"This way, Miss."
I turn to the strange woman, dressed in some white and blue tailored outfit with an apron over it. A couple of other servants who have walked past us are dressed like her. But they don't have the apron, the cap on her head, her stout gait, or the sternness in her voice.
She must hold some kind of high position to be able to incite fear easily with just her voice.
"One moment, please. I just need to talk to my father." I plead again, trying to get out of the massive gate in front of me.
I get blocked off by the guards with rigid looks on their faces. Father is flagging down a taxi with a satisfied grin on his face and the bag of cash in his hands.
"You should stop saying that and come with me. I don't have all day!"
"I can't just go with you. I need to speak with my Father…"
"You can't speak with him or with anyone outside the gate from here on. You've been sold to the Packhouse as a breeder. You have no more business with the outside world. How hard is that to understand?"
"Wait. What? A breeder?" That's impossible.
Father had dragged me out of the house and brought me here this morning with my little duffel bag filled with my worn-out clothes.
He didn't say what I was coming to do here. I only heard him telling the man who had already gone inside that I was here for the business.
I wondered what business I could have with the Packhouse. But hearing her say this has just plunged me into a greater state of confusion.
Tears leave my eyes like a waterfall and I'm almost down to my knees with how wretched I feel at the moment.
"You're kidding, right? I can't — I can't be a breeder. I'm only 19. I'm still too young…"
"Too young, my ass." A deep, male voice interrupts.
A long line of soldiers circle us and a man is in front of them. It's the man from earlier. He was the one who handed Father the bag of cash minutes ago.
A thin smile stretches his lips. His tailored suit and squinted eyes have an overpowering essence that makes me shiver and now my head. Even without knowing who he is and what he is.
"Beta Luke." The woman says and I see her bow too.
Beta Luke? Is he the Beta of our Pack? It's kind of embarrassing that I'm 19 and don't even know the royal household. But then again, I'm from the slum side of the pack. There are no chances for the slum people to get to know the richest circle of people in the Pack.
"What are you doing, Mary? What kind of scene are you engaging out here? Do you want to give everyone a reason to gossip?"
"I'm sorry, Beta Luke. But the girl didn't want to follow me inside. She's insisting on speaking to her Father. Even if I made it clear to her that it's not possible!"
The man shifts his gaze to me. He still has that smile that's more terrifying than charming.
"Grab her." He orders sternly.
The soldiers bundle me up and I'm smoldered and dragged into the breathtaking mansion.
"Please, let me go. Please!" I beg, struggling but there's not much struggle I can do. Their hold is too tight.
They don't pay attention to me either and that makes me want to cry even harder. I'm taken through steps and floors until I'm tossed inside a room. An empty room.
I fall to the floor, wincing at the pain. The soldiers leave with the woman and I'm left alone with the man. Beta Luke.
"Your Father didn't tell you why you're here, did he?" He asks, towering above me.
"No." I shake my head, standing to my feet and ignoring the sting on my knees.
"His bad, I guess." His tone is nonchalant. In a very disdainful way. "Anyway, that changes nothing."
"Why am I here?" Yeah, the woman said I've been bought to be a breeder. But that's a half, terrifying information. It only left me feeling agitated and scared. I need to know what's really going on.
"Just like Mary said, you've been bought to be a breeder for our dearest Alpha…"
"Alpha — Alpha Ace?" I stutter in disbelief.
"Oh, you do know his name. That's a great start. Tonight, you'll know more than his name. So prepare your mind for it."
Alpha Ace. The cold and ruthless Alpha Ace. Am I dreaming or what? How can Father do this to me?
Of all the menaces to sell me off to — he chose the king of all. The man with the worst reputation in the Pack. The man whose vicious acts are told as horror stories to kids to scare them. The man who's left dread in the heart of his people.
His coldness is rumored to be legendary. A lot of people say he has no heart. Like, literally. No sympathy for offenders and he's cruel in passing judgments.
His sexual escapades with the ladies aren't left untold either. He never fucks a lady twice. He discards them like they are worth nothing. He's brash and goes physical on them if they insist.
Bringing me here is just as good as killing me off. Father surely chose the worst fate for me. Why did I hit him last night? I shouldn't have.
I'm better off satisfying his cock than being thrown into the cold hands of Alpha Ace. Being Father's mistress is a much better hell than being Alpha Ace's breeder.
"Are you even listening to me?" Fingers snap in my face, jolting me from my thoughts.
"Wh – what?" I stutter with quivering lips.
"Oh, hell no. You didn't hear a thing I said." The man, Beta Luke, scoffs irritatedly.
"I'm sorry…"
"Yeah, you will be. I just read you a list of dos and don'ts so you don't upset Ace when he joins you tonight. But you didn't hear a thing…"
"Join me? Join me to do what?" I ask in brewing panic.
He stifles a growl. "You're quite frustrating and ask very dumb questions. The worst kind of woman. Ace just might snap your neck before the night ends."
"Snap — snap my neck?"
The door opens and the woman is back with a trail of other female servants. They have bags and suitcases.
"We'd like to get her ready, Beta Luke." She explains as they bow.
"Sure. Go ahead." He nods, moving to the door. "And please, do something about her attitude. She's tacky and dumb. We don't want her dead on her first night with him. Do we?"
"I'll take care of it, Beta Luke." The woman replies with another curt bow.
I can't hold it in anymore so I break into deep sobs. "Dead? He's going to kill me? Why?!"
Beta Luke shakes his head with another disdainful smile and leaves the room, totally ignoring my question.
"What's he talking about?" I ask the women but they drag me to another room instead. A bathroom.
"We'll start by giving her a good bath. To get rid of her stench." The woman declares and the others go ahead to take off my clothes. Not even paying attention to me or my cries.