Evelyn's POV
I must have heard it wrong.
That was the first thought that struck me as the words fell from his lips. My ears had to be deceiving me. There was no way, absolutely no way, that this beast of a man, this demon wolf who had just butchered two warriors like animals, could have said that I should be his personal servant.
But I hadn't heard wrong.
Because the moment those words left his mouth, Alpha Baston didn't even hesitate. He didn't protest, didn't argue, didn't even stop to glance my way. He just nodded, eagerly, desperately, and said, "It won't be a problem at all, Lord Lucian. Consider it done."
My stomach churned violently.
Lucian's head turned slightly then, his red eyes catching mine briefly, and what I saw there made my skin crawl. His lips curved upward into the most sinister smirk I had ever seen, an expression that seemed to feed on my dread. That smirk wasn't one of amusement or kindness, it looked like the smirk of a predator who had found his prey.
My insides twisted. I wanted to scream, to shout, to protest, to do something. But when I opened my mouth, nothing came out. My lips felt heavy, too weighted with fear to move. My throat locked tight, as though invisible chains bound it shut.
I was trapped in silence.
The demon wolf straightened from his chair with the same effortless grace that had made his slaughter earlier look almost casual. "This is enough boringness for one night," he drawled lazily, his tone filled wiyh disdain. "Since everything is settled…. take me to my chambers."
"Of course, Lord Lucian," the Alpha said instantly, his head bowing in submission. His voice was laced with fear, the kind of fear that made men forget their pride. He turned and called his son, "Aiden, bring the ladies along."
I followed his motion with my eyes. The half naked women Lucian had been presented with earlier, smiling foolishly wide, their bare shoulders glistening in the candlelight practically bounced on their toes with excitement. They looked happy, thrilled even, as if being led into the chambers of this monster was the highest honor they could ever achieve.
Disgust clawed up my throat.
Lucian didn't spare me another glance. He simply walked out of the banquet hall with the Alpha and his son trailing behind him, his harem of women giggling and swaying after like mindless sheep. And then … the door shut behind them.
The silence that followed cracked like glass.
In the next breath, the hall erupted into murmurs, loud, frantic, and venomous. The once quiet and reverent pack members now spoke with their mouths barely covered, their fingers pointing. I could feel the weight of their eyes stabbing into my back
My heart pounded. My skin itched with shame. Every bone in my body screamed for the ground to open up and swallow me whole, to take me away from the humiliation of being chosen, if that's what this could even be called.
"Evelyn," a soft voice whispered.
I turned. Lisa, Clara, and Rose had come forward, their faces pale, their eyes wide with the same disbelief and horror I felt. They looked like they hadn't yet processed what they'd seen, what had just happened, but still, they stood beside me.
Lisa gently laid a hand on my shoulder, and I flinched like I had been burned.
"It's alright, Evelyn. It's us," Rose said quickly, her voice trying to soothe, but it wavered like a leaf in the wind.
Before I could answer, before I could even breathe, Madam Nora's sharp heels clicked against the floor. She stopped in front of me, her cold eyes dragging up and down my body like she was assessing garbage on the street. Her lips curled in disgust.
"Scamper off," she spat. The word cracked like a whip.
She didn't spare another second on me. Her attention turned instead to the wolves who rushed forward to gather the shredded remains of the warriors Lucian had killed. The sight made my stomach twist again. Blood. Intestines. Flesh. My shoes still stuck to the floor where the gore hadn't been fully cleaned.
Lisa, Rose, and Clara each took hold of my arms and waist, guiding me toward the exit. I didn't resist. I couldn't. My body moved like it wasn't my own, every step echoing the weight of what had just happened.
The moment the doors opened and the cool night air hit my face, the trance shattered.
I froze. My heart slammed against my ribs. For the first time, I saw myself, my skin, my hands, my dress.
I was covered in blood.
Not my blood.
The blood of the two warriors Lucian had torn apart like paper. It was smeared on my arms, splattered across my chest, dripping down my fingers. It clung to me like a second skin, thick and sticky and suffocating.
The horror struck me all at once. My body convulsed before I even realized what was happening. I tore away from my friends' grip and stumbled to the side. My stomach heaved violently and I bent forward...
....and vomited.
The bitter taste burned my throat, tears pricked at the corner of my eyes, and the reality of the nightmare I was living crashed down on me with merciless merciless force.
My stomach heaved again, violent and painful, as bile burned my throat. I was still on my knees, wretching onto the dirt, when I felt soft hands at my back.
"Evelyn, breathe… just breathe," Rose whispered as she rubbed gentle circles between my shoulder blades.
"You'll be fine," Lisa added, her voice trembling.
