I loaded up a tray with four plates, perfectly balancing it on my arm, and finally pushed through the swinging door into the dining room.
The space had greatly transformed. Candles flickered on the table, casting a warm glow over the wolves present. Numerous conversations filled the air, highlighted by laughter and the clink of glasses. Alpha Magnus sat at the head of the table, his silver hair gleaming in the light, his presence a commanding one even while seated.
To his right sat his one and only son, Damien.
I kept my eyes down as I approached them, setting plates in front of the guests with practiced efficiency. No eye contact. Don't speak unless spoken to. Be invisible.
"Ah, perfect timing," Alpha Magnus said as I set his plate before him. "Thank you, girl."
Not my name. Just "girl." I nodded and turned to serve Damien.
His scent hit me, hard. Pine and rain and something darker, wilder. My hands trembled ever so slightly as I put his plate down, careful enough not to let it clatter.
"Careful," Damien murmured absently, not even looking at me. His attention was on the visiting Alpha across the table, nodding at something the man was saying.
I didn't exist to him. I never did. Just another servant. Another piece of furniture.
I finished serving as swiftly as I could and fled back to the kitchen, my chest tight with something unknown. Not sadness, not anger just.....a strange ....emptiness
Margaret looked up as soon as I returned. "You look pale. You feeling alright?"
"Fine," I lied like I always did, reaching for the next tray. "Just a bit tired that's all."
It wasn't completely a lie. I was tired from all the events that took place today. I just wanted to retreat into my space. Even though it wasn't much it at least kept me cozy.
"Well, two more courses and we're done for the day. Then you can rest."
Rest. As if sleep would help. As if it would make my life any better than the living hell that it already was. With sleep came nightmares, reliving events that happened in the daytime, which was even more torturous. I dreaded sleeping today.
I grabbed the next tray and pushed back through the doors.
The next table belonged to a group of wolves I knew nothing about; they seemed to be high-ranking wolves based on their expensive suits and the way they carried themselves.
As I made my way towards them, a foot suddenly shot out in front of me, it was too sudden for me to avoid what happened next.
I tripped on the foot, and the tray in my hand flipped into the air, its contents, roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, and wine, splattered onto the expensive clothes of the guests I was about to serve. I landed hard on the floor, right in front of one of them.
Silence.
All eyes were trained on the affected guests and me. Some stared in horror, some in disbelief, and some were already jeering at me. Splattered onto the expensive clothes of the guests I was about to serve. I landed on the floor right in front of one of the guests.
Silence
All eyes were trained on the affected guests and me. Some in horror, some in disbelief, and some of them jeering at me.
Alpha Magnus was going to be furious.
My palms stung from catching my fall. Broken china all around me, gravy pooling across the polished wood floor. A piece of chicken had landed on one visiting Alpha's lap, a gray-haired man with cold blue eyes that were currently burning holes through my being.
"I'm so sorry," I whispered, scrambling in panic to my knees. My hands shook violently as I reached for the fallen plates. "I'm truly sorry, I didn't...."
"You didn't what?" The Alpha's voice was ice. "Didn't mean to destroy my five-thousand-dollar suit?"
Damn it. Five thousand dollars. My entire year's earnings added to my savings wouldn't even be able to cover that.
"I..."
"It was just an accident, Dad." A younger voice interrupted my panic.
I looked up, and it was a man in his mid-twenties seated beside the Alpha. He had the same sharp features, but where his father's eyes were cold, his held something closer to... amusement? No, maybe curiosity.
"An accident?" The older Alpha's fist loudly slammed on the table, making me flinch back. "Is this the level of service Moonstone Pack provides? Clumsy, incompetent servants?"
"I assure you, Alpha Cornelius," Alpha Magnus's voice boomed from the head of the table, "this incident will be dealt with appropriately as soon as possible"
The way he said "dealt with" made my blood run cold. This was it for me.
I kept my head bowed, still frantically gathering the pieces of broken china. A shard deeply sliced into my palm, but I barely felt it. The blood mixed with the gravy on my hands.
"Sera." Alpha Magnus's voice was deadly quiet. "Stand up, now."
My legs felt like jelly as I forced myself to stand. I kept my eyes fixed on the floor, on the unsightly mess I'd made, on anything but the faces staring at me.
"Look at me when I'm speaking to you." His voice boomed.
I slowly lifted my eyes. Alpha Magnus sat at the head of the table, his silver hair gleaming in the candlelight, and his expression carved from stone. To his right sat Damien, whose jaw was clenched tight, his knuckles white clasped around his wine glass.
"Apologize to Alpha Cornelius," Magnus commanded.
"I'm deeply sorry, Alpha Cornelius," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "It was an accident. I'll make sure I pay for all the damage...."
"With what money?" Cornelius sneered. "You're an omega. You have nothing."
The words hit like a punch to my gut. The other guests shifted uncomfortably. Some looked away. Others leaned forward, extremely eager to see what would happen next.
