Opportunities truly come, just that only the prepared get to use them.

My desire to escape didn't match up with the preparedness that I needed, but I didn't know that then.

"The palace will host a soirée tonight, it's the Queen's orders. Every maid is expected to help."

"Even me?" I asked, eyebrows arching.

"Especially you," Mary grimaced. "The queen insists everyone works. You will be assisting with the main hall prep. Think of it as...another punishment."

Wonderful, I thought, at least I would have more opportunities to look around instead of just staying in the kitchen. Who knows if I could find a much better means to escape.

As I worked with the other maids, different scents drifted from roasted meats, soups drenched in sweet wines; the kitchen was alive like a beehive.

"You look exhausted," Mary added.

I shot her a look. "We get five hours of sleep, Mary."

"That's a luxury here," she whispered.

When Peter barked orders again, Mary moved away, leaving me alone with mountains of dishes and my thoughts.

My transmigration secret was still mine alone. I didn't trust anyone here, not even the sweet, thoughtful Mary.

My police training had taught me some things: trust slowly, observe first, and speak last.

So, I worked silently, listening to the kitchen gossip.

"The queen wants the best for tonight, because Prince Caleb is finally attending, though he had not attended a soirée in months."

Hmm... Prince Caleb, I wonder what the gist about him is? As if the maids cutting vegetables could hear my inner rambling, another gossip floated to me.

"Prince Caleb is cold and very dangerous, especially when his wolf is restless; we need to be careful when we serve tonight."

They kept whispering with fear and an obvious hunger; whoever this prince was, he clearly wasn't a joke.

Still, none of it mattered to me. I wasn't here to climb the ranks. I wasn't here to impress a Lycan royal.

I just needed to survive long enough to understand this world, regain strength, and maybe escape before someone found out I wasn't really Gina.

I rubbed my wrists where the shackles had been days earlier.

"Don't die again, Sheila," I murmured under my breath.

But the kitchen swallowed my voice whole.

****

By the time we were summoned to assist with the evening preparations, my arms felt like wet noodles and my back screamed in seven languages. But the palace hall?

It stole my breath.

The modern designs blended with old-world grandeur, with digital temperature regulators, their polished marble counters, and sleek security scanners flanking the entrances.

Lycans didn't just live in a hidden world; they lived in a highly advanced hidden world.

"Don't stare," Lila hissed again, pushing a tray into my hands. "And don't trip. If you embarrass me, I'll-"

Her sentence cut off as a wave of energy rolled over the hall, heavy and charged.

I could sense a strange but unique scent I could not fully place; it was like smoky pine mixed with the smell of earth after it had just rained. The scent provoked a warm feeling in me. It was strange yet exhilarating.

While distracted by my own emotions, I saw the maids straighten like they were slouching before; some guests at the soirée had stopped their conversations.

"What's happening?" I whispered to Mary.

"Prince Caleb is here," Mary breathed beside me.

Ah! That explains the charged atmosphere.

Everyone moved with rehearsed elegance as the Queen entered first. She was tall and pretty, draped in a midnight-blue silk gown.

Her eyes swept the hall, sharp and calculated gaze, until she seemed satisfied.

Then he walked in, Prince Caleb.

Suddenly, the room felt too small, and I could not help but think: what a tall guy!

He was taller than anyone else present, with broad shoulders, showing sculpted lines beneath his dress shirt.

His hair was dark, slightly tousled like he had just woken up, and his jaw was sharp enough to cut diamonds, but it was his eyes that froze me in place.

Steel-gray in colour with a terrifying but mesmerizing gaze, especially when he looked my way.

I think I stopped breathing for a second.

He moved like the world bent around him, like gravity didn't apply unless he allowed it. Every Lycan bowed their head as he passed.

He seemed to have stopped to talk to some noble.

I looked away quickly, remembering the rules, but something in me had shifted. It felt like I had seen him before, maybe a long time ago.

But I am certain, if I had, I would remember him, right?

"Gina!" Mary hissed, elbowing me. "Go take that tray to the Queen's table."

I nearly dropped it. "Me?!"

"You're standing close. Go!"

"What sort of setup is this?" I grumbled beneath my breath.