"You're okay, Evelyn," Clara's hand joined theirs, patting me shakily.
But would I? Would I really?
I choked on the sour taste in my mouth and spat weakly onto the ground. No, I wasn't fine. I wasn't okay. I would never be.
I went from being raped every single day by my uncle…. to now being chosen, no, claimed, as the personal servant of the Demon Wolf himself, in less than two days. How could that be anything but a curse?
I must be cursed.
I was cursed.
Tears stung my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. My chest was tight, my stomach twisted, and then....
A shadow fell across me.
My breath caught as a pair of boots stopped right in front of me. Rose, Lisa, and Clara froze behind me instantly, their hands slipping from my back.
Slowly, trembling, I lifted my head.
Aiden.
The Alpha's son stood over me, his cold expression unreadable, his eyes locked directly on mine. For a moment, he said nothing, just stared into me like he was searching for something. Then, without warning, he thrust a bottle of wine into my hands.
"The Demon Wolf wants you to deliver this to his chambers personally," Aiden said.
"What?!" The word burst from my lips before I could stop it.
Even my friends gasped behind me.
"Can't she even get a moment to wash the blood off her body?" Rose blurted angrily.
Aiden's gaze flicked to her. Just one look. And it was enough to make Rose step back, swallowing her words in terror.
"Follow me," he commanded, turning on his heel.
My hands shook as I clutched the wine bottle, the glass slick with the sweat from my palms. My feet felt like stone as I dragged myself after him.
We walked in silence for a while. My thoughts churned with panic, every step echoing in my skull like a countdown to death. Suddenly, Aiden stopped abruptly, and I nearly bumped into his back.
He turned around. His eyes lingered on me, dark and searching, his mouth pressed into a thin line. I swallowed hard, my throat dry, but he said nothing. Just a glance, a pause…. then he turned back around and continued walking.
I followed him through winding halls until we stopped in front of a door.
And then I heard it.
The sound that made my blood run cold.
Moans. Loud, drawn out, breathless moans spilling from behind the walls, mixed with gasps and guttural sounds of flesh slapping hard against flesh. My stomach turned violently. Whatever the Demon Wolf was doing to the women in there… I didn't want to see it. I didn't even want to imagine it.
Aiden raised his hand and opened the door.
My legs shook. My grip on the wine tightened until my knuckles turned white.
I forced myself to walk in behind him.
The moment we stepped into the chambers' living room, my breath caught in horror.
Several girls lay sprawled naked across the floor, their bodies glistening with sweat, chests heaving as they panted like they were suffocating. Their eyes were glazed over, unseeing, like they weren't even aware of their surroundings anymore. Some twitched weakly, others whimpered, but none of them rose.
The moans were louder now, echoing down from above.
And then...
A figure appeared at the top of the stairs.
A woman. Stark naked. Crawling on all fours like an animal. Her skin was reddened as though scorched, her hair a tangled mess, her makeup smeared grotesquely across her face. She looked less like a woman and more like some ghostly figure from a nightmare.
She crawled down step by agonizing step, until finally, at the last one, her arms gave way. She collapsed face first onto the floor with a hollow thud, unmoving.
My heart stopped.
"Go up the stairs," Aiden's voice cut through the sickening silence. I turned to him in horror, but his face was calm, unreadable. "Open the first door. Give him the wine."
"Me?" I whispered, my voice barely audible.
His eyes flicked to mine. Cold. Sharp. "Who else?"
My throat tightened.
Clutching the wine, I forced one foot in front of the other, careful to avoid the limp, exhausted bodies on the ground. Each step felt like walking through a graveyard of the living. My knees trembled. My breath came in shallow bursts.
The stairs creaked as I climbed, the bottle shaking in my hands. And with every step upward, the moans grew louder. The sound of bodies colliding, the cries of women that echoed somewhere between pleasure and agony, filled my ears until it drowned out even my thoughts.
By the time I reached the top, my stomach was churning so violently I thought I would collapse.
I stood frozen before the door.
The moans were deafening here, the sounds pounding through the wood like they wanted to burst free. I pressed the bottle to my chest as though it could protect me.
I wanted to run. I wanted to turn back, to flee down the stairs, to never step inside. But I couldn't. Aiden was down there. Watching. Waiting. There was no escape.
My hand trembled as I reached for the handle.
You'll just drop the wine, close your eyes, and leave immediately, I tried to tell myself.
You don't have to see anything. Just drop it and leave.
I took a deep breath, bracing myself.
And just as I reached forward....
The door swung wide open.
My breath hitched, my body locked in place, and my face froze in sheer horror as my eyes fell upon the sight inside.