Knowing your place (3)

Ophelia was once again pulled by the rope around her hands. It dug into her skin, leaving a bruise she would need to tend to later. 

It was strange that despite all the bad rumours about the castle where the alpha lived, Ophelia looked forward to her time there rather than staying in the Porter household. 

Maybe she would be fortunate to have her husband ignore her. 

Ophelia was pulled into a room where two men awaited Joel. Their gazes left her feeling uncomfortable. Just as uncomfortable as when Joel stared at her body last night.

Their laughter soon filled the room.

Of course, it would be funny to see their 'Luna' look this way. 

"You had her dressed up one day and tied up the next."

Ophelia looked down at the floor. She did not recognise any of these men and she did not want to meet their eyes. 

"How did she survive the night with that bastard? I expected to see a corpse in the morning. Would it be rude to ask the Luna to get undressed and show us how she did it?" One man made a request. 

Ophelia's eyes widened. She already faced getting undressed before two men she did not know and did not have it in her to do it before these other two. Wasn't it enough that she shared a bed with a man she didn't know? Why did she need to go through this over and over again?

The worst part of it was that Ophelia knew her pleas not to get undressed wouldn't be heard so she could only stay quiet and endure. 

"Don't be ridiculous, Gideon. I can't deliver a nervous wreck to that bastard. It won't be long before he comes to take her away to the palace. We have little time to help her understand her role," said Joel.

Gideon eyed the young woman who greatly resembled Joel's daughter. He didn't get the sense she was a wolf so it was true she was just a runt. "What are you going to do with her when the plans are over?"

Joel glared at Gideon for bringing that up now. "That doesn't matter now."

Gideon had different plans in store for Ophelia. By the time the alpha would be dead, no one would have any use for her but he did. Gideon had plenty of use for a fallen Luna. 

It didn't matter to Gideon if she was fake from the start. Ophelia's beauty stuck out to him. 

"You should get used to their faces. Gideon and Maxwell will be part of the group I will have to watch you in the castle," said Joel. 

"Lift your head. It's rude for a Luna not to meet the eyes of her guest. You can trust us," Gideon said, wanting to see her face again.

How was it that this woman looked so much like Freya? Was it merely a coincidence or was there something Joel needed to explain to his wife?

Whatever the reason was, Gideon liked her since she was quite the beauty. Gideon already had his mate but there wasn't any harm to bringing home another woman as long as he didn't break his bond. 

"You'll watch everything the alpha does and report it back to us. Don't leave anything out. We'll decide what isn't important. When the time comes, you'll be the one to help us kill him," Joel shared their plans.

Ophelia looked up. They were crazy if they thought they could kill the alpha.

They were speaking about the very man who killed many other alphas and named himself the king.

Ophelia wondered how confident they were that the alpha wasn't aware of their plans already. She knew very little of him but a man who made the kingdom one large pact could not be easy to fool.

"Look at her," Gideon laughed. Her wide eye terrified look was a turn-on.

"Gideon," Joel snapped at the old fool. If not for Gideon's connections in the palace, Joel would have killed him by now. "You are helping us to free this kingdom from his tyranny. It is only a matter of time before he kills more innocent people. Think about your family."

When Ophelia didn't answer, Joel pulled on the rope with great force to have her fall. 

"I am not asking you, I am telling you what to do if you want to survive. Look at me when I speak to you," Joel said, delivering a blow to her side with his foot.

Ophelia winced. 

Maxwell was the first one to stand up. "You can't damage her."

"Shut up! I have healers for this. He'll get her when she's healed up. Damn runt can't even heal properly," Joel said, annoyed by the pathetic sight before him. "I should let Freya handle this or I might end up killing her if I do it."

"Maxwell, find my daughter and have her teach this thing how to act like a Luna. Then call for a healer to deal with that. Let her sit for a moment with that pain so she knows gets a good idea of what would come her way if she betrays us," said Joel.

Maxwell took the rope from Joel's hands and forced Ophelia to get to her feet while she was still in pain. It angered him to see this was their Luna but it couldn't be helped they needed her for their plans. 

Gideon waited for Maxwell to take Ophelia away to then turn to Joel and say, "When you're done with her, I will take her. No one will know your involvement in the king's death."

"No one will know because she will die with him after I place blame on her and kill her. I prefer that she's dead and cannot speak. Your mate won't be thrilled if you bring home a young woman," Joel said, uninterested in what Gideon wanted.

"Then I can place her somewhere in secret. Let me take her off your hands when this is all over. Consider it part of your payment to me for all I'm doing for you inside the palace. Give me her when you're done and you only have to pay me half," Gideon suggested.

Joel liked the deal since he spared him from giving away too much money. "You can have her but only when this is done. I won't have much use for her then. Don't come complaining to me when she isn't worth your time."

"She's the only one to survive among the women we sent to him. I think she is very worth my time to see how she seduced him. Be careful with her from now on. I don't want her damaged when she comes to me," said Gideon.

That part should be left to him.