Chapter 4


    The drive to the castle was


    long, and I fell asleep along the way, only to be awoken by Ivy as we pulled up. She shook my arm,


    jostling me awake to my surroundings to find we had stopped. The castle was something out of fairy


    tales, and for a few


    moments, I forgot about the man who had got in the car with us after the King became annoyed and pul


    led over. It was the man I had seen smoking


    earlier. He was quiet and didn‘t say much, but it gave me a chance to look at him.


    He had


    dark hair and equally dark eyes, or maybe that was just because of the dim lighting with the tinted wind


    ows. He was built big


    and had sharp features. His lips were full and seemed to sit in a permanent frown. I wondered briefly if


    he ever smiled, if this cold stony face was his usual demeanor, and if it suited


    his personality. One thing for sure was he was a man of few words.


    He didn‘t speak, just stared off. His job was clearly to watch us, not tell us where we were going. Howe


    ver, neither of us was


    willing to ask either. Ivy, I knew, was focused on her breathing as she tried to find afortable positio


    n to sit in without ripping apart her wounds


    more. I offered her my shoulder so she could press hers against it, so she didn‘t have to lean back agai


    nst the hard leather chair, though every movement she made. He watched, scrutinizing her every move


    or twitch.


    His scent filled the space we


    were in though it didn‘t creep me out the way the butchers did. His scent was rich, yet the smell of cigar


    ette smoke hung heavily in the air along with a smoother fragrance underlying it, kind of how the forest


    smelled


    after it rained. He remained so silent, and a few times I was startled when he moved, having forgotten h


    e was there sitting across from us, which was ridiculous because the man was huge, still he just stared.


    Yet once we had been


    driving for a few hours and I realized he wasn‘t going to murder us, I dozed off until Ivy woke me. It was


    the first time he spoke, and it was to her. He asked which of us were injured


    though I had a funny feeling he already knew, though when


    Ivy hissed in pain, he seemed to be angered after she denied it.


    Neither of us knew how to answer, so used to


    the punishments Mrs. Daley would give us, we didn‘t know how to respond. However, once we


    got out of the car, he quickly spoke to the King, who said he would handle it. Ivy had nced at me just


    as unsure as I about what to expect. I kind of expected the King to dump us on the side of the road, so


    why would he bring us to his home? Either that or kill and


    dispose of us along the way. Either I would have been okay with. Anything is better than the unknown.


    Yet, following the King, we were introduced to the head woman in charge of the


    servants. I looked at Ivy, unsure of what was happening. rice seemed nice, but most


    people do until you get to know them, know their intentions, and if one thing I learned over the years is


    no one’s intentions were ever pure in nature.


    The King even proved that when he


    forced Ivy to change in front of him, I half expected him to order me to be killed when I begged


    for her. Though it shocked me when he tended to her wounds, I could tell Ivy did not know how to react,


    and neither did I. Seeing him care for a rogue’s wounds, who he made a servant look absolutely


    bizarre, yet if it helped her, I wasn’t going to question. I did, however, question rice when we were


    separated.


    “Can’t I stay with Ivy?” I asked, watching as Ivy walked in a different direction.


    “No, the King asked for her specifically,


    “Why?” I blurted before I could stop myself. rice didn’t answer, and I dropped my gaze as she


    showed me to the other side of the castle. Most of the day was


    spent in the kitchens while rice showed Ivy where she was being ced, and now I was being led to


    new quarters, though I instantly became nervous when I found out it was for the Beta.


    I hoped to stay with the other female servants, and learning only the Beta and the King’s guard resided


    on this side of the castle made me nervous, knowing I would be surrounded by only men.


    rice had exined to me it was the closest quarter to Ivy, yet it felt further away than the servants’


    quarters. We climbed the stairs to what appeared to be some sort of loft.


    ‘This is Beta Damian’s room. You won’t have to do much, Beta Damian is quite clean and hardly stays


    here, mainly just changes and leaves, yet the floor below you will be in charge of cleaning, but stay out


    of everyone’s rooms, especially the far two” rice exins, showing me around the quaint room.


    It had a bathroom and wardrobe, yet the Beta didn’t seem to have much in the way of belongings


    besides clothes. Everything was clean, and the bed looked unslept. Heavy dark blue drapes


    hung from the windows, and a huge white rugy on the floor, not a


    speck of dust in sight. Was I expected to keep it this clean, or was rice right that he hardly came


    here because the ce definitely didn‘t look lived in? In fact, it almost looked empty.


    When she showed me around, she took me back down the stairs, and


    twelve doors lined the floor before a separate area with a small sitting


    room containing three armchairs, a TV, and some artwork before two more door‘s right at the very end.


    “Now, the other rooms you can clean except these two. Don‘t go into these two rooms unless asked


    and maybe stay away from that onepletely. Liam can be a little unhinged at the best of times,”


    “Liam?”


    “Oh, you won’t see


    much of him. The man is as silent as night, but this one,” she points to the other door. “Gannon likes his


    privacy. You met him in the car earlier,” rice says, and I nod. So his name was


    Gannon. I hadn‘t paid much attention to names beside rice’s since she was in charge of us.


    “Gannon is moody and temperamental, so steer clear


    and don‘t speak unless spoken to,” rice says. Well, I had no intention of speaking to


    anyone of the opposite sex, so that was okay with me.


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    “So, how many people stay in these quarters?”


    “Just the King’s guard, so Beta Damian and the King‘s Gamma‘s,”


    “Shouldn‘t there only be one Gamma?” I ask her, trying to remember how the pack hierarchy worked.


    “All the King’s guards are


    Gamma’s, but they still have rankings. Gannon is third in charge, while Dustin and Liam lead together


    as fourth. It depends on the trials; those I mentioned are the highest ranking in the royal guard. Trey is


    a little touchy so try to avoid him too, but the reste and go depending on their shifts, but yes, they


    are all Gammas. The only ones you need to worry about are Beta


    Damian, Gannon, and Dustin. They will probably be the main ones you run into.”


    “And I should avoid all of them,” rice nods. Great, not only was I the only female, all the men on


    this floor appeared to be unapproachable and anti-social. Great!


    “So everything is understood? I need to get back to the kitchens, rice asks, and I nod.


    “Great, well, dinner is at 6 pm for the servants, so make sure to head down then, and your room is this


    one,” she says, wandering down the hall. She points to the door we didn‘t go in which I assumed was a


    cleaning closet, so I have to clean this floor and share it with the men here. I would have preferred the


    bunked servants’ quarters.


    int


    rice cups my cheek with her hand. “You’ll do great. They are a friendly bunch. Just stay out of their


    way,” she says before turning.


    “Wait, when can I see Ivy?” I asked, and rice stopped.


    “When the King allows it,” rice says, and my brows furrow. Wait, what was the King doing with her?


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