CHAPTER 36
Amber’s POV
When he told me to leave his place, I wanted to cry and begged him to let me stay, but my pride stopped me from doing so. It was my pride that helped to remain standing that day because, at that moment, I really wanted to die.
When he offered to take me back to Jacob’s home, I did not complain. I just let him take me back to Jacob’s place, to continue working as a maid. I felt so small when I arrived at the Alpha’s home.
Still, I did not complain. I had to survive for the sake of my baby. I had to keep on living even if I am heartbroken because of Dale’s decision and indifference. He betrayed me. He promised me forever but he couldn’t keep it. In the end, he couldn’t keep up with his promise and discarded me like a hot potato.
I knew from the moment I returned to the Alpha’s residence, that the Luna didn’t like me. She would always give me a cold stare and make snide comments under her breath whenever she saw me.
At first, I tried my best to ignore her. I knew that being a maid was a thankless job and that it was my duty to serve the royal family to the best of my ability. But no matter how hard I worked, no matter how much effort I put in, the Luna was never satisfied.
She would criticize the way I cleaned, the way I served food, and the way I dressed. She even went so far as to accuse me of stealing, even though I had never taken anything that wasn’t mine.
It was a constant source of stress and anxiety, knowing that the Luna was always watching me and waiting for me to mess up. But I couldn’t quit – being a maid was the only job I had, and I needed it to survive.
And so, I continued to work, even though every day was a struggle. But no matter how hard I tried, I could never seem to please the Luna. And in the end, I knew that I would never be good enough for her.
One day, the Luna summoned me to her chambers. I could feel my heart racing as I walked through the palace corridors, unsure of what she wanted.
When I arrived, the Luna was sitting at her desk, a frown on her face.
“I have a task for you,” she said, her voice cold and stern. “It is a difficult task, but I trust that you are up for it.”
I nodded, my palms sweating. “What is it?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
The Luna handed me a piece of paper. “I need you to write a letter to my husband,” she said. “I want you to express my love and devotion to him, in the most heartfelt way possible.”
I looked down at the paper, my heart sinking. Writing a love letter to the king? It was a task that was far beyond my abilities.
But I knew that I had to try. With shaking hands, I picked up a pen and began to write. I poured my heart and soul into every word, trying to capture the Luna’s love and devotion in the best way possible.
When I was finished, I handed the letter to the Luna, my hands shaking. She read it over, her face was expressionless.
“It will do,” she said, her voice flat.
As I walked away, my heart was heavy with uncertainty. I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if the king didn’t respond to the letter. Would the Luna blame me? Would I lose my job?
But in the end, I knew that I had done the best I could. And even if it wasn’t good enough for the Luna, it was the best I could do.
The Luna was known throughout the pack as a woman with a heart of stone. She ruled with an iron fist, showing no mercy to those who crossed her or failed to meet her expectations. Aside from that, she was also known as a spoiled brat of one powerful Alpha.
As a maid in the palace, I had seen firsthand just how heartless the Luna could be. She would order executions without a second thought, and punish those who displeased her with cruel and unusual methods.
I knew that I had to tread carefully around her, always watching my words and actions to avoid drawing her ire. But no matter how hard I tried, it seemed like the Luna always found fault with me. And while I knew that I was just a lowly maid, it still hurt to be treated with such contempt.
But I knew that I couldn’t let her get to me. I had to keep working, and keep striving to do my best, no matter how much the Luna seemed to dislike me.
I saw the toll that the Luna’s heartlessness was taking on the pack. People were afraid to speak out, afraid to make mistakes, for fear of drawing the Luna’s wrath.
It was a dark time, a time when kindness and compassion were in short supply. But despite it all, I knew that I had to keep pushing forward, doing what I could to make the world a better place, even in the face of the Luna’s cruelty.
I learned that the the Luna assumed that I had been sleeping with her husband, and accused me of trying to trap him with a child.
I was shocked and hurt by her words. I had never been anything but loyal to the royal family, and to be accused of such a terrible thing was devastating.
But no matter how much I protested my innocence, the Luna refused to listen. She made it clear that she believed the worst of me, and that she would do everything in her power to make sure that I paid for my supposed crime.
She make my life miserable, finding fault with everything I did and making it clear that she wanted me gone from the palace. But I refused to let her get the best of me. I continued to work as hard as I could, doing my best to ignore the Luna’s insults and focus on my duties. And even though it seemed like she would never be satisfied, I knew that I had to keep pushing forward, no matter how hard it might be.
In the end, I knew that the Luna’s treatment of me was a reflection of her own insecurities and fears and that I was not to blame for her misery.
One day, she came to the kitchen where I was working. Every servant was scared of her, and that includes me. I was also scared but I pretended that her presence did not scare me at all.
“Where is Amber McBride?” she asked in a loud voice.
As soon as I heard her calling my name, I stepped forward to greet her. “Yes, Luna?”
“I have noticed that the quality of your work has been slipping lately. What do you have to say for yourself?” she asked in a condescending tone, humiliating me in front of the other servants.
“I apologize, Your Majesty. I have been trying my best,” I replied.
“Your best is not good enough. I expect perfection from all of my staff. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Luna. I will work harder.”
