★Nuel's Pov★
I kept my gaze fixed on the floor as the servant pulled out the plates from the wardrobe where I had hidden them, the very plates I had been saving with food for when I returned.
I had only managed to find my way back to the room after that draining conversation with the elder.
"He kept the plates in the wardrobe, and now there are stains all over the clothes inside. I had to use my scent senses to even locate them," the servant girl complained bitterly to Luna Ariadne as she dragged them out. Her tone carried sharp disapproval, each word pricking at my already worn pride.
Shame burned within me. Hiding food like some desperate stray let alone shoving it into a wardrobe, was unworthy of an alpha. Hoarding scraps only deepened the humiliation already gnawing at me. I could only pray the whispers of this did not spread among the servants and shred what little remained of my reputation.