My heart in my throat, I approached the royal table. My steps were too loud in my ears, and I felt a sense of dread but also anticipation, even though I didn't know what I was anticipating. I reached the Queen's table. I bowed slightly, careful not to meet her gaze.

She accepted the glass from my tray without acknowledgment.

I turned to retreat, walked back, and that's when it happened.

Someone was walking towards me, and the air shifted. I felt an electrifying presence so intense my breath locked in my throat, and before I could stop myself-

I looked up, straight into Prince Caleb's eyes.

For a heartbeat, everything stopped.

His steps halted.

His gaze narrowed.

His nostrils flared just slightly, like he caught me doing something wrong.

My heart jumped painfully. No, no, stupid, look away, Sheila.

I turned my gaze downward, bowing quickly, heat flooding my face.

He didn't move, and I wanted to leave, but he was blocking my way.

The silence stretched, and it seemed people noticed because I could hear some murmurings.

Even the Queen turned towards us in a question, I guess.

I was wondering if I had offended him in a way or if he had heard my grumbling previously, but then the prince spoke in a deep, gravelly tone. "You."

I froze.

I swallowed and said, "Y-Your Highness?"

His boots clicked as he stepped closer. The tray shook in my hands, his scent enveloped me, intense, warm, unreasonably intoxicating. It pulled at something deep inside me that I didn't understand.

He stopped directly in front of me, towering above me.

"You're new."

It wasn't a question, more like an accusation or statement wrapped in curiosity.

"I-I work in the kitchens, Your Highness," I managed.

He stepped closer again.

My breath caught as I felt heat radiate off him in waves. His gaze scanned my face, lingering on my eyes, my mouth, then returning to my eyes with unsettling intent.

"Look at me," he said.

My chest tightened. The rule against making eye contact clashed with the command in his voice. I raised my gaze cautiously.

His eyes changed, darkened, I think.

Something registered in his gaze, interest? Recognition? Did he also think he knew me?

Before I could ponder more on it, the Queen's voice cut sharply through the tension.

"Caleb."

He didn't look away from me.

"Leave the servants be," she continued, her tone light, "This is hardly the time for an interrogation."

Interrogation? Was that what this was?

Caleb's jaw flexed. "She looked at me."

"She's human," the Queen replied dismissively. "Humans make mistakes."

He stared at the Queen briefly, and finally, he stepped back from my path and passed me to his seat.

Only then did I breathe properly again. I walked quickly to where the maids were on standby.

My eyes went up and met Lila's angry eyes; her whisper was venomous. "You're dead."

Probably.

Mary rushed to my side, with eyes wide. "Gina...what did you DO?"

"I didn't do anything," I hissed back.

But even as I denied it, my heartbeat refused to settle; that dangerous prince seemed to have his eyes on me, and I wonder if my already bad fate was about to turn worse.

Caleb POV

My mother strong-armed me to this soirée of hers; she spends the huge palace resources just to create a fantasy meeting of me meeting an aristocratic lady of choice.

I got tired of coming since it was always the same set of people with the Lycan males' usual groveling and the females' their simpering nonsense.

By the time my mother entered the hall, I caught a scent that was unfamiliar and familiar at the same time. I kept wondering if the chefs had come up with something good today; at least that would help with the coming boredom.

Before I could get to my seat, I was stopped by Minister Lakewood, who manages our external trade with humans.

"My dear prince, I have been meaning to see you," he said while bowing expansively. "Really? Is anything the matter?" I asked.

"No, no, it's nothing. My daughter comes of age next week, and I was hoping I could invite you as a chief guest to represent the royal family. I hope you can do me the honor."

'How displeasing,' was my first thought. I wouldn't mind attending his event if it were reasonable, but it was obvious he wanted to use me to boost his status while furthering a matchmaking effort.

"Such a nuisance!" My wolf bristled in anger. Not bothering to give him the pleasure of an answer, I turned away angrily.

He spoiled my already sour mood, hoping the food the chef made could work magic on my dampened mood. I followed the scent; it was warm, filled with the smell of olives after rain and a hint of ambergris.

But my nose led me to a girl?

A human?

Or not?

Shouldn't humans smell thin and fragile, or is she just wolfless? We do have them around the kingdom.

My wolf stirs. I could feel Trey lift his head in interest; that alone made my spine stiffen in concentration.

