CHAPTER FIVE

Knowing that I had a wolf healed something inside me that I had just gotten used to ignoring because what's the use of worrying about something that you had no control over. It comforted me so much that I had to work extra hard to keep the smile off my face and maintain the facial expression that everyone in the pack had gotten used to seeing on my face.

However, that didn't mean that Seraphina's goons did not attempt to rob me of that precious joy and my seeming nonchalance at their abuse of me seemed to infuriate them further, that they resorted to trying to seeing who would break my bones fastest. It hurt like a bitch, mind you, but knowing I had Ace made their hurtful comments not get to my heart as they used to in the past.

Thankfully, the fact that Ace was bound meant that I couldn't heal as fast as I was supposed to, which helped me keep the fact that my wolf had surfaced a secret. It also meant that I had to work out much more secretively because I had gotten much stronger, thanks to Ace. The fact that I now had someone to protect with everything I had meant that I would rather take all the beatings and insults than expose Ace when she wasn't ready yet.

I became much more secretive too which actually didn't make that much of a difference to my pack since they all preferred to pretend that I didn't exist. The whole focus was on getting Seraphina ready to meet her mate on the night of the debutante ball which gave me a bit of reprieve from all the beatings and insults.

My father doesn't fail to remind me that he is only keeping me around in the hopes that I might mate into a strong pack and foster his alliances instead of hanging around to besmirch his name by being a weakling. I could feel Ace's anger when he said that and if not for the fact that I grew up hearing those words I'm not sure I would have controlled myself as well as I did.

Seraphina keeps reminding me not to attempt to steal her shine that day and giving me pitying comments about my having hope to meet my mate on the night of the debutante ball. My mum even went so far as to make sure that the gown I wore for the ball was gotten from the clothes about to be donated to charity just to make sure that I didn't outshine her precious daughter.

When my dad discovered that I was starting to get close to Mira, the pack physician, he placed me on house arrest just to make sure that I didn't have crazy ideas of trying to make the dress I was given to wear close to presentable. I was prevented from seeing Lyra also and was just confined to doing chores around our house. Their treatment of me got so bad that I found myself crying over dishes while washing them.

The only bright spot I had during those gruelling days was Ace. Although, because the focus was on Seraphina, I had a bit of breathing room to snoop in my father's office. He sent all the cleaners and cooks that worked in the alpha's house and left all the domestic chores to me. Being that our house was synonymous to a mansion as we were the ruling family of the pack, it meant that I spent my waking hours cleaning from top to bottom and often times, I fell into my bed bone-tired. 

Though, being the only one responsible for cleaning his office meant I didn't have people hovering over my shoulder. This freedom gave me the chance to try to find a way to free Ace from her chains. It was in the middle of cleaning my dad's office one day that I happened upon what looked like an ancient scroll that had the council's insignia on it. Thankfully, it looked as if it had been opened, so my opening it wouldn't reveal that I had peeked into it. 

The minute I opened it, I saw that it was addressed to my dad which wasn't too weird since he is the alpha of our pack, I was about to close it back up till I saw my name as the subject of the letter. I froze first in shock before Ace reminded me that I didn't have as much time as I thought. I ended up just taking out my phone to snap the letter and roll the scroll shut and replace it where I had taken it from.

My heart was beating rapidly and I was trying my best to not freak out which was considerably harder than I expected. It was at this particular moment that I was able to feel a modicum of gratitude at being ignored for the better part of my adult life. I couldn't shake the worry about why the council was writing to my dad. I had maintained much more of a low-key lifestyle, doing my best to remain in the background so I couldn't understand what I might have done to attract the attention of the council.

However, I didn't have the privilege to shirk my duties as that would draw my dad's ire which I didn't think I could handle at the moment. That, however, didn't stop my phone from burning a hole in my pocket and the nerves at what the contents of the letter were had me jittery but thankfully I didn't have to interact with anyone so it wasn't noticed. In a way, I'm glad that my dad prohibited me from seeing Lyra as I'm not sure I would have been able to keep the news to myself. All I needed to do was stay calm, finish my tasks as quickly as possible, and then retreat to my room to read the letter on my phone in private.