Emma’s POV

Still scrubbing, I thought about certain things about me; my life, how I came to this place and how I have been feeling lately. I thought about my parents,too. How they look, since I never knew them. I shook my head quickly when I started to feel a sting of tears in my eyes. I didn't want to awaken the wolf in me, I didn't want to disobey my master as well.

I was still pondering, but it was obvious my thinking bothered the horse,because it shot its poop on my dress. I jumped up so hard, I tripped and fell on the decorated cobwebs at the corner of the stables.

“Ahh!” I screamed and cursed at the horse. But I also had a re-think. It was not the horse's fault, it was that wolf of a man who called himself Alpha Tyler. I stood up, cleaned up myself, and went back to what I was doing. I had to get out of there, it gave me the creeps. Most especially, my phobia for spiders!

I cleared the pits, removed the old hays, and washed up the barns too.

Finally done, I stood for a second, twisting and turning side to side a little. I felt a snap in my waist. Although my body needed it, I was quite too weary to continue such exercise.

I sluggishly opened the doors and left the stables.

**

Ethan’s POV

“Oh, my favorite Alpha of all Alphas, you are welcome to my humble abode...” I watched him give me praises upon compliments. Although I was keeping a very serious face outwardly, within me, a certain smile swept me over. He really knew how to use his words.

“Alpha Tyler, I received your letter and I decided to pay you a visit,” I said as he led me to the inner porch of his dwelling.

“My highest Alpha,” he smiled,“Yes, I sent you a letter…you know, I don't like seeing our packs always snarling and scratching each other every single time, I need the both of us to settle our differences…”

One of his maids offered me a seat. Sitting down, I used my eyes to do a search party on his house, it was quite organized. His maids were at the exact spot they were supposed to stand. Steady, not falling in any way at all. I loved the arrangement. Very organized.

He was still talking when I interrupted, “A truce?”

He smiled, “Yes, Alpha Ethans.”

“I must say, you have quite a nice place, Alpha Tyler. I love how your things are in place.” I crossed my legs and relaxed on the comfy seat.

“Oh, thank you. It is of my greatest pleasure to see that you are happy, Alpha Ethans. So—”

“Alpha Ethans, you are here already.” Mistress Ava stepped in, stopping him from completing his statement.

She came and knelt before me, I placed my palm on her back, patting her. She stood up and went to sit close to her brother.

“Miss Ava, it is a pleasure to see you.”

“We thought you were not going to come,” she forced out a weird smile.

“Well, here I am. Anything for the peace and brotherhood between our packs, isn't it ?” I asked them, raising one of my eye brows.

They looked at each other before quickly turning to me, “Yes…sure.”

“Ermm…Alpha Ethans, Would you like something to drink ?” Alpha Tyler ushered, “We've got one of the freshest in town…you know, right from the source.” He said in a low tone, more like a whisper. They both laughed.

I only smiled. But not too much.

“ Of course, I will. Bring what you have in the house.”

“Alright.” she motioned one of her maids to go bring the drink from the place where it was being stored.

**

Emma’s POV.

I entered the mansion through the backyard, and sneaked up to the kitchen, the easiest route to the maid's quarters where I rest. I looked at my right and left, checking if I would see anyone standing by the corner, tip-toeing till I reached the quarters for maids.

When I got to the room, I wore the drab black dress I was instructed by my master, Alpha Tyler to put on.

After putting it on, I stood there for a while, using my eyes to scan the whole room, its four corners made it look like a dungeon. So small, so tight. I felt like a prisoner. I took a look at the cobwebs that anchored around, it made me want to throw up. I literally hated cobwebs. Sheesh!

I knelt down on the floor, bent my waist a little to be in a mid-air position and then stretched out my hands to pick up the broom that was lying under the bed. How I wished I was the broom, just to be used when necessary. I waved it around the room, clearing, and wiping every spider I saw. I flogged one so hard, it fell on my bosoms, it took all the strength in me not to shout because I went crazy, squashing it with my palms.

“Sorry, spider but we just can't be together…”I lifted it with one of its leg and I threw it off my body.

I flung myself on top of the small bed by the corner, but my heavy fall caused specs of dust to fill the whole small room. I coughed.

This place really irks me! I said to myself. I felt like screaming but I didn't want to create a noise or let anyone know that I was inside the room. I closed my eyes to take a nap.

I was about sailing into La La Land when I heard a knock from the oldest maidens in the pack. She swung it open after a while of waiting for me to open. Guess my luck didn't shine today.

“What are you doing here? ” She asked.

“Erm…erm…”

She didn't let me even finish, she was merely that less of a talker similarly.

“C'mon, take. ``She handed me a tray, “Go and serve the guests.”

“But—”

“No buts, go and serve them out there.”

