Selena

The moment Marqee pushed the storeroom door open wider, the two servants inside gasped loudly.

The woman shrieked and scrambled to cover her chest with her dress while the man nearly tripped over himself trying to pull his trousers back up.

"What the hell?" he snapped breathlessly.

I stared at them in complete disbelief while Marqee looked horrified beside me. "You people are disgusting."

The woman pointed accusingly at us. "You can’t just barge in on people!"

"This was supposed to be a meeting," I argued.

Both of them blinked at me. "A what?"

"A meeting," I repeated slowly. "I passed word around."

The man frowned while fastening his belt. "Nobody told me anything about a meeting."

The woman shook her head quickly. "Same here."

Confusion twisted inside me as I couldn’t understand what’s going on. "But I specifically asked people to spread the word."

"Well, clearly they failed," the man muttered.

Marqee pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration and I crossed my arms stubbornly. "Fine. Since you’re already here, stay."

The pair exchanged confused looks. "Stay for what?" the woman asked cautiously.

I took a breath. "This meeting is about the vampires."

Instant discomfort crossed both their faces and the man immediately shook his head. "No."

"You haven’t even heard what I want to say."

"I don’t need to."

I stepped forward anyway. "For generations, wolves have allowed vampires to treat us however they want. They take our women every year and everyone just accepts it."

The woman shifted nervously. "You shouldn’t talk about things like that."

"Why not?"

"Because it’s dangerous," the man hissed.

"Living in fear is dangerous too." Neither of them looked convinced but I pushed harder.

"Think about it. Why should werewolves keep bowing to creatures we outnumber?"

The man barked out a humorless laugh. "Because those creatures can wipe out entire packs with just a blink of an eye."

"Only because nobody fights back properly."

The woman slowly backed toward the door. "You sound crazy."

"Maybe every revolutionary sounded crazy at first."

Marqee looked at me nervously. "Selena..."

But I kept going. "My people were not born to live under oppression," I said firmly. "And neither were yours."

The man sighed impatiently. "Look, servant girl, we came here to have fun not discuss suicide."

"It isn’t suicide."

"It definitely sounds like it."

I clenched my jaw. "You really think this life is acceptable?"

The woman looked uncomfortable at every word. "What happened to those girls taken east is sad," she admitted quietly. "But what can anybody do about it?"

"Fight."

The man snorted. "Against vampires?"

"Yes."

He stared at me for a long moment before shaking his head slowly. "You’ve lost your mind."

Silence settled awkwardly afterward still, I remained hopeful that others would come. Hoping someone else would show up but more and more minutes passed and nobody came.

The excitement inside me slowly died as the storeroom remained painfully empty except for the four of us.

Finally, the woman sighed heavily."We’re leaving."

"Wait a little longer," I urged quickly.

"No." The man grabbed her hand immediately. "We want no part in this." Then they hurried out of the storeroom without another word.

The silence they left behind felt humiliating.

Marqee looked at me carefully."We should go too."

I didn’t answer immediately as my eyes remained fixed on the empty doorway. I truly thought people would come. At least a few or someone willing to listen.

Instead, I was left standing in an abandoned storeroom after interrupting two servants during sex. Wonderful!

"Selena," Marqee called gently. "A guard could catch us here."

"I know."

"You can try again another day."

I looked away bitterly."It’s normal," I muttered mostly to myself. "Movements don’t happen instantly."

Marqee nodded quickly."Exactly."

But somehow her constant consoling made me feel worse. Like she already pitied my failure.

Eventually, I sighed heavily and walked toward the door. That night, sleep barely came.

The following morning felt heavy from the moment I opened my eyes.

Marqee quietly dressed for work while humming softly to herself. I sat on my bed still thinking about the failed meeting.

Maybe I pushed too hard too quickly. Maybe fear truly ruled everyone more deeply than I thought.

The chamber door suddenly creaked open and Sally entered. She looked exhausted. Apparently, she had not slept in the room last night at all.

Without saying a word, she walked toward her bed and began getting ready for work.

I hesitated briefly before standing. "Sally."

She glanced toward me without interest."What?"

"I wanted to thank you."

"For what?"

"For helping me yesterday with the enforcer."

Her expression remained unreadable. "He annoyed me."

"Still," I said softly. "You defended me."

She shrugged.

I awkwardly searched for something else to say then suddenly words slipped out before I could stop them. "I had a friend once."

That caught her attention slightly.

"She was supposed to be sent to the vampires."

Marqee quietly looked toward me.

"But she ran away," I continued carefully.

The words hurt more than expected because I wasn’t truly talking about some imaginary friend. I was talking about myself.

About my best friend back home, I wondered every single night what she thought of me now.

Whether she believed I abandoned her or if she hated me for escaping alone.

"I wonder sometimes," I murmured softly, "if she thinks I forgot about her."

Sally’s face remained cold. "That was stupid."

I blinked. "What?"

"Running away was stupid."

My chest tightened slightly at her words.

"She’ll be hunted forever now," Sally continued flatly. "That’s a miserable way to live."

The bluntness in her voice stung unexpectedly. Before I could answer, Sally grabbed her supplies and walked out.

Marqee sighed softly once the door shut."She’s hurting."

"I know."

But Sally’s words echoed painfully in my head anyway. ’Hunted forever.’ Maybe she was right.

The servant hallways buzzed strangely that morning as people kept whispering, some were staring or pointing subtly at me when they thought I wasn’t looking.

I’m sure news about the failed secret meeting had clearly spread already as I noticed servants lowering their voices whenever I walked past.

Some looked amused while others looked nervous.

Attention meant awareness. Awareness could eventually become belief. I just needed time.

While organizing cleaning clothes later that morning, one of the headmistress’ assistants approached me stiffly. "She wants you."

My stomach tightened immediately while Marqee looked worried.

I followed the assistant quietly toward the headmistress’ office.

The woman sat silently behind her desk when I entered. She didn’t speak, she simply kept staring at me.

The silence stretched unbearably long until my nerves prickled.

Finally, she folded her hands together."Where are you from?"

I forced calmness into my expression. "A small pack near the edge of the realm."

"What pack?"

"Ashgrove."The lie came easily now.

"And your parents?"

"They were farmers."

"What happened to them?"

I lowered my gaze slightly."Rogues killed them."

The headmistress studied me carefully for several seconds then she leaned back in her chair.

"I’ve been hearing interesting things about you."

My heartbeat quickened slightly. "What kind of things?"

"Daring things." I stayed silent as she continued watching me with those sharp unsettling eyes.

"I hope they’re either untrue," she said calmly, "or simply jokes."

"They were jokes," I answered quickly.

The woman nodded once."You should be careful."

Something about her tone unsettled me deeply.

"There are jokes," she continued slowly, "that can plant dangerous ideas inside people’s minds."

A chill slid down my spine."Yes, Headmistress."

"You may leave."

I quickly exited the office afterward. As I walked back through the hallways, I found myself wondering again why everyone feared that woman so much.

There was something deeply intimidating about her silence alone.

I had barely returned to the servant wing when a guard entered the hallway.

"The Alpha requests a maid to bring him water."

One of the senior maids immediately stepped forward. "I’ll take—"

The guard ignored her and pointed directly at me.

"The Alpha specifically requested her."