By the time Glenna came to fetch her from her room the next morning, Layla was already ready and waiting. They walked back down the two flights of stairs to the foyer before Glenna led her through a hall to the back and into the large, well-equipped kitchen where breakfast was already prepared.
“Grab some breakfast, I’ll be with you in a few”, the housekeeper indicated a chair at the large dining table.
Layla sat down and helped herself as other pack members began slowly trickling in to join her. She kept her head down and continued eating, trying to ignore the curious stares and whispers as everyone began to notice her.
“Well if it isn’t the Alpha’s new pet slave”
The voice made her look up from her plate to see a petite blond girl with startling blue eyes, surrounded by four other girls, standing over her and looking down at her with thinly disguised contempt. The girl was a beauty with her perfect features and body, and it was obvious from the way she carried herself that she was well aware of this fact.
"What are you doing in here? You're a slave and slaves don't eat with the pack", she continued, snickering.
Around her stood a group of four girls who laughed and grinned maliciously at Layla, hanging on their leader's every word. She knew the type, she'd seen them before back at Silver Lake and she had put them in their place there too. Slowly she finished chewing her food and using a napkin, wiped her mouth and hands. Outside she seemed relaxed and indifferent but inside she was coiled taut and ready for the attack that she knew was coming
The girl’s lips curled upward into a small, cruel smile as she casually reached out and swept Layla’s plate, along with what remained of her breakfast, onto the kitchen floor. The kitchen fell silent as everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to watch the scene unfolding in front of them.
“Oops! Look what you’ve done now you’re gonna have to clean up this mess”, the blonde girl said, casually folding her arms across her breasts as she glared at Layla.
Layla looked down at the mess of half-eaten food and pieces of broken porcelain on the kitchen floor before her eyes went back to the girl. She was only slightly taller than her but Layla knew that she could take her on easy; it was simply a matter of timing.
“Clean it up slave. Now!” the girl hissed at her as her blue eyes flashed with anger.
Saying nothing, Layla got up from her chair and crouching down on the floor began to slowly pick the pieces of the plate that she had been eating from. She remained outwardly calm but inside she was a mess of simmering anger, however, this was not the time or place to vent. Suddenly a heeled foot snaked out and viciously kicked her in the side sending her flying into the legs of the table and onto the mess that she had been trying to clean. She stifled her immediate reaction to jump to her feet and smash a fist into the blonde girl’s jaw instead gingerly pushing herself up onto her knees and shaking her head as if in a daze.
“That’s enough Dana”, the deep voice boomed across the room as Seth appeared in the kitchen doorway and strode purposefully through the room.
The blonde, whose name was obviously Dana, whirled around at the sound of the Alpha’s voice with a look of surprise. Coming to stand in front of Layla who was still crouched on all fours on the kitchen floor, he took a firm grasp of one of her arms and easily lifted her to her feet while running his eyes over her to check that she wasn’t injured.
“Alpha Seth, your slave was disrespectful and purposefully spilt her food on me so I had to teach her a lesson”, the lie came tumbling easily from her lips as she glanced meaningfully at Layla, threatening her not to reveal the truth.
“She’s my......” he stopped himself just in time, “She’s not my slave and even if she was, it is not within your authority to punish her”
Seth had already noticed her hands bleeding from where she had fallen and cut them on the broken plate and a dark rage filled him almost causing him to lash out the simpering blonde before him but he held himself in check. Unsure how long he could control himself, he roughly pulled Layla after him, dragging her from the room while everyone stood around watching.
Silence hung over the kitchen after Seth departed with Layla as everyone looked at Dana, who still stood beside the kitchen table, her beautiful face contorted with anger and her fists clenched at her sides. Her friends stood uneasily around her, avoiding her gaze, knowing that the girl would soon take out her anger on one or all of them.
“What the fuck are you all looking? Get this mess cleaned up! Now!” she spat, glaring angrily at the crowd in the kitchen.
People began slowly moving around, going back to their business, and avoiding the attention of the vengeful blonde.
