Chapter Two

Aria's POV

"Go to the wine cellar immediately and fetch some red wine," The head maid’s eyes narrowed. "Don't break anything or I'll make sure you don't get breakfast. Do you understand that?"

"Yes, ma'am." I quickly exited the kitchen, my ankles aching against the weight of the chains bound around them. I made my way to the cellar discreetly, avoiding the gazes of the guests in the palace.

The usually quiet palace was bustling with guests swarming like a bee hive. The Alpha King was hosting a large banquet, and every member of the royal family was invited. As I walked past some of the guests, I couldn't stop my heart from shrinking with anguish.

"Today is so amazing," I overheard one of the guests saying. Yes, the day was amazing because they had gathered to celebrate the death of my father. An innocent man who was killed because of Alpha Matthias' injustice.

I sighed and pushed open the cellar door, my eyes scanning the room quickly. The cellar was packed with barrels of wine, stored away for months.

I proceeded to fill up a jug with red wine like the head maid had instructed, careful enough not to break anything. I knew that my breakfast depended on my ability to execute the task properly.

I hadn't expected the task to be quite difficult but by the time I was done, I was panting and the room was spinning. I staggered to regain my composure, and prayed that I would get back to the kitchen without passing out.

I tried to leave but my movement was hindered by the heavy chains bound to my ankles. "Ezrine," Once again, the silence of my wolf was an indication that I was alone and had to endure my suffering without any help.

"Ezrine, help me." I whispered, my eyes closing and my knees weakening. The jug slipped from my hands first, the red wine spilling on the ground everywhere. Despite my efforts to keep myself steady, my body gave up on me and I slumped to the ground.

***************

"Get up!" Veronica's voice echoed in the wine cellar, and my eyes flew up with a sharp intake of breath. For a moment, neither of us moved. Veronica grabbed my hair and pushed my chin up. Her cold eyes scanned my face and then she drove her legs into my stomach. "I'm going to teach you a lesson today!"

A shiver ran down my spine as I realized that I had passed out inside the cellar and no one else found me but Veronica. But why her?

I felt the first blow of her legs on my stomach and I writhed in the ground with pain. Then she began to hit me continuously till my entire body was numb. A dark smile curled her lips when she was satisfied with her brutality on me.

"Now, get out." She barked and I weakly scurried away, my joints aching from the severe blows I received.

"Where's the wine?" The head maid asked immediately I walked into the room, her eyes scanning my bruised body. "What happened? What took you so long?!"

"I tried–"

"Shut up!" She shook her head in anger. "I don't have time to listen to your useless excuses. No breakfast for you." My heart shattered into a thousand pieces.

"Please–"

"Here," she said, handing me a maid's outfit. "Save your excuses and change into that."

"But I'm not a maid."

"I know you're not!" She bit back. "I wish I had another choice or servant to replace you but you're the last option. Spread out your legs, now."

I quickly obeyed her and she released the chains around my ankle, filling me with a brief sense of relief.

"Listen to me, you must be in your best behavior out there." She warned, her lips twitching. "If you make any irrational decisions, you'll have yourself to blame."

"But why me? I don't have any experience with–"

"You ungrateful child!" She spat. "Aren't you happy to be free? Anyway, I wouldn't have chosen you for this if one of my best maid wasn't sick."

"I'm hungry and tired," my voice was shaking. "I haven't eaten anything since yesterday. Please, pick someone else to serve the royal family."

"You don't have a choice," she replied. "Out of all the remaining slaves in the palace, you're unfortunately the prettiest. Despite your lack of experience, you have to serve in the banquet. The Alpha will have my head if an ugly maid serves one of his guests. Now, stop complaining and put on that dress."

I heaved a heavy sigh and put on the dress. When I arrived in front of the banquet hall with the tray of food, my heart was beating in my throat. I gripped the door's handle and pressed down, slipping into the room unnoticed.

The room was filled with the most powerful and dangerous Alpha's from several packs and I was supposed to serve them. A lamb alone with wolves.

"May I have this toast?" Alpha Matthias announced, rising to his feet. The clinking of glass and tiny conversations died as everyone turned to face him. I remained frozen in my position, scared to even breathe.

"Let us toast to our allegiance against the vampires," Alpha Matthias said confidently. "We would continue to get rid of them!!" A loud roar and collective applause erupted in the hall. "To demonstrate my sincerity, I have already executed Alpha James who betrayed this pack by dealing with the vampires. His head is hanging at the pack's border as a warning to other rebels and his body has been burnt to ashes."

The applause in the hall faded behind my thoughts as I glared at Alpha Matthias with disdain. How could he disrespect my father even in his death? The thought that my father was not respected enough to be buried caused me to tremble with fury.

I grabbed the tray tightly, my knuckles turning white and fingers quivering. I was overwhelmed with so much emotions and my head began to spin again. "Oh no, not here," I whispered as my legs began to slowly melt away.

The tray slipped from my grasp and fell to the ground with a loud echo. All eyes turned to me as I weakly collapsed to the ground. Before my body could hit the ground, a pair of large hands scooped me into his arms.

The man stared down at me with a predatory look on his face. Wherever his eyes went around my body, he branded me as his possession. I could faintly see the grin on his face as he stared down at my breasts.

“Such a pretty girl,” the man drawled, running his fingers down my body. “I want to have her.”

Alpha Matthias' attention was drawn to the commotion I caused and he noticed the way the man was eyeing me like a prize.

He cleared his throat. "Carrington, I can see you like this slave." He chuckled. "She will be good for you. Would you like me to sell her to you?"

Carrington grazed my skin with his fingers, and my eyes instinctively opened sharply. "She is indeed pretty and sexy but I don't know if she's a virgin. If you must sell her to me, I'll like to have a taste of what I'm buying."

I tried to release myself from his grasp. "No. Don't touch me!" But he held me down. He leaned closer and took in my scent before licking my neck with his sloppy tongue.

"I want her," he said to Alpha Matthias. "Sell her to me so she can satisfy me immediately."

"Please, don't sell me to him," I screamed out, completely ignoring the number of eyes on me. "I'll do anything you ask me to do, I'll be obedient from now on but please don't sell me to this man." Carrington held me tighter to his chest.

Alpha Matthias signaled to two guards and I prayed he would ask them to save me from Carrington. "Take her away and clean her up for Carrington. Then take her to his bedroom so he can do as he pleases with her."

"No!!!" My scream echoed across the room. "Don't do this to me!"

Carrington chuckled and smacked my ass. "You're mine now. I’ll fuck your tight ass and make you scream.”

"Ezrine, we're in danger and you're the only one that can save me. Wake up!" I begged my inner wolf to come out and take control but she remained silent. I was alone, wolfless, and sold to a man who wanted to prey on my body. "Ezrine, help."

The guards grabbed me from Carrington's grasp and despite the tough fight I put on, they hauled me away from the hall.