Chapter 20

Chapter 20
Natalie

"Ahh, I'm so tired," one of the girls whined continuously.

Frigid water soaked through my threadbare shoes as I scrubbed the massive courtyard stones on hands and knees. 

We all are, but we have to be Strong, whining gets you nowhere.

Around me other slaves carried out their own tedious chore under the watchful eyes of the guards.

My knuckles were cracked and bleeding, but I barely felt it anymore. After months here, pain and discomfort had become basic background noise, easily ignored.

Finishing my section, I sat back on my heels with a soft sigh, swiping grimy hair off my forehead. The feeble morning sun held no trace of warmth, but beads of sweat still trickled down my neck from exertion. I would likely never be fully warm or dry here. 

One of the wolf guards glanced my way, lips curling at my bedraggled state. "Back to work, slave," he growled, cracking his whip menacingly. "No rest until every inch shines."

Jaw clenched, I bent my head and resumed scouring, scrubbing until my shoulders and back screamed from the strain. It was useless to protest or resist. Easier to simply endure, and take what small pleasures I could where they arose.

"Heartless monsters." I mumbled to myself.

So when a large deer fly buzzed past my ear, I smiled slightly and snapped it quickly out of the air with my teeth. At least I could enjoy that fleeting instant of success and nourishment. It was the tiny victories that sustained me.

I was so focused on my mundane task that the commotion across the square barely penetrated my senses at first. But the whip cracked close enough to graze my cheek, making me look up with a scowl.

"Get up, all of you!" The guard bellowed, face purple with outrage. "Show respect, the Alpha has arrived!"

I rose hastily to my feet along with the other slaves, wiping my raw palms on my patchy trousers. Rarely did the triplet Alpha heirs descend from their lofty perches to walk among us lowly workers. Such visits inevitably meant someone was about to suffer.

Heart pounding, I kept my gaze fixed on the frigid mud beneath my feet as booted steps approached across the flagstones, accompanied by murmurs and barks of obeisance. Let some other poor soul draw the Alpha's ire today.

The fine leather boots paused directly before me, forcing me to hesitantly raise my eyes or risk greater offense. I barely swallowed a gasp of surprise.

"Why is he stopping?" I mumbled. I don't think it's Lucas since he comes here quite often. Who? 

At first glance, the powerful wolf before me seemed the very image of Lucas, my tormentor - the same imposing height and warrior's build, the same pale blond hair and patrician features. But where Lucas's eyes were an icy, piercing gray, this wolf's irises were a warm golden brown. 

It must be the second triple, the one that called me the other day.

And his sensual mouth quirked up slightly at one corner in an expression of wry amusement rather than Lucas's habitual cruel arrogance. This was not the brother I had come to despise over so many vicious lessons. This must be Leo, the second eldest heir.

"Well now, what do we have here?" Leo's voice was a rich, smooth baritone, so unlike Lucas's sharper, mocking drawl. He tilted my chin up with one finger, studying me intently. "Not planning to bolt, are we? Usually slaves do that when I'm towering them."

I realized I had tensed to flee at our first close contact and forced my rigid muscles to uncoil. "No, Alpha," I replied tonelessly, dropping my gaze once more. Every instinct screamed to get as far from this unknown threat as possible, but I dared not provoke his displeasure so openly.

Leo chuckled, a warm rumble compared to Lucas's abrasive scorn. "Wise choice. What is your name, girl?"

"...Natalia," I muttered after a reluctant pause. Revealing even that much about myself to an Alpha felt uncomfortably intimate.

"Natalia," Leo repeated slowly, drawing out the vowels. "Exquisite. And fitting for one so fair." 

His fingertip traced my jawline and I fought not to pull away. Why was he toying with me so? I wanted nothing more than to melt back into anonymous obscurity.

But Leo clearly had other intentions. "Tell me, Natalia - why is such beauty wasted scrubbing stones outside? It seems almost criminal." He flashed a roguish wink. "Might you be interested in...lovelier prospects?"

