Chapter 3

Fiona’s POV.

Fear.

That was the only thing rooting me to the floor like heavy thorns wrapped around my ankles.

Fear lacerated my heart and left my body trembling at the weight of their collective gazes. The nightmare memories I’ve tried hard to suppress all my life struggled to surface. My lungs worked for air and found nothing. The air suddenly seemed thin and the heavy pounding of my heart reached my eyes, threatening to explode. The urge to vomit so potent, it took iron clad will to maintain my composure.

The terrors of my childhood once again occupied my mind; my brain picked one out of the thousands plaguing me and latched on it. Where the four of them had locked me in a dark room in the servants quarters — a broom closet — for the whole night, leaving me with snakes and hungry fat mice. I nearly died that night. My screams had awoke the servants and they rescued me and treated my wounds. I still had the physical and mental scars to prove that that night wasn’t a dream. Wasn’t a cruel imagination I had conjured.

Or that one time in high school when they tried to force their selves on me. The feeling of helplessness as I struggled and fought against the numerous hands pawing through my dress and under. I screamed and a hand clamped over my mouth, suppressing my screams as tears streamed down my cheeks and leaked into my hair. They tore my clothes off, leaving me naked in my underwear. Their suffocating breaths oppressed my senses as I wailed behind the hand clamping my mouth shut. I tried biting the palm hard and got a heavy backhand for my trouble.

“Shit. She’s bleeding.” One of the alphas, Kai said with a curse.

“What’s a little blood? We can do it anyway.” Lyn sneered, unbuckling his belt, his eyes hungry ad depraved.

Jin clamped a heavy hand on his shoulder, effectively stilling Lyn’s movements. “We can’t.”

“Why can’t we?” he grumbled.

“Because I said so.” Jin said in a matter-of-fact tone, pushing Lyn of me. “She’s on her flow. It’s disgusting to think you’d want to fuck a girl leaking blood.”

Lyn faltered and the tent in his trousers deflated at their scrutinizing stares. “It was a fucking joke. I’m not like that.”

Eventually they left me there. I’ve never thought I’d be grateful for the very thing I loathed. Or was it their false sense of judgment, I couldn’t tell.

And now seeing them occupy the same room as I, the idea of us sharing the same air brought revulsion and anxiety to my body.

“Hello, Fiona. It’s been a while. ”Jin said in greeting with a light smile.

I stared at him, dumbfounded at his familiar tone. How could no one see him for the monster he clearly was?

“You can go.” The Luna dismissed and I fled the living room in relief. My shaky legs took me to my room and as I sank into my bed with shaky breaths, my body couldn’t stop trembling. I could feel the monsters under my bed reach for my body as terror had me shook.

I remembered why the four of them were sent abroad in the first place. There was a scandal about the four alphas and their tastes for underage girls. The scandal surrounding the four alphas was a dark stain on their once-pristine reputations. Whispers and rumors swirled around them, painting a picture of depravity and abuse of power. It was alleged that they had engaged in a pattern of predatory behavior, preying on underage girls with a sickening regularity.

The victims, It was said, were often young and vulnerable, lured into their clutches with promises of fame, fortune, or simply a thrilling adventure. Once ensnared, they were subjected to a life of exploitation and abuse, their innocence ruthlessly shattered.

The details of the scandal were shocking and disturbing. Accounts emerged of lavish parties held in secluded mansions, where underage girls were paraded like trophies and subjected to the alphas’ insatiable desires. Drugs and alcohol flowed freely, blurring the lines of consent and fueling the debauchery.

The alphas, it was alleged, used their influence and wealth to silence their victims and evade justice. They were masters of manipulation, weaving intricate webs of deceit to protect their dark secrets. But as the scandal unfolded, the walls of secrecy began to crumble, exposing the truth to the world.

They were eventually sent abroad until the scandal had died down to a whisper, reduced to something of a myth. A rumor. The stain of their scandal allowed me to breathe freely all those years while they were in exile. So why have they come back? Why now when I’m trying to get my life back? It’s too soon. I wasn’t ready.

My body still hurts from Helen’s group assault and I quickly took painkillers to numb it. I lay spread on my back, staring at the ceiling lost in thought and euphoric numbness as the painkillers kicked in.

The party would start in a few hours and I’ll be needed in the kitchen soon. I wasn’t kin, neither was I completely a servant. Just stuck in a weird situation where I was higher than a servant but less than kin…if I could be called one. I felt wetness on my face and my fingertip found them with a slight frown as more flowed silently to wet my pillow and my hair.

I was going crazy. I knew it.

My mind played back to the scene in the living room, Jin’s light, familiar smile and the blank but curious stares I got from the remaining three and nausea filled me. I prayed to every deity or god who would care to listen that I wouldn’t be recognize by any of them.

A knock sounded on my door a few moments later. “Come in.” I called out, sliding the last of the hairpin into a serviceable coif as Gemma stuck her head with a winning smile. “Are you done?”

