*Selena*
As the sun began to rise over the Moonglow pack’s territory, the omegas were already bustling about in the kitchen, preparing breakfast for the rest of the pack. I quickly got ready for the day’s work, diligently trying to complete everything Luna Avery had instructed me to do for her breakfast. The matron, Eden, watched us with a scowl on her face. Sometimes, I weirdly felt her staring at me more often than others.
I sneakily took a glance at her and found her standing in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest and a scary murderous expression on her face. She looked over the omegas with a critical eye.
“What’s taking so long?” She barked. “I don’t have all day to wait for you worthless omegas to make breakfast. Get a move on!”
I furrowed, looking at her. She could clearly see that all the omegas were working so hard to meet her expectations, and we were even before time. Still, she didn’t miss a second to scold us. Eden lifted her brow in challenge when she found me glaring at her. I silently turned, averting my eyes and focusing on the work I had been doing.
“Hurry up, you lazy asses,” she shouted once again.
The omegas scrambled to work faster, their movements becoming more frantic as they tried to avoid Eden’s wrath. They chopped vegetables, fried eggs, and stirred pots, all while nervously stealing glances at Eden, who seemed to be watching their every move. She slowly walked to a corner of a counter where the omega, Lily, was working. Upon seeing Matron before her, Lily began shaking with fear.
“You call this bacon?” Eden sneered, holding up a piece of overcooked, shriveled meat. “I wouldn’t even feed this to a dog. Start over and do it right this time,” she yelled at Lily.
Lily nodded, picking up the pan with her trembling hand and starting over again.
The omegas exchanged nervous glances before working more swiftly.
As I glanced over them, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of frustration and resentment all around. They looked tired and upset because of being treated like second-class citizens, forced to do menial tasks while the higher-ranking members of the pack enjoyed the spoils of their labor.
I sighed, shaking my head. It never happened when I was here. What had happened to this pack house?
I quickly turned off the gas stove, removing the pan from it as I went to Lily.
“Hey, I will do this. You take a break,” I said, placing a hand over her.
“Hell! You are burning,” I gasped. She had a fever.
“Lilly, you go and rest for the day. I will take over your duties,” I assured her.
“No, I can’t leave just like that. If Eden knows, she will punish me,” she sobbed, shivering terribly hard.
“No one can punish you while you’re sick. It’s against the law of the pack,” I reasoned.
“So many things have changed since you left,” she said, looking at me hopelessly. “But for now, we have no choice but to work quickly and efficiently, hoping that we can avoid Eden’s wrath and make it through another day in one piece.”
I closed my eyes, feeling so helpless right at the moment.
“Okay, you sit here and let me do your duty. Please,” I offered.
She nodded, and I quickly dragged a stool for her.
I glanced at the clock, there was very little time left for it. I quickly turned on all the burners, placed pans on them, and began cooking multiple foods together.
My eyes kept looking at the clock hanging on the wall of this big kitchen, reminding myself I had to speed up if I wanted to help Lily and make breakfast for Avery at the same time.
“Who gave you permission to sit peacefully here, you bitch?” Eden scolded, stomping toward Lily.
“She is sick and can’t cook,” I protested, standing before Lily and blocking Eden from reaching her.
“Those filthy omegas always make excuses to escape from work. They only want to eat for free. Get up, you slut, before I give you the punishment for your laziness,” Eden scowled as she humiliated Lily.
A few tears rolled down Lily’s cheeks as she slowly got up. But placing a hand on her shoulder, I made her sit again.
“She won’t work today. She needs a day off. I will take over her duty,” I said, staring at Eden.
“Who gave you this right to make decisions?” Eden scoffed, her face turned even colder, making her look even more frightening.
I took a deep breath and made my expression softer.
“Ma’am, I am not deciding. I am pleading with you to please give her a day off. I will do whatever you say,” I flashed her my convincing smile.
Although I knew it was useless to a heartless matron, I tried my best to save Lily from Eden’s anger.
