Chapter Seven

Lydia

 “How are you feeling, dear?” Martha asked as she adjusted herself by my side. 

It's been almost two days since I was brought into the hospital and Martha has been the only person who showed up to visit. 

According to what I heard from the nurses, the Alpha has been informed that I was now awake and unsurprisingly, he hasn't shown up since then. I was more relieved than disappointed that he didn't show up because I know his presence was only going to put me in a situation that would probably bring me back here in the coming days or, even worse, I won't get the chance to leave before falling ill all over again. 

“Better, for now,” I answered, with a forced smile, and Martha sighed. 

“I don't even know what to say to you right now because nothing makes sense to me at this point. I've tried several times to get an audience with him so that I can convince him to let you go, but he's not letting me meet with him at all,” Martha mentioned. 

 “Oh, Martha, you don't have to bother yourself. Like you told me the last time, the reason he has a problem with me, it's not because I trespassed. It's because I'm his mate, and he hates that. Maybe he had expectations for how his Luna would look, and he's upset that I felt short of his expectations,” I responded, trying to sound as nonchalant as I could. 

I was truly grateful to Martha for trying so hard to help me out, even though she could get in serious trouble if the Alpha finally gets upset with her. I couldn't afford to show just how tired and depressing the situation was for me because then, she wouldn't stop trying, and I don't want her to get in trouble because of me. 

 “Oh, dear, I can assure you that your looks have nothing to do with the reason he's treating you this way. Even if the most beautiful woman in the world turned out to be his mate, he would still treat her the same way because his problem is with your identity as his mate, not you,” Martha explained. 

 I wasn't too surprised to hear this from her, but I was curious to understand why he had an issue with me for being his mate. Thinking about it now, I've come to realize that I literally know nothing about this man and the only information that I had concerning him before coming here to apply for the job, was that he was very strict and difficult to please. 

“Can you please explain to me why being his mate is an issue for him? Does he perhaps have a problem that I don't know about?” I asked and Martha chuckled. 

 “Oh dear, there's a lot you don't know about that man. I feel bad that someone like him turned out to be your mate because the possibility of him ever accepting you as his Luna is non-existent. In fact, he doesn't even want to have a Luna, and I'm pretty sure the reason he's upset with you and taking his anger out on you is because he never wanted you to show up,” she explained. 

“And my question is, why is that the case? Did something happen to him that made him not want to have a Luna or wait…, is he into men and not women?” I questioned. 

I wanted to know everything about the alpha regardless of how he had been treating me not because I cared about him exactly but because I feel like knowing about my mate, even if he and I will not be together, is the right thing to do. 

“Gay or not, nobody knows. Except for the Beta, I don't think anybody else knows anything about him, not even his family. He has always been quiet since he was a child, and he doesn't really show any other emotion besides anger when crossed. I've been working here for years now, and I can count how many times I've spoken to him and heard his voice,” she answered, and I sighed. 

 “The only thing I can tell you about him is that he's not normal and as soon as you get better, I'd advise you to leave this place and never come back. His anger can only subside when you're no longer around him, but if you make the mistake of sticking around, he's going to make sure that he taunts you until you choose to disappear or worse,” she added. 

I sighed. 

I knew she had a point about how leaving this place was a better option for me, but deep down in my heart, I would rather not leave. This job was very important to me, not just because I love being a chef, but mostly because I had nowhere to go. 

The reason I desperately wanted to work in the palace wasn't because of the higher pay or anything like that, it was mostly because being in town was starting to get suffocating. 

I had no one except a few people I called my friends, but they all had their lives and a family, which is something that I unfortunately cannot brag about. 

My father died before I was born, and my mother died a few years after I was born, I was raised by my grandmother for a long time, but she died almost three years ago, and I've been living the loneliest life since then. 

This job was my only escape from the empty house back in town that I called home, and I just didn't want to imagine myself going back there and starting all over again while dealing with loneliness and anxiety. 

 “So you're saying that I can't keep my job without expecting to get tormented by the Alpha?” I asked. 

“I know how hard you tried to get this job and I understand that it must be frustrating for you to even think that you have to leave just because of a circumstance that wasn't in your power but as someone who has been here longer than you have, I need to be honest with you, Lydia. This job isn't for you. I don't think you have what it takes to survive him,” Martha said. 

“And in your opinion, what does it take to survive him?” I asked. 

“If you're willing to end up dead then you can stay, Lydia, but as someone who watched you grow, I wouldn't advise it. You're young, and you have a long way to go, dear. Don't allow yourself to be fooled into thinking that you're strong-willed enough to endure because believe me, you want to avoid playing with fire,” she answered.

 Her response sent a weird feeling down my spine, but it wasn't a feeling related to fear at all. It felt more like her warning was sounding to me like encouragement, and a part of me started to think that she may just be exaggerating. 

 What if running away wasn't the solution? The highest the Alpha could do was torture me, but I don't think he'd actually go as far as killing me. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't. We're mates, after all. 

“You're right, Martha. I wouldn't want to play with fire but maybe, just maybe, there's a one percent chance that I could be the water that puts a stop to his fire, don't you think I should take the chance? After all, the moon goddess couldn't have made a mistake by making him my mate,” I remarked, and the look on Martha's face said it all; I just said the most ridiculous thing she'd ever heard.