Chapter 38: Stupid Wench
Bang!
Maya jerked upright, scrambling to a sitting position before she was fully awake. It took her a moment to realize it was just knocking and not the house falling apart. Her heartbeat slowed but didn’t return to normal.
"Wake up!" Alaina yelled from outside.
Her room was still dark; it wasn’t even dawn yet. She sighed and grabbed her head. She had a little headache and her eyes were stuffy from all the crying she had done the day before.
Maya stood up, hands in front of her, trying to find her way to the door in the dark. She knew delaying would be to her own detriment. She had hoped that, as the day before, Alaina would leave her alone, but she should have known that wouldn’t last.
Before she could reach the door, Alaina burst in pushing the door as hard as possible. If she had been a little closer, the door would have slammed into her hands and hit her in the face.
"Didn’t you hear me knock?" She was yelling as soon as she walked in. Her lackey, Bess, was right beside her with a self-satisfied expression.
Maya was too sad to put up a fight; besides, she wasn’t going to win against her. Alaina had a glint in her eyes as Bess stood next to her with the oil lamp held high.
She could hardly think of what Alaina wanted so early in the morning. She hoped it was morning and not midnight.
Alaina’s words from the day before had barely faded, and here she was ready to inflict another hurt. Maya stood with her gaze low as she waited.
"I am speaking to you," Alaina said aggressively as she lifted Maya’s chin and forced her head up.
Maya didn’t meet her eyes; rather, she looked at the wall behind Alaina. She could imagine how she looked: red face, red eyes, streaks of dry tears, and crust all over her eyes. She also had bed hair, and her dress was crumpled from lying down.
Alaina smiled as she looked down at Maya. She placed a palm on Maya’s chest and pushed her back. Maya staggered backward, nearly losing her footing.
Alaina laughed, looking around the empty room. "Pathetic," she spat out as she looked at Maya’s makeshift bed. "Since you’re so good at cleaning, why not put yourself to good use?"
She turned to look at Bess, who laughed alongside her. "What else is she good for?" Bess added.
Maya gripped the side of her dress. She knew she wouldn’t be able to get out of this. Perhaps work would keep her thoughts at bay. It had been misery to just sit in the dark with nothing but Alaina’s words echoing in her head.
Her eyes felt heavy from all the crying she had done. She hadn’t been able to fall asleep until late, and now that she was awake again, the same thoughts were echoing through her head.
"You’re to clean the three rooms. Luckily for you, they are on the same floor as you."
Maya jerked her head upward. It was the task Keenan had asked Alaina to take care of, and she was giving these tasks to her? What if she did a bad job?
"So you have a problem with that?" Alaina asked loudly.
Maya realized she was staring right at her in shock at the request. She quickly bent her head down and twisted her fingers. She supposed she was no different from a maid in Alaina’s eyes—or rather, Alaina couldn’t help but take the chance to humiliate her.
It was pathetic to think that cleaning a room would make any difference to anyone, and if she did a bad job, it would blow up in her face. But what was she to do?
"Did you not hear me?" Alaina asked and stepped forward until she was right against Maya’s face.
Maya was terrified of her. The fear was slightly different from how she feared Keenan. She was scared that Keenan would always hate her—hate her enough to inflict harm. On the other hand, she was certain Alaina would inflict harm if the opportunity arose.
Unfortunately for her, she could never match up to Alaina—not without a wolf. Their physical strengths were vastly different. Her body was essentially weaker. Maya wondered if she would ever get a wolf or if she would just remain an anomaly.
Is there anything I can ever get right?
Alaina hissed and stepped back, tired of waiting for Maya’s reply. She grabbed her wrist tight, purposefully digging her fingers into Maya’s skin, and pulled her toward the door.
Maya bit down on the pain and kept her wrist slack to try to reduce the pain as best as she could. She didn’t struggle as Alaina pulled her; she kept pace, as slowing down would worsen the pain in her arm.
They turned the corner of her room, appearing at the main section of the second floor—the long corridor before the stairs at the end.
"These three rooms," Alaina pointed as she stood in the middle.
Maya lifted her head, and from the spaces between the three rooms lined up together, she could tell they were at least twice the size of her room. She would need more than a day to be done with them.
Maya panicked. If she recalled correctly, the guests were to arrive tomorrow. She was not going to make it in time, and from the looks of things, she was not getting help.
"Start with this one," Alaina said and pushed Maya forward.
Maya had to put her hand out to stop herself from slamming against the door. She winced as she felt a sharp pain in her wrist. She gently massaged it to ease the pain.
"Bess, give me the oil lamp. Bring the cleaning items for her."
"Yes, Lady Alaina," Bess giggled and rushed off, leaving Maya alone with Alaina.
Maya felt nauseous. Bess didn’t make any difference, but her presence did give Maya some comfort. Being alone with Alaina triggered terrible memories.
She quickly turned the handle and rushed into the room. She wanted to keep as much distance as she could between them.
She almost tumbled as she walked into the room. It was beyond her expectation—not the decor, but the state of the room.
It was clean, at least. It wasn’t filled with grime and didn’t have cobwebs in every corner. It just needed new sheets, perhaps new carpets too, but simple sweeping should do the job. There was dusting to be done, and the shelves looked like they needed rearranging.
The wardrobe was bigger than hers, and beside it was a dressing screen. There were two tables, a desk next to the shelves, and a small round table with two chairs on the other side of the fireplace.
The bed stopped her in her tracks. What she wouldn’t give for a bed. It was the same size as the one she had back home. She smiled lightly and instinctively walked towards it.
Surprisingly, the sight of the bed made her remember lying in Keenan’s room. It had been comforting and Keenan had leaned close enough to touch her.
Maya suddenly felt warm. This was not the time to have such thoughts. Besides, she knew the purpose of their marriage wasn’t for that. It was simply Keenan’s revenge.
"What are you thinking about, you stupid wench?!"
Maya visibly flinched as she turned to face Alaina. This was the first time she had insulted her so directly and maliciously since she had arrived here.
Alaina had a dark look on her face, and her eyes were wide as she glared at Maya. Maya instinctively took a step back.
"I am speaking to you! You seem to be confused. Let me enlighten you. You’re not married to my Alpha. That was nothing more than a humiliation ritual. You think he would stoop low enough to marry you?" Alaina laughed. "I know you were stupid, but I didn’t think you were dumb too."
Maya felt all the blood drain from her body. She was both embarrassed and horrified. She couldn’t guess how Alaina had suspected what she was thinking about, but more than anything, the fact that her marriage wasn’t real echoed in her head.
"The m-marriage is fake?"
"You can speak, pig." She sneered, and her eyes glinted with satisfaction.
Maya flinched and shrank. "The High Priestess was t-there." Maya didn’t like the crack in her voice.
Alaina laughed. "You really are stupid. You were married in broad daylight, without a veil and without flowers. Did he kiss you during the wedding? Do you actually think the Alpha will touch you?"
"We drank each other’s b-blood," Maya pressed on. The nausea was spreading all over her body, and she could feel tears pooling in her eyes.
"A ritual to bind you to him is not a wedding."
"T-the marriage c-certificate."
Alaina laughed. "You really want to be married to him, don’t you? Aren’t you stupid? A piece of paper doesn’t mean anything. One rip and it’s all over."