“You…” She started, narrowing her eyes at me, but stopped promptly as her eyes showed fear.
When I followed the direction of her sight, I saw Beta Maddox coming to the dining hall with his mate, Emile.
Emile was his long-time girlfriend, and the female Beta of the pack. They chose each other as mates when Maddox didn’t find his fated one after turning eighteen.
“You better prepare Luna Avery’s breakfast on time while completing Lily’s breakfast duty,” Eden gritted out, glaring at me before she moved to another counter to check the preparations.
I sighed in relief while passing an assuring smile at Lily.
The pack members began gathering in the huge dining hall and taking place on the dining tables.
Suddenly, the room turned silent, and everyone stood up as the Alpha King appeared near the doorway.
I took a glance while stirring food in the pan as he marched gloriously toward the main dining table where only the royals and the high-rankers of the pack used to sit.
To my surprise, he glanced over the kitchen but avoided looking at me as if he didn’t recognize me, or I was invisible.
I didn’t know what happened between Avery and him and how she convinced him to let me stay here. I was relieved to know that he did not notice me.
However, I had to be more careful and act normal because Avery was never a problem for me, but Zander was more dangerous and powerful. I had to complete this task before I got into his eyes.
I was lost in my thoughts when suddenly I felt the heat of the flames licking at my skin. Turning around, I saw that my dress had caught fire. I gasped and didn’t have a chance to react before Zander was beside me, tearing my chiffon dress off and throwing it into the sink. Others ran the tap water on it. Within a blink, I was covered in Zander’s jacket.
It happened so quickly no one got to see me naked because Zander hid me behind his huge body, shielding me from view, and was super fast at removing his jacket and wrapping it around me, almost at a lightning-fast speed. Zander switched off the gas with a flick of his wrist and turned away from me indifferently.
I was still in shock about how it happened because, as I remembered, I had turned off the burner after cooking and started plating the food. So how could it still be on?
Zander didn’t say anything to me, but he glared at Eden.
“How did this happen? You have to make sure everyone in this kitchen is safe. How can you allow someone to dress up inappropriately for cooking? Only cotton clothes should be allowed,” he growled coldly.
I cringed at his harsh and cold tone.
I glanced up at him secretly. He was frowning, nostrils flared, and eyes burning with anger.
“I… I am sorry, Alpha,” Eden mumbled an apology, but her eyes shot daggers at me.
“I don’t want this kind of accident to ever happen in the pack’s kitchen. The pack members and their lives are more valuable than you realize. Be more careful next time and take all the safety measures for fire,” he ordered. “Take her to the pack’s hospital for treatment,” to my surprise, he instructed.
“No need. I am fine,” I murmured, but it seemed he didn’t hear me or intentionally avoided me because, without saying anything, he walked back to the dining table. Arrogant prick!
“Come on, everyone! Get back to work,” Eden commanded softly. She was so good at acting.
When Eden left, Lola rushed to my side with a worried expression on her face.
“Selena, I don’t understand how your dress could catch fire all of a sudden. It looks suspicious to me like it was not an accident,” she said, her voice low so that no one else could hear.
I felt a chill run down my spine as her words sunk in. Could she be right? Had someone deliberately set fire to my dress? But why would anyone want to hurt me?
I fell into deep thought, trying to recall the events leading up to the accident. But the more I thought about it, the more confused I became. It had all happened so fast, and I couldn’t remember anything out of the ordinary.
Brushing off those eerie feelings, I turned to her and gave her a reassuring smile.
“Don’t worry, it was just an accident. These things happen in the kitchen all the time,” I said, trying to sound confident.
“You were never careless, and I know it. Something doesn’t feel right,” she whispered as worry wrinkled on her forehead.
“You think so much, Lola!” I giggled hesitantly.
Lola looked at me skeptically but didn’t say anything more. As she walked away, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease. This palace always gave me those eerie feelings. But when I looked around, everything looked normal, and nothing seemed unusual.