Chapter 3: A Mean Maid and Different Living Arrangements

Nox Castle was so much ritzier than I imagined it to be. You would think a bloodthirsty awful Alpha wouldn’t have taste...or maybe someone else was in charge of the furniture?

For example, the grand hall I stood in was tall as it was wide, filled with beautiful red tapestries, marble statues, dark oak-back couches and was lit by heavy crystal chandeliers. I snuck my foot out of Melania’s painfully small high heels to graze the floor a few times.

To a commoner wolf like me, a heated floor was true luxury.

I was grateful the coachmen left in a hurry. I didn’t want to risk awkward conversation in a voice they would know didn’t belong to the real Melania.

Melania said I wouldn’t have to act too much in public, but every look from a Nox guard, every whisper, every person who passed me…it all made me so nervous. I felt like my steps were too ignoble, or like my back was not as straight as I practiced two days before departure.

I tried not to sweat, but fear was gripping me tighter than the dress did.

“Oh, you’re here,” called a lazy voice. I turned stiffly in the heels and met eyes with a beautiful woman.

Her eyes were bright sapphires, and her diamond-shaped face was framed by a bob of platinum blonde hair. Even her maid outfit, which was a dark red dress with a small apron around her waist, looked stylish on her.

“You *are* Lady Melania, correct?” the maid asked. I think I nodded faintly, almost numbed by how pretty the maid was. Were maids allowed to be so pretty? “Good. Follow me.”

The maid turned on her heel and began to strut away. I scrambled after, picking up the skirt of my dress, but even a commoner like me knew nobles shouldn’t have to rush after their maids.

“Excuse me?” I hurried through the hall and out the main door. She was quick on her feet, much quicker than I expected. Finally catching up, I put my skirt down. “May I know your name?”

“May you know my name?” The way she asked…it sounded like she was laughing at me. Fake or not, I was the noble wolf here while the maid was the pack member. Melania told me how important it was to act like I was the Luna-to-be.

“Tell me your name. It’s...only right you introduce yourself first to the next Luna,” I said with more confidence than I felt. Even calling myself the Luna sent a wave of guilt and fear rolling in my stomach.

The maid didn’t even hide the fact that she hated the way I said “next Luna.” She scowled—while still managing to look so pretty—and said, “My name is Wendy. I am going to serve you here at Castle Nox as your private maid.”

My own private maid? That’s…so crazy.

I nodded at her, like I was *so* used to having a private maid, and Wendy led us down the hallway. We exited through another big door with frosted windows to a large courtyard. The main feature was the giant bubbling fountain with a stone wolf spraying water from its mouth on top.

“This is the grand courtyard. It’s used by everyone in the castle, not just nobility.” Wendy glanced me up and down as she spoke. “The Alpha designated several spaces for all members to intermingle. Hope you don’t mind.”

Perhaps I would mind if I was Melania, but I’m not and simply smiled and nodded.

Wendy narrowed her eyes before turning away. I trailed behind but observed the yard in full. It was clean and taken care of. The snow softly blanketed the grassy ground and gave the entire scene a serene, quiet look. It was lovely to look at.

“Past the grand courtyard is the stables and on the other side of those is the training grounds. We won’t need to visit either since you won’t be around there.” Wendy sure liked to assume things, but she’s annoyingly right.

If this deal played out the way Melania made it seem, then I would be locked up in a room or tower somewhere in this large castle.

As the fake Melania, my job was to be a stand-in. Look like the real one as much as I could. Be nice on the outside. Keep quiet for the most part. I was going to be Luna, but in reality, I’m just a body filling up extra space.

After all, Alpha Mordecai Argentine did not want a Luna. And everyone knew that.

As we stopped by another window, I glanced out back at the courtyard and saw two men traveling across it. Both tall and obviously muscular underneath their coats, but one had curly red hair and the other had midnight black hair. The black haired one walked in front of the other.

Something lurched within me.

