The door clicked shut, and for a long time, I just stood there staring at the wood. My skin was still prickling from where his fingers had touched my chin.
"How dare he!" I hissed at the empty room.
I turned and caught my reflection in the massive, gold-framed mirror. I looked like a ghost. My hair was matted, my face was pale, and the bruises on my neck-the ones left by the rogues and the months of Piper’s cruelty-stood out like ugly stains. This man, Alpha Reynolds, had the audacity to give me rules? To tell me I belonged to him?
He was the man who had ordered my father’s head to be taken! He was the reason I had been eating scraps off the floor for a year!
"I will never be yours," I whispered to the mirror. My voice was shaking, but my eyes were burning with a hatred that felt like the only thing keeping me alive.
I walked over to the bed and sat on the edge. The mattress was so soft it felt like it was trying to swallow me whole. It was a trap. Everything in this palace was a trap designed to make me forget that I was a prisoner. I looked at the walk in closet. It was filled with silks and fine wools, none of which belonged to me.
Suddenly, the door swung open without a knock.
I jumped to my feet, clutching the towel tighter around my body. A woman with a sharp face and her hair pulled back into a tight, painful-looking bun walked in. She was followed by two younger maids who were carrying a tray and a heavy garment bag.
"So, this is the little stray the King brought home," the older woman said. Her voice was like sandpaper. She didn't bow. She didn't even smile. She just looked at me with pure disgust.
"Who are you?" I demanded, trying to find the voice of the Beta's daughter I used to be.
"I am Mrs. Gable, the head housekeeper. And you," she stepped closer, sniffing the air as if I smelled like trash, "are a mess. The Alpha King expects you downstairs in an hour. He is hosting a private meeting with the Delta warriors, and he wants you there."
"I’m not going anywhere," I snapped. "I’m not a circus animal for him to put on display!"
Mrs. Gable laughed, a cold, dry sound. "You think you have a choice? Look at yourself! You are covered in the filth of the Hillstone Pack. If you show up looking like a beggar, it reflects poorly on our King. Girls, get her ready. Scrub her until she’s red if you have to."
"Don't you touch me!" I screamed as the two maids approached.
One of them grabbed my arm, and I instinctively shoved her back. She stumbled, her eyes widening in shock.
"How dare you!" Mrs. Gable stepped forward and slapped me across the face.
The sting was immediate. My head snapped to the side, and the copper taste of blood filled my mouth. I froze. The room went silent.
"You are a guest by the King's mercy only," Mrs. Gable hissed, her face inches from mine. "But to us, you are the daughter of a traitor. Don't think for a second that those fancy silk sheets change who you are. Now, get in that tub before I have the guards hold you down."
I felt the tears prickling my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. Not in front of them. I climbed into the bathtub, the hot water stinging the open cuts on my back. The maids were rough. They scrubbed my skin with harsh sponges, pulling at the tangles in my hair as if they were trying to rip it out. They didn't speak to me. They talked over me, whispering about how "the King must have lost his mind" and how "she won't last a week."
When they were done, they practically poured me into a dress. It was a deep, blood-red silk that clung to every curve I had. It was beautiful, and I hated it. It felt like wearing the blood of my enemies.
"Move," Mrs. Gable ordered, pointing toward the door.
I walked down the grand staircase, my legs feeling like lead. The palace was buzzing with activity. Guards in polished black armor stood at every corner. As I reached the bottom, I saw a group of men standing near the entrance to the grand dining hall. They were laughing and talking loudly, the scent of Alpha and Beta pheromones filling the air.
My heart stopped.
There, standing in the center of the group, was Jude.
He was wearing his Delta uniform, looking proud and powerful. He was leaning in, whispering something to a beautiful woman who was giggling at his words.
"Jude?" The name left my lips before I could stop it.
The group turned. Jude’s laughter died instantly. His face went through a dozen emotions in three seconds-shock, fear, and then a strange, twisted kind of guilt.
"Louisa?" he gasped. He stepped toward me, his eyes roaming over my red dress. "What are you doing here? How did you get out of the cells?"
"The King brought her here, you idiot," a voice boomed from behind me.
I turned to see Alpha Reynolds walking down the hall. He looked terrifyingly handsome in a black suit that made his eyes look like molten gold. He walked straight to me and placed a heavy, possessive hand on my waist.
I tried to flinch away, but his grip was like iron.
"Jude Blackmore," Reynolds said, his voice dropping to a dangerous octave. "I believe you know my mate."
The entire hallway went dead silent. You could have heard a pin drop on the marble floor. Jude looked like he was about to faint. His mouth hung open, and he looked at me as if I were a ghost.
"Mate?" Jude stammered. "No... that’s impossible. She’s... she was my mate. But she’s wolfless! She can’t be your mate!"
I felt a surge of pure, unadulterated rage. "I was your mate, Jude! And you watched while Piper treated me like a dog! You watched while they beat me! You did nothing!"
"Louisa, I... I had to," Jude whispered, looking around nervously. "The pack... the laws..."
"The laws?" Reynolds stepped forward, pulling me flush against his side. The power radiating off him was so intense that Jude actually took a step back. "The law says that if a man fails to protect his mate, he forfeits his right to her life. You rejected her, didn't you, Delta?"
Jude swallowed hard. "She asked for it! She wanted it!"
"And you were happy to give it so you could crawl into Piper Gilbert’s bed," I spat, my voice cracking with emotion. "You are a coward, Jude. You always were."
Reynold’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Jude. "It seems my mate has a history with you. That’s unfortunate for you. Because now, every time I look at her bruises, I’m going to think of your face."
"Alpha King, please," Jude pleaded, his voice trembling. "I didn't know she was yours! I would have never-"
"Silence!" Reynolds roared. The sound vibrated in my chest. "You will serve us tonight at dinner. You will stand behind Louisa's chair, and you will witness exactly what you threw away. If you drop so much as a fork, I will have your head on a platter."
"Please..." Jude whispered, his face pale as death.
"Go!" Reynolds commanded.
Jude scurried away toward the dining hall, looking like a whipped dog. I stood there, my breathing heavy, my heart racing so fast I thought I might pass out.
I turned to Reynolds, ready to scream at him for using me to play his power games, but the words died in my throat. He was looking down at me, and for a split second, the coldness in his eyes was gone. There was a flicker of something else-something hot and hungry.
"You look beautiful in red, Louisa," he murmured, his thumb brushing against the skin of my waist. "It matches your fire."
"Don't touch me," I whispered, though my body was betraying me, leaning into his warmth. "I hate you. I hate you more than I hate him."
"Good," he said, a dark smirk playing on his lips. "Hate is a very passionate emotion. I can work with hate."
He began to lead me toward the dining hall, but I stopped him.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked, looking him in the eye. "Why involve Jude? Why show me off?"
Reynolds leaned down, his breath warm against my ear. "Because everyone needs to know that the little maid they stepped on is now the Queen of this palace. And because I want Piper Gilbert to find out that everything she stole from you is about to be taken back with interest."
I shivered. He was a monster, a beautiful, deadly monster. And as we walked into the dining hall where Jude stood waiting with trembling hands, I realized that my revenge had finally begun. But at what cost?
As we sat down, a guard entered and bowed deeply.
"Your majesty, a message from the Hillstone Pack. Beta Gilbert and his daughter, Piper, are requesting an audience. They claim you have stolen property that belongs to them."
I gripped the tablecloth so hard my knuckles turned white.
"Stolen property?" Reynolds laughed, a sound that chilled me to the bone. "Tell them to come. Tell them I have something I want to show them."
He lo