I had no other choice but to accept the tray from her, she was the oldest amongst all of the maids.I carried it and went to the porch where my master, mistress and guest all sat, I could see the way Alpha Tyler glared at me, his look was really terrifying but something else felt so strange—the guest.

Ethan’s POV.

I was already tired of the conversations, and the way they would just look at each other then back at me made it all worse. I began to wonder what was taking the maid they sent to bring the freshly extracted blood, so long. She must really be a lazy old woman.

I became impatient, using one of my fingers to tap on the arm of the chair, looking around the house, then back at the two of them.

I was already thinking of leaving when I saw her walk in with a tray in her hands, it contained the freshly extracted blood , too. But she was not the old woman that was sent to bring it for them, she was another person; a young lady who wore a black drab dress. She was tattered, ragged and dirty, but there was this aura she gave out that made my wolf, Roy, start to leap for joy. Wait, what? Don't tell me this lady standing in front of me is my mate…I begged from within me because of all people, the moon goddess chose a servant to be my mate. I became irritated.

I turned to look at Alpa Tyler who was obviously glaring at her as she poured the blood into his cup, the way he looked at her seemed like he didn't want her to be there, at all. She poured into his sister's cup too before coming to me.

My eyes were just fixed on her face,every step she took made her scent to be stronger and also, made my wolf to leap for joy the more. Not until when she tripped over something and poured the blood all over my body!

Everyone gasped.

“My goodness, I'm very sorry, Sir.” She tried to plead.

I was very angry, boiling so hard, I wanted to jump on her and reap her to pieces. How could she have been so clumsy and spewed blood all over me? Her pleadings were useless to me because I wanted to react and show her who I was, but before I could do that, Alpha Tyler, her master, had already jerked up and given a very loud slap, so loud it echoed around the entire mansion.

“I thought I said you shouldn't come out?” He yelled at her.

But she didn't move a muscle, talkless of saying a word. She just stood there with her head faced down. I noticed how hard she fought to hold back the tears from rolling out.

He raised his hand to give her another resonating slap, but was held back by his sister, Mistress Ava, who seemed like she was avoiding something from happening.

She apologized to me for what had happened and moved close to where the servant was. She pulled her right arm and dragged her out of the scene.

**

Emma’s POV

I didn't know what came over me. Yes, I was clumsy but not that much to pour the blood, I was asked to serve the guest all over his body.

When I came into the room, I felt something churn inside of me, it was my wolf and for the first time in life, it felt so happy. I didn't know what that meant… or does it mean that the guest is my mate?... No, that was forever going to be impossible. I am just a slave, why will the moon goddess ever want to link a slave, the lowest of the betas with an Alpha, not just any Alpha, The most fearful Alpha of all time in Crimson Shadows pack?

Mistress Ava and Alpha Tyler weren't pleased by the crazy display I had just performed. Mistress Ava dragged me out of the room and made sure she did away with me. She punished me, threw at me all sorts of insults and I wished I could just tell her to stop, but who am I to do so? She is my master too, unless I wanted my body parts to be used as decoration around the house the next morning…

“Now, you will go back out there, kneel down and plead for his forgiveness, what did I say?” She raised a question.

I didn't reply to her. I stared down at the ground,and just nodded.

“Didn't you hear me, Schiava?” She asked me again.

“I heard you, Mistress Ava…”I replied to her.

“SAY IT THEN!” She ordered.

“You said I should go before him, kneel down and b-beg him for forgiveness…” I stuttered.

“Good. Now, go back there before things get nastier!” She pointed her fingers out of the enclosure I was dragged in earlier, to the direction of the porch.

I just nodded and hurried away from there, dodging her last strike from reaching my back. She followed me from behind, pushing me forcefully till we got to where he was.

As we got closer, I saw Master Tyler, he was still apologizing to him, but as soon as he saw me and our eyes met, my body started to react weirdly around him, again. I didn't know why but I felt a strong connection with him. Master Tyler on the other hand, didn't like my presence there, he frowned at me as I dragged myself to move close to the guest. But seriously, I deeply wanted to apologize to him.

I was now close to him, I knelt down in their midst and used my head to touch the ground. Just as I was instructed to do.

“Please, pardon me for what I did earlier,Sir. It was so inappropriate and disrespectful of me to pour blood on you… Please, forgive me.” I begged him.

He didn't even listen to me, one glance at him and all I saw was his clenched teeth and his clenched fist. For a man with handsome features, His face really looks terrible when he is very angry. He just snapped his knuckles slightly and went away. How rude of him…all my pleadings just for waste…I thought. I immediately cleared away such thoughts from my head, that time was not the right time to start assuming someone's character.

Alpha Ethan’s POV.

I couldn't bear to see her kneeling before me. Her presence made my body seize for a moment and my wolf wanted to jump out of my body.

“What are you standing there for? C'mon lift her off her feets… she's your mate, you have just found your mate.” My wolf, Roy roared from within me.

