I hated washing with the rest of the female omegas in the servants' quarters. They always snickered at my skinny figure and pointed at my pale skin, marred with a map of scars that never healed.
As if they never took part in making them.
I shook my head to dismiss those unpleasant thoughts and moved my arms and legs, reveling in the refreshing touch of the chill waters as I swam across the lake.
I stopped once I made sure my legs could reach the sandy bottom and started moving the soap over my skin, frowning every time my fingertips felt the bumpy surface of the scars decorating my entire body.
Once I was done washing myself, I stepped out of the water and reached for an old towel, pausing abruptly as a sudden and rather violent shudder shook my body—like some invisible yet powerful force had taken hold of me.
I didn't have wolf senses like the others did, so I hadn't noticed someone approaching, but there was no mistaking it—someone was watching me.
I quickly wrapped my body with the towel and turned to my right, instantly locking my bright blue eyes with a pair of dim amber orbs that drilled into my mind right away.
A wolf. Large, brown, menacing.
He was standing on a small hill across the lake, carefully observing my every move like a predator watching its prey.
He did not belong to my pack. Brown wolves of his size were rare, and even Noel's wolf would probably only reach the bottom of his snout.
A rogue? Is it possible for them to be so large too?
Then who was he? And what was he doing inside my pack's borders? Was he one of the King's patrol wolves surveying the entire kingdom? But even if that was the case, why would that wolf cross the border without a permit?
While I was lost in my thoughts, I failed to realize that I was still directly looking at the mysterious intruder. Flinching with my entire body, I allowed myself one last quick glance at the wolf only to watch him turn around and run away, disappearing within the tall pine trees of the forest that swallowed him.
I still couldn't believe what had just happened. A heavy feeling of restlessness overcame my body, and I found myself shaking uncontrollably while digging my nails into the skin of my arms that were now wrapped around my body.
If he somehow knew anyone within my pack, I would definitely be punished for sneaking out of the mansion without the head maid's permission. I had to rush back home.
Fortunately, when I came back to the pack house, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. The kitchen maids were already up, and I could smell the comforting aroma of freshly baked bread wrapped in white embroidered towels, waiting for their turn to be served along with the rest of the breakfast buffet.
I quietly snuck my way back to the room I shared with another female omega and my only friend—Rita—the only maid who treated me with sympathy and even kept my daily morning outings a secret from everyone else. I sighed in relief as Rita was already awake to greet me.
"Back already? Early today," she noted in a hushed whisper. The walls between the servants' rooms were so thin, we had to whisper every time.
I nodded somewhat timidly as I approached my bed and hid my things underneath it, hanging my wet towel on the hook above it to let it dry.
Rita sighed and got up from her bed, gathering her short, curly red hair behind her head in a messy bun. An omega just like everyone else, she was only eighteen, and I thought that she felt sympathy toward me only because she, too, became an orphan at a young age when her mother was killed by a werefox while hunting in the woods for her regular exercise routine.
In truth, however, Rita treated me nicely simply because she liked me. I was kind and selfless; my heart was not jaded by the fate I had to endure, and I was far from bitter—something that contrasted greatly with the other female omegas of our kind.
Rita secretly aspired to be like me. She hoped she could remain kind despite everything.
"I am on cleaning duty today," Rita whispered again while wrapping a white apron around her waist. "The rest of the girls are going to be sent to prepare the guest rooms in the eastern wing of the pack house. You will not see them until late in the evening."
I nodded, expressing my gratitude in silence. No, I was not selectively mute, but I chose to act like I was. It was safer that way. So many people hated even the mere sound of my breathing, so the least I could do to soften my torment was to bury my voice as often as I could.
Rita sighed, disappointed that I refused to offer her even a single word in response, then walked up to the door and paused, remembering something important.
"Ah… Don't forget that you have to be at the witch's quarters after breakfast today. I don't want her to go berserk on you again for being late."
She laughed at the way she called the lady of the manor—our Luna—a "witch," and then exited the room, leaving me in silence once more.
I looked at the old clock, noticing the time.
How could I forget something like that?
Now, I kind of wished that the mysterious brown wolf I met at the lake had taken my life after all.