Broken Queen

5. A monster or a dream?

Regina's long black hair brushed her hips as she walked down the hallway of her packhouse. She brushed the hair back from her face, she admired the house that she hadn't been able to return to after becoming Luna Queen.

“Regina, should I prepare a bath for you?” Oliva, who had been walking behind her inquired, with the roses still secure in her pocket.

“Yes,” Regina replied with a single word.

“Okay,” Olivia nodded in confusion. She couldn’t help but feel as if her mistress’s nature had changed. The Princess sounded far more mature after waking up from the brink of death. Regina stopped when a table blocked her path.

“Please be careful,” Olivia raced over to turn on the lights. She observed Regina admiring the packhouse as if she hadn't been there in years. Regina's heart swelled with emotion as she stood in front of her family’s portrait. She had witnessed every person present in the portrait's demise in a previous life.

“Olivia, first remove the dust from this painting,” Regina ordered. No one had bothered to clean the packhouse or the portrait in question, as they intended to burn it to the ground following Regina's death.

“I understand,” Olivia smiled, noticing the softness in Regina’s cold eyes for the first time that day. It brought relief to her heart.

Regina reached out to touch the painting. In it Regina had been sitting on her Grandfather's lap while he sat in a chair in the middle. Austin and Aziza stood with their sons Stone and Arnold in front of them, on either side of her and her Grandfather. Everyone appeared happy, and Regina was loved by everybody in the photo. Regina had been three years old at the time it was commissioned, and her entire family had been safe. They were content and unaware of the future or wicked intentions of their relatives that would later bury them all. Regina clenched her fist at her side until she detected the scent of another female entering the packhouse. She recognized the scent immediately.

"Princess!" The female cried. Regina’s lips lifted into a smile. What perfect timing, just like last time. Regina covered her face with her hair once more before turning.

“I’m so happy to see you alive, Princess,” Regina's gaze was drawn to her other maid. April was a twenty-year-old Omega like Olivia but she was the more beautiful of the two and easily enticed the men around her. The man who was in love with her stood behind her, hurt at having to witness April on her knees and in tears.

“Jake,” Olivia whispered his name under her breath. He smiled, relieved at seeing her alive. Olivia returned his smile, but his anxious gaze quickly moved back to April.

Regina's keen eyes saw the grief in Olivia’s eyes, just as they had in her past life.

“I knew you would come back, Princess,” April cried uncontrollably, tears streaming down her puffy red cheeks. Regina was staring at her with emotionless eyes.

“Really? I thought you were that unfaithful friend and maid who had locked the door to the room in the palace from the outside, April,” Regina wondered, catching her off guard.

“No… that wasn’t me, Princess,” April stammered in terror. She had made sure no one saw her so how could the Princess say such a thing.

“Then where were you, April?” Olivia wondered.

“I’m the Head Omega so I was asked to serve Laila and Violet by Luna Alvara,” April quickly lied.

April lived a more luxurious life than Regina since she licked Alvara and Bernice's boot heels to stay in their good graces.

“But you had gone as Princess’s maid so why would you…”

“Are you doubting me?” April frowned at Olivia in displeasure. “Don't forget I saved the Princess from an oncoming lightning storm when she was twelve. I would risk my life for the Princess again,” she recounted proudly, gazing back up at Regina hoping she did not suspect her.

“Of course,” Regina smiled even though she knew this shrewd woman had not saved her but Laila that day. Regina had been naive in her past life and treated April like a friend rather than a maid not knowing she had always been faithful to Laila and Violet.

She had spread lies and dirty rumors about Regina so that she was known as the w***e Princess in her previous life, then later the w***e Queen. It was all thanks to the woman kneeling in front of her shedding crocodile tears.

“This humble servant is back in your service, Princess,” April gave a small smile after a few tears. Regina stayed calm as she gathered herself. An offender could be forgiven, but a traitor could not.

“It seems you were quite worried about me, April.” A soft smile took over Regina’s lips. She decided to join the same drama in this lifetime.

