Chapter 41: Episode 41.
Music Recommendation: Making the bed by Olivia Rodrigo.
.....
Adele stood near the far end of the chamber, with her arms wrapped tightly around herself.
The room smelled like cedarwood and cold iron. The scent that had always traumatised her from childhood.
Her father’s scent.
It clung to everything.
The maids moved quietly, and efficiently, lifting folded garments, sealing scrolls, and fastening clasps on polished chest boxes. No one spoke above a whisper. No one lingered where they shouldn’t.
No one even looked at her.
Adele swallowed.
Her arms tightened around her chest, with her fingers digging into the soft fabric of her dress as if that alone could hold her together.
She had been summoned an hour ago.
An hour. And not once.... Not once had Alpha Blackfen looked at her.
She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, trying to ease the dull ache in her legs. She dare not sit when he haven’t asked her to.
He had not acknowledged her existence. She was a mistake he refused to correct.
"Careful with that," his voice cut through the room, as he gave another order, not caring about who walked in an hour ago.
A maid flinched as she adjusted the position of a carved box. "Yes, Alpha."
Adele’s breath caught slightly. She hated how easily his voice filled the space. She hated how effortlessly he commanded it.
She shifted her gaze downward.
The floor beneath her feet was polished smooth, reflecting fragments of movement—skirts brushing, hands lifting, and shadows bending.
She focused on that instead, not on him. She never had, unless she had to.
The last chest clicked shut.
A maid stepped back, bowing slightly. "Everything is prepared, Alpha."
Silence followed her words for a second.
"Leave." Alpha Blackfen finally ordered.
The word was quiet. The maids didn’t hesitate. They moved quickly, filing out one after the other, with their heads lowered, and footsteps light but hurried.
The door closed behind them with a soft thud. And just like that, the room felt smaller.
Adele’s heart began to beat louder in her chest. She didn’t move, speak, not breathe too deeply.
She felt his gaze on her before she saw it.
"Look at me." He finally adressed her.
Her body reacted before her mind did. Her head lifted slightly.
The slap came fast. A sharp crack split through the room, echoing against the walls.
Her head snapped to the side, and pain exploded across her cheek, hot and immediate.
Adele staggered slightly, as her hand instinctively flew up to her face. Luckily, she stopped herself, and forced it down.
"How dare you?" he spat.
Adele’s ears rang. Her vision blurred at the edges, but she kept her gaze lowered. She knew better than to look at him now.
"How dare you try to interrupt me during dinner?" he asked, his voice controlled because he had all the time in the world to break her down.
Adele’s lips parted. "I—"
"Kneel." he cut her off instantly.
She dropped to thw floor with no hesitation.
Her knees hit the floor harder than she expected, pain shooting up her legs, but she didn’t react.
Her hands rested on her thighs, and she healed immediately.
Her head bowed in perfect submission.
"I gave you one instruction," Alpha Blackfen continued, pacing slowly in front of her. His boots echoed softly against the floor. "You were to sit. To watch. To remain silent."
Adele’s throat tightened. "I was—"
"You were nothing." The interruption came in swift and sharp.
Her words died instantly.
"You embarrassed me." He clenched his fist, itching to hit her. "In front of them." His tone dropped further.
Adele swallowed. "I didn’t mean to—"
That was another mistake. She realized it the moment the words left her mouth.
His hand gripped her chin hard, forcing her head up.
Her breath hitched.
"You didn’t mean to?" he repeated softly, dangerously soft. His fingers tightened around her jaw.
Her jaw ached under the pressure.
"You think intent matters?" His eyes bore into hers. "You think the wolves in that hall care about what you meant?"
Adele’s vision wavered slightly, but she held his gaze. "I choked," she said quietly, almost pleading.
Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I wasn’t interrupting you."
"You should have controlled yourself." He said. His grip released her abruptly and her head dropped slightly from the sudden loss of force.
"Or is even that beyond you?"
Adele’s hands curled slightly on her thighs. Her nails pressed into her skin, hard and grounding.
"I’m sorry," she breathed, with her head down.
"You always are."
He turned away from her then, walking toward the window. "I gave you an opportunity tonight," he continued. "To remain tolerablez and you failed."
Adele’s chest tightened. The hollow ache deepened, and spread around her chest.
"I will not tolerate another display like that." His voice echoed faintly against the glass. "If you are to remain here, you will do so properly."
Adele’s head lifted slightly.
"You will learn," he said, turning back to her. "You will observe. You will not speak unless spoken to."
He paused, the added. "And you will remember your place."
Adele’s lips parted. Then she closed, and parted again.
"What is my place?" she finally asked.
Her father stared at her for a long time then a slow, humorless smile touched his lips. "Exactly where you are now, kneeling."
His words settled into her bones anyway. Adele lowered her gaze again. Her throat burned. Her cheek still throbbed. And her knees ached against the floor.
"I expect better from you," he added after a moment. He added it so casually like she wasn’t his.
Adele’s fingers curled tighter. That hurt more than the slap. She had done everything for him.
She swallowed again. Her throat closed, and her eyes burned. "Yes, Father." The words tasted like ash, as her tears threatened to drop.
Her tears didn’t fall. They gathered, and burned.
Adele kept her head bowed, her hands still on her thighs, her breathing shallow enough to go unnoticed.
Silence stretched again.
"Do not stop." Alpha Blackfen finally broke the silence.
Her brows pulled together faintly.
Adele hesitated. "Father?" she asked carefully, her voice small, and uncertain.
He turned fully this time. And for once, he was looking directly at her. "You heard me," Alpha Blackfen said, his voice calm. "Do not stop."
Adele’s fingers curled slightly. "I... don’t understand."
His gaze sharpened. "You will continue."
Her heart stuttered. Her lips parted, and for the first time since she had knelt, real confusion broke through the discipline.
"Continue... what?" she asked, barely above a whisper.
Alpha Blackfen took a step toward her. "Winning their attention."
The words settled heavily in the air.
Adele stared at him now. Her chest tightened. "I am not—" her voice shook slightly, "I am not something to be offered to them. They now have their Luna."
"Not something?" he repeated. "You are exactly that."
Adele’s stomach dropped.
"You will make yourself useful," he continued, his voice lowering. "For once."
Her breathing grew uneven.
"I didn’t keep you alive to be useless, Adele."
Adele let out a pent up breath.
"You will get close to them," he said. "Earn their trust. Their attention." His eyes narrowed slightly. "Their weakness."
Adele’s throat tightened painfully. "As you wish, father."