How could a human smell so good?

I let my gaze track her the way I would a potential threat; she's holding a tray. Her hands were steady, though her pulse beat too fast at her throat. She had looked up at me, stunned, but now her eyes were lowered, and her posture was submissive.

She was walking towards me slowly but with measure, like someone who knows how to slink around quietly.

Trey exhales, making a low sound in my chest. "That's her, Caleb."

No.

I shut the thought down immediately.

But still my world had tilted the moment her dark eyes had met mine. For one breathless instant, something aligned with me; a pressure I was not aware of snapped tight behind my eyes, as if a door I didn't know existed open a fraction.

When I got close to her, I stopped walking, blocking her path of escape.

Around us, the conversation stops; the Lycans could feel the shift in the air.

I know I shouldn't speak to her, but I didn't care.

"You."

Her shoulders tensed, but she didn't run or beg.

Interesting, she doesn't scare easily like other humans. Her head still lowered, she answered, her voice barely above a whisper. "Y-Your Highness?"

Her accent is... wrong; she didn't sound from around here. I wondered which pack she came from. This is the first time my wolf and I were curious about a girl.

I step closer; the scent of her is inviting; she truly smells heavenly.

"You're new," I say.

"I-I work in the kitchens, Your Highness." She answered.

My wolf presses forward, curious now, sniffing beneath the surface.

"Human skin, human blood, but still unusual. She is something more," Trey said.

Stating his input without my request.

My gaze drops to her wrists, and I see faint marks of old bindings that have recently healed. I felt raw anger go through me again; it was purely unwelcome. But I could not help but wonder -

Who touched her?

The thought hits deep in my mind.

Trey growls, low and displeased.

I take another step closer, invading her space deliberately. She sways but holds her ground. Foolish girl, I thought.

"Look at me."

She hesitates.

Good, show a bit of fear girl, but she obeyed, surprising me.

Her eyes lifted and met my gaze, and I felt it again, that sharp, breath-stealing click in my chest; it felt like puzzle pieces being put in place and then stopping just short.

Her gaze isn't worshipful or greedy as I have seen from other females; it's searching, as if she were also assessing me, to see if I fit her standards.

That is unacceptable, I thought. Before I could say anything else, my mother's voice cut through the moment.

"Caleb."

I don't look away from the girl immediately. I forced myself to breathe, to push Trey back into his cage.

Chanting to myself, she is nothing, just a human, she is beneath notice.

"She looked at me," I say flatly to my mother.

Mother's tone is dismissive, but I could see a quick shift in her sharp eyes that always misses nothing. "She's human. Humans make mistakes."

I finally step back.

The tension drops, but the echo remains, clinging to my skin as I walk away, but I don't turn around.

I don't need to; I have spiced the occasion enough with fresh gossip.

The rest of the soirée passes in fragments. The nobles talk, the courageous ones like Minister Lakewood approach, trying to form alliances. My mother smiles and maneuvers, her political instincts as sharp as ever. I nod when required and speak when expected of me.

I could not wait for it to end, and the food was passable. I had raised my expectations too high after the scent from the maid.

Still, my attention kept drifting. Trey was restless. "We need to see that girl again," he kept saying. "She's human," I told him silently. "Let it go."

"Then why does she smell like olives after rain? We love olives," he counters.

I don't answer.

Later, when the hall begins to empty, I retreat to the eastern balcony. The cool night air washes over me, grounding. The palace grounds stretch below the lit paths, patrolled by guards.

My mind could not rest because one human girl had disrupted my equilibrium more than any enemy rogue ever had.

I close my eyes, but her scent lingers in my mind.

Gina POV

We were kept busy all through the queen’s event. Lila kept snapping like a she-wolf in heat.

Maybe she is in heat. Who knows, with these Lycans, I don’t have much understanding of their biological makeup.

By evening, the nobles invited by the royals had wined and dined, and my encounter with the prince had become a passing tale, or so I thought.

Before I could slip away to rest after the soirée, I was caught in a corner of the servants’ hallway.

“So, you are the one who disrespected the prince today?” a maid, whom I didn’t recognize, said while her eyes stared at me with disgust. She is obviously a maid based on her clothing, and another one, obviously her underling, stood with her, blocking my likely escape route.