“See that you do. I won’t tolerate anything less than excellence, and if I catch you slacking off again, there will be consequences,” she threatened me.
“Yes, Luna. I understand,” I answered nervously.
“Good. Now go back to your duties.”
I had always tried my best to serve the Luna faithfully, but it seemed like nothing I did was ever good enough for her. No matter how hard I worked, she always found fault with my performance, and her punishments grew more severe with each passing day.
One day, I made a mistake while preparing the Luna’s chamber for the night. I had forgotten to change the sheets on her bed, and she noticed right away. She was furious, and she demanded that I be punished.
I knew what that meant. The Luna had a reputation for being cruel to her staff, and I had heard stories of the brutal punishments she had inflicted on those who had crossed her in the past.
I braced myself as the Luna ordered two guards to take me to the dungeon. I was terrified, but I knew that I had to keep my head down and stay quiet if I wanted to make it through the night.
When we arrived at the dungeon, the guards locked me in a cell and left me there alone. The darkness and the silence were overwhelming, and I felt my fear grow with each passing moment.
But as the night wore on, I began to realize something. The Luna’s cruelty was not a reflection on me but on her. She was a deeply unhappy person, who took pleasure in making others suffer.
And as I lay there in the darkness, I knew that I could not let her break me. I would continue to serve her to the best of my abilities, but I would not allow her to control me or make me afraid.
In the end, the Luna’s punishment only served to strengthen my resolve. I knew that I had to be strong if I wanted to survive in her palace, and I would do whatever it takes to stay true to myself and never give in to her cruelty.
As I lay on the cold stone floor of the dungeon, my mind wandered to my older sister, who had once served as a maid in the palace before she was sent to the dungeon by the wicked Alpha Marcus.
I remembered how she used to talk about the cruelty in the palace. She probably suffered the same fate as I had.
The thought of my sister’s suffering filled me with a deep sense of sadness and anger. How could someone be so heartless, so cruel, as to lock someone away in a dark, damp dungeon like this?
But even as I raged against the injustice of it all, I knew that I had to keep my wits about me if I wanted to survive. I had to stay focused, stay strong, and not let the Luna break me.
So I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to push my fear and anger aside. And as I lay there in the darkness, I vowed that I would make it out of this dungeon alive and that I would continue to fight for what was right, no matter the cost.
After several days of being locked in the dungeon, I had lost all sense of time. I was hungry, thirsty, and desperate for human interaction.
But then, I heard footsteps outside my cell. The door creaked open, and two guards stepped inside.
“Come with us,” one of them said gruffly. “The Luna has decided to release you.”
I could hardly believe my ears. After days of being locked away in the darkness, I was finally going to be set free.
The guards led me up the stairs and through the winding corridors of the palace. I could feel the warmth of the sun on my face for the first time in what felt like ages, and I breathed in the fresh air with relief.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.
When we finally reached the throne room, the Luna was waiting for me. She looked me up and down with a scowl as if I was nothing more than a piece of dirt on the bottom of her shoe.
“You are free to go,” she said icily. “But if I catch you making another mistake, you’ll find yourself right back in that cell,” she warned me.
I didn’t say anything. I just nodded my head and left the palace as quickly as I could. As I walked away, I felt a mix of emotions – relief, fear, and anger all jumbled up inside me.
But as I looked up at the blue sky overhead, I knew one thing for sure: I would never forget the cruelty of the Luna.
Despite being released from the dungeon, the Luna continued to make my life miserable. She seemed to take pleasure in punishing me for every little mistake I made, and her insults and criticisms only grew crueler with each passing day.
I tried my best to keep my head down and do my job as well as I could, but it seemed like nothing I did was ever good enough for her. She would berate me in front of the other staff members, humiliate me in public, and even go so far as to physically strike me when she was displeased.
I felt trapped and alone in the palace. But even though the Luna’s cruelty was unrelenting, I refused to let her break me. And so, even as the Luna’s punishments grew more severe, I held my head high and kept working. I knew that I was doing the best I could and that one day, justice would prevail.
Despite the hardships I had endured, I had managed to find happiness in my life. I looked forward to the day when I would hold my child in my arms, but then, tragedy struck. One day, as I was working in the palace, I began to feel a sharp pain in my stomach. I knew something was wrong, and I immediately sought out a doctor.
The doctor confirmed my fears: I had suffered a miscarriage. My heart was broken, and I felt as if the world had been ripped out from under me.
As I lay in my bed, wracked with pain and grief, I couldn’t help but think about all the suffering I had endured in my life. The cruelty of the Luna, the constant punishments and humiliations – it all seemed to pale in comparison to the loss of my child.
Even as I mourned the loss of my child, I continued to work in the palace, to serve the royal family to the best of my abilities. It was a difficult and painful time, but I knew that I had to keep moving forward, one step at a time.
As I lay in my bed, still reeling from the shock of my miscarriage, I felt a deep sense of sadness wash over me. Tears streamed down my face as I thought about all that I had lost, all the hopes and dreams that had been shattered in an instant.
I cried for my child, for the life that had been growing inside me, for the love that I had felt for my baby even before it was born. And I cried for myself, for the pain and the grief that seemed to weigh down my heart like a heavy stone.
As I lay there, lost in my grief, I felt a hand on my shoulder.