“Yes, Princess,” April brushed her tears away when Regina recognized her again.

Regina raised her gaze to Jake, who bowed slightly, merely doing what was necessary, but he showed no sign of liking or disliking Regina.

“Let’s see,” Regina sighed. April was astonished when Regina walked by her and sat on one of the sofas. After three days of slumber, had the Princess lost her ability to see other people's pain? April’s knees were troubling her due to the rough grain of the wood pressing into them. However, rising without permission after kneeling was a violation.

Regina rested her hands on her thighs and concentrated her gaze on the woman in front of her, who was little better than a speck of dirt on the floor. If it were the old Regina, she would not have even allowed April to kneel her for a moment.

“Then why was it that only Olly was at my side while I was in prison and not you, April?”

April’s smile faltered a little when Regina brought that up. Regina's voice remained gentle, but the question she asked alarmed April. Regina's aura brushed against her wolf like a Queen Wolf demanding a response, sending shivers down her spine. In front of Regina, she felt like a filthy slave.

“I…I was a sick Princess,” she stammered, refusing to look Regina in the eye. Her keen eyes scanned the room for Jake, who was still present. He was unaware of the reason for her absence, and there was no way she could tell the truth. April couldn't let her influence over him wane. She was an innocent she-wolf in his eyes, dedicated to her Princess in every way, even willing to die for her.

“Sick?” Regina raised her brows.

“Yes, I became ill as soon as I learned of your failing health, Princess. Since I avoided food and drink in my grief.”

“Really?” Regina cut off April’s claim with a gasp. “But you appear to have eaten better than usual in celebration of some special event. In comparison to you, Olivia looks like a beggar who hasn’t eaten or drunk anything in days.”

“That…that’s because,” April’s face turned pale. “That’s because of the Moon Goddess’s blessing.”

“How so?” Regina blinked curiously.

“I walked for two days up the mountain to pray to the Moon Goddess for your recovery. I came to greet you as soon as I learned of your return a few moments ago,” she lied with anxious eyes. Olivia's respect for April grew, while Jake's eyes filled with affection, but Regina wanted to laugh at her blatant lie.

It had been raining, her clothes would have become muddy and soaked. But there was not so much as a speck of dirt in her well-kept hair and her slippers appeared clean.

“I’m so happy the Moon Goddess deemed my prayers worthy of answering,” April cleverly concealed the rouge in her pocket, which had not escaped Regina’s notice. She had gone to get a new rouge for Laila from a town far away from the pack, but now she was acting as if she had returned from a pilgrimage to the mountains.

“It seems as if I owe you my life once again, April,” Regina remarked, which brightened the maid's face.

“Princess…” she admired the Princess' tone with her. Polite and gentle, like a friend. April took advantage of her soft heart all the time.

“I appreciate your sacrifices, April. You need to be rewarded,” Regina said. April's heart leapt with delight when she heard her favorite word, 'reward’ mentioned. Finally, the naïve Princess recognized her worth and decided to lavishly reward her.

“You think too highly of me, Princess. This servant doesn't deserve your kindness,” April acted innocently like usual but looked forward to the reward like a drunkard did, their next drink. What could it be? The Princess was as poor as a beggar thanks to Alvara.

“How is this possible? I should honor your kindness and sacrifice, April,” Regina stated while fiddling with her diamond ring, as she normally did. April's eyes twinkled with greed as she realized she would finally receive Regina's precious ring, that she had inherited from her Mother. It was a magnificent medium-sized stone that Bernice and Alvara had coveted since the first time they laid eyes on it.

“If the Princess wants to repay me, then how can I refuse,” April smiled as she bowed her head, her eyes filled with greed and desire. Finally, the Moon Goddess noticed the significance of the maid and devised a method to reward her with a diamond ring. After fooling the Princess so splendidly, she deserved to be rewarded.

