Chapter Nine

DNLL 9

By dawn, the entire pack house had turned almost upside down. 

"Find me; I need to know the truth about what happened to me. I'm not going to look like an idiot in front of those good-for-nothing elders," he growled, and I heard his voice reverberate from the corner of the room that I stood in.

He scanned his eyes around the room, and I shifted further into the corner to avoid being seen, when I bumped into an elder from the pack. 

My perfect plan to remain hidden for the entire day had failed woefully, and Alpha Donavon turned his gaze towards me.

I moved to apologize when I felt the stinging slap of the man in my face. 

"How dare you, you lowly, lowlife servant?" he cussed, and he dragged me out of the corner of the room. 

I thought I'd seen wrong when Donavon's gaze softened; the search in his eyes halted when he saw me being dragged over, and he watched intently at the elder's harsh action. 

"Kneel and apologize for what you've done," the man said, and I stared, shocked, at his words. 

"I'm realizing sorry, sir; it wasn't intentional." I bowed and raised my head to receive another slap on the left side of my face. 

Donavon strode over, and I felt my body shake like a water lily on a River bank. 

"You think your measly bow does anything for me," he said, and I could feel his hands descending on my face to hit me again. 

"You've gone way too far in your actions," I heard Donavon's voice from behind my ears. 

"Didn't you see what she just did?" the man retorted, and Donavon scoffed. 

"Do you want something more than an apology? She's already apologized, and it seems like you want something more to it, to satisfy your ego, apparently," Donavon said to the man, who was always seething. 

"You, this bitch, get down to your fucking knees," the man growled, and I shuddered with fear. 

He raised his hands, not minding Donavon's presence. 

"Enough!" Donavon growled, and the man's hands retreated with fear. 

"She's my slave; I own her, and everything about her, you do not get to do anything to her, and if you by any chance make any other move to touch her, I'll make sure to amputate your fingers," Donavon's growled in his face. 

The treading fear in my heart dissipated with Donavon's words, but the man was still adamant. 

You think you can do anything to me,  the man scoffed and raised his hands to hit my face. 

Another stinging tear tore across my face, and I looked teary-eyed at him, glaring right into his eyes. 

"Look at that attitude; this still dares to look me in the eye," he said, and the pride and self-esteem he was trying to firm for himself were shredding away. 

A maid was passing by, and Donavon caught sight of the fruit knife inside the basket she carried in her hands. 

"I'll show you that there's a lot I can do," Donavon said and picked the knife from the basket, holding the knife and forcibly pressing his hands to the table, stabbing the knife into the middle of his palms. 

His screams filled the large room, and Donavon pressed it further to the other end of his palms. 

"She's mine, my maid, my servant, whatever title I choose to give her, and I tell you that you do not have any right to hit, talk to, or even cast a glance at her," he said, and the man nodded hurriedly and shook his head with sweat running down his face. 

Donavon held the knife away from his hands and threw the knife to the ground, leaving the room in a shrill silence, and the drips of the man's blood, together with his muffled screams, were the only sound. 

"Have her sent back to her quarters," he said to the head maid, who had run and stood in front of the door to avoid getting into trouble. 

"She...she doesn't have a room, Alpha Donavon," the head maid said, and she bowed her head in fear.

"For fuck's sake, arrange one for her. There's enough room in the pack house to accommodate the whole of the pack," he said, taking another glance at me before leaving 

"Yes, Alpha Donavon," she said, holding my hands away from the room. 

I could feel the man glaring loathingly at my leaving figure and could only hope it ended there.

The maids spoke in hushed voices as I was held away, and the head maid held my hand as carefully as she could which on a different day, I'd be dragged ruthlessly.

I hadn't expected Donavon to save me from that man, but that only proved he was obsessed with whatever hatred he had for me. 

So much so that no one else was allowed to inflict pain on me.

I clenched my eyes and let the tears that had brimmed in my eyes drip down, and I hissed at the burning pain that went down to the scab on my face.

"Stay here while I go arrange your room," the head maid said, and I smiled.

Maybe the slaps were worth it after all.

"Come," the head maid said as she walked back to me.

"Here's your room," she said, and pointed into the white-painted room for me to go in.

The slaps were really worth it; after all, I smiled and walked inside the room, staring at the white bed in the room and a closet.

This was the most comfortable I'd gotten since I arrived here.

"Alpha Donavon's room is just a wall away from yours, in case he calls and needs you to do anything for him," she said, and I stilled before nodding in response.

This comfort was worth whatever he brought, and I'd be freed from the insects crawling up and down on my body in the dungeon.

I thought I'd gotten to the peak of comfort when laid undisturbed by anyone in the maid's quarter.