Chapter 11

Eleanor:

For the first time since as far as I could remember, I woke up without being startled by someone entering my room.

The bedroom’s door was closed. If anything, I even slept without being bruised, getting yelled at, scolded, beaten, or abused. 

I couldn’t help the small smile that formed on my lips for a second before I checked the time, my eyes widening at the fact that it was a few minutes to six in the morning. 

The last thing that I wanted to do was annoy Liana, and I knew that I would need to find out where the kitchen was to begin with; therefore, I was sure to get up and quickly freshen up before getting dressed.

I put on a new dress, the one that I was wearing was wrinkled and I knew that I would need to iron it before being seen with it. I wore a white apron, reminding myself of Liana’s instructions before tying my hair in a bun.

The bruise that was on my neck from Elton choking me was finally healing, however, I knew better than to go against the protocol of what Liana told me to do. I couldn’t hide it by keeping my hair down, and therefore, I only hoped that no one noticed it.

I put on the flats that they gave me before I walked out of the room, making sure not to disturb the Alpha who I knew was sleeping in the room in front of mine. The way he spoke to me yesterday and the way he looked at me made my chest swell with feelings that I couldn’t understand.

His scent alone was enough to make me relax, and for the first time in years, I somehow managed to get a full night of sleep without waking up startled, frightened, sweaty, or in pain. I just slept like some child in the safety of her mother’s arms, and that was something that I couldn’t help but feel thankful for. Mostly because I knew what it meant not to be able to get any sleep for days sometimes.

I followed the smell of food that was being cooked before entering the room that had the most clatter. Girls talked, others laughed, and some ate. Liana sat on one of the chairs as she drank a cup of coffee.

“Eleanor,” Liana called, taking me off guard. I looked down at my feet for a second before approaching her as the other girls cleared the space for me. Most have stopped talking and turned to look at me as if I had grown a second head. I couldn’t help but feel somewhat small under their intense gazes, but I didn’t bother turning to look at any of them. If anything, I knew that they would be curious about the new maid who they hadn’t seen. “I take it that you found your way to the kitchen,”

“I followed the smell of food as well as the sound of clatter,” I said, looking down at my feet, avoiding her eyes. She got up and put her finger under my chin, raising my face to make me look at her. My cheeks reddened and she smiled and nodded. 

“Well, help yourself to a plate and feel free to serve yourself with what you want. There are cups and mugs, choose your preferred drink, be it coffee, tea, juice, or water. You have half an hour, then I will help you prepare the Alpha’s coffee.” She said, and I nodded shyly. She smiled and sat back down before a girl extended a plate to me. Her amber eyes met mine, and she smiled. 

“I’m Natasha, Liana’s daughter.” She said, and I smiled. 

“Eleanor.” I said, and she nodded.

“I’m aware.” She said, making me frown in confusion. “I saw you going to the infirmary yesterday and was curious.” 

I smiled and nodded as she motioned for me to follow her.

She guided me toward what looked like a buffet, the silver lids covered the plates that were under them and the candles kept the food warm inside them. If this was how they treated their maids and butlers, I didn’t know what I would be expecting for the Alpha and the pack members.

She opened a lid for me, revealing scrambled eggs, the other had hashed browns. I served myself a spoonful of scrambled eggs and shook my head at the hashed browns, not really craving potatoes as early in the morning. She opened the third and forth lids revealing sausages and bacon. 

I had to admit, I couldn’t help but frown in confusion at the sight of food. Hell, I wasn’t even allowed to eat as much, and I was the Alpha’s daughter and future Alpha’s fiancé. I didn’t even know what the servants ate back at the Estate, but I knew that it was nothing as extravagant as this.

Taking my expression, Natasha smiled. “We are treated well in this house. It is the main reason why you would find that most of us either retire and have our children taking our place, or just end up acting like family eventually.”

I didn’t have any words to describe my confusion and awe at what I saw before I poured myself a glass of orange juice. I was not one who was ever allowed to drink coffee or tea. In Elton’s mind, he wanted me to always be alert without bothering to drink any caffeine. I was barely allowed to drink anything that he didn’t permit to begin with, and that would mostly be water. Juices were optional when we had guests over.

 “How are your knees?” Natasha asked, snapping me out of my train of thoughts. I looked down at them for a second then at her before nodding. 

“They are okay, but I believe that I might need to change the bandages later.” I said, and she looked down before nodding.

“Indeed, you do. The bandage is already smudged.” She said, frowning at the sight of it. She looked back at Liana, and I couldn’t help but follow her gaze to find the woman frowning before she nodded as her daughter signed something for her to do. “You sit and eat, I will have the nurses come and change them for you here,”

“I can go…”

“Don’t worry, it will give you time to eat. Plus, you have twenty-five minutes before you need to get ready for the Alpha. You know, he wouldn’t want to wake up without finding his coffee waiting for him by the door.” She said, giving me a quick wink. “I won’t be long, you just eat and relax. I will tend to the rest...”

The woman didn’t give me time to respond before she walked out of the kitchen toward, I assume, the infirmary, leaving me to get lost in my thoughts.

My heart raced against my chest as I took a bite of the eggs, and I couldn’t help but wonder about what kind of heaven I fell into. Because I doubted that this was the reality of things.

If anything, this family was known for being the most dangerous around. They were the one family that was able to stop and scare my father.

But if that was the case, why were they treating us with such humanity?

“Are you okay, Eleanor?” Liana asked, taking me off guard as she walked toward me. “You seem a little distracted…”