"She'll be punished accordingly" Magnus said smoothly. "I assure you of that."
"Punished how?" It was Alpha Cornelius's son again. He leaned back in his chair, studying me with those unsettling eyes. "What's the punishment for clumsiness in Moonstone Pack?"
"That's solely pack business, Marcus," Magnus replied, his tone flat.
But Marcus, if that was his name, didn't look away from me. "She's bleeding."
I glanced down at my palm. Realizing that my blood was dripping steadily onto the floor, adding to the mess.
"She can clean herself up after she finishes serving," Magnus said dismissively.
"She tripped." Marcus's voice was casual, but there was an edge to it. "I saw everything. Someone stuck their foot out."
A suffocating silence followed.
My eyes darted to where I'd tripped. Eleora sat three seats away, her face the picture of innocence, but she couldn't fool me, I saw the malicious satisfaction in her eyes. Beside her, Zane smirked subtly into his wine glass.
"Is this true?" A new voice, a female Alpha, the only one, from across the table, middle-aged with kind eyes. "Did someone trip this girl deliberately?"
"Of course not," Eleora said, her voice dripping with false concern and innocence "I think the poor thing is just a naturally clumsy one. Omega genes, you know."
A few people chuckled and my face burned even brighter with humiliation.
"I saw it too."
Every single head turned. Damien had spoken, his voice cutting right through the murmurs. His silver-grey eyes were fixed on Eleora, and something in his expression made her smile falter.
"What did you see, son?" Magnus asked carefully.
"I saw someone's foot in the aisle. Right where she fell." Damien's gaze shifted to me for just a second, for a fraction of a moment, before returning to his father. "It was intentional."
My heart hammered in my chest. Why was he defending me? He'd never defended me before. He'd made it clear I was beneath his attention.
"Well then." The kind-eyed female Alpha set down her fork. "Perhaps the punishment should fall on whoever the culprit is, not the victim."
"With all due respect, Alpha Moira," Magnus said, his voice forcibly strained, "the girl should have been more careful regardless...."
"She's bleeding on your floor, Magnus." Moira said, her voice steel wrapped in silk, "And here you are more concerned about Cornelius's suit than the fact that one of your pack members deliberately sabotaged her. That alone speaks volumes about your leadership."
The temperature in the room dropped ten degrees.
Alpha Magnus's face turned redder. Eleora had gone pale. Zane was suddenly very interested in the contents of his plate.
"Clean yourself up," Magnus said to me, each word clipped. "You're dismissed for the rest of the evening. Margaret will finish the service."
It was the closest thing to mercy he'd ever shown me. I didn't question it.
"Thank you, Alpha." I bent to gather the last of the broken china, ignoring the blood now freely flowing from my palm.
"Leave it," Moira said gently. "Someone else can clean the mess. You're injured. Go."
I didn't need to be told twice. I turned and headed for the kitchen door, acutely aware of every eye on my back.
Just as I reached the door, I heard Marcus's voice, low but clear: "Omega or not, that's no way to treat pack members.
I pushed through the door before I could hear Magnus's response.
Margaret was waiting on the other side, her face pale with worry. "Oh, poor child. Your hand...."
"It's fine," I lied through my teeth, even as blood dripped onto the kitchen floor. "I just need to..."
"Sit." Her tone left no room for argument. She guided me to a stool and grabbed the first aid kit. "What in the world happened out there?"
"I tripped. Spilled all the food on a visiting Alpha."
"You tripped, or you were tripped?"
I kept mute. Margaret sighed and began cleaning my cut.
"That Eleora witch," she muttered. "Someone needs to teach her a lesson, and soon."
"Does it even matter?"
"It does matter, it matters a lot." Margaret's hands were gentle but firm as she bandaged my palm. "You matter, Sera. Even if no one else in this damned pack seems to know that.
She'd been saying that since I was five, when I'd lived with her in her cottage, before Alpha Magnus ripped me away, keeping me in this basement. Back when I'd still believed her.
Hot tears burned behind my eyes, but I blinked them back. I couldn't let myself cry. Not now. Not when I still had to figure out how to get thirty dollars by Friday, how to return Kade's hoodie without getting caught, how to survive the next day and the day after that.
"You should go rest up," Margaret said softly. "I'll handle the rest of the service."
"But....."
"No buts Sera, just Go. Before Magnus changes his mind and calls you back out theree."
I nodded quickly and slipped out the back door, taking the servants' stairs down to the basement. My room was at the far end of a dim hallway, next to the water heater that clanked and groaned all night. It was barely bigger than a closet, a narrow bed, a small dresser, and a single flickering lightbulb overhead.
But it was mine. The only space in this entire pack house that belonged to me. The only thing I could call mine.
I collapsed onto the bed, exhausted, still wearing Kade's hoodie, still covered in gravy and chocolate and blood. My body ached, miserably. My hand throbbed. My chest felt like it was caving in.
