“Oh no, not again,” I muttered under my breath, my voice trembling as my gaze locked on her. “It’s that bitch… Coco.”

Lottana’s cold eyes narrowed in amusement as he glanced between the two of us. “You know her?” he asked, his tone dripping with cruel curiosity.

“Yes,” I answered flatly, forcing myself to stand taller, though every muscle in my body screamed at me to shrink away. “Good to see you again, Coco,” I added, my voice polite but hollow.

Coco. My pack school’s nightmare in broad day light.

We had gone to the same elite pack school, where she’d made it her personal mission to torment me. There was never a day she didn’t try to humiliate me publicly, her laughter echoing through the halls as she made sure everyone knew how much she despised me.

And now here she was, in Lottana’s arms, wearing that same fake, sugary smile that used to make my skin crawl.

“Well, well,” she purred, her voice thick with mock cheer. “Good to see you too, Rose.”

She sauntered toward me, her heels clicking against the polished floor, and wrapped her arms around me in a tight, suffocating hug. I could already feel the malice radiating off her.

Her grip tightened painfully, her nails digging into my back as she leaned in and hissed into my ear.

“You stupid bitch. How on earth did we cross paths again? You’ll regret ever coming here.”

Shivers shot down my spine, and I felt my knees threaten to buckle under me.

“That’s enough,” Lottana’s voice settles the tension, his tone commanding and final. “You can continue your little reunion later.”

Coco stepped back, smirking triumphantly as she returned to Lottana’s side, nestling against him like a predator satisfied with her kill.

Lottana waved a dismissive hand at her. “Show her to her room,” he ordered.

I wanted nothing more than for the ground to open up and swallow me whole as Coco turned back to me, her eyes glittering with malice.

“Follow me,” she said, her voice sweetened with mockery.

I trailed behind her up the grand staircase, down a long hallway lined with ornate doors. At the end of the hall, she stopped and threw open a door.

“Here we are,” she said with a cruel little laugh.

I stepped forward, peering inside. “It’s… pretty dark,” I said warily, squinting into the shadows.

Before I could react, Coco shoved me hard.

Pain shot through me as I stumbled forward, my feet catching nothing but air.

I tumbled down a narrow, steep staircase into the darkness, landing hard on the dusty stone floor below.

Coco’s laughter rang down after me, shrill and cutting. “Haha! Just like the good old days! You gullible piece of shit. Did you really think someone like you belongs here? Peasant! Your room is in the maid’s quarters. The first one on the left.”

Her laughter faded as she slammed the door shut, plunging me into silence and dust.

“That’s it,” I seethed under my breath as I scrambled to my feet, coughing and sneezing from the thick dust in the air. “I’m going to rip her throat out.”

I pounded on the door, coughing, my fists leaving prints in the dusty wood.

“Help! Somebody, help!”

The door creaked open suddenly, and I stumbled back into the light, gasping for air.

“Are you okay? What are you doing down there? That’s the basement,” Anita’s kind voice asked, concern etched on her face as she helped me out.

“Coco happened,” I spat bitterly, wiping the dust from my hair.

Anita frowned. “But why would she…?”

“We go way back to pack school,” I explained, still breathless. “She hated me then too.”

Anita shook her head, disbelief written all over her face. “Don’t let her get to you. Come on. I’ll show you to your real room.”

She guided me down another hall to the maid’s quarters, and sure enough, the first door on the left bore my name scrawled in chalk.

“Thank you,” I murmured as she opened the door for me.

“Of course,” she said gently.

***

A week passed in moments of cleaning, serving, and swallowing my pride.

In that time, Anita became my closest person. She confided in me one evening that her own pack had been destroyed by Lottana, and she’d been forced into his harem to survive. It made me wonder how many others in this mansion wore their servitude like a mask, hiding the hatred in their hearts.

One afternoon, a guard’s barked announcement interrupted our chores.

“Alpha Lottana requests everyone in the living room to welcome his son, Marcus.”

I set my rags aside and followed the others.

The room fell silent as Lottana strode in, a young man by his side. Marcus.

Tall, broad-shouldered, with a sharp jawline and a pair of dazzling eyes. The resemblance to Lottana was uncanny.

I found myself staring a little too long, until Marcus caught my eye and smiled faintly before turning to his father.

“He’s just like him,” Anita whispered in my ear, her tone grim.

Lottana clapped his son on the back. “Marcus has conquered the Crescent Moon pack. Tonight, we celebrate his victory!”

Preparations for the party began immediately. Hours of decorating, arranging tables, and scrubbing floors left me exhausted.

By nightfall, the guests arrived in droves—alphas and betas from distant packs, all here to praise Lottana and his son.

The party roared to life, the music loud and deafening, the guests already drunk on wine and power.

I forced myself to keep moving, ferrying drinks and trays of food between the kitchen and the hall.

The other maids seemed almost mechanical, slipping between guests with practiced ease. Some of the men grabbed at them lewdly, and they smiled through it all, their eyes sulken.

I ducked into the kitchen for a moment to catch my breath, leaning against the counter.

When I returned, the scene had grown even uglier. Some of the maids were half-naked, riding guests in full view of everyone. Lottana himself lounged on his golden throne, one woman on each side, his son not far behind, indulging in the same debauchery.

Revulsion rose in my throat as I skirted the edge of the room, trying not to draw attention.

But one of the guests noticed me anyway.

“Hey you,” he slurred, leering as he stood, his pants already undone. “Come get a hold of this.”

He thrust his hips forward, smacking his lips, his hand reaching for me.

My stomach turned, and I stood still, unsure what to do—until a voice cut through the noise.

“She’s off limits,” Lottana growled from his throne.