As I stepped into the castle, my eyes fell upon five elegant young women, Kayla's friends, who were sipping champagne in the castle's anteroom. I noticed Kayla descending the stairs at a slow pace, feigning ignorance of my presence as I glared at her with anger in my eyes.
"Kayla, why were you throwing my clothes out of the window?" I shouted with frustration. Her friends gazed at the worn and torn gown I was wearing and erupted into laughter. Kayla covered her nose, implying that I even smelled unpleasant.
"Please stay back," Kayla gestured dismissively, still holding her nose.
"Why did you throw my things out?" I disregarded her childish behavior and continued to yell.
"Don't you dare shout at my daughter!" Luna Rita, who was descending the stairs slowly, shouted at me.
"Mom, she..." I began to defend myself, but Rita interrupted sternly, "Will you keep quiet!"
Kayla smiled and approached me. "That field will soon serve as your room if you don't do as I ask right now!" she remarked, an evil smile on her face. I folded my arms over my chest.
"Last night, Jordan and I were in the jacuzzi and we actually talked about you. I pleaded with him to settle the debt your lazy mother owes my father so that you would leave this pack!" Kayla said, her smile growing wicked.
"The good news is, Jordan agreed!" she said with a loud voice and her friends burst into laughter.
"I created an ad for you on social media today with your best pictures looking for the lucky man who would marry you, and guess what? No one showed interest. They said you are too dirty and ugly for their liking!"
"Kayla...." I started to talk but Kayla interrupted me.
"Shut up! When I'm talking, you keep your mouth shut and listen! I still have one more piece of good news. Since the Alpha of Alphas banished Jose Martins, the pack's cook from Lunar Palace for being old and no longer useful to the pack, he's been wandering the streets of Stockholm begging for alms. Jordan thinks it's fitting to compensate him with you since he is a weak human like you!"
Luna Rita and everyone present, including Kayla, couldn't contain their laughter. However, I noticed one of them was not laughing. I turned my face which had been covered by tears and found out the person was Rachel Greens, Jordan's younger sister.
At the time when I was still serving in Lunar Palace, Jose Martins was already in his fifties. He and Mistress Lara, the Alpha of Alphas youngest mistress were the first people to notice that Jordan and I were secretly seeing each other every Saturday in the castle's basement.
Jordan invited me to the basement every Saturday because I could not read the first letter he gave me as I was not enrolled in school. I was just a maid and a human.
So, every Saturday, after finishing my chores, I would go to the basement to meet Jordan, who liked to write stories in a quiet place to teach me. Jordan taught me how to read and write, and I read all his stories. He enjoyed it when I read his stories to him. Jose found out first and did not tell anyone.
I couldn't help but cry as I realized that marrying me off to Jose, who was now in his late sixties, seemed like an act of pure hatred. I couldn't fathom what they must have told Jordan to make him despise me to this extent. Tears streamed down my face.
It wasn't because I was going to marry Jose Martins that I cried, but rather because of the overwhelming amount of hatred Jordan harbored towards me now. Although I hadn't seen Jordan since I left Lunar Palace, I couldn't even tell what he looked like now.
However, all the lavish things Jordan did for Kayla were a clear indication that he had chosen to marry his mate. Kayla would flaunt everything he provided for her. Jordan changed her cars every three months and they would travel around the world together.
Kayla never hesitated to post pictures of their extravagant lifestyle on social media. Out of curiosity, I would occasionally snoop on her page just to catch a glimpse of Jordan, but he always hid his face in every photo.
Slowly, my knees landed on the floor, and I began to cry as I realized that life would never be fair to me.
"Jose Martins is on his way here to sign me a cheque for a hundred thousand dollars! It is either you marry him or I will throw you out!" Alpha Benjamin, who had just walked into the anteroom, said angrily before storming away.
I continued kneeling on the floor, placing my palms on my chest as if trying to stop my heart from breaking, but it felt like it was about to explode. The pain in my heart was excruciating.
"Come on, girls, let's go to the living room and continue our celebration!" Kayla exclaimed excitedly, leading the way. Luna Rita and the other girls followed her.
Two girls grabbed my arms and lifted me. They were Rachel and Jenna, my only true friends. Rachel began wiping my tears, her own eyes filled with tears as well. Since I left Lunar Palace, Rachel had been visiting me regularly. Jordan, who had taught me everything I knew, was no longer available, so Rachel even hired a pirate tutor to help me out. Without their assistance, I wouldn't have gained even basic knowledge.
"What are they celebrating?" I murmured as my friends led me to my room.
"The Alpha of Alphas chose a wedding date for Jordan and Kayla. He said since they had mated, it's time for them to officially get married," Rachel said, and Jenna and I couldn't say anything. We continued walking up the stairs slowly.
"Thalia, do not marry Jose. I haven't seen him but I hate him already," Jenna said as soon as we entered my room.
"I advise you to accept Jordan and Kayla's decision. You need to leave this pack," Rachel advised me, and I continued sobbing.
"Do you have Jordan's picture on your phone now? I just want to look at his face. It encouraged me a lot when I was in Lunar Palace," I murmured. Rachel shook her head, looking pitifully at me.
"Thalia, move on," Jenna whimpered with a hushed tone.
"I moved on four years ago but Jordan is my first love. I still love him and I longed to see just his face," I murmured. Rachel kept quiet. Her sad expression was quite apparent.
I stood up from the bed, walked towards my bag, and took out the letter Jordan gave me the day I was leaving Lunar Palace. I had kept it safe since then. Jordan also sent a small box to me on my fifteenth birthday, and I put the note inside it and treated both items as sacred objects.
I read the letter with tears streaming down my face when I noticed an old car pulling into the parking lot. My attention remained fixed as Jose, now appearing much older, stepped out of his vintage vehicle. A wave of emotions flood over me as his presence was a confirmation that Jordan hated me now.
My gown became soaked with tears. Rachel and Jenna rushed to the window to investigate the source of my heightened distress. Jenna, with her mouth open in astonishment and her arms crossed over her chest, gazed at the elderly man standing in the middle of the courtyard, appearing disoriented and lost.
"Rachel, are you joking?" Jenna shouted. "Why would you advise her to marry such an old man?"
"Thalia hasn't stepped out of this pack in ten years. She needs freedom!" Rachel said. "Thalia, do not focus on Jose's age, rather focus on the freedom he offers you!"
"Rachel is right," I murmured, wiped my eyes, and prepared myself to meet Jose Martins, my would-be husband. The freedom was all I needed.
Jenna stood still staring at us as Rachel and I packed the clothes Kayla scattered all over the room in a small bag. Tears were in her eyes.
"Do not allow him to make love to you," Jenna said unexpectedly and Rachel and I lifted our gazes and stared at her, unable to utter any word. I never even thought of that.
"Jenna, are you advising Thalia to deny her husband his conjugal rights?" Rachel asked and the cloth I was holding fell from my hand.