Dana was the daughter of the former Beta of the Black Water pack and had been groomed from an early age to become the Luna of the current Alpha but since Seth had not yet found his true mate, she waited to become his chosen mate which was the tradition in Black Water. Seth, however, had other ideas and had chosen to wait for his true mate rather than choose Dana as his Luna. He knew the girl from when they were kids, growing up together in Black Water, and he was well aware that despite her beauty, her character was somewhat flawed. As the Alpha, Seth didn’t think that Dana would make a suitable mate or Luna and for over a year had kept delaying what most considered an inevitable outcome.
Word had traveled fast throughout the camp of the Alpha’s new slave, soon after his arrival back home and Dana had quickly sent out her group of loyal followers to glean as much information as possible about the girl. Dana constantly sought out Seth’s attention and finding out that she might have completion, whether intentional or not, was reason enough to launch a campaign against Layla to eliminate her as a threat.
Now she stalked angrily through the kitchen, pushing through the door, as her friends followed, glancing nervously at each other knowing the shit show that was about to come. Down the hall, into the foyer and out the front door, Dana didn’t stop until they were outside and out of listening distance from the Alpha’s house.
Abruptly spinning around to face the four girls behind her, Dana spat venomously from between clenched teeth, her pretty blue eyes clouded with the anger boiling inside her.
“I want each of you to find out everything you can about that little bitch! Do I make myself clear?”
They all nodded obediently, too scared to speak, the anger for their leader clearly evident in their eyes.
Sunlight glinted off the swords as they whirled through the air and the sound of metal clashing against metal resounded across the open field. She grunted and pushed forward, watching and waiting for an opportunity to present itself, it was only a matter of time. She forced herself to be patient as she defended his attacks and continued pressing forward, until finally she saw it. He dropped his sword just a fraction but it was enough. Pushing upwards with her short swords, she dug her heels in the soft earth and using her weight, pushed him back hard, the sudden and unexpected movement sending his sword flying from his hand to land in the grass nearby. Using the momentum, she swung her swords back around, circling his neck with both blades.“Yield”“Fine, I yield”, he snapped, holding up his hands in mock surrender.“Layla”, a deep voice called from across the field and they both turned to see their father, Alpha Blake, coming across the training field towards them.“What’s he doing h
She followed the sounds to the living room and taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door and walked inside. The scene that greeted her was not unusual but it still choked her up every time she had to witness it, it was the one thing that she hated the most about being here, but one of many that she couldn’t change.Adrian was perched on the armrest of the couch while Alyssa sat on the couch beside him, her head resting against his chest as he she wept into his shirt, her anguished sobs filling the room and drifting into the hall outside. Layla moved to sit on the other end of the couch beside her and looked up at Adrian, whose face looked like it was carved from stone. His face was devoid of emotion but she could tell from the subtle clenching of his jaw and glittering intensity in his eyes that he was a seething mess of rage inside. Layla had witnessed this more times than she cared to remember and she felt a pang of guilt at the feeling of relief that, after tonight, she wouldn
Seth arrived at Silver Lake already in a bad mood, they had left Black Water late and had been further delayed by a punctured tire on the way and now they had to wait for the peace talks to begin. He hated waiting and he was against coming here from the start but his Beta Grayson had convinced him otherwise and now he stood glowering at him as he tried to lighten his mood by making an ill-timed joke. The Silver Lake Beta, Andrew, hurried towards them, apologizing profusely for the delay before ushering them into the large conference room.A long oval mahogany table dominated the center of the room with chairs lined along either side and two at either end, Seth was shown to one of these chairs and he sat down while impatiently looking around him. Grayson and the rest of his men filed in behind him and took seats beside him on either side of the table while representatives from the Silver Lake pack followed suit from another door at the other end of the room. Once everyone was seated, t
The drive to Black Water took almost three hours and Layla, having had only two hours sleep, drifted in and out of sleep while Gray sat beside her typing on his laptop. They had barely spoken for most of the trip after he had tried to make conversation but she had made it clear that she wasn’t in the mood for small talk. He glanced surreptitiously at her now, wondering what on earth Blake was up to sending his only daughter as a peace offering to his archenemy. The girl was barely eighteen and looked like a stiff breeze would blow her over and yet, she had a steely resolve and conviction, that made her stronger than she looked.He knew that Seth would never approve of this, it was an affront to his principles but Gray knew that Blake had done this deliberately to back him into a corner so that Seth could not refuse the offering. He sensed that Blake was up to something but would he really use his own daughter to carry out whatever devious plans he had for Seth. Gray knew that the man
