Betrayed by Blood, Claimed by the Alpha
Chapter 81

Chapter 81: Chapter 81

Betrayed by Blood

Avery stood at the sink, quietly washing the mountain of plates that had been left there after lunch. Usually, there would be two other servants to help with the dishes since there were always a lot, but today the girls didn’t show up, leaving all the work to Avery.

Avery sighed internally as she scrubbed the plates, cursing her luck for having chosen this task. She had always hated doing the dishes and now found herself doing them for the whole week. It felt like torture to her. Avery turned to place the clean plates into the rack when she heard a muffled voice breaking through the quiet of the kitchen. She looked around but realized she was the only one there.

"Please... stop..." the voice croaked out.

Avery froze and heard it again, much clearer this time. "Please don’t," the person pleaded.

The sound of laughter followed, sharp and cruel, then the unmistakable sound of someone being shoved against the wall. "Stop? Why should I stop? Give me a good reason, and maybe I’ll think about it," the other person said, making Avery’s blood run cold. Memories of the night she was ganged up on and beaten flashed through her mind horrifyingly. She recognized the voice as the one who had started the fight with her.

"Don’t..." the voice said, trembling so hard it broke Avery’s heart. It was obvious that the girls had picked on another person to pile on. It made Avery sick, knowing they would treat another maid like that, even though they were also maids. Avery forced herself to continue with the dishes, trying her best to ignore the person’s cries.

But then another shout echoed, sharper this time, and her heart sank. She didn’t waste any time. She quickly set the dish aside and rushed towards the door.

When she opened it, she was met with a sight that made her blood run cold. Millie was on the ground, her knees bruised from the fall, her small body trembling as she tried to push herself up. Her face was smeared with dirt, a deep red mark from where she had been struck. The two other servants stood over her, smirking, one of them nudging Millie with a boot, making her stumble back to the ground.

"A fucking runt in our pack. I swear, Aloha Cain has begun to accept the crazies into Vehiron. In what world would a creature like you be able to talk to me, you worthless freak!" one of the girls sneered.

Avery’s voice died in her throat at the sight of the girls. They were the same ones who had ganged up against her that night in the room. Ever since that night, Avery had tried her utmost best to avoid the girls, and surprisingly, it looked like they were doing the same thing too. It was almost as if they were also avoiding her.

"Leave her alone," Avery finally said, earning the attention of the girls.

They turned towards her, surprised since they hadn’t seen her at all. "What’s this? The freak sticking up for the other freak?" one of them said, and the other two burst out laughing as if she had just made the funniest joke alive.

The leader, Avery presumed, took a step forward, her eyebrows cocked up. "And what if I don’t? Because I don’t want to leave her alone. What will you do because right now, you no longer have Sir Xander protecting your sorry ass," she spat out.

"Please," Avery said, "just leave her alone."

The girl stared at her for some seconds longer and then rolled her eyes. She stepped back. "Come on, girls, let’s go," she said. Avery didn’t miss the surprise that flickered through the other two girls’ eyes, but they followed their leader.

Once they were out of sight, Avery quickly knelt beside Millie, her hands gently helping her up. She could feel the girl’s body trembling beneath her touch.

"Hey, hey, are you okay?" Avery asked carefully.

Millie nodded, though the tremor in her lip betrayed the fact that she was far from alright. She didn’t say anything at first, letting Avery clean her face, but when Avery paused, Millie met her eyes, her voice small. "Thank you... for helping me."

Avery swallowed hard, managing a tight smile. "Of course... you helped me once too," she replied, trying to make light of the situation, but Millie didn’t smile. Avery helped her to her feet and watched as the girls dusted her clothes. Avery’s eyes caught the scars on her arm, deep and jagged marks that seemed to have been there forever. She quickly looked away.

She helped Millie to a water fountain where she washed her face and finally looked at Avery. "Thank you," she whispered again.

Avery shook her head. "You don’t have to thank me," she replied, and Millie nodded, silence engulfing the two of them for a second longer until Millie spoke up again.

"Aren’t you going to ask?" she asked.

Avery furrowed her eyebrows. "What?"

"My scars, aren’t you going to ask about them?" Millie asked, and just then did Avery realize she must’ve caught her staring. Her face heated up in shame, and she shook her head. "I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have stared like that," she replied instead.

Millie gave a small, shy smile. "I guess I’m used to it by now," she said quietly. "I didn’t get them because I stole or something," she interjected quickly, almost like she was scared Avery would have the wrong idea.

Avery chuckled at that. "I didn’t think you got them because you stole," she replied, watching as Millie’s shoulders dropped in relief. She couldn’t help but be reminded that this was her first proper conversation with Millie. Even though they’ve been sharing the room for a while now, Millie barely responded to her in proper words. She mostly grunted or nodded. It was also one of the reasons why she didn’t realize it was Millie who was being bullied.

Millie nodded and again went silent. Avery stared at her for a few seconds more, only to remember she still had a pile of plates to wash. She opened her mouth to talk, but Millie was quicker.

"Millicent," she blurted out suddenly.

Avery paused, her ears perked. "What?"

"My name is... Millicent," she replied quietly, and Avery smiled.

"I’m Avery, Millicent."

________________________________________

Martha waited patiently in the hallway outside Lydia’s office, her eyes narrowing as she saw the door crack open. Lydia stepped out finally, moving briskly down the corridor, oblivious to Martha’s eyes. Martha’s heart began to race as she waited for the sound of Lydia’s footsteps to fade into the distance.

Once the hallway was silent, Martha pushed open the door to the office and slipped in. She had been watching the woman for the past few days at Matt’s request, and she was sure about one thing. Something was up. She had followed her to the border but couldn’t leave and only watched her drive out. It was annoying to Martha because she had wasted her time trailing her only to lose her so freely too, but her annoyance quickly faded away when Lydia returned with red, swollen eyes. It was the oddest sight Martha had ever seen. Lydia never cries. She might be a beta, but she acted just like an alpha, so it was shocking to see her red eyes. It only solidified Martha’s thoughts, and so she trailed her, waited for her chance, and today, she finally got it.

The room smelled faintly of ink and parchment paper. Martha’s eyes immediately flicked toward the desk, where a collection of papers was neatly stacked. She didn’t have much time and wasn’t willing to waste it, so she got started, immediately rummaging through the papers. There had to be something in here. Something she could give Matt.

She rummaged through the whole desk but found nothing. Sweat beads formed on her forehead, panic settling inside of her. She scanned the room, and just then did her eyes finally land on a letter, neatly folded and hidden beneath a pile of scrolls. Martha’s fingers tingled as she approached the desk, her breath catching in her throat. This had to be it. Just as she was about to grab it, the door to the office creaked open.

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