A knock on the door made Nina flinch, jumping away from the window, she pulled the curtains shut, her hands still trembling.
"Come in," she called, trying to appear as calm as possible. She had just arrived, it would be weird if anyone knew she was already seeing things.
The door opened and Lady Gina walked in, followed by two female servants carrying basins of water and folded towels. They lowered their heads in greeting.
Gina's eyes swept over Nina's body for the first time, and then she frowned.
"You look terrible. Do you eat at all?" She noted Nina's sunken cheeks and the way her collarbone jutted out beneath her skin.
"I was sick a few weeks ago," Nina lied. She'd literally never eaten a good meal all her life, well except for the last few days Marjorie made it her duty to fatten her up for the slaughter, but it wasn't enough to take away the years of suffering.
Gina didn't look convinced.
"Sick," she repeated. "This looks like decades of sickness."
Nina's stomach tightened. "I am not good with food."
Her expression flickered; ″You would have to change that if you want a fighting chance.″
"Enough talk. We don't have all night." Gina turned to the servants. "Take off her clothes."
Before Nina could protest, the servants moved toward her and began undressing her.
The zipper came down. Her dress pooled to the floor. Then her brassiere. When their fingers touched her underwear, she grabbed the waistband.
"Wait—"
Gina raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
"I can do it myself." she stuttered, taking them off herself.
Nina stood naked in the middle of the room, arms crossed over her chest, trying not to shiver. Thunder rumbled outside, and the rain beat harder against the windows.
"Too lean," She shook her head in disapproval. "And, what is this mark on your shoulder? A Luna cannot be tainted."
Nina reached up to touch the faint scar between her shoulder blades. "An accident. When I was a child."
"An accident," Gina repeated. "The messengers did a full background check on you. How did they miss this?"
Nina's blood went cold.
"It happened a long time ago, and it's barely noticeable now."
Gina didn't respond immediately.
"Maybe," she said finally.
But her tone said she didn't believe it.
The silence stretched a bit. Nina forced herself not to fidget, not to look away, not to do anything that might give her away.
Finally, Gina sighed.
"You're here now. It's not like we have other options." She turned to the servants. "Begin."
Nina let out a slow breath.
The servants set to work. They led her into the bathroom, and began to wax her entire body, every inch of her, until her skin was silky smooth. Then they scrubbed her clean. After that came the oils. They rubbed them into her skin until she smelled like jasmine.
Then they returned her to the room where Gina was sat by the fireplace.
When Gina saw her, she nodded and stood up, picking up a shawl, she wrapped it over her body.
Nina's eyes glanced at the doors, which were tightly shut and Gina's eyes followed her movement, suddenly she cleared her throat.
"The last Luna tried to run,"
Nina looked back at her. "What?"
"Isobel, the last Luna. Three days before the wedding, she tried to escape."
Nina's heart thudded in her chest,
"What happened to her?"
"They found her the next morning. In the garden." Gina's voice was flat. "Her neck was broken. They said she fell, that she had tripped in the dark and broken her neck."
Nina's stomach turned, her face pale; "What?"
Gina turned to look at her. "I've worked in this house for thirty years. I've seen a lot of things. But I've never seen someone trip and break their own neck."
She held Nina's gaze.
"Don't try to run, Sabrina. Whatever is killing these women, it doesn't let them leave."
Before Nina could respond, Gina straightened and clapped her hands.
"That's enough for tonight. It's past one. You can rest for two hours. I'll come wake you when it's time."
The servants gathered their things and filed out of the room. Gina paused at the doorway.
"Get some sleep. Tomorrow is a long day."
Then she was gone.
Nina stood alone in the massive room, her mind racing.
She walked to the bed and sat down on the edge. The silk sheets were cool against her bare skin.
She should sleep. But her eyes were wide with terror.
What was going on here?
She pulled her legs up, curling into herself on the bed.
Was she going to meet her end like that too?
She bit her lower lip, shutting her eyes, but suddenly, they snapped open.
No! No! She'd forgotten her sleep bracelet.
Nina's chest tightened. She was a sleepwalker.
It had started when she was seven years old. She would wake up in strange places—by the well, the garden, once at the edge of a cliff far away from their house. The servants would find her standing in the dark, eyes open but unseeing, muttering words no one could understand.
Marjorie had been furious. Called her possessed, and used it as an excuse to lock her up in the basement for days.
Until she visited Nana—her mother's mother.
She had given her a bracelet, which she made her wear every night, and that was when she stopped sleepwalking.
She had forgotten to bring it.
This was bad.
Nina pressed her palms against her eyes.
She hadn't sleepwalked in years. Maybe it wouldn't happen. Right?
But fear always triggered it.
And right now, she was terrified.
She looked at the door again. The Alpha's quarters were at the end of this hallway. If she sleepwalked, and her feet carried her there—
No. There was no way.
She wouldn't sleep. She would just rest until Gina returned.
Nina covered herself with the sheets, but she didn't know if it was the exhaustion or the fact that she hadn't had a good sleep in decades, her eyes closed and she slept off.
---
Nina was in a garden.
Flowers surrounded her—roses and sunflowers. The air smelled sweet, like honey and summer rain.
Ahead, she saw a bed of red roses, their petals shining like velvet.
She walked toward them.
But as she got closer, the colors began to fade. The red bled out of the roses, turning them gray, then black. The petals curled inward, wilting, dying.
Nina stopped, her body trembling with fright.
The air wasn't sweet anymore. It smelled like rot. Like something decaying.
She turned around.
The garden behind her was dead. The sunflowers had collapsed, their heads drooping toward the ground. The roses were shriveled husks, crumbling to dust.
And standing in the middle of it was a figure.
The same grotesque figure from the garden.
It was too far away to see clearly, but she could feel its eyes on her. Watching her, like a predator watching its prey.
Its hands dripping with blood.
Nina's heart slammed against her chest.
She tried to move, but her legs wouldn't obey. She tried to scream, but no sound came out.
The figure took a step toward her.
Then another.
And then it reached out.
Nina's mouth opened as she let out a blood curdling scream,
And then—
---
Her eyes flew open.
Her heart was pounding. Her skin was damp with sweat.
She blinked, trying to orient herself.
This was not her room.
The ceiling above her was different. Higher. Darker. The sheets beneath her were black, not the cream colored ones she had slept in.
And there was warmth beside her. The unmistakable heat of another body.
Nina turned her head slowly, her breath caught in her throat.
Grey eyes stared back at her.
Cold. Unblinking. Murderous.
The Alpha was awake.
And she was in his bed.