You matter, Sera.
I didn't think I did.
I stared at the water-stained ceiling and tried to remember the last time I'd felt like I mattered. The last time someone had looked at me like I was more than dirt on their shoes.
I couldn't remember or maybe never.
A knock on my door startled me.
"Sera?" A male voice, muffled through the wood. "It's Kade. Can I come in?"
My heart jumped into my throat. Kade? Here? Now? Why?
I looked down at myself, still an absolute mess, still wearing his hoodie, my hand freshly bandaged and blood seeping through already.
"Just..just a minute," I called out, my voice cracking.
I stood, swaying slightly, What exactly did he want? Had Zane sent him? Was this a trap?
"Sera," Kade said again, quieter now. "I'm alone. I promise you. I just... I heard what happened upstairs. I wanted to make sure you were okay."
I opened the door a crack.
Kade stood in the dim hallway, still in his dinner clothes, a button-up shirt and slacks. His hazel eyes were troubled, and he held something in his hands. A first aid kit. The real kind, not the basic one from the kitchen.
"You're wearing my hoodie," he said, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
"Im sorry, I was going to return it," I said quickly.
"Forget about the hoodie, Sera." His smile faded. "Can I come in? Please?"
Every instinct screamed at me to refuse. Letting him in was dangerous. If anyone saw, if anyone found out...
But the genuine concern in his eyes made me step aside.
Kade slipped into my tiny room and closed the door behind him. He looked around, at the cramped space, the bare walls, the single flickering bulb, and something in his expression faltered.
"They make you live down here?" His voice was rough. "In the basement?"
"It's fine," I said automatically. "It's warm. Quiet."
"It's a closet." He turned to face me, and the guilt in his eyes was overwhelming. "Sera, this is... this isn't right."
"It's.just how things are."
"It shouldn't be." He set the first aid kit on my dresser and gestured to the bed. "Sit. Let me look at your hand."
"But Margaret already...."
"Margaret used basic bandages. That cut needs to be stitched" When I hesitated, he added, "Please. I just want to help. I owe you that much."
"You owe me nothing."
"Yes, I do." His voice dropped. "I've stood by for years while they tormented you, tore you apart. I've watched them hurt you and I've done nothing. So please, just... let me do this one thing."
I sat.
Kade knelt in front of me and carefully unwrapped Margaret's bandage. The cut was quite deep, deeper than I'd thought. It would definitely leave a scar.
"This is going to sting," he warned, pulling out an antiseptic.
It burned like hell, but I bit my lip and stayed silent.
As he worked, carefully cleaning and stitching the wound with steady hands, I finally asked the question burning in my mind.
"Why are you really here, Kade?"
He didn't look up from his work. "Because someone should have been here a long time ago. Because you shouldn't be alone in this."
"I've always been alone."
"I know." His hands paused, just for a moment. "And that's my fault. That's all of our faults."
"You can't fix years of cruelty with a hoodie and some stitches."
"I know that too." He finished the last stitch and wrapped my hand in fresh bandages. "But maybe I can start from here. To do better."
He finally looked up at me, and in his hazel eyes, I saw genuine remorse. Genuine shame.
"Damien spoke up for you tonight," Kade said quietly. "At dinner. He called out whoever tripped you. I've never seen him do that before."
My throat clogged. "Why would he do that?"
"I don't know. But something's unusual about him lately. He's been..." Kade trailed off, shaking his head. "Never mind. That's not important."
But it felt important. The way Damien had looked at me in the dining room, the way his jaw had clenched when I fell, the way he'd defended me when he never had before.
No. I couldn't think about that. Couldn't let myself hope for something that would only shatter me more.
"You should go," I said, pulling my hand back. "Before someone sees you here."
Kade stood slowly. "Are you going to be okay?"
"I'm always okay."
It was a lie, and we both knew it.
He hesitated at the door, one hand on the knob. "Sera... listen if you ever need anything. If things get bad...."
"They're always bad, Kade."
He flinched like I'd struck him. "Right. Yeah. I just..." He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "Keep the hoodie. It looks better on you anyway."
And then he was gone, slipping out into the hallway like a ghost.
I sat alone in my closet-sized room, in the basement of the pack house, wearing a borrowed hoodie that smelled like someone else's kindness, staring at my freshly stitched hand.
Tomorrow, will face Eleora's wrath for making her look bad in front of the visiting Alphas.
Tomorrow, I would still owe thirty dollars I didn't have. I would still serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, invisible except whenever they needed a target.
But tonight...
Tonight, someone had come to check on me. Someone had stitched my wounds. Someone had said I mattered.
It wasn't much.
But for someone who'd had nothing for so long, it felt like everything.
I laid down and shut my eyes.
Maybe tomorrow would be different.
Maybe it would be exactly the same.
Only the Moon goddess knew