“Oh, please, don't you see there's no time for all these talks? You're gonna spill this out for me.” I tried my best to silence it.

I stared down at her,and the strong cinnamon scent coming from her body caused a weird reaction in me, I’d to use both my palms to cover my nose from inhaling it.

“I'm very sorry,Sir.” She continued begging me.

“Are you going to just stand there and watch her beg you? You guys have been bound together by the moon goddess…”

I was tired of listening to my wolf, I had to do something. And I didn't like the way Alpha Tyler was staring intently at me, it seemed like he noticed my body react with her. Or maybe not.

“Please, take her out of my sight!” I forced myself to speak but I made sure to retain that authority in my voice, I didn't want them suspecting anything was going on.

Alpha Tyler nodded and ordered the guards to take her away.

I hope they don't hurt her…wait…what am I doing? I realized myself when I caught Alpha Tyler goggling at me.

“What?...Is anything the problem?” I asked him firmly, my eyes fixed on him.

He just shook his head and sharply walked away.

I briskly stepped out of the porch, I needed to inhale and exhale fresh air. The whole mansion smelled of her. I would have lost it.

When I got out in the open, I gazed at the end of the field where creeks were flowing through the little rocks, in-between them, then out back. It was more like it formed a fountain when the water reached the top. I tried my possible best, all means to think about something else, something different but all my efforts failed, they all directed me back to one thing—the strange plebeian maid.

“What is even special about her?” I asked my wolf.

“Everything is , she is your—”

“Nah, I disagree.” I mocked, “ Maybe, there's a mistake somewhere, maybe… The moon goddess skipped the one meant for me.”

“You have no right to say that, the moon goddess is always right!”

“Not this time.” I teased, “I mean, take a look at her, she couldn't even stand her ground…she is just an incompetent weakling.”

“Just because she didn't react to the hate speech her masters said to her?” My wolf, Roy inquired.

“Yes. I mean—”

“Oh, please just shut up. You know nothing at all.” my wolf cut in, “What about you, I noticed how you felt sorry for her when she was slapped by Alpha Tyler… Why didn't you help her out?...Why didn't you save her?... Why do you try so hard to suppress the pain you are feeling? ”

“It's none of your business. I just don't like her, that's all. Why does this even bother anyway? We have more pressing issues than wasting our time on an ordinary maid.” I tried to cover up.

“So, what?...”

We argued for a long time, I got tired and pissed of how it kept on flooding me with questions that were unnecessary and for the first time in my thirty-two years of living in this world, my wolf and I quarreled because of who? One girl—a mere servant.

**

They dragged Emma to an enclosed area at the back of the fields, a place that was far away from the pack , so far that no one else would hear her voice. They tied both her arms and legs apart, and left her there to be for a while under the hot, scorching Sun.

After sometime, a group of guards surrounded her and they took turns to give heavy whips all over her body—her back, neck, legs, arms— no part was left untouched. They made sure of that.

Then later came Alpha Tyler and his sister, Mistress Ava, into the scene. As soon as they saw him, they all stopped, giving way for him to go close to her.

He grabbed one of the guard’s whip.

“What was that crazy stunt you pulled back in there... Huh,Schiava ?”He moved close to her, curved down a bit and used his strong right hand to touch my face; he waved his hand down slightly, then raised up her face to meet his eyes, those eyes that could kill someone with just staring at them.

There was dead silence.

He brought her right ear to his lips.

“I say, What was that trick you pulled back at the porch?” he said to her, more like in a whisper.

Still, dead silence. Emma didn’t utter a word.

He straightened back up.

“Oh. I get it now… you want to play me a silent song?” He smiled weirdly, “ Well, let me teach you a lesson so that nextime, you will never think of disgracing me!”

He raised the whip up about to strike but was restricted by his Sister, Mistress Ava, who held it from landing any further on her skin.

“Stop it! Do you want to kill her?”She bellowed. She’d fear written all over her face.

“Allow me to punish her, Sister!” He shouted.

“No, I won't allow you to do such a thing. Do you want to go down that lane again? A lane you swore you will never be?” She looked at him, “Please, don't do this…”

On hearing those words he calmed down a little and handed the whip over to her.

**

Emma’s POV.

I have never seen him portray that type of anger before. Usually, he will discharge me off, or send me to do one hefty job. But today, he was furious.

When he came to the place where I was being punished, he dragged my face to look at him. As I looked deep into those evil lenses of his, I began to wonder why people said that Alpha Ethan was the most dreadful and most fearful one amongst all Alphas, when the person standing right in front of me was the devil, himself. If there were to classify him as an animal, he would be picked as a cold blooded animal.

I watched him raise the rope in mid-air and I felt as if my world was going to end that instant. Thanks graciously to his sister who came to my rescue. She left with him while the guards dragged me back to the maids quarters.

And what did his sister mean by “...go down that lane?