Meanwhile, Beta Barak, who had been following Evelyn, returned to Vlad and reported his findings. After his long speech, he concluded:
"My Lord, she's a bullied omega. Should I save her?"
Vlad's brows creased. From his beta's report, and from what he heard from those two at the forest, they seemed to care about each other. If that was the case, why isn't her mate doing anything?
"Does her mate know that she's being bullied?" He asked.
"The pack is huge. Unless he's an idiot, he wouldn't know."
Or perhaps, her mate knew but didn't care about her as much as she thought. Thinking of this, Vlad's lips curled ever so slightly. Seeing this, Barak's heart jolted. What was his Alpha thinking now?
"Keep an eye on her. Don't approach her unless she's dying," Vlad said and waved his hand.
It seems he doesn't need to force them apart. He could just spice things up a bit, and their bond would be naturally shattered.
"Should I still bring her tonight?" Barak asked, despite his trembling heart.
Vlad raised a brow, "Wasn't that my order?"
"Yes, My Lord." Barak bowed and walked away.
…
By the time the Governess was done with Evelyn, she was breathing so hard that she almost had a heart attack.
"I…I told you that Lady Miranda will be here today. You should stop seeing Markkus!" the Governess stammered through her words, trying to catch her breath.
Evelyn remained silent as she slowly wore her servant uniform. Although there were no bruises on her skin, she was shaking and looked extremely pale.
"Until Lady Miranda and Markkus return to the Academy, Evelyn will be in the kitchen. She must not be allowed to leave the kitchen for any reason. And if Markkus asks of her, tell him she's been infected with a highly contagious illness that is deadly to ability users, and she's being quarantined," the Governess said to the housekeeper.
The housekeeper took the order and left with Evelyn, and sent her to the kitchen.
…
It was late in the evening, the kitchen was empty, but Evelyn was still there, fanning the dying flames.
The room where the firewoods are kept has been locked, and the last ones were burning out.
"Little slut, Lady Miranda needs more hot water." A maid announced as she stood by the kitchen entrance.
"Cough!... Here, come and get it. The water is ready." Evelyn said, coughing because of smoke.
"Are you out of your mind? She wants you to bring it yourself."
Evelyn was stunned. "The Governess said–"
"The Governess permitted it," the maid turned and walked away.
Evelyn sighed, transferred the boiling water into a bucket and left for Miranda's room.
Arriving at the door, she knocked before entering.
"What took you so long?!" One of Miranda's maids barked at her as she strode across the room to open the door to the bathroom.
Evelyn had nothing to say but to apologize. She's been in the kitchen far longer than necessary, repeatedly heating water for Miranda, who seemed to have suddenly become a fish.
Entering the bathroom, a young woman lay in a large wooden basin, her skin white, smooth, and flawless like milk. Her red silky hair cascaded down the edge of the basin in waves, almost touching the floor. Her long lashes fanned her face, eyebrows, black, and arched beautifully. The air around her, despite relaxing with her eyes closed, was that of elegance, and class.
Her hands were resting casually on the top of the wooden basin, but gracefully and mindfully. The swell of her breast…
Evelyn swallowed, even as a woman, she couldn't turn her gaze away from her, let alone Markkus. Although she knew that he wasn't cheating on her, that would soon change, she believed.
But hoped it wouldn't.
"Are you here to daydream?!" The maid from earlier yelled, making Evelyn jump.
"I - I'm sorry."
Evelyn put the bucket down, wanting to leave, but Miranda ordered her calmly, with her eyes still closed, "The water is getting cold."
Even her voice was heavenly. It felt like a melodious song - soothing, and refreshing.
"Oh," Evelyn took a wooden ladle from an empty bucket and began pouring hot water into the bathtub, careful not to scald her.
Evelyn couldn't help stealing glances at Miranda. This was the first time she's seen Miranda up close.
How could someone be this perfect? She's an ability user, kind, refined, the most beautiful woman in the kingdom, excellent, intelligent…
"Tsssp." A sharp sound suddenly emitted from Miranda, yanking Evelyn's mind back to reality.
"Miss!"
The two maids in the room hurried over to see what had happened. They shoved Evelyn to the side, causing her to fall on her butt.
Miranda frowned slightly. Even her frown was gorgeous.
"Evelyn, what are you doing?" she asked calmly, but the slight frown in between her brows made it obvious she was upset.
Evelyn didn't know what happened. She quickly shook her head, "I – "
"The hot water," Miranda paused, "You poured it on me."
Evelyn was sure she didn't. But before she could speak, a heavy slap reverberated in her ear, forcing her face to the side. Her head buzzed, and her vision blurred for a moment before they focused on the maid who was standing over her smelling of trouble. It was the same arrogant and proud maid, whom she met at the door earlier.
"Do you want to peel her skin off? I'll teach you a lesson," she grabbed Evelyn's hair, yanking it so tightly that Evelyn let out a painful whimper. " This will teach you to never disrespect your future Luna."
"It hurts!" Evelyn whimpered.
"I know. You should feel what my Miss felt!"
"Agnes, what are you doing?" Miranda asked calmly. "Don't hurt her, she's wolfless."
That stung more than the pain on Evelyn's scalp. Her gaze shot to the bathtub, Miranda was still sitting in there, looking their way. She had this serene appearance that made Evelyn think she meant no harm.
"Miss, you don't have to be nice to her. She's having an affair with your soon-to-be mate." The other maid said with a disapproving frown that was directed at Evelyn.
"She's his mate. I'm the third party." Miranda said, rising from the water.