Chapter One

Willow

I could smell the savory scent of the roast cooking in the oven, making my stomach protest loudly and reminding me that I had consumed little since yesterday morning, like I needed the prompt. Hopefully, I would be able to secret away some scraps after I had cleaned up the dinner party occurring later this evening.

Zeke watched on with disdain as I struggled to lift the bucket of vegetables onto the counter, an action that should have been beyond easy for a werewolf like me.

Sadly, my life had not been easy here in the Southern Province, notwithstanding my initial high hopes.

Zeke's daily abuse, combined with my near starvation and tremendous workload, had left me weak and unable to defend myself.

Even so, somehow in the face of the weight loss caused by meager rations, my generous hips and bust line had managed to linger.

Hell, I couldn’t even heal myself properly anymore, but that might’ve been a side effect of being prevented from shifting on a regular basis. My wolf had started to dwindle slowly, but it was getting to the point that I could barely sense her presence at times.

I flinched when Zeke sauntered closer and shrunk away from his imposing demeanor before I could stop myself.

Regrettably, he chose that moment to slink up behind me and grab my ass, a common gesture for him. I jerked away, and the unexpected action caused me to lose my precarious balance on the bucket as a result.

The vegetables went tumbling towards the floor as I unsuccessfully tried to abscond from out of his arm range.

Zeke's left hand snaked out and clamped down on my wrist like a vise, no doubt leaving another mark that would take hours to heal in the process.

I didn’t even see his right hand coming until it was too late. He smashed his large palm into the side of my face with a bruising force, causing me to skid back a step from the pure power of the blow.

It took me a minute to get my bearings as he continued berating me all the while, and I tasted the familiar coppery trace of blood as I swallowed with a grimace.

"You stupid bitch! Look what you’ve done now. Dinner had better be done before they arrive, and I don’t want to see your ugly face again until they’re gone!"

He bit out the last part with a disgusted look on his face before stomping out of the room without sparing me a backward glance, but I wasn’t about to protest.

I dropped to the floor, picking up the scattered carrots and potatoes as Zeke stormed out. I didn’t bother responding to him anymore, knowing it only served to increase his ire and my suffering in the long run.

As I gathered the fallen vegetables and began to wash, peel, and prepare them, I endeavored to shake off the pain and lingering disgust caused by Zeke's unwanted touch.

I thanked Luna for the millionth time that groping was the worst of it in that regard.

Zeke may treat me deplorably and lash out whenever the mood struck, but he had never crossed that line. I was not sure what stopped him. But I was grateful for whatever it was, and I did not intend to question it too thoroughly, not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

I lost myself in the task of preparing the dining room and finishing dinner, one of the chores that I would probably have enjoyed if Zeke had not forced me to cook for him and all the other unmated warriors practically every day that I had been stuck in this purgatory.

Right as I was setting the last dish on the table, I was startled out of my daze by the noisy knocking that echoed from the direction of the front door.

Thump, thump, thump!

I knew I would catch hell for it later if Zeke deemed even one thing below his impossibly high standards, not that he would get off his lazy ass to do anything himself.

Gazing around the spacious room in response, I triple checked that every detail was up to par before I departed.

The large rectangular table was eye-catching, taking center stage under a beautiful crystal chandelier that brought out the rich tones in the mahogany-colored surface. It seemed to make the silver utensils sparkle more than they had even after I’d polished them earlier.  

The wonderful aroma of the feast I had prepared bathed the air, making me think about the buttery potatoes and the piquant...

Thump, thump, thump!

Another round of loud pounding on the door sent me dashing off to my room, though calling it a room was being generous, before the visiting alphas caught a glimpse of me, and I had to deal with Zeke again.

At length, I let out a deep breath that I didn’t realize I had been holding as I leaned against the shut door of my domain. It was not much to speak of, but it was mine.

The storage room came equipped with a ratty old, twin-sized mattress on the floor that took up most of the space, and a wooden shelf that held my precious few belongings. I was relieved when I noticed them resting exactly where I had placed them last. At least Zeke had left my space alone today.

I sank down onto the mattress as I allowed my gaze to rove over the rest of the sparse room. I recollected back to the day that I had first opened my eyes after the attack. Everything had been so different then.

Zeke had been warm and welcoming, in stark contrast to what I now knew his temperament was genuinely like.

He had apologized that his warriors were unable to prevent harm from befalling me, but he had also hastened to assure me that I would be perfectly safe and well taken care of here in the South.

It seemed like I had finally made it to the promised safe haven after all of the heartbreak and strife that I had been forced to endure with only my wolf for company throughout my grueling journey.

What a joke. If only I had known what alone truly meant then.