Chapter 3

Nerissa POV

It has been almost a year since the horrible night that Emily and I were brought to the Draconis pack. The same night that I found the one destined to be mine, my mate.

Ever since my mate, Alex, the Alpha, tossed and locked me inside the dungeon cell, we have been avoiding each other. Emily and I were used by the pack to serve them by cooking for them and cleaning after them. We were treated worse than even a Rogue trespasser, if even just one would dare to come across the Draconis pack lands.

No matter how hard our days were, I was determined not to lose my will, my spirit, nor my hope. My mother's promise haunted me as each day passed and I looked for a way to free Emily and I. That was not an easy task as we were carefully watched over by guards or even the Alpha himself.

Ever since the night we were forced to spend in that cold cell down in the dungeons, and the surprise that followed the day after, we were thrown to slave away and serve the Draconis pack and its members. That first month as a servant, I was more than glad I hadn't seen him… Alex, but then after the month passed he returned back to his territory and I almost crashed into him in the hallway that very first day. The tension between us grew so thick and I forced an apology before leaving him there all alone. Every now and then, since that encounter, I would catch glimpses of him around the pack house.

I was carrying two bags of flour towards the kitchen when I heard a commotion coming from the inside. Hurriedly, I moved as fast as I could wanting to know what was going on. I entered the kitchen just in time to see Vanessa walk towards Emily who was being held down by Zachery and Brianna.

My eyes widened with fear when I noticed she was carrying a boiling pot of water as steam was coming out of it.

I dropped the two bags of flour onto the floor and rushed towards them as I yelled at Vanessa. “What do you think you are doing?!”

They looked my way startled and I noticed Vanessa was about to throw the contents of the pot on Emily who was trying to free herself from their hold and get away from Vanessa. Seeing this made me jump forward and push the pot away from her hands.

As the pot hit the floor with a loud, crashing sound, its contents spilled all over the ground leaving Vanessa staring at it in surprise. She then turned her head towards me with pure rage shining from her brown eyes.

“You filthy, little bitch!” she yelled, raising her hand and slapping my cheek. My palm went up instinctively, pressing over my stinging cheek, her action taking me by surprise.

Bellania growled inside of my head, wanting nothing more than to be let out to have her way with Vanessa.

Vanessa pulled her hand back to repeat the action which made me grab her arm midair as a growl passed my lips.

“I dare you to try and touch me or Emily again!” I told Vanessa with a clear threat sounding in my voice, as more growls passed through my lips.

Vanessa narrowed her eyes at me. “And what will you do, you pathetic worm?”

I didn’t let her insults get to me, instead, I answered in a steady, warning tone, “I won’t stand still and let you hurt myself nor Emily. So rest assured that if you lay a hand on either of us, I will fight back and you won’t like it.”

She growled at my words and managed to push me away from her before preparing to attack me, while the other two were still holding onto Emily with nasty smiles plastered over their faces.

I prepared myself for the moment she was ready to jump at me. A tall figure entered the kitchen making us both freeze in place as a loud, masculine voice rang throughout the room. “What is the meaning of this?”

Turning at the sound of his voice, I saw Alexander standing there in confusion, looking around the kitchen and noticing the mess we made. His eyebrows raised before the look of wonder disappeared from his face, taking on a harder look, the look of an Alpha as his eyes grew darker, harder, landing on us."Darling, these pests here made this mess and I was just scolding this one when she slapped me," Vanessa said in a fake, sweet voice, playing a victim and pointing at me as she slowly approached Alexander who stood there looking at her silently. Then his eyes went to Zachery and Brianna who let go of Emily as she quickly moved closer to my side.

I watched as Vanessa walked closer to Alexander and raised her hand to touch his, but he moved out of her way before pinning her with a hard stare and speaking harshly. “I am Alpha to you.” Moving quickly past her, he walked towards the kitchen island and looked over at the mess behind it before looking back at us. “You,” he said, looking at me, making me swallow down the lump in my throat that showed up the moment he entered the room. “What happened here?” he asked without any emotion, his face a blank mask for all to see.

It hurt a little that my own mate was being so cold and emotionless towards me, but as time had passed, I’d learned to move past those feelings.

