I scrubbed harder and my fingers were red and aching as I worked the rough brush over the marble floors repeatedly. My knees hurt from kneeling on the cold stone for hours, but I didn't dare to stop.
Not when I knew they were watching.
Lady Lila stood near the grand staircase, sipping red wine from a glass and her crimson lips stretched into a mocking smirk.
"Did you miss a spot, little maid?" Her voice was sweet, laced with venom.
I gritted my teeth while keeping my head down. "No, my lady."
Her heel tapped against the polished floor. "Then why does it still look dirty?"
I swallowed hard, biting back my anger. "I will clean it again."
"Better. I want it spotless." She said before turning the rest of the wine in her hands and spilling it on the marble floor".
Zara's laughter echoed from across the hall. She stood beside Lila with her arms crossed and her eyes gleaming with satisfaction.
"Look at her." She sneered. "On her hands and knees like the lowly omega she is."
Lila chuckled. "It's the only place she belongs."
Heat crawled its way up to my skin but I didn't utter a word. Talking back will only make things worse.
I was now one week into my tenure at the Lycan palace. A week of never ending chores, deep exhaustion that made me feel like my bones were breaking and cruel comments everywhere I go.
I always thought my mother was the worst thing that could ever happen to me.
Turned out I was wrong.
Lila and Zara made sure I never forgot my place. It seem like every day, there was a new punishment and a new humiliation. If I finished my chores too quickly, they will make me start all over. If I worked too slowly, I got beaten. And if I did everything perfectly, they always find fault with something.
There was no pleasing them.
The other maids avoided me. No one wanted to be caught talking to the worthless omega. I was completely alone.
But the best part? The Lycan princes had never even noticed me.
Not even once.
I have heard whispers about them, of course. David and Bryan Moonshade. The heirs to the Lycan throne.
David, the eldest is cold and ruthless. He rarely spoke but when he did, people listened.
Bryan is different. He is unpredictable, dangerous and from what I heard, the two brothers despised each other. They were enemies in constant rivalry wieach other and their rivalry shaped the palace itself.
But one thing united them. They don't care about me. And I planned on keeping it that way. I only have to survive.
****
That fateful night, everything changed.
The full moon was high in the sky and for some reason, it was bright tonight.
I walked down the halls carefully and my hands tightened around the tray of wine I was told to deliver. My feet made no sound against the stone and I kept breathing was slow and even.
Lila had sent me here. She said the guards needed refreshments, but I knew better.
She want me to fail, to get lost. To be punished.
I rounded a bend in the hall, my stomach twisting with nervousness. The palace felt somehow tonight. The air was thick and heavy. There was something wrong but I couldn't place a finger on it.
A low growl sounded from down the corridor and I froze. I turned my head slowly and saw them.
David and Bryan.
They stood at the end of the hall with their broad shoulders tensed. Their sharp features was highlighted by the moonlight and I could see their golden eyes from where I stood.
They were shifting. It's the full moon.
Lycans were at their most dangerous during a full moon and I had walked straight into them.
I felt a lump rise in my throat and I took a step back but it was too late. David's gaze was fixed on mine and the second our eyes met, the lump in my throat disappeared.
All of a sudden, pain slammed through me around my ribs. I held my chest in pain but the pain was so strong, it nearly made me drop to my knees.
No. Not this. Not now. Not with them.
Bryan suck in a sharp breath and his body went rigid. His eyes widen in shock.
I knew what he was feeling because I felt it too. The pull. The truth hit me like a hurricane.
David and Bryan Moonshade. The Lycan princes and the two strongest men in the kingdom were my mates. My body knew that and my senses screamed at me to take cover. Yet I couldn't move.
I wanted to run and get away from this cruel fate but I just remained rooted to the spot.
Bryy took a very slow step ahead and his nostrils flared as he sniffed me trying to know my rank in the pack. He didn't have to. My appearance said everything. His fists clenched almost immediately and his countenance changed.
"No." he whispered. "This is a joke."
It is a joke to me too. David on the other hand did not say a word. His reaction remained the same, but his fists shook. His entire body was tensed, like he wanted to tear me to pieces.
After few seconds of utter silence, David's lips curled back into a smirk.
"No." he growled. "You are nothing to us." My insides twisted as I felt a sharp knife stabbed into my chest.
Bryan's gaze darkened and his jaw clenched. After a while, he let out a sadistic laugh. "The moon goddess has got to be kidding me." he muttered. "This can't be real."
I took a step back, shocked by his words. All my life, I had dreamt of finding my mate. Of belonging to someone who would cherish me. Protect me. But not like this and not them. Was the moon goddess making fun of me?
David's cold eyes was fixed on mine, burning with a hatred I couldn't understand.
"You are beneath us" he said, his voice sharp like a blade. "You're an omega and a maid. I'm sure you're not expecting us to accept you."
Bryan exhaled while running a hand through his dark hair. "You're a mistake."
The words cut through me, deeper than any wound. I should have expected it. Of course they wouldn't want me. I was nothing but a lowly servant and an omega.
I clenched my fists, determined to shove the pain away. "I never wanted this," I spat.
Bryan laughed hard. "Good. Because neither did we."
David continued to stare at me, his look unfathomable. "If you know what is good for you." he whispered, "you will forget this ever happened."
My hands kept lshaking and my heart raced so hard it was painful. I have spent my whole life dreaming of the day I would find my mate. And now? I wished I never had one.
Before I could utter another word, I heard Lila's voice down the hall.
"David? Bryan?" Her footsteps sounded so close. "Where are you?"
I began to panic. If she saw me here, If she found out about this, I will be in deep trouble.
David moved first. In the blink of an eye, he grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me closer.
I felt his breath on my left ear. "Stay silent." he warned "or I will make you regret it."
Lila's footsteps came closer. I looked up at him with pleading eyes as his grip tightened around my wrist.
And then, just as Lila turned the corner, he shoved me into the darkness.
