CHAPTER 5

I didn't know when I slept off. I felt so tired and cold. If it wasn't for the coat Hermes had given to me, I wouldn't have even a little warmth. My thoughts drifted to my mate and my stomach turned.

He was a powerful man. A very powerful man. I had hoped for a mate but I didn't expect someone with so much power. From his stare, it was obvious that I disgusted him. And what they had said, he believed them completely.

His attitude already gave me the impression that he wouldn't be accepting me. But why then did he want me to go back with him? I was unsure about everything, but grateful that I was far away from Kaden and his evil pack. Where they would never be able to touch me again.

The coach came to an abrupt stop and I fell forward, hitting my face against the wall of the coach.

The door flew open and Hermes was standing in front of me. I caught sight of my mate, he was walking away from the coach at a very fast pace. He didn't even look back for a second to see if I was down from the coach.

My wolf whimpered and it felt like I was stabbed a thousand times in my heart. Hermes followed my eyes and chuckled.

"The travel was very stressful. Come with me. I'll take you to where you'll be staying"

Hermes helped me down from the coach and I followed him inside. The castle was the largest thing I'd ever set my eyes on. But it had a cold feeling to it. Not from the cold outside, it just felt empty.

Hermes led me down the hallway and to the door by the right. He www in front of me and I couldn't see anything except for his large back.

"What did you want?"

I peered over his shoulder to get a glance at the owner of the voice. Standing feet away from us was a large woman waiting with an impatient look on her face.

"I was asleep already"

"King's orders. Are you planning to defy him" The angry look on her face instantly dropped and she forced a smile on her face.

"Of course not. Why would I? What am I to do?"

"This is Nevaeh," he said and moved to the side, revealing me to the woman. Intimidated by her size, I covered.

She stared me up and down, scrutinizing me.

"Who is she?" There was a long pause from Hermes and the woman's frown deepened.

"Did the king bring back another whore?" She asked in a condescending tone.

Another whore? Did he bring women back frequently? The thought drove a sharp pain through my heart.

"She's not a whore"

"Then what is she? Looking at her, she doesn't look like much. Quite different from what the king brings back"

The more she spoke, the more it felt like my heart was going to tear into a thousand pieces. How could I stop this feeling? I didn't want to feel this way at all. It was obvious he didn't like me or want anything to do with me. I didn't want to feel anything towards him either.

No matter how stubborn my wolf was, I was going to act like I didn't have a mate because I was only going to end up hurt if I did.

"She is to stay with the servants"

"Servants? We don't need a new one. There's no vacancy for a new servant"

"It's the king's orders, Martha. I'm not going to argue with you. If you have an issue with her, take it up with the king"

"It'll be difficult to fix her anywhere"

"Find a fucking way" Hermes turned to me and smiled softly.

"She'll handle everything you need. Get some rest" and then he was walking away, leaving me with the frightening woman.

I kept my gaze on the floor but I could feel her eyes on me.

"Are you Hermes's whore?"

Why was she so convinced I was a whore?  Hermes already told her that I wasn't.

"N-No" I answered.

"Then what are you? Why did he bring you here?"

"I don't know," I said honestly. I didn't expect that I would be sent to the servant's quarters on my arrival here.

"Fuck. I hate this. Why do I have to be the one to deal with this" she muttered and stomped away. I stood there, not knowing what to do.

"Well, aren't you going to come?" She snapped and I ran after her.

"Great. You're also dumb. I really hate this and I wish I could give the king a piece of my mind but I like the current position of my head. Don't make this any more stressful than it already is. Do you understand?"

"Yes," I muttered loud and clear and followed after her. We walked further down the first hallway and arrived at a set of double doors at the end. She opened it and walked through, and I followed her closely.

There were doors on both sides of the hallway and we walked past all of them. Finally, we arrived at the end of the hallway and there was a door on the left. She opened it and entered inside. I followed her in.

The room was stacked with a lot of things. Boxes and mattresses are stacked against each other.

"This is usually used as a store room for items not in use. There's no other place to fix you this night so you'll stay here. Tomorrow, I'll have the guards move them out of here so you can have space" Once she was done speaking, she disappeared.

I was already too exhausted and I suspected it was the early hours of the morning. I needed to sleep. The mattresses were not in good condition so I couldn't fall asleep on them.

The coat I had on was the only option for me so I laid it on the cold floor and lay down, curling into a fœtal position.

Tears came as I thought about my current condition but I angrily wiped it away.

Curse the moment goddess for bringing me into this life.