I looked behind his back at Vanessa whose eyes were glued to mine in warning, waiting for me to answer him, but they quickly turned towards him as he raised his voice and said, “Look at me when I am speaking to you!”

“I-It is true that the mess created was my fault…” I said, swallowing before I continued.

“There is more to it… continue,” he said as I took a moment to compose myself. It was hard to be in his presence, to be so close, and not feel the bond that was pulling me towards him.

"But, when I came inside, I saw Zachary and Brianna holding Emily down as Vanessa held the pot filled with boiling water, which is now on the floor... She was about to throw it on Emily, so I reacted to help my friend," I concluded as I looked him directly in his eyes. We stood there silently. No one dared to breathe or say a word, much less move. It was as if we all were frozen.

Loud footsteps echoed through the hallway, and a minute later Reynard entered the kitchen and saw the state of mess it was in. “Wow… Did we have a tornado inside that we missed?”

Alexander snorted, it was the only response he gave him as Reynard slowly approached him and looked down at me. He saw the same mess Alexander did a moment ago, but his eyes shot over to Zachery and Brianna then moved to Vanessa. “Did any of you three have your hands in this mess?” They shook their heads, denying it, but before they could say a word Alexander spoke to them without even looking at them. “You three are to go to the training grounds and meet me there. You have five minutes to get ready and if you are late”—He looked over them, his eyes narrowed into slits—“You will not like the consequences, so make sure you are there on time.” They all swallowed as they nodded their heads quickly. “Go now!” Alexander shouted, causing all of us to jump.

In a flash of light, Vanessa, Brianna, and Zachery rushed out of the kitchen in a hurry to do as their Alpha ordered.

Reynard looked at Alexander and asked, “Let me guess… you will be their trainer today?” Alexander glanced at me for a moment before he looked at his brother and smirked. Reynard laughed before saying, "Well, just having you as a trainer is a good enough punishment for them."

Emily and I glanced at each other before we turned around to give them privacy for their conversation and got to work cleaning the kitchen.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Alexander standing next to me, startling me as I did not even hear or expected him to creep up on me like he had. Raising my head, I looked up at him wondering what he wanted.

"Why didn't you tell me everything?" I averted my eyes, casting my gaze down to the ground, not wanting him to see the truth on my face at his question. Why was he asking me that? I wondered. He crouched and grabbed my chin, raising my head back up to look him in his eyes. “Why did you hide it?” His thumb rubbed gently over the cheek Vanessa had slapped, making the emotions inside of me go wild in an instant, which made me lose my train of thought and the ability to speak. His deep green eyes were piercing intensely into my big hazel ones, waiting for my answer.

Clearing my throat of the emotions I felt from his touch and him looking at me, I managed to let out, "H-hide what?"

His eyebrows furrowed as his eyes looked down to the cheek that was still slightly red from the intensity of her slap. His eyes traced Vanessa's mark for a moment longer before turning darker. He gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes, locking his gaze with mine once again. “Why didn’t you tell me that she slapped you?”

My eyes widened, hearing his question, but he silently waited for me to answer. “I-it doesn’t matter.”

His brow raised in confusion as the traces of his previous anger diminished, replaced by surprise. “Why do you say that?”

My eyes bore into his, feeling fearless, as anger rushed through my body. I said, “Because you wouldn’t believe me if I had said that. I am simply your servant… your prisoner.”

He removed his hand from my chin as if I had just burned him, and opened his mouth to say something, but Reynard jumped in before he could voice back a retort. “Brother, you will be late for training.”

Alexander looked over his shoulder at him and turned away from me as he left the room in just a few, long strides, without saying a word.

Reynard pulled his sleeves up and grabbed a sponge. He crouched down next to me and started to wipe up the spilled water.

I looked towards him, mouth agape at his actions. “What are you doing?”

He looked at me before offering a kind smile. “Helping you both to clean up.”

“You don't have to, we can do it ourselves,” I said, resuming my work and wiping up the mess alongside him.

He shrugged his shoulders before saying, “Well, I like to clean.”Hearing him say that, Emily and I both looked at him in shock as he laughed. “I am, as you would call it, a clean freak, so let me do this and help you both out, okay?”

Emily and I shared a look as we both said, “Okay.” The three of us continued to clean the kitchen in silence so Emily and I could prepare lunch for the pack.