Annulement

Lucette walked down, following the healer to the living room, where the alpha sat on the blue couch. He looked at her, raising one brow and crossing his hand. His piercing gaze never shifted from her.

She gulped and tilted her head, standing close to the doctor.

"Luna…"

Lucette looked at the man, who narrated last night's incident to her from the beginning to the end, asking her about the blood contract.

Did they tell me to come for this reason?

The healer was stuttering, his face turned white, while the other got grey clouds over his face.

What can she do? She did not know about the topic. So she asked, "What's a blood contract?"

As soon as she uttered these words, the alpha shouted at her, "Are you kidding! Do you need us to explain to a vampire what a blood contract is? Maybe we swiped our kind without knowing."

Lucette opened her mouth, but she swallowed her words looking at the raging man.

"Luna, don't you know about the blood contract?" he asked, and she shook her head.

She was a worthless maid raised to serve in the palace. She had no proper education.

"It's what you call blood slave in your language," he explained.

Lucette exclaimed, "Blood slave? Say that from the beginning."

"Then you know?" he asked.

"Yes, but there are no blood slaves anymore, so I don't get why you want to annul something doesn't exist," she answered.

Miranda told her that decades ago, the palace established a new law that forbids any of the nobles to make blood slaves. It came with the peace treaty signed with the humans. It caused uproar in the upper society upon losing their meals. Lucette smiled remembering Miranda's expression imitating a sickly vampire calling for blood.

Lucette raised her head, meeting two green irises penetrating her body.

'Why does he look at me like this?'

"Are you stupid? There are no more blood slaves you said, then what the f**** is this?" the alpha said, showing a clear mark on his body.

Lucette furrowed her brows. Then a thought hit her head hard, and she gulped.

'What did my bad luck do?'

Of all the pack members, she found the alpha to mess with.

"Fix this." The alpha ordered. His gaze sent a chill to her body.

She took a step backwards. How to tell the angry beast that she had no idea.

"Say something," he said.

Lucette looked at the wooden floor and then whispered, "I don't know how." she closed her eyes.

"You don't know?! If you don't know, then who knows? Da** it!" he shouted.

Lucette stuck to the wall behind her. His fist passed closer to her nose, stagnating at the wall beside her. A deep handprint broke the beautiful wallpaper design.

Lucette gulped. The healer cried from afar, trying to calm his alpha.

She didn't dare to breathe when he looked at her that way.

Is it hatred? He despised her from the beginning.

"Try to solve the matter, or…" he threw these words at her face and went out.

The healer stepped closer. "Luna, don't tell anyone about the matter. If any news about what happened spreads, the outcome will be harmful to you, the alpha and the pack," he said, then excused himself, tailing after the alpha.

Lucette stood in her spot. Her rising heartbeat broke the quietness in the room.

What happened today seemed familiar, more familiar than she thought.

How many times did she stand like this, waiting for her punishment?

Don't talk, don't move and don't even breathe till they decide if they would throw her into the cell for days without eating, or whipping, or…

Living here opened the chance to let go of her past and move on, to forget the bad memories and create happy ones, but today they proved to her the opposite.

Neither had she got what she needed to be called alive, nor did her past let her continue living.

Her past was her dark spot. She hoped no one would know it.

What would happen if the one close to her knew she was a maid? Would they see her like before?

She had to shield her disguise very well.

She would solve the problem hanging on her head first.

Blood slaves were supposed to be humans. Their owners would mark them as their own. Only noble blood vampires could perform such an act.

'How can I do that with the alpha? I am not a noble by any means.'

Anna, the woman who raised her, told her that her parents were common vampires. Did she lie to her? No, her mother's love for her was endless, and she would never hide something important from her.

Besides, Noble vampires had gifts when they reached a particular age (18 years old) when they would stop ageing. The noble a vampire's blood, the stronger the gift would be.

She, despite being twenty, had no gifts.

Lucette sighed and strode to the couch laying on it. She looked at the round-shaped lamp hanging on the ceiling.

Everything started with that stupid duel.

Duel?

Wait, I succeeded in taking the alpha down! So I'm the winner.

A tiny hope appeared in her dark junctures.

Lucette rose from the couch. Her lips arced for a second. If she went to him and told him that, it would anger him to death. Lucette fell onto the couch.

'What am I going to do?'

She should ask someone.

Miranda? No. She told her everything she knew. Besides, she was a human.

The only one who could help her was Kim.

Being born into a noble family and raised almost like a princess. Kim should have had more news than Miranda, but… their relationship was never good. Although Kim's last visit showed that, she was better than before.

Coming to this point, she didn't have a choice.

My life got muddy.

Lucette pursed her lips. She got up and moved to her room, taking a small piece of paper from the drawer, and then she went down.

Gazing at the tiny piece of paper on the round table, she bit her lips.

"Lucette, it's just a call. You will ask her then she will answer. That's all. It's not like you will forget about what she did to you. It's a small question," she said, clutching her wrenched shirt.

If she found no clue about the annulment, alpha Orson would chase her out of the pack.

Then, where she could go? To the outside world which she never saw.

The cold walls of the palace sheltered her. She had memories in every corner of the palace, happy or sad; they were a part of her existence.

Bickering with the other servants, joking around with Miranda, skipping her daily cleaning, going to the High Tour and watching the moon, feeling the cold breeze caressing her skin…

As much as the strong walls protected her, she was scared and eager about what was beyond the palace.

Being here wasn't entirely bad. At least, she wouldn't be punished.

Grabbing the paper, she hurried to the phone and followed Hanna's steps to make a call.

Beeped sound mixed with her rising heartbeat, Lucette waited.

"Hello," a feminine sound erupted from the phone's side.

Taking a deep breath. "Mmm, Kim?" Lucette said.

"Yes. Who's talking?" she asked.

"It's me, Lucette," said Lucette. "you were at the pack a few days ago—"

"Yes, I know. Why did you call me? Did you miss me?" Kim said.

'No, I miss your mother.'

"I just want to ask you about the blood contract," Lucette said, opening the topic.

"Why are you asking about something that disappeared years ago?"

"I–I was just bored and picked a story about blood slaves, so I just wanted to know more about it," she said.

'Hope Kim believes what I said.'

Kim narrated what she knew, but it never mentioned the annulment.

"Can you search for more details? I will not sleep at night if I leave my curiosity unfilled," Lucette said.

Kim went silent, and then said, "I will look more into it, but you have to promise me one thing."

She asked, "What do you want?"

"You will promise me to be my friend," Kim said.

Being a friend with her childhood enemy? Her head went numb.

"Okay…" Lucette said, hanging up the phone.

She had to wait till Kim bought her what she needed, then she would end this 'fake friendship'