LAYLA'S POV
From the moment I step into Silverfang Keep, I know my life is about to become unbearable.
Kaiden, Killian, and Kieran refuse to acknowledge me as their mate, yet they also refuse to let me leave. Instead, they are determined to remind me of my place, to humiliate me, to break me. But I refuse to shatter. Well, Kieran doesn't seem mean. Still...
My first week here is a nightmare.
"Scrub the grand hall floor. By hand," Kaiden orders.
My stomach twists. The grand hall is massive. It stretches endlessly before me.. I glance at the small wooden bucket at my feet. It's barely big enough to hold enough water for a few swipes across the floor, meaning I'll have to refill it again and again. They planned this.
I clench my fists, but I kneel, dipping the rag into the water. The icy chill stings my already raw hands. I scrub. The rough stone cuts into my fingers. My knees ache against the hard floor. The scent of damp stone and soap clogs my nose, but I keep going.
The guards walk through the mess. Their heavy boots smear mud across the freshly cleaned surface. They smirk, watching me struggle, whispering cruel taunts just loud enough for me to hear.
"Not much of a Luna, is she?"
"Look at her. Pathetic."
"The Alphas should just get rid of her."
I bite my tongue so hard I taste blood. My muscles scream, my hands blister, my body begs for rest, but I don't stop. I won't give them the satisfaction.
By midday, my hands are raw, my knees scraped to near bleeding. By nightfall, exhaustion should take over, should force my body to collapse. But it doesn't.
Something thrums beneath my skin. A strange energy moves through me, keeping me upright when I should be crumbling. I don't understand it, but it pushes me forward. It keeps me moving long after I should have fallen.
That night, I drag myself to my room, the tiny space at the farthest end of the Keep—a servant's quarters, nothing more. My fingers tremble as I reach for the door handle, but before I can step inside, hushed voices drift down the hallway.
I freeze.
Kaiden. And the Elders.
I feel curious to hear what they have to say. I press my back to the stone wall, inching closer to the slightly open door.
"No Omega should have that kind of stamina," Kaiden's voice is sharp "Something is wrong with her."
"You are certain she did not rest?" an Elder asks.
"She scrubbed that floor from sunrise to nightfall. No signs of fatigue. No complaints. Just kept going," Kaiden says. I can feel the frustration in his tone.
A tense silence stretches before another Elder speaks. "This is troubling. Omegas are weak, submissive. They do not have endurance like that."
Kaiden sighs. "I don't trust her. She shouldn't be able to handle what we've put her through."
My heart pounds. They wanted me broken. Weak. But I'm not.
"Keep an eye on her," the first Elder says. "If there is something unnatural about her, we must know."
Unnatural.
I don't know what's happening to me. I don't understand the energy keeping me moving, keeping me strong when I should be weak.
But I do know one thing.
I am not what they think I am.
And I am not going to break.
-
From the moment I wake up, I brace myself for another miserable day. Life in Silverfang Keep is nothing short of unbearable. I am nothing but a maid here—no, not even that. A joke. A walking disgrace. The other maids remind me of it every chance they get.
"Look at her," one of them snickers as I scrub the marble floors outside the dining hall. "An Omega mated to not one, but three Alphas. And still, she's lower than us."
I keep my head down, biting my tongue. I've learned that answering back only makes things worse. They take it as an invitation to push me harder, to whisper crueler taunts, to trip me when I least expect it.
"She doesn't belong here," another one sneers, stepping right over the soapy water I've just scrubbed. Her foot drags through it, smearing a dark streak across my hard work. "Oops."
Laughter follows as I clench my fists and keep scrubbing. My hands ache, my knees burn from kneeling on the cold stone for hours, but I refuse to let them see me break. If I break, I lose. If I cry, I let them win.
No one comes to my defense. No one ever does.
The worst part is my mates make things harder. They don't see me. They don't care.
Every day, I watch them train in the courtyard from the shadows, hidden behind a stone pillar. They move like predators. They're so strong and their bodies are perfect. They spar with each other, growling and grinning. They look powerful and untouchable.
My wolf stirs weakly within me, yearning for them.
I hate it.
I hate how much I feel the bond, how desperately my soul craves what I will never have. The pull is suffocating, tightening around me like invisible chains, but they don't feel it. They don't even know I'm here.
I wrap my arms around myself, fighting back the wave of longing that I feel. I am nothing to them. Just a burden. Just a mistake the Moon Goddess made.
A wet tongue licks my ankle, snapping me out of my thoughts.
I look down and smile.
"King," I whisper, kneeling as the small pup wags his tail and nuzzles against my hand. He's the only thing keeping me sane in this wretched place. He's the dire wolf pup I saved the other day.
And in return, he saves me every day.
He barks softly, wagging his little tail happily. I chuckle, running my fingers through his fur.
"Guess you missed me, huh?"
King licks my cheek in response, making me laugh. For the first time today, I feel something other than sorrow. I feel warmth.
I pick up a small stick and toss it a few feet away. "Go get it, boy!"
He runs after it. Watching him play, I almost forget where I am. Almost forget the rejection, the cruelty, the pain.
But the laughter and deep voices in the distance remind me. My mates.
They will never love me. Never claim me. And yet, I am still theirs.
A prisoner to a bond they don't even want.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath, letting King's joyful barks drown out the aching in my heart.
At least someone is happy here.
And for now, that has to be enough.