By the time Glenna came to fetch her from her room the next morning, Layla was already ready and waiting. They walked back down the two flights of stairs to the foyer before Glenna led her through a hall to the back and into the large, well-equipped kitchen where breakfast was already prepared.“Grab some breakfast, I’ll be with you in a few”, the housekeeper indicated a chair at the large dining table.Layla sat down and helped herself as other pack members began slowly trickling in to join her. She kept her head down and continued eating, trying to ignore the curious stares and whispers as everyone began to notice her.“Well if it isn’t the Alpha’s new pet slave”The voice made her look up from her plate to see a petite blond girl with startling blue eyes, surrounded by four other girls, standing over her and looking down at her with thinly disguised contempt. The girl was a beauty with her perfect features and body, and it was obvious from the way she carried herself that she was w
The drive to Black Water took almost three hours and Layla, having had only two hours sleep, drifted in and out of sleep while Gray sat beside her typing on his laptop. They had barely spoken for most of the trip after he had tried to make conversation but she had made it clear that she wasn’t in the mood for small talk. He glanced surreptitiously at her now, wondering what on earth Blake was up to sending his only daughter as a peace offering to his archenemy. The girl was barely eighteen and looked like a stiff breeze would blow her over and yet, she had a steely resolve and conviction, that made her stronger than she looked.He knew that Seth would never approve of this, it was an affront to his principles but Gray knew that Blake had done this deliberately to back him into a corner so that Seth could not refuse the offering. He sensed that Blake was up to something but would he really use his own daughter to carry out whatever devious plans he had for Seth. Gray knew that the man
Seth arrived at Silver Lake already in a bad mood, they had left Black Water late and had been further delayed by a punctured tire on the way and now they had to wait for the peace talks to begin. He hated waiting and he was against coming here from the start but his Beta Grayson had convinced him otherwise and now he stood glowering at him as he tried to lighten his mood by making an ill-timed joke. The Silver Lake Beta, Andrew, hurried towards them, apologizing profusely for the delay before ushering them into the large conference room.A long oval mahogany table dominated the center of the room with chairs lined along either side and two at either end, Seth was shown to one of these chairs and he sat down while impatiently looking around him. Grayson and the rest of his men filed in behind him and took seats beside him on either side of the table while representatives from the Silver Lake pack followed suit from another door at the other end of the room. Once everyone was seated, t
She followed the sounds to the living room and taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door and walked inside. The scene that greeted her was not unusual but it still choked her up every time she had to witness it, it was the one thing that she hated the most about being here, but one of many that she couldn’t change.Adrian was perched on the armrest of the couch while Alyssa sat on the couch beside him, her head resting against his chest as he she wept into his shirt, her anguished sobs filling the room and drifting into the hall outside. Layla moved to sit on the other end of the couch beside her and looked up at Adrian, whose face looked like it was carved from stone. His face was devoid of emotion but she could tell from the subtle clenching of his jaw and glittering intensity in his eyes that he was a seething mess of rage inside. Layla had witnessed this more times than she cared to remember and she felt a pang of guilt at the feeling of relief that, after tonight, she wouldn
Sunlight glinted off the swords as they whirled through the air and the sound of metal clashing against metal resounded across the open field. She grunted and pushed forward, watching and waiting for an opportunity to present itself, it was only a matter of time. She forced herself to be patient as she defended his attacks and continued pressing forward, until finally she saw it. He dropped his sword just a fraction but it was enough. Pushing upwards with her short swords, she dug her heels in the soft earth and using her weight, pushed him back hard, the sudden and unexpected movement sending his sword flying from his hand to land in the grass nearby. Using the momentum, she swung her swords back around, circling his neck with both blades.“Yield”“Fine, I yield”, he snapped, holding up his hands in mock surrender.“Layla”, a deep voice called from across the field and they both turned to see their father, Alpha Blake, coming across the training field towards them.“What’s he doing h