CHAPTER 14: ROSES

I stood naked in front of the huge ornate mirror, my reflection staring back at me.

My hair looked wet and matted, dull rivulets streaked with sweat, and falling past my shoulders and my back. My eyes looked too big for my face. My skin was marked with mud and grass and slight bruises, also dirtied after the run in the woods.

Two maids rushed around in the room that I stood in. One filling the huge marble tub with steaming hot water and the other picking out pieces of velvet and shimmering dresses and throwing them on the bed from the generously overstuffed wardrobe.

Darek’s residence was one of opulence that I expected. But what I didn’t expect were the rows of blooming flowers in the garden, crystal fountains with stone statues, marble floors leading to walls lined with portraits and leather masks used while going out in the mist. And most of all, the banquet table, laden with all sorts of food, drowning in everything from bowls of fresh bright fruits and roasted meats to platters of cheese and honey glaze.

My jaw clenched on its own.

This was where all the water and food went. All the resources that we had were wasted for this unnecessary hoarding of wealth when the people at the periphery were dying for scraps and when asked for the bare minimum, they would be told that resources were too scarce.

So this was the balance that the elitists talked about. The balance of power.

No, this was just plain theft.

But how would it matter? They saved us from the mist after all. We had to be grateful for that.

At least we got to live.

But then, was that really a life worth living?

The moment we had walked in as wolves, all the servants and staff had lined up to meet us, their gazes scrunched in confusion as their eyes landed on the new wolf beside their Alpha. He’d shifted back in front of them without any hesitation before whispering to the maids who then escorted me to this room.

The kind of room that I never dreamed, or even hoped that I would ever step foot in.

Curtains made of rich fabric spilled across the windows and velvet drapes surrounded the massive bed covered in silk sheets. The air was warm and fresh with the smell of roses and Jasmine flowers.

"Will this do for dinner, Omega?"

I jolted from my reflection as the maid behind me called out to me with bored eyes, holding up an extremely revealing red dress. It fell over the floor in soft and thin layered waves, and my breath caught in my throat.

Even though it wasn’t as modest as I would have liked it to be for dinner, it was beautiful. To wear something like that...I could have never imagined.

But no, this was all laundered money. Just dirt, when the people still suffered, working and abused for a group of deceitful high horse half wits. The thought of wearing that now just seemed to make my stomach twist.

"No, I will not be wearing that." I walked towards the small hill of clothes now piled over the sheets, my eyes raking through the strewn clothes for what I actually needed.

It chanced upon a flash of plain black cloth and I snatched it up, smiling as I unraveled it to reveal a simple dress with short sleeves and the hem falling just below my knees.

The maid looked at me with disapproval.

"I think the master would prefer it if you wore the other one," she said, frowning.

I raised my eyebrows.

"You call him master?"

"Yes, of course. Why? Do you not?"

"Yeah, definitely not." I let out a humorless laugh.

I couldn’t imagine someone calling an Alpha that unless it was under questionable circumstances. The maid seemed to look pretty thrown away by it.

"He never lets an Omega in here like that. Unless they are working here, of course. Why did he let you? Were you injured or wounded? Was he saving your life? "

Oh.

I guess he didn’t tell them about the mate part. I wasn’t surprised though, it wasn’t like he had accepted me as his mate either and merely wanted me around to keep an eye on me.

But he did save my life today. In a twisted way. God knows what would have happened if the guards had gotten hold of me. But now, I was practically in the lion’s lair. Maybe this was worse.

"Something like that," I muttered, not wanting to give anything away.

She still looked suspicious as the other maid came into the room and waited for me to climb into the tub.

My skin already smelled like roses by the time I scrubbed the layers of dirt off every inch of my body, and lathered myself in the expensive scented soaps. A moment of guilt twisted in my gut for a second before I sighed and continued lathering myself in the heated water.

There was no point. Being here in the first place had felt like blasphemy. Every second would only feel like it even more.

The scent of roses still clung to me as I walked through the high arched halls until I reached the dining room. A massive table covered in red silk and glass vases filled with the rarest flowers of purple and green stood in the centre.

And at the end of it, sat Darek, his hair slightly damp, fully clothed, his face even more devastating under the lights from the crystal teardrop chandelier hanging above him. He wore the signature black Alpha uniform now, silver cuffs gleaming against his wrists. And sitting next to him was another woman, her blonde hair cascading down her back in waves, hands intertwined with his, her face too close for comfort.

My wolf whimpered in a silent protest. I was still coming to terms with this mate thing.

The moment she heard my approaching footsteps, her head jerked my way. I watched as her eyes narrowed as it took in my dress and then dragged up to my face. Her eyebrows scrunched together, her lips tightening into something akin to a scowl until she opened them to finally ask the one thing even I had been wondering about for some time.

"Why is she here?"