Evelyn's POV
"Are you whispering while your hands are still as slow as turtles?!" Madam Nora's shrill voice cracked through the kitchen like a whip.
I froze, my heart jumping to my throat. The others flinched as well, their fingers stiffening around the dough. Madam Nora stormed toward us, her sharp eyes narrowing into slits.
"Do you think this is playtime?" she barked, glaring at us as if we were vermin. "One more sound from any of you, and I will tie you to the punishment pole for three nights straight. Let's see if you still have breath left to chatter after the cold eats at your bones."
My stomach knotted. The punishment pole? What the hell is that?
But I don't think I want to find out.
Just the name sent a chill down my spine.
So we immediately bent our heads low and worked in silence, our hands moving quickly to smooth and fold the dough, every scrape of our nails against the board echoing in the heavy quiet.
After what felt like forever, Madam Nora swept closer, sniffing like a hawk. She jabbed her big thick fingers into the dough, squeezed it, then gave a sharp nod.
"Finally," she muttered. "It's decent enough now. Stop wasting time. Take those trays of cut food and plates. Move them to the banquet table. If anything drops, I'll have your heads."
"Yes, Madam," we all murmured softly.
I wiped my hands with a towel and balance a heavy tray on them, the scent of roasted meat rising up into my nose. Together, the four of us shuffled toward the grand banquet hall, our feet careful against the polished stone floors.
But even as I carried the tray, my eyes betrayed me. I couldn't stop them from wandering. My heart wanted to stay invisible, but my curiosity, it was a reckless thing.
That was when I saw them.
A line of women.
They stood almost naked, wearing nothing but thin bras and pants, like a sexy bikini, their bodies on display like cattle in a market. My tray nearly slipped from my grip as bile rose up the back of my throat. A tall, broad shouldered man moved down the line, his hands shameless. He squeezed their breasts, groped their thighs and their butts, his fingers digging into their flesh as if testing the ripeness of fruit.
My stomach churned. I wanted to puke. What the hell was this?
My mind screamed sex slavery. It had to be. But no, something was wrong. Their faces…
They were smiling. Smiling as though proud to stand there half naked, as though desperate for his touch. Their eyes gleamed, almost eager when his hands brushed over them. It was sick. It was horrifying. And it made my skin crawl.
I leaned closer to the girls at my side, my voice barely a whisper. "What is going on over there?"
Lisa glanced at me, then followed my gaze. Her expression twisted, not in disgust like mine, but in weary resignation.
"That?" she muttered. "Those are the ladies the Alpha's son is preparing for the Demon Wolf. When he arrives… they'll be offered to him."
Offered… to him?
I frowned, still unable to wrap my head around it
"What… how?" I whispered, almost afraid to know the answer
Rose, who was beside me, tilted her head slightly and whispered back without hesitation, "They say you-know-who has an insatiable sexual lust to match his bloodlust. Every time he visits a pack, it isn't just a feast of food and drink that is prepared for him. No… women are lined up for him too, chosen and arranged like some sort of offering. He takes his picks, spends the night with them, and that's how it always goes."
Her words twisted something deep in my stomach. I felt sick.
But Clara, leaned closer and added with a smirk, "Rumor has it that his dick is so big and thick that any girl he takes crawls out of his chambers unable to walk for weeks." She chuckled under her breath as if it were funny.
I nearly choked. "What?"
Clara only shrugged as if it were nothing, while Rose carried on as though they were talking about something completely normal. "That's why so many girls are lining up right now, Evelyn. For them, it's an honor to be chosen by him, even if it means not being able to walk properly for weeks. A night with the legendary Demon Wolf is considered… unforgettable. Desired, even."
Her voice softened, almost dreamy, and then she added something that made my blood run cold. "Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that he absolutely despises humans with every fiber of his being, I might have offered myself too."
I whipped my head around to stare at her in shock. "You can't be serious."
Rose met my gaze with a little shrug and a playful smile tugging at her lips. "What? A girl can have her fantasies," she said casually, as if she hadn't just admitted to wishing herself into the bed of a monster. With that, she adjusted the tray in her hands and walked a little ahead of us, completely unbothered.