“Yeah. Could you help me with my zip?” I asked, turning my back to her.

Gemma quickly zipped the dress, adjusting the dress a bit before pulling back with an excited squeal as we left my room together, maneuvering our way past the buzz of servants moving to the banquet room carrying trays of drinks and food to collect a mask from the guest room.

“Aren’t you excited?” she asked, giddy with happiness.

“About what? The party? Yeah I’m siked.” I reply in the driest tone I could muster.

Gemma made a stupid face that made me chuckle. She clearly adored them. It was a personal dream of hers to meet with them one on one. But there was this saying, ‘Don’t meet your heroes… because they can disappoint you.’

But there was no need to ruin her joy.

“Grab that tray of food while I get the drinks, okay?” Gemma said into my ear over the cacophony noise from the kitchen and the noise coming from the banquet room. Sliding the mask in place, I took a tray and followed the procession of servants going to the party. The lights dimmed in the grand hall, casting a golden glow that bathed the towering arches and glittering chandeliers.

The host, a well-dressed man with a booming voice and an almost manic smile, stepped forward onto the stage, hyping the , adjusting the microphone, his presence commanding attention. “And now,” he began, voice echoing through the cavernous space, “The moment we’ve been waiting for. Please join me in welcoming our esteemed guests!”

A hush descended on the crowd as they waited with baited breaths before erupting in cheers and applause as the four alphas emerged from behind the host. My fingers gripped the tray I held, turning knuckle white as my heart pounded heavily, my breath came in shallow puffs.

I was having a mild panic attack.

The lights dimmed in the grand hall, casting a golden glow that bathed the towering arches and glittering chandeliers. The murmur of anticipation was palpable, thickening the air as people leaned forward in their seats. The host, a well-dressed man with a booming voice and an almost manic smile, stepped forward onto the stage. He adjusted the microphone, his presence commanding attention.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he began, voice echoing through the cavernous space, “tonight, we have the honor of introducing not one, but four distinguished alphas. Please join me in welcoming our esteemed guests!”

A hush fell over the crowd, and then, like a wave, the applause surged. People clapped, cheered, some even whistled. Fiona’s hands tightened around the napkin in her lap, her knuckles white. Her heart pounded in her chest, her breath growing shallow as her eyes locked onto the stage.

From behind the host,. The alphas emerged one by one, each one casting a shadow that felt darker and more oppressive than the last. Lyn stood tall and imposing with a cold, almost predatory smile as his gaze swept over the crowd, savoring their attention. Kai carried himself with a rigid, military-like posture, his eyes steely and unyielding. Soren the third and the most taciturn of the group looked almost bored, but there was an edge in his gaze, a glint of something fierce and sharp. Jin, the last of them all stood watching piercing stare, seemed to be scrutinizing everyone as though he could read their secrets with a single glance all the same maintaining a charming smile on his lips.

I swallowed hard, fighting the bile that rose in her throat. Memories clawed their way up, unbidden, dark and murky. The echoes of laughter while I begged, sharp and cutting, the hands gripping my wrists tightly, shedding off my clothes from my body, leaving bruises that lingered for days. The suffocating feeling of being trapped and alone in that broom closet, alone with venomous snakes and hungry mice with no form of escape.

My fingers clamped over the tray, the sharp edges almost slicing skin. I secretly wished it were a knife. I’d slice the throats and dance in their blood. My chest tightened from the memories and I barely registered the host’s voice as he called out each name, draping them with praise and adoration that felt sickeningly sweet and false to my ears.

“They are the epitome of strength and leadership,” the host declared, “the very embodiment of what it means to be an alpha.”

A murmur of agreement rippled through the crowd. My skin crawled. I wanted to scream, to tell everyone that they didn’t know, that they couldn’t see the darkness lurking behind those charming facades. But the words stayed trapped in my throat, locked away by the fear that paralyzed her.

“Fiona, are you okay?” Gemma asked, nudging me gently with her elbow.

I forced a tight smile, nodding, thankful for the mask shielding my face. I’ve never felt so vulnerable, so raw and uncomfortable in my own skin as I did tonight. It hurts to breathe. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“A round of applause everyone!” the host boomed once more, with a manic smile on his lips.

The crowd erupted once more, louder this time, and I flinched, the sound hitting me like a wave crashing over me, threatening to drag me under.

I couldn’t shake the sensation of being watched. I tracked the guests individually connect this unpleasant feeling with. I didn’t find anyone. Reverting my gaze back to the men on the stage, my heart stilled and my legs suddenly felt shaky, on the verge of collapsing under me. The four alphas stared me with burning intensity. Soren cocked his head to the side, curiosity evident in his eyes. Kai and Lyn watched me blankly… and Jin— he stared at me with open amusement. Raising a hand, he gave a short wave before mouthing, “Hello, Fiona.”

I staggered back and fled the banquet room with the tray.

So much for staying hidden.