I barely slept that night.
Everytime I closed my eyes, I saw the maid's lifeless eyes staring back at me. My body ached despite the salve Lady Jade had applied and a terrible migraine assaulted my head.
The tray of food a maid had brought at Jade's orders sat on the table, barely touched. I could only swallow a few spoonfuls of soup before my stomach turned. I had forced down some bread though.
Whatever training it was i'm supposed to be ready for, I know I needed all my energy to survive it.
Morning came faster than I wanted, I woke up to the footsteps of a maid entering the room. The little sleep I managed to get, calmed my throbbing temple.
She dropped a folded bundle of black clothes by the edge of the bed and whispered, with her eyes glued to the floor.
"The Alpha wants you at the training ground now ma'am. Please, you have to hurry."
Her folded hands were shaking slightly, as if she's in the presence of a dangerous being.
I guess I could be considered dangerous, seeing how I managed to get two maids killed in barely 24hrs since I stepped into the pack.
I changed quickly into the clothes she brought, plain black trouser and a tight-fitting top. It managed to cover up all my wounds and bruises.
She led me out the room as I followed her down the corridor. The castle didn't look as luxurious to me as it did yesterday. Now it looked like an expensive golden cage.
We walked further down the hallway, taking a corner that led to a massive opening, the training ground.
Hundreds of warriors stood in rows, shoulders straightened, both males and females. None of them moved as they kept their eyes on the regal man in front of them.
Alpha Roman Moscow.
There he stood, hands clasped behind his back, the cold and suffocating aura around him enough to weaken me to my knees.
He looked fine compared to me, who had barely slept, as if yesterday never happened, as if he didn't kill two innocent girls, as if he didn't touch me in those sinful ways, tracing my scars like he cared.
"You're late" His voice broke my thoughts. His pale gold eyes now on me.
My knees nearly buckled.
"I... i'm sorr-" I was cut short by his booming voice.
"Listen carefully, everyone." He made his way towards me, the warriors' eyes followed their Alpha, landing on me.
"This is a slave I just bought." He stare deeply into my eyes as he spoke, as if to humiliate me. "She will train with you henceforth, starting today."
My fists clenched tightly as I tried to ignore the probing and mocking gazes around me, my eyes solely on the man before me.
I know this is a delibrate plot on his end to mock and make me suffer, but it hurts regardless.
"No special treatment, no consideration" he continued, taking his eys off me as he moved back to face his warriors. "She's just a pathetic wolfless slave".
"Understood?" He boomed. Followed with a "Yes Alpha" chorus.
"Begin" The rows scattered at his order, as they found their training positions.
My face heated up in shame and I felt their questioning gazes on me. Roman's word echoing in my head. I couldn't believe he'd address me like that in front of his pack. I'm supposed to be his Luna, their Luna. My eyes welled up in tears.
"Quit standing like a statue" his voice sounded near me. "Run with them, ten laps" he commanded.
Ten laps? my eyes widened as I stared at him. The training ground was almost double the size of a soccer field.
"I can't run ten laps" I countered. "Please, my wounds still hurts" I added quickly when I saw his countenance changed at my first sentence.
"It will do you well to obey my orders slave" his tone hard "Don't test my patience."
And so, I ran.
Well, more like staggered. The first two steps I could barely breathe. By the fourth, my lungs were burning and black spots filled my vision. Snickerings and taunts followed me around, like I was some form of entertainment.
By the seventh lap, my legs gave out as I crumpled to the ground, gasping. My sweat and tears dripped into the dust. Nobody moved to help me, ofcourse they wouldn't.
"Get up now." Roman's cold voice cut across the field, cold, leaving no room for excuses. I know better than to disobey.
A stubborn part of me too didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing me break. If I stayed on the ground, he won.
So I stood with rasped breathe.
I made it to my final lap with little strength left in me, when a female warrior blocked my path, grinning.
'Move faster, slave." she taunted, then gave a hard shove to my back, her palm landed right on my bandaged shoulder, my deepest wound.
I screamed. The world tilted as I hit the ground, holding my arm in grueling pain.
"ENOUGH." A furious voice sounded. The woman froze mid-laugh, everyone froze.
Roman was suddenly beside me, though I hadn't seen him move. His eyes trained on the female warrior, who was shivering in fright. The look in his face familiar, so familiar,
The same look he had in his eyes before he killed those two maids. My eyes glued to him in shock. My feelings complex.
"A-Alpha, I only meant to....."
"Nobody lays a hand on what belongs to me, unless I say so" his voice low.
"Kane, make I sure I never set my eyes on her again, if she wants to live" He gave an order.
The same man with the scar I had seen the day before nodded in understading, as he moved to drag the lady out. I suppose he's Roman's Beta.
The yard was so silent that I could hear my own heartbeat. Hundreds of warriors stared at the ground, I stared at Roman, trying to understand his action.
A man doesn't defend what he hates right? right?
Then he turned to me, and I got the answer to my questions.
"Pathetic" were his first words. "The next time" he moved to grip my chin, bringing my face so close to his, his intense golden eyes boring into mine.
"The next time you let someone else walk over you, I'll flay you alive." He meant it.
And he's gone, like nothing ever happened.