I stayed rooted for a moment, still shaken, then turned back to the line of girls again. They stood tall, smiling almost proudly despite being almost naked, as though this humiliation was something to celebrate. My eyes drifted to the man moving along the line, the Alpha's son, his hands shameless as he groped breasts, squeezed buttocks, and pinched skin like he was testing ripeness in a market stall.
Disgusting.
The gleam in his eyes as he fondled them, it was vile, predatory. And yet, those women kept smiling, kept leaning into his touch like willing sacrifices.
The way his fingers lingered on their flesh…. it dragged me back to a place I didn't want to remember. To my uncle
My skin prickled, and I felt my throat tighten.
And then, as if sensing my revulsion, or my stare, his head lifted. He turned towards my direction and...
...our gazes met.
For one moment, he paused mid motion, his hand still cupping the curve of some girl's hip. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly, locking on mine.
"Don't." Lisa's voice hissed urgently, and before I could react, she shoved at my arm, forcing me to stumble forward. Her grip was firm, her urgency sharp. "Out of everyone you'll want noticing you in this pack, Evelyn," she muttered low, her words laced with warning, "the Alpha's son is the very last."
I snapped my eyes away, clutching my tray tighter, and quickened my pace beside her.
We moved down the corridor in silence. Rose was humming quietly ahead, Clara shaking her head like she'd just heard the juiciest gossip, but all I could feel was the heavy weight of that man's gaze lingering on my back, burning into me long after we had left the hall behind.
....
By the time we carried the last tray into the banquet hall, my arms felt like they were going to fall off. The entire evening had blurred into an endless cycle of running back and forth from the kitchen, balancing trays that felt heavier each trip, and Madam Nora's voice tearing through the air like a whip.
"Too slow! Useless hands! Even snails are faster than you pathetic lot!" she screeched, swatting at anyone within reach. At one point, I was certain she nearly clipped me across the head with a ladle. My back ached, sweat clung to my skin, and all I wanted was to collapse on the floor.
By the time the long table gleamed with golden plates, crystal goblets, and trays of steaming food, the sky outside had darkened completely. The sound of rushing feet and raised voices filtered in through the open hall. A stir. A commotion. There was a sharp awareness that spread through the air like a sudden drop in temperature.
"He's here," Lisa whispered, her voice trembling as though the words themselves could summon him closer.
The Demon Wolf.
"I wish I could see him," Clara said, her eyes dreamy as she wiped her hands on her apron.
Rose tilted her head toward the grand entrance, her eyes glimmering with mischief. "Since we're done setting the table, we could sneak out… just for a glimpse."
Lisa's eyes widened. "Are you insane? What if Madam Nora finds out? She'll skin us alive."
"She won't," Rose insisted with a smirk. "We'll just peek and come right back. No one will even notice we're gone."
Clara clasped Lisa's arm, pleading, "Please? Don't you want to see how the legendary Demon Wolf looks?"
Lisa bit her lip, torn. Then, finally, she gave a shaky nod.
Before I could open my mouth, Rose's hand was on mine. "You'll come too, Evelyn," she declared, not giving me a choice as she tugged me forward.
The four of us slipped out like shadows, hearts pounding, keeping close to the walls as the crowd pressed toward the entrance. The air felt charged, alive with anticipation and fear.
I thought I could hide within the sea of bodies, safe in anonymity, but the moment I caught sight of him, my lungs forgot how to work.
He stepped out of an exquisite black car that gleamed like polished obsidian under the moonlight. He was huge, towering over everyone around him. His long black hair tumbled over his shoulders, catching the glow of the moonlight as though the night itself clung to him. He wore a black coat, open and flowing, with no shirt beneath, exposing a chest carved with muscle, glistening faintly as though the moonlight adored him too much to let go.
The crowd pressed forward, gasping, whispering his name, yet all I could do was stare. My heart hammered violently, and my throat felt tight, strangled.
He was beautiful in a terrifying way. Dangerous. Untouchable.
Because the Demon Wolf looked less like a man… and more like a beautiful god who had stepped down into the mortal world.