Chapter 3

Alessia's POV

I returned to the Pack Estate late in the afternoon as I was roaming on the streets, clearly frustrated and not knowing what to do. I felt that the Pack Estate was not the right place to stay, on second thought, if I leave, where will I get my feeding and college fees from. My parents can't do this, it's because of their condition, they sent me to work for the Alpha's family at the early age of eight, they knew I would be serving them if not for any other thing as at then, for food and education, two things they wouldn't be able to give me. Right now, I have five siblings and I'm made to believe they have all been farmed out to family members and friends except the last born who is just three years old. 

I remember those days Luna Stevania, Phoenix's mom would be treating me as her child. I was only allowed to sweep the living room and water a small portion of flowers in the garden back then. It's when I reached thirteen years and started major works in the estate that the pampering stopped and then another good was born. I started being paid, this is what I sent back home, just to fund my last sibling's education and upbringing. What's left for me every month is not always enough but I'm glad I'm assured of free food and then my accommodation is taken care of. I remember these things and choose to return, running away would seem childish and me being ungrateful. My parents hearing this would be disappointed, and my last born brother would be sad to stay back at home and not go to school. 

The first person I find as I return is the luna. I meet her as I'm crossing the living room on the first floor to get to the stairs. My work ends in the morning before going to college, this is to help me concentrate also on my studies. Anything done in the evening is unofficial, from Phoenix and Gracelynn. 

"Good afternoon, ma'am." I greet, bowing slightly. She isn't so rude, but her calm and demand for a formal relationship with her would make her seem rude except you are privileged to go close to get. Since being formal and not laughing or playing with her is what she wants, I try to adapt and have been doing that perfectly, both with her and her husband, Alpha Aaron. The only people that get on my nerves are her son and his girlfriend, Gracelynn. Since she loves both, nothing is done by either her or her husband in the case of me being bullied. 

"Good afternoon, Alessia." She replies with a firm tone and a firm look which is not quite casual with her. I turn nervous, eager to know what's going on. I can't figure anything that might make her look at me this way. 

"Why are you returning now?" She drops it all of a sudden making me shriek in horror. "My son and his girlfriend returned about an hour, thirty minutes ago, since you weren't there to prepare their lunch, they left to the eatery. As you well know I don't have the strength to cook, I do make orders from our favorite eatery for myself and my husband if you are off to college of I just don't feel like eating homemade food." 

Just as she said this, I knew I'm in fresh trouble. Phoenix and Gracelynn aren't like her, they prefer homemade food, the only thing they patronize eateries for are their snacks and drinks, not food. Making them go outside to eat now would be a great disaster to me once they return. 

"Okay, go inside and get ready. You have a great job to do! I'll let you know once you are done." She walks past me, I begin to wonder about the greater work she is talking about. All ideas escape my memory. Anyway, I rushed towards my room. Sliding my backpack into my wardrobe drawer, I move on to undressing. I've got to take a quick bath. In the next ten minutes, I'm done. I dry myself and walk over to my dressing room where I put on my uniform. I seldom wear it although it looks like a normal gown. I'm afraid Luna Stevania saying I have greater work means the presence of a guest who would come visiting. I've been living here and I'm familiar with most of the terms used by her and other members of the family. 

I walked down to go meet her, she promised that she was going to tell me what she meant. "Alessia, get prepared. I know I didn't inform you earlier but we are going to have a guest, he will be living with us temporarily, until his estate in our pack is ready and furnished." My heart begins to pump hard, I'm eager to know who she is talking about. "Today you have lots of work to do being the only cook here. I don't think it should be too hard for you, catering for me and my husband, my son and his girlfriend, then yourself and this respected personality that would be arriving later on in the night, I suppose." She says with a shrug of her shoulders, she doesn't know if it will be in the night or this evening but whatever I got to get prepared. 

"Who is he, ma'am?" I shouldn't be asking her, she is supposed to tell me. Since she is delaying to tell me who it is, I've got to ask her. 

"The Lycan prince, Alpha Adrian Caleb." I gasp upon hearing this name. He is the ruler of all the werewolves and lycans alike, a hundred years ago, he captured all the werewolf Alphas that stood against his rule and executed all of them, he had a world's powerful gang that worked for him, executing anybody, wherever he may be that spoke against him or said anything against him. In human age, he is twenty-five, but is over three hundred years in wolf age, as a lycan. The ages are calculated differently. As a lycan as he is, he is very powerful and feared by all the werewolves. The werewolves had their own Alpha Prince just as he was initially for the lycans, but he assassinated our Alpha Prince and came to control all the werewolves together with the lycans in our continent. 

"So is it him I'll be catering for?" Stevania sees the shock and fear in my eyes, I can't be blamed, there is no werewolf who doesn't fear the prince, his aged father, the Alpha King handed over reign to him although he isn't officially crowned as the King, just the Prince. I don't know what is keeping his father from stepping down completely for him, it has remained a secret for years. Though his health is deteriorating with each passing day, he wouldn't give the throne to Adrian. 

The luna gives me a nod. "I'll be sending in a list of delicacies, five to be precise as he is coming. We will need to give him the best always and that will rest on your shoulders, and I'm sorry to announce this," her eyes grow dull as I've never seen before. "You'll need to quit college and become a full-time maid, for the time being he is going to stay with us, which I don't know." My heart seems to stop beating at this point. 

What did she just say? 

"I'm very sorry about this but this is how it's supposed to be, he will require the best and wouldn't tolerate your absence when you aren't around." I drop a heavy breath, it has always been my dream to graduate and become a professional engineer. Being in the same level with Phoenix and Gracelynn has helped reduce the bullying to a lower level, if they are supposed to pass me and I follow up behind them later on I'll begin college again, the discrimination and ridicule wouldn't be something to easily deal with. It might even make me unwilling to continue, I might pick up interest in something else which isn't what I planned. 

"That's the way it's gonna be, so go to the kitchen. I'll drop the menu there, check the refrigerators, and the items to prepare the meals are there." She leaves me to my downcast state, even after many minutes she left, I can't lift my foot from the floor, it's as if I'm glued to it, same occurs with my heart, I feel like a moron right now. I've worked so hard, only to end up like this? Disappointed, I trod slowly towards the kitchen, holding my left hand across my chest so I can support my cheek with my right hand on it.