It took effort not to spit at the audacity of his proposition. Even if it won me reprieve from this dreary chore, I would never degrade myself willingly to pleasure any Alpha. I had my pride, tattered as it was.

Some of my outrage must have shown on my face, for Leo laughed again. "Peace, lil pet. I will not force the issue." To my surprise, he released me and stepped back. "The offer stands, should you reconsider. I think we could satisfy each other well."

With that he strolled onward, sparing me not a backward glance. I sagged in relief to be free of his invasive presence. His casual, flirtatious manner was somehow more unsettling than Lucas's openly threatening demeanor. 

At least with Lucas I knew precisely where I stood - as prey to be toyed with and tormented for his enjoyment. But this unknown brother set my instincts on edge.

Still, the encounter could have gone far worse. I had half feared Leo might order me publicly whipped or worse to satisfy some passing sadistic whim. Instead he had left me unscathed, if shaken.

The other slaves gawked openly once Leo was out of earshot, incredulous that I had attracted personal notice from an esteemed Alpha and survived.

If they had not shunned me before as troublesome, they certainly would now. Attention from the mighty was a dangerous thing.

Sure enough, they gave me a wide berth the rest of the day. Only Mary risked whispering briefly as we lay down to sleep that night, while the guards weren't listening.

"You poor thing, forced to endure both brothers' notice," she murmured, squeezing my shoulder. "I cannot fathom what draws their fixation to you, but do be careful, Natalia. Leo may seem more genial, but he is still an Alpha. His hands can turn to claws in an instant if you let down your guard."

I nodded silently into the darkness. She spoke only the truth. Leo unsettled me in ways I could not define, but he remained as much my enemy as the rest of his depraved kin. No Alpha could be trusted.

When sleep finally came, it was troubled with formless unease. But daylight banished the shadowy disquiet, leaving me resolved to avoid Leo if our paths should ever cross again. I had endured enough unwanted "attention" from Lucas and his ilk already.

In the days that followed, I threw myself into the daily work and did my best to become unobtrusive, just another face among the multitude of slaves. Leo's idle curiosity would surely pass if he had no entertainment to provoke it.

But fate seemed to have other plans. Hardly a week had passed when I entered the kitchens one afternoon to find the cook in a state of high agitation, shrieking orders at any slave unwary enough to cross her path.

"You, girl! Fetch more wood for the ovens, they must be stoked hotter. Tonight's feast must be perfection itself!" She brandished a ladle threateningly. "The Alpha themselves will attend, so I'll have no bungling!"

My heart clenched, but I kept my expression blank as I headed out to haul firewood. Both Lucas and Leo would be here come nightfall. I would have to take pains to make myself scarce during the serving. But at least I could avoid them completely in the chaos of the kitchens.

I soothed my anxiety with such logical thoughts as the day wore on, keeping my head down and hands busy. But fate seemed bound to toy with me.

The cook's strident voice cut through the cacophony as I scrubbed dishes. "You, girl! Make yourself presentable and take this platter of honey cakes to the royal Alpha's chamber at once."

I looked up just as she shoved the large serving tray into my reluctant hands, dripping soap suds everywhere. My protests died at her vicious glare.

"Do as you're told for once or you'll be stripped and flogged, understand? Now go!" 

With a stinging slap to my back, she propelled me out the kitchen door into the torch-lit corridor before I could form any refusal. Jaw clenched, I focused on keeping my grip steady on the precious cargo. At least only one brother lay in wait, rather than facing both. Small mercies.

The guards admitted me wordlessly to the royal living quarters once I identified my purpose. Anxiety rose with each step further from the servants' domain and deeper into the viper's nest. 

At last I reached an ornate set of double doors I could only assume led to the intended recipient's rooms. Balancing the tray awkwardly in one hand, I knocked lightly, pulse racing.

"Enter." My stomach dropped at the rich voice granting permission - not Lucas's sharper tones, but Leo's mellow baritone. 

Of course it would be him lying in ambush rather than his less predictable younger brother.