Chapter 3- The royal visit

As Lucy finally reached her basement room, she looked around at her dusty environment. There were insects crawling all over the place, and sometimes they would even crawl on her body. She was terrified at first but soon got used to them. As she collected a couple of her clothes, she sat down on the edge of the bed.

Her life was changing so suddenly in such a short span of time. Just a few more months and she would have the freedom she had been craving for years. She needed some savings first to break even, and she quickly remembered her little pouch. She had hidden the small pouch inside an old dusty vase. As she reached her hands to fish the pouch out, she heard footsteps closing in.

"Well, well, looks like the dumb b**ch is packing to go somewhere," Gina's evil voice echoed in the dark basement room as her minions laughed. Lucy was sure all of Gina's friends were sticking with her because she was the beta's daughter. Otherwise, Gina was not good at anything besides wh*ring herself to all of the handsome warriors in the pack and into Jayden's bed.

"I have been reassigned somewhere, and I was just packing my stuff," Lucy replied, trying to maintain her posture.

"What's this?" Gina eyed the small pouch in Lucy's hands as she snatched it from her. Lucy immediately reacted and tried to take it back when the two minions held her back strongly. Lucy still had bruises and open wounds from the recent beatings and was already reduced to feeling so weak.

"Please, Gina, I am begging you. That's my money I have been collecting," Lucy pleaded through her soft sniffles.

"HAHAHA, and you think I will believe that, you murderer. I know you stole this from the pack members. YOU F**KING THIEF." As soon as Gina said that, she slapped Lucy across her face multiple times, stopping at nothing. At one point, Lucy was sure Gina was also going to scratch her eyes out because of how dangerously close her slaps were getting to her eye sockets.

Gina finally stopped after some time as she pushed her perfectly bleached straight blonde hair back. Lucy felt a pang of jealousy as her own blonde hair was heavily matted and looked like a rag because she rarely had time to shower or care for herself. She had to beg the former alpha to give her permission to even attend school, and the former Luna was the one who finally convinced the Alpha. At least she graduated from high school and was grateful for that.

The two minions kicked Lucy's knees, making her kneel before Gina.

"Listen here, you little bi**h, don't even look at my Jayden. HE IS ALL MINE. I will rip your throat out next time you pull an act like today," Gina venomously hissed at Lucy as she tore all of Lucy's money into small pieces. They were so tiny that Lucy knew she could not tape them back together. And with that, they finally left her alone.

"Oh, come on, Daisy, stop ignoring him and kiss him already, or I will," Jo cursed at the book she was reading, frustrated that the lead characters' romance was getting nowhere. Just when she heard a weak knock at the door, "Come in," she said as she quickly hid the book perfectly under the pillow again. Phew, only if vampire books were not forbidden.

The sight of Lucy's bruised face immediately angered Jo.

"Was it Gina again?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

Lucy gave a blank, sad nod.

"Why don't you fight back, Lucy? You have beta blood running in you too. You both have the same father, for crying out loud," Jo tried encouraging her new friend a little.

"It's useless, Jo. One time I fought back, I received ten times more beatings than I usually got. There is no point. But this time Gina tore all of my savings I had collected till now. I have nothing even if I manage to run away," Lucy cried as she covered her face, fighting all the tears.

Jolene felt a wave of guilt as she realized she should have helped Lucy a little all these years. Even if Jo had only joined the pack a couple of years back, she could still have talked to Lucy and given her some companionship. But then she remembered the circumstances and the danger lurking in the dark for her.

"Listen here, when we get out of this pack together, maybe I can pay for us until you find a job," Jo offered with a sweet smile. Lucy was about to refuse when Jo quickly added, "And you can return the money once you earn it back."

Lucy thought about it for a while and finally agreed.

"Now, now, losers weepers. We don't cry in this room. What are your hobbies?" Jo asked as she guided Lucy to the bed's edge.

"I don't have any," Lucy's broken voice flooded the air.

"Well, I like reading b...."

The door kicked open before Jo could finish the sentence.

"What in the holy Moon Goddess's name is she doing here?" Polly asked, squinting her eyes at Lucy.

"Pols, I asked her to stay here with us after what happened earlier. Besides, we have some space in the corner for an extra bed!" Jo chirped happily to mask the awkwardness in the room.

"Ugh, FINE. But this is only temporary. Anyways, the guests arrived ages ago. We need help in the kitchen," Polly told them.

"Lucy, you had a long day today, so you can rest. I have already set the extra mattress for you," Jo smiled politely as she grabbed a hairband from a small nightstand. She tied her red hair in a tight bun as she walked to where Polly was standing.

"Off we go, old gal," Jo sang as she ushered Polly out of the room.

In the Kitchen

"We need more wine for the generals!" one of the serving omegas yelled.

Jo groaned as she took out more bottles from the wine cellar. These so-called royal warriors and generals were a bunch of alcoholics. Just as she took the last bottle down, her grip loosened, shattering the bottle on the floor.

Polly immediately rushed to her side. "Are you okay, Jo? Someone clean this up." Immediately, a few omegas came to clean up the mess Jo had just made. Polly was the head omega, and her title benefited Jo greatly! She had easy and light tasks assigned and could always sneak into the shared room to read more steamy vampire stories.

"You are bleeding. Geez, you silly girl," Polly shook her head as she grabbed a small cloth to press on Jo's bleeding finger.

"Head miss, the former Alpha is calling you," Jo heard another omega call Polly.

"You should go, I am fine," Jo reassured her concerned friend.

Polly hesitated a little. "Go out and wait till the bleeding stops, okay?"

Jo nodded as her friend made haste to the dining area.

Jo stepped outside into the garden area as she inhaled the fresh, cold air. She looked at the sky to admire the white glistening full moon.

"Quite a beauty, isn't she?" she heard a deep voice from beside her. She saw a heavily armored man lying on the grass bed, admiring the moon as well.

"Yes," was all Jo replied. She did not like talking to strangers, and this man was also dressed weirdly.

"Should you not be inside dining, my good sir?" Jo tried prying the strange man who had half of his face masked.

"The food was terrible," the man joked, making Jo instantly angry.

"Well, lucky for you, the grass is right there for you to feast on. Happy munching, you cow," she retorted, losing all her manners and was about to head back inside when the man grabbed her hand.

"Miss, I was only joking," the man said with urgency in his voice to show he did not mean it.

As she looked at the strange man, she noticed that he had grabbed her hand so quickly. How did he go from lying so far from her to grabbing her arms this fast? But her body froze when she caught the glare in his eyes. He had the most unique eye color she had ever seen; they were golden but had silver-ish rings inside them. Why was her heart beating fast? The man was staring back at her with equal interest, and his grip on her hand was still in place.

"What's your name, miss?" the man's deep voice tingled her ears.

"Excuse me, I need to go," Jo responded as she pushed the strange man and walked past him.

The man continued to stare after Jo, as a smile curled on his lips. "I will find your name out soon, miss."