Chapter 5. Ruthless Alpha

~GABRIELLA’S POV~

As I stared at him, my heart beating even more rapidly than it ever did whenever I stood before my mother, tears gathered in my eyes. I tried my best to hold back the sadness, but my efforts were futile. Staring at him filled me with mixed emotions of happiness, anger, and grief. Until this moment, I thought my life was over. I thought my mate would be here waiting for me.

I rushed toward him, asking with excitement, as I grabbed his hand, “Where have you been? I thought you would return to my father’s mansion, but you never came. Is this your pack?"

Steven stared at me with a piercing gaze, his eyes suddenly filling with contempt. I could feel a dark aura surrounding him, one I never noticed the first time we met. Something about him was different—something I couldn’t put a finger on. The omega aura I sensed around him at the peacekeeping ceremony was completely gone, and something a lot more powerful and ominous filled the air.

“Unhand me, woman!” he said in a grim tone, throwing me aside. “Take your bags and head to your quarters. You shall be among the serving maids. Gregory here will explain your duties to you,” he continued, turning around and walking away.

“Maids?” I asked whoever cared to listen softly, sitting on the ground where he remorselessly left me. One of the warrior wolves who accompanied me here walked to me and gently helped me off the ground as I stared at the entrance to the mansion with confusion edged on my face.

“Please don’t mind the alpha; he can be a little difficult at times, but I’m sure you’ll love him once you get to know him,” he said. His name was Gregory, and he was a beta to the alpha of the pack. I knew this because he had already introduced himself to me before we left Montgomery's mansion.

“He’s the alpha?” I asked, even more confused now.

“Yes, he is Steven Mortimer, Alpha of the Dark Moon Pack. Have you two met before? Because it was a little too bold of you to launch at him like that,” Gregory asked.

I stared at him for a moment, then turned back to the mansion’s entrance, saying softly, “No, no, we haven’t."

Gregory helped me carry my bags into the mansion and led me to my room upstairs. This mansion was far larger than the one I used to stay in, and the area where the maid rooms were lined up was far more beautiful than anything I ever expected. Each room had a small chandelier, its own bathroom, and a bed for each servant.

Judging from the outside of the mansion, one would think this place was an abandoned house, haunted by ghosts, but from within, it was a world separate from what I once knew.

This place was like a heaven for anyone who attained the alpha’s favor and a hell for anyone who dared to cross him. Gregory guided me to my room. He gently placed the bags on the ground and told me that there were maidens inside who would show me around the mansion. After giving me a few instructions, he waved at me and walked back in the direction we had come.

I let out a sigh, then whispered to myself, “Okay, the good thing is that I’m no longer with the dark-hound pack. Let’s just focus on that.”

I picked up my bag and placed my palm on the door to gently push it open when one of the maidens on the inside suddenly pulled on it, yelling with a bright smile, “Welcome! How was your trip? I hope you guys weren’t ambushed."

I skipped back in shock and asked with surprise on my face, “Ambushed?”

“Yes, these territories are filled with all sorts of rogue wolves that keep making trouble from time to time, but the alpha and his warrior wolves are in charge of handling that stuff,” she answered.

“Don’t listen to her if you don’t want to have nightmares,” another female voice sounded from inside the room. Her voice was a lot firmer and more mature than that of the one who stood before me. I picked up both my bags and walked into the room, carrying a nervous look on my face.

As I walked in, I saw two other she-wolves, one dressed completely in a black sleeping gown and the other dressed in red. The one who wore red sat before a mirror, gently brushing her dark brown locks, and the one in black laid on her bed, staring at the chandelier that hung from the ceiling.

“Clarabelle has a habit of scaring newcomers; she’s quite the prankster, you see,” the lady who sat before the mirror spoke, then turned around. Her scarlet-red eyes glittered in the orange hue of the chandelier light, and her lips sparkled like twinkling stars in the night sky. She was the most beautiful lady in the room, and from the sound of her voice and the way she spoke, I could tell she was the eldest or at least the most mature.

"Welcome, dear; my name is Christine,” she said. She got up from her seat and walked toward me. As she got in front of me, she took my hand and gently shook it. “Umm, thanks,” I finally responded with a smile.

“Wait, what did you mean by newcomers? I was told I was being given to the alpha as a bride,” I asked as Christine walked away from me. She suddenly stopped and turned around, saying as she let out a soft giggle, “Well, dear. We were all told the same thing. But here we are serving away the rest of our lives as the Alpha’s maids.”

“Oh,” I said softly, as a look of disappointment crawled onto my face.

“Don’t feel disappointed; life here is pretty interesting if you open your heart to it,” Christine said as she sat back down in front of her mirror.

“Yeah, just don’t get on the alpha’s bad side,” the female who laid on her bed finally spoke. I turned to her, and she said, “My name’s Marie." She continued, using her left index and middle fingers to make a peace sign. She also had dark brown hair and a black cloth around her eyes. As I stared at the mysterious cloth tied around her eyes, she suddenly spoke as if sensing my intense gaze: “I’m blind, if that’s what you’re wondering. And before you ask, I use my sense of smell and hearing to move around and work in the mansion."

“Oh, okay,” I replied and walked toward my bed.

After arranging my bags where they were supposed to be, I fell on my bed and let out a long sigh of exhaustion. I stared at the ceiling, moving my eyes around, until it fell on a candle sitting on the chandelier.

I think the person I was sold to was my mate. He was different, though. The cheerful and carefree attitude he had when I met him was no longer there; it was like this was a completely different person, and my mate was still out there, waiting for me. At this point, there was only one way to confirm: the mate bond.