Chapter 22

Chapter 22


Natalie

I winced as the cook's shrill voice cut through the noisy kitchen.

"Useless fool, you call this slop fit to serve the pack warriors? Taste it yourself and tell me!" 

Before the trembling young slave boy could obey, she seized a ladle of the thin vegetable stew and flung it violently at him. He cried out as the scalding liquid splattered his face and chest. My gut clenched in sympathy.

The boy, Lucas, was an orphan newcomer barely twelve years old. Already the cook had seized upon him for the worst abuses, calling him stupid and worthless daily. My hands balled into fists, old anger rising.

As the boy hunched sobbing against the wall, arms raised futilely to protect himself, something in me snapped. Before I could reconsider, I was across the room pushing past the startled cook to stand between her and Lucas. 

Planting my feet, I turned to face her slowly. The entire kitchen had fallen silent, all eyes riveted on us.

"Enough." My voice was hoarse but steady. "No more. This ends now."

The cook gaped, nostrils flaring in outrage. "You dare interfere, slave?" She hefted the ladle threateningly. "Know your place!"

I stood fast, letting her rage wash over me. When her tirade finally ceased, I replied calmly, "My place is shielding the weak from unwarranted abuse. And his–" I gestured behind me. "–is serving the pack, the best he is able. Neither is deserving of cruelty."

The cook's eyes bulged. She drew breath for a fresh assault, but never got the chance.

A new voice sliced through the room, smooth yet dangerous. "Well said. I quite agree." 

Leo stepped casually out of the shadows where he had been observing unseen. The cook deflated instantly into a quivering, obsequious mess under his cool regard.

"M-my deepest apologies, Alpha! I meant no true harm to the boy, merely wished to instruct him—"

"Enough sniveling." Leo's lip curled faintly. "I've witnessed quite enough to understand the situation perfectly." He turned his piercing gaze on me. "What a sight, my Lil pet! I know you're fierce but not like this"

I tensed, wary of his attention, but replied evenly. "I'm pleased to hear that, Alpha."

That night I was sure I'm domed but the Alpha laughed it off and excused himself to go and change. And the murderous glances I received from the audience were striking through my heart.

"Natalia." He seemed to roll the syllables on his tongue. "I'm quite interested. Tell me, do you make a habit of intervening when your kind faces injustice?"

I considered it carefully before responding. "No injustice among us goes unmarked. We simply lack power to stand openly against it." 

Meeting his eyes, I added pointedly, "But there is strength in refusing complicity with cruelty, even silently."

His blond brow quivered upward at my boldness. But again rather than anger, Leo seemed curious. Behind me, little Lucas sniffled quietly but I did not turn, refusing to show uncertainty now. 

After a fraught moment Leo chuckled. "Just so. Strength indeed." He abruptly turned his attention to the cook who cringed under his regard. "You. Apologize to the boy at once. Then pray your poor instruction does not reflect badly on the pack."

As the cook stammered out a red-faced apology, Leo guided Lucas forward with surprising care, inspecting his scalded face and arms. "Come, lad. Let's have this tended properly, away from this wretched place." 

Lucas cast a wondering glance back at me as Leo led him gently out. I let out a slow breath, scarcely believing we had both escaped unscathed. Perhaps even an Alpha could recognize injustice when it was plainly laid bare before him. 

He was nothing like Luke.

The following days I remained wary, but heard no more abuse befell Lucas. At meals I noticed Leo now kept the boy close at his side, sharing choice morsels from his plate. It seemed he had taken Lucas under his protection. I prayed it would last. 

Whenever our gazes happen to meet across the crowded hall, I'm serving them Leo's eyes glinted with curiosity and that same veiled amusement. But he made no move to summon me again for his personal entertainment. 

Perhaps standing up to his gaze had impressed as much as confused him. Either way, his distance was a relief. I had more than enough troubles to be getting on with, without navigating an Alpha's capricious moods.

Late one evening, I was scrubbing the last dishes when quick footsteps entered, followed by a timid tug on my tunic. I turned in surprise to find Lucas gazing up at me, wide-eyed.

"You're Natalia, right?" At my nod, he shyly held out a small bundle. "Alpha Leo told me to bring you this, as thanks for helping me that day."

Bemused, I unwrapped the cloth to reveal half a loaf of hearty dark bread and a wedge of soft cheese - a veritable feast by our standards. I stared at the gift in astonishment. 

"Please, eat it," Lucas urged with an eager smile. "Alpha Leo said I wasn't to leave until you had some. He's kind to me now, not like..." He ducked his head, not needing to explain further.

I clasped his shoulder gently. "I'm glad to know you are being treated well now." Breaking the bread in half, I offered part back to Lucas along with some cheese. "Here. We will share this gift."

His face lit up as he accepted the food and hopped up on a stool nearby to eat and chat with me. I listened indulgently to his enthusiastic tales about his new life attending the prince. Leo's unprompted kindness toward this orphaned boy hinted at hidden depths.

When we finished I rewrapped the remaining portion carefully. "Thank you for bringing this. Now off to bed with you - growing boys need rest." 

With a shy parting grin, Lucas scurried off. I shook my head, still perplexed by the gesture but warmed by this small evidence that Lucas was thriving. Perhaps I had been too hasty judging Leo solely as his brothers' mirror. 

Over the following nights, I continued setting part of the bread and cheese aside until I had collected a humble but precious offering - a few wild violet blooms gathered from a neglected corner of the grounds on my wood gathering duties. 

The next day I bid Mary present it along with my thanks to Leo for his thoughtfulness. She was happy to oblige, returning with word he had seemed genuinely surprised and pleased by the gift.

I slept easier that night, a small but vital tension eased between us. Leo was first and foremost my captor, but today's kindness had kindled the seed of something very like hope in my barren heart. 

Here was evidence that even an Alpha could choose mercy over malice when offered another path. Perhaps Lucas and I might yet light the way for Leo to leave his brothers' cruelty behind, given time and courage. The thought warmed me.

The pack were one family beneath the moon, slave and prince alike. And for the first time since my father's murder, I dared imagine a future where that truth prevailed over the injustice dividing us. 

It was a fragile, risky dream. But my people's freedom had to begin somewhere. 

Why not here, between two who had seen the humanity in each other beneath their many masks? This could be the rising swell that someday crested into a wave transforming society itself.

That night as I lay listening to the soft sounds of sleeping slaves around me, I cradled the flickering spark of hope close, letting it drive back the ever-present gloom of despair. 

I sensed somehow that Leo and I were meant to change each other, and the course of the packs forever. Inexplicable intuition insisted our fates were intertwined now for a greater purpose than either of us knew.

It remained to be seen if we possessed the courage to see it through. But already a once unimaginable alliance was taking shape.

Perhaps with Leo, I can build some rights amongst us slaves.