007.

Hailey’s POV

The next few days flew past, literally. Fortunately, the triplets were nowhere to be seen and even though their absence made me feel a bit peaceful, I still couldn’t help but wonder what they were up to. Most of all, I was worried as to what they may have in store for me the next time we met and trust me, none of the things I could imagine were good.

Today, for the first time in a long time, I went downstairs, because I was bored, to the hallway and again, I was hit with the initial shock I felt when I saw that portrait for the first time. The portrait of a younger version of me.

Something like bile rose up in my throat while I stared at it and a shudder ran up my spine at the thought. What if the child was me and Hades wasn’t lying? If so, then why was a portrait of me hung here with the most gruesome scene painted as its background?

I was so lost in these thoughts that I did not notice the sound of footsteps approaching me. However, when I realized, it was too late and I was already standing in front of the most beautiful girl I had ever seen in my life. Her obviously dyed hair was auburn and was styled into a very high ponytail which was so high, it made her face appear sharp. Her eyes were also very blue that I wondered if they were natural or contacts.

She was more than a head taller than me but despite this, she was wearing red stiletto heels which matched her dark red lips, making her appear way taller than I was. I gulped when I looked up at her, surprised to see that she was frowning down at me with both hands planted firmly on her dainty waist.

‘Why taint that beautiful face with a frown?’ I wondered but was snapped out of my reverie when her voice rang out,

“Hey slave, do you not have better things to do around the house than stand there?!” She growled in the most unladylike voice I’ve ever heard.

A smile tugged at my lips as I wondered how insane it was to look so good but sound so horrible until I realized what she had asked me. I shook my head and whispered; “No.”

“No, what?”

“No, I have nothing better to do.” I spat dryly.

“Then find something!” She growled, “are you stupid?”

Her unkind words made me more than a little uncomfortable. I wondered why someone who knew absolutely nothing about me would be so mean and even though I understood that she thinks I was one of the house slaves, it still did not give her enough right to talk to me the way she was doing. I was so riled up that without thinking, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. I muttered;

“No, I won’t find something to do,” and then looking away from her to glance back at the painting on the wall, I continued; “…and even if I must, I don’t think you’re in the right place to tell me that.”

As soon as the words left my lips, the lady gasped. She appeared shocked but I wasn’t sure if it was due to the fact that I had talked back to her or because her ego was just bruised. Like the bully that I suspected she was, she took daunting steps forward as she stepped into my personal space and then lifted her hand as if to hit me but before she could, a cold voice from the other end of the hallway stopped her.

“Savannah!” The person growled and as if on cue, the lady, Savannah, and I turned in the direction of the voice. My heart skipped a beat when I saw that it was Alpha Hades and I melted even more when I realized that Trent was standing behind him with his signature bored look plastered across his handsome face.

Savannah gasped and as if a light bulb was suddenly turned on, she immediately went from being the literal boogeyman to being a princess in a split second. Her frown fell, with her hands, and a bright smile shone on her face. It was so bright that I feared it would blind me. Giggling like a schoolgirl, she skipped over to Alpha Hades and draped an arm around his.

“You’re back!” She smiled at him, and with an over dramatic gasp, she turned to Trent and screeched; “Chad? Trent?”

“Trent.” Trent supplied dryly, without sparing even a single glance at her.

Deciding to ignore Trent’s subtle way of showing that he cared less about her, she continued; “I never knew you were around! Hades here never told me!” She cried, and then turned to pout at Hades who’s eyes had never left my face even for a second. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Hades looked away from me then. His eyes roamed her face and in a not so subtle manner, he shook his arm out of her hold and muttered; “I’m sorry, I forgot to mention it to you.”

Even a blind man could see that he wasn’t anything close to being sorry but Savannah ignored it. She turned back to Trent, and noticing that he was staring at me, she muttered under her breath; “Oh that slave! I thought she would’ve been out of here by now…”

I hadn’t expected anyone to comment on that so I was shocked when Trent eyed her in irritation and snapped; “She’s not a slave!”

“Oh…”

“Trent… she is one.” This time, it was Hades who gritted out but instead of letting it go like everyone expected him to, Trent however didn’t. He spat;

“She isn’t a slave, and you know it, brother. Even if you insist that she’s one, she’s not the kind of slave that your bimbo here thinks she is.”

The off handed jab at Savannah made her jaw drop and her expression was almost laughable. I was hit with a sense of irritation when she slapped her hands on her chest, as if hurt, and tears sprung into her eyes.

“You didn’t just CALL me THAT!” she growled, and as if catching herself, realising that Trent was the Alpha’s brother, a more prominent person than she was, she dropped her head and muttered; “You disrespect me.”

That was it. That was all I needed to witness. I couldn’t stand there and watch while she went all hot and cold like an unstable circuit so I spun on my heels and began to walk away.

However as soon as I turned around, a voice from one of the brothers, one which I suspected was Trent, stopped me in my tracks. He called out to me; “Mate!” causing the entire place to go completely silent.

I saw the look of disbelief on Savannah’s face, I even heard her gasp. But what surprised me the most was the thunderous look on Hades’. He looked like he was about to murder someone, and it was safe to say that that person wasn’t me.