For the next few days, Eric came to see me every day.
He’d sit by my hospital bed, dealing with pack business, occasionally asking, “Does it hurt?” I always shook my head.
But whenever I woke up from sleep, the bedside was always empty. Only the Omega healers tending to me would whisper among themselves-
“Miss Gianna in the luxury suite next door is so lucky. Young Màster Eric stays with her all night.”
“The future Alpha King, so handsome, powerful, and devoted. I’m so envious.”
I closed my eyes, pretending not to hear their chatter..
The day I was discharged, Eric came to pick me up himself.
My legs still felt a bit weak as I slowly walked to his car parked outside. When I pulled open the back door, I froze.
Gianna was already in the passenger seat. She turned and gave me a perfect smile. “Miss Sera, you don’t mind if I catch a ride, do you? I get carsick, so I have to sit up front.”
Eric frowned, looking like he wanted to say something, but I spoke first. “It’s fine.”
I quietly got into the back seat, like an unimportant stranger, watching the backs of the two people in front.
They looked good together.
Eric glanced at me in the rearview mirror, looking like he wanted to say something, but in the end, he stayed silent.
The car drove towards a grand manor on a hilltop. Only then did I realize Eric wasn’t taking me back to his villa. He was taking me to some Full Moon Ceremony” for a respected elder.
“Isn’t that Young Master Eric? Why did he bring two dates?” I heard some werewolves whispering.
“The one in the servant’s dress must be Sera, right? Heard she’s from the slums, her bloodline is incredibly low.”
”
“Miss Gianna and Young Master Eric are a much better match. Even though she’s a Beta, her family and upbringing are flawless. She’ll bring a lot of benefits to the pack.”
The whispers around me were blatant, stabbing at my ears. I just stood quietly in the shadows of a corner.
Eric stayed with Gianna the whole time, getting her drinks, draping a shawl over her shoulders, the look in his eyes so tender it could melt ice.
“Miss Sera, let me introduce you to some of our pack sisters,” Gianna suddenly said, walking over and linking her arm through mine
1/2
CP 4
+25 Bonus
affectionately. Though she was a Beta, her grip was strong, leaving no room for refusal.
Before I could pull away, she dragged me in front of a group of women in evening gowns.
“This is Seraphina, Eric’s… an Omega who once helped him,” Gianna introduced with a smile, then suddenly switched to the old werewolf tongue, chatting with the other women.
They paused for a second, then quickly caught on, joining the conversation in the ancient language, letting out happy laughs now and then.
I stood there, an island, walled off by their ancient werewolf tongue.
“Miss Sera?” Gianna suddenly asked me in the common language. “What do you think?”
“What?”
“Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot you don’t understand the old tongue,” Gianna said with an apologetic look, then turned to the others. “Miss Sera comes from a humble background, she never had the chance to learn it. Please don’t mind her.”
A few soft chuckles rippled through the group, like tiny claws, scraping away at my dignity.
“It’s okay, you’ll learn eventually,” Gianna patted my hand, her tone as gentle as if she were soothing a clueless pup.
I lowered my eyes, my nails digging so deep into my palms I could taste blood.
Under the many mocking or disdainful gazes of the nobles, I felt like prey, skinned and put on display. Every breath was like swallowing a handful of sharp wolf fangs.