I felt my brain begin to buzz, barely hearing Wendy describe where the kitchens were located. My eyes kept to the back of the man with black hair. The way he walked... I can only see his back, his tall broad back, but the way he moved was both enchanting...and frightening.

I turned away from the window, taking calming breaths as I followed Wendy up another flight of carpeted stairs. My dress suddenly felt tighter too.

That must have been some kind Gamma. Or perhaps the Beta? I’ve always been attracted to powerful shifters, but the fear I felt was operating in the same space as my attraction. Whatever or whoever he was, I should avoid him.

If the future Luna is seen salivating after someone other than the Alpha, I’m as good as doomed.

xxx

“Now we reached the wings. There’s a north, west and east wing. North wing has the important conference rooms, grand ballroom, grand dining room…whatever.”

Whatever? I bit my tongue from saying anything rude back. Wendy had been as helpful as my mother was when it came to making my father stop gambling. I was never going to remember these rooms or the castle’s layout. I knew it didn't matter too much but still.

“The west is where some of the pack members live. If not in that wing, they live in their houses across the grounds or against the castle walls.”

“Do you live in the west wing?” I asked.

“Yup. I moved in when I got assigned to you. It’s mostly members with jobs inside the castle that live in the castle.”

We passed a lengthy portrait of black wolves racing through fields of fire before turning right. My mind whirled for a bit with all this walking but knew we were going east.

“What’s in the east wing?”

“The Alpha’s quarters. It’s where he, his Beta and their kin live.” We were walking past more maids now, all of whom curtsied in my presence. They don’t know me, but who else would be wearing a wedding dress in Nox Castle?

“Your room, my lady, will be in the hallway across from the Alpha’s.”

I stopped walking completely.

First of all, Wendy finally spoke politely to me, which is probably because there were others within earshot. But, in her words, whatever.

Second off, my room was where? Across from whose? I could feel my knees begin to shake.

“I’m rooming across from the Alpha?” Wendy turned around with some irritation on her flawless face.

“Yes. Until the wedding, you can’t stay together. It’s against traditions, but afterward, you may move into his room if you both desire.”

My heart skipped and nearly stopped.

No, no, no.

This is not what I was promised! Melania said I would be locked up in a tower or somewhere far away from the Alpha. We’d only have to meet for the wedding because he doesn’t want a Luna. He wanted a stand-in, a useless Luna that wouldn’t interfere with his work. I knew this. Everyone knew this!

This whole wedding was supposed to be a sham... Wasn’t it?

Somehow, I don’t know if I nodded at Wendy’s words or not but continued to follow her down two more hallways. My feet were on fire now, but the fear swirling in my stomach outweighed the pain.

This area of the castle was more homey than the rest and separated in levels. We traveled to the highest level and went down another hallway with Nox Guards on patrol. They were strong male and female wolves dressed in black with gold Nox emblems on their breasts.

The Guards each bowed deeply to me as we passed. Some even murmured, “We greet the Luna.” The title only heightened my fear. At first, it was only a little, but now it’s grown so large I feel it pressing out of my stomach. If I’m not careful, they’ll even smell it.

Finally, Wendy stopped in front of a pair of white doors with a pair of blue crescent moons on the front of them. Blue crescents were the symbol of the Luna.

I turned my head. Against all my better judgment, I turned my head and looked across the hall.

They were only twenty feet away. A pair of black doors with red suns on them.

Red suns were the symbol of the Alpha.

I turned back just in time to see Wendy unlock the door. I hoped Wendy didn’t see me shake as she ushered me inside. I hoped she didn’t smell the obvious fear emitting from my skin.

Wendy began to close the door, not even bothering to show me the room or turn on the lights, before poking her head back in.

“Oh, I’ll be on my break now. If you need anything, ring for me. You won’t be able to use the Nox mind link until your wedding.” She smiled noncomically and shut the door behind her, leaving me alone.

In the dark.

And more afraid than ever.