Regina stood up and took a knife from the empty fruit basket. April had lowered her head but Jake and Olivia were taken aback by Regina's actions. The hand that had never held a knife to so much as peel an apple grasped it like a sword.

“UH…” April felt a firm grip on her hair, followed by a stinging pain in her ear as the knife's edge softly brushed it, causing it to bleed. Her long hair was chopped off into two uneven sections, twisting it into an ugly shape in an instant. The room fell into complete silence.

“Oh my…” Olivia put her hand over her mouth in shock, as Jake froze. April felt no pain even as a drop of blood splattered onto the floor. Her eyes widened when she saw the knife fall to the floor with a clatter along with her precious golden hair, the most noteworthy aspect of her beauty. It was her pride that was now laying on the floor like dirt.

“Princess,” April cried, clutching the uneven ends of her hair. “My hair,” her beauty had now been completely ruined as she glanced up in horror at Regina's blank eyes. What exactly had just happened? How had her life turned upside down in a second?

Regina stood tall over the miserable figure of her maid when she remembered April’s smiling face from the past. Using her beauty as a weapon, April had s*x with one of the palace's mated and marked wolf’s, spreading the rumor that Olivia had been the one to do it. April had stood in the corner snickering, having already married her mate who was a high-ranking male in the palace, while Olivia was stripped nude and whipped to death.

“I’m rewarding you with your freedom, April,” Regina revealed with a friendly smile.

“Freedom as a reward?” April trembled in terror. When a master or mistress grants their servant freedom, they take something in return. Regina took April’s hair, so April could no longer grow it out ever again. Not even a bit.

“No,” April finally sobbed, clutching at the handfuls of hair on the floor. She was no longer able to grow her hair out. She wouldn't be able to entice any man with her beauty, she might die unmarried and unmarked. As men in the Dyson Kingdom had an obsession with women that had long hair. They saw them as a noble lady.

“You’re no longer my personal maid, April. You’re free, you don't need to come to my packhouse any longer,” Regina specified.

“Why?” April clutched her hair while looking up at Regina. Jake's heart wrenched as he watched April weep, but he remained helpless behind her. He lacked the power to oppose the situation.

“Why what?” Regina blinked.

“Why did you give me my freedom, Princess?” She constantly expressed her wish for freedom so that she could marry a high-ranking wolf, but she never imagined that it would cost her so much.

“One maid is enough for me, April. I won't be able to bear another sacrifice from you. Now we’re even,” Regina explained. This shocked April. She was granted liberty. She couldn't stay on at the Princess' side and spy on her any longer.

‘If Violet and Laila found out about this then my worth will be completely lost in their eyes,’ she spoke under her breath in dread. The wailing maid saw her not too distant future at the bottom of the pack's well, where she would be discovered dead the following morning.

“Please, don’t do this, Princess. I beg you. Don't push this servant away from you. Please…” April shook her head as she clung to Regina’s legs.

“I never knew you were so devoted to me, April. But I have freed you now. I can't take you back to serve at my side,” Regina smiled darkly before she pulled her legs slowly away.

“No, please, I beg you,” April sobbed.

“What can be done?” Regina bit her lip, raising hope in April’s heart.

“I’ll do anything, Princess. Please don't push me away,” she begged. Regina smiled warmly.

“Considering your years of loyalty and devotion, I don’t have the heart to let you go, April.” The Princess took a step back from April walking back to the sofa. “But you can no longer serve me as my personal maid. So from now on you are a low-ranking maid in the packhouse,” Regina announced, shocking April speechless.

“A low-ranking maid?” It was a life of pure hell.

“Why don't you start by cleaning all the bathrooms, make sure to focus on the toilets?” Regina smiled then raised her brows when she did not get an answer from the maid.

“I…I understand Princess,” April stammered, lowering her head in submission. In a flash, she was slammed back to earth from heaven. She lost her power and position, becoming a low-ranking Omega.

“Great,” Regina smiled before turning on her heel towards the stairs. Olivia’s sympathetic gaