maid, was the worst. She took pleasure in making my life miserable. She was tall and strong, her wolf fierce and dominant. I was nothing compared to her—a weak wolf, a slave with no power or protection. Every morning, she would burst into my room, kicking the door open and yanking me out of bed. “Get up, lazy rat! You think you get special treatment just because you used to be part of the pack?” She would slap me across the face, her nails digging into my skin. “You’re nothing now. Less than nothing.” I learned to wake up before dawn, washing quickly and hurrying to the kitchen before she could find another excuse to punish me. But no matter how hard I worked, it was never enough. “You missed a spot,” Mira would sneer, deliberately stepping into the bucket of soapy water and kicking it over. “Clean it up. And when you’re done, scrub the entire hallway again. On your hands and knees.” The other maids would laugh, whispering cruel things as they passed by. “Look at her, the great Ella, reduced to a dog scrubbing floors.” “She deserves it,” another would say. “My cousin told me she tried to curse the Alpha. She’s lucky they didn’t kill her.” I kept my head down, scrubbing until my fingers bled, refusing to react to their taunts. I couldn’t defend myself. If I did, they would report me to Lila, and she would have me thrown back into the dungeons—or worse. But the work wasn’t the worst part. It was the little cruelties they inflicted when no one else was watching. One day, I was washing dishes in the kitchen when Mira sauntered over, a wicked smile on her lips. “You missed a spot,” she said, pointing to a clean plate. “Are you blind, or just useless?” Before I could respond, she grabbed my head and shoved my face into the soapy water, holding me down. My lungs burned, water filling my nose and mouth as I struggled to breathe. Finally, she released me, and I gasped for air, choking and sputtering as she laughed. “Pathetic. You can’t even clean properly. Maybe I should tell the Luna to throw you out with the trash.” I coughed, my body trembling with fear and humiliation, but I forced myself to nod. “Yes, Mira. I’m sorry.” She smirked, tossing a wet rag at me. “Clean up this mess. And if I find even a single spot, you’ll be sleeping outside with the dogs tonight.” I scrubbed the kitchen floors until my hands bled, my eyes stinging with unshed tears. But I wouldn’t cry. I wouldn’t give them that satisfaction. After that, the bullying grew worse. The other servants followed Mira’s lead, shoving me in the hallways, spilling food on me, and laughing as I cleaned up their messes. Once, they locked me in the pantry overnight, laughing as I banged on the door, begging to be let out. “Let me out, please!” I cried, my voice breaking. But they only laughed, their voices echoing through the darkness. When they finally opened the door the next morning, Mira was waiting, her arms crossed. “Lazy, useless slave,” she spat, slapping me hard across the face. “You think you can just hide and avoid your chores?” I opened my mouth to explain, but she grabbed my hair, yanking me to my knees. “No excuses. Clean the entire kitchen. And you better be done before breakfast, or you’ll be cleaning the outhouses next.” I scrubbed the floors, my body aching, my spirit breaking a little more each day. But the worst was yet to come. One evening, as I was cleaning the main hall, I heard laughter echoing through the corridor. My heart sank as Lila appeared, flanked by her friends, the elite wolves of the pack. They were dressed in silk gowns, their hair perfectly styled, their faces beautiful and cruel. “Oh, look,” Lila said, her eyes gleaming with malice. “Our little slave is working hard.” She sauntered over, her high heels clicking on the marble floor. “You missed a spot, Ella.” I bowed my head, my hands trembling as I scrubbed the spot she pointed at. But she wasn’t done humiliating me. She turned to her friends, a wicked smile on her lips. “Ladies, it seems our little slave needs more practice. Why don’t we help her out?” Before I could react, they threw their drinks on the floor, red wine splattering across the polished marble. They laughed as I scrambled to clean it up, my heart pounding with fear and humiliation. “Oh, she’s so clumsy,” one of them sneered, kicking the bucket over and spilling water everywhere. “No wonder the Alpha rejected her....”