Maid 2 spoke: “Lena, she is not worth your time; obviously, she will be dying soon after she has offended the prince.”

"Shut up, Fiona! She wasn’t punished then, so who will now?"

Keep your head down, Gina, breathe in and out, observe, and give no reply till you find a way to escape. I reiterated to myself. My police training kicks in automatically, grounding me just the way I used to catalog details at crime scenes to push away fright: the distance between people, their shift in tone, people avoiding my gaze, or staring too closely.

I am tired and stressed, and I know I won’t get away easily, but at least I can secure a means with less damage.

Survive, just survive, Gina.

I reiterate to myself while they both argue, then I wonder what way I could solve this.

"Can I go now? Talk it out without me," I said, hoping to defuse them.

“You bitch, who are you trying to impress? Let me tell you now that you might have spoken to the prince, but you are no one here and always will be, get it?”

Rolling my eyes upwards, I stated under my breath, “Grant me patience to deal with fools.”

“Oh, I get it now, you two are jealous the prince spoke to me, right? I can assure you that I am nothing and I own no delusions; you both can have him for all I care,” I stated with sarcasm in my tone.

Maid 1 pushed me; the force made me hit my shoulder against the wall. I screamed in pain, “Haaa, you don’t have to be so violent,” I protested.

“Stop the bullying, ladies. I have called Lady Lila, and she is coming right now. If you know what’s good for you, you all should leave.”

A panting Mary said out loud, her words echoing down the hallway.

“Oh, it’s mousy Mary, now have you taken up the role of a protector?” Maid 1 said.

“Let’s go, Fiona, just so you know, human, my eyes are on you,” she said menacingly, then turned and left while strutting away like a model on the runway.

“Are you okay, Gina?” Mary asked. She stared at me with concern in her eyes, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she was always this nice.

“Yeah, thanks, just that I don’t know if I have cracked my shoulder or not,” I replied, trying to massage the pain from my weak bones.

“Follow me, let’s get you a salve from the healer.”

Not bothering to protest, I went to the healer who was in another wing of the servants’ quarters. She is a young, cuddly-looking woman. She looked like the nun who shielded me from bullies in my orphanage home when I was ten.

“Nice to see you, Mary. Are you injured again?” She asked, a soft smile lighting up her face.

“No, Tabitha, I brought the new maid; she injured her shoulder,” she replied while presenting me to the healer like a product for sale.

“Oh, I see, come closer, let’s see what we have here.”

I unbuttoned the top part of my maid's dress, and I could feel a sting as I removed the cloth from my shoulder to show her. Those maids really did me dirty. I haven’t even recovered from the rope burns on my wrists and ankles, now another injury.

"Hmm, that looks bad. Were you pushed? Your skin is quite sensitive, so you need to be more careful."

“Yes, I will.” Soon enough, I was bandaged and given an ointment they called a salve to use for massage.

“Thank you, Tabitha,” I thanked her wearily, leaving the infirmary with Mary, so I could go for my much-needed sleep.

We had not walked for up to a minute when Mary and I came across Lila, who seemed to be waiting for us. I could not keep it in, so I whispered, “Mary, did you really call Lila the other time?”

“No, I didn’t. I just said that to scare your bullies,” she replied.

“So why is Lila here then?”

“Are you asking me? Seems you have forgotten the mess you caused at the soirée today.”

Oh, yeah, my encounter with the Prince.

Lila was waiting for us, and by the look on her expressionless face, I didn’t think it boded well for me.

She didn’t bother to say hello, and with a tone that offered no opportunity for argument or rebuttal, she said, “Mary, you can go back; as for you, come with me.” I had no choice but to follow her; there was no chance to protest.

Not bothering to look back, I could sense that Mary had disappeared, my spineless dishwashing colleague.

Lila didn’t say a word. She walked fast, moving with ease that shows her obvious Lycan heritage. I almost had to jog to keep up.

For someone who has always primed myself to be fit as a police officer, it’s sad to see myself in a body so weak that I breathe hard even with the slightest exertion.

I really need to figure out how I will escape from here with this kind of physique.

Jogging behind her absentmindedly, lost in thought, I almost ran into Lila, who had suddenly stopped in front of a door.