Raina's POV
I followed limply like an obedient child, anxiety reeling through me. Her stares had been full of disdain, and Aris alerted me that it was hate at first sight. A thorough one. "Sitting all by yourself in a room? Pfft," The mistress scoffed as we kept walking towards another wing in the mansion. "You must think you came here for sightseeing or something." I bit down on my lips, holding myself from blurting the truth to her. The truth about my capture. The vile alpha had kidnapped my sister, killed my parents and captured me. He burnt down the town, ending several innocent lives. "You must work." She said in a tone of finality as we stopped at a place that was like a beehive of activity. I looked around, and my jaw dropped at the sight. All I could see were people doing hard strenuous labour, like what a person is punished with when found guilty in the court of law. Warriors were stationed at each corner, and in their hands were long whips that were used to 'call the workers to order'. I swallowed, now paled at the thought of having to work here day and night till Kael Draven deems it fit to kill me. "Now," The woman's high pitched voice broke into my thoughts "Put yourself to good use." In the twinkle of an eye, the jeans and shirt that I had on was replaced by new set of slave wears. I was launched into the area and immediately started working. I had to mix granite and carry heavily materials to a point. After a few minutes, my hand and back started aching, but it was evident that eyes were pinned on me, so I continued. Two hours later, I collapsed on the ground in a sprawling mess, gasping for breath until the sharp sting of a whip kissed my skin. "An order has been passed that you can't stop working until everyone is done in the yard." The warrior grunted in a ruthless manner. "But... Why?" I cried. "Maybe you should ask the Alpha's wife that question." "Wife?" Aris whispered inwardly and my ears perked up "She isn't a mistress but his wife? We're so dead. She hates us already!" Having no choice than to continue with the inhumane labour, I picked the pan that was as heavy as a baby and proceeded to the heap of granite. "Poor girl," a slave purred from the side "Getting on the Luna's bad side, she will definitely live like a beggar." "It's crazy how Lyria always manage to ill-treat every young beautiful lady brought back as a spoil from his kill," another chirped in "She's so insecure." Lyria... So that's her name, Aris hummed. Stay away from Lyria for our sake, Raina. I nodded and continued working, determined to clear off all of the granite before retiring to the room. Maybe if I do, there won't be any work to do tomorrow. Perhaps, I will be left to acclimatize with the mansion and it's surrounding buildings if I do. But that was not to be. The very next morning, I was yanked out of bed and forcefully dragged to the yard. A new job awaited me, and at that moment, I felt like dying would have been ideal. More ideal than this. Lyria, as expected, was watching with her cohorts planted behind her, a sly smile played on her face as she watched the way I struggled with the building materials. The next few days that followed, Lyria made my life a living hell. I was ill-treated and dealt blows that should be reserved for stubborn horses and stallions. It was a week now, and I have still not set eyes on the man who had captured me to a godforsaken place like this. Rumors had it that he traveled to a pack far off to capture it, and I prayed earnestly to the moon goddess for him to face his death as he went. Maybe the moon goddess had worse plans for a man as evil as he was. Maybe he was supposed to face excruciating pains as life slipped out of him. I could not tell. Alpha Kael's return to the mansion caused a feast to be thrown. As usual, I was selected as one of the servers in the feast. "Wear this," Ria, a fellow slave, passed a dress to me and I took it with an appreciative nod. My other dress was now consumed with sweat and filth of hard labour. It was a large feast, with plenty of dishes and merriment. A few other powerful Alpha's were invited, and their lunas tagged along with them. I searched everywhere for Lyria after balancing the tray of wine in my hand, and when I didn't see her, I exhaled in relief and started walking towards the table where Kael was seated. "Ay, I see you got yourself a brand new belle Kael," A blonde man rumbled with a low laugh as he studied my features before turning to Kael "Let me have this one?" The Luna seated by the blonde's side stared at him with a glare before fixing a derogatory gaze on me. "Sloane." "Not today, Sloane," Kael grinned, beckoning on me to pour out wine "This one's different." As I poured out the wine, I imagined slipping poison into it and watching him die miserably after coughing up a crazy amount of blood. Would his wolf fight it? Hell, he probably is immune to poison. Most Alphas were that powerful. "What's so different about her?" It was a voice I never expected to hear. At least, not so soon. Lyria's strong cologne assaulted my nose as she fixed a predatory stare on me, like I had uttered the words instead of her husband. A valet shifted out the chair meant for her and she eased herself into it. "All I can see is a wretched young girl whose pack has no use for anymore." My chest constricted as her words hit hard. Wretched young girl? No use? "Shall we make a toast?" Kael's deep voice reverberated through the table like his wife had not just insulted the living daylight out of me in one sentence. I quickly poured out wine into Lyria's glass cup when she tilted it towards me. "Cheers to long life and many more kills!" Everyone chorused. As soon as Lyria brought the wine to her lips, she retracted immediately and dumped the content on my figure. I gasped in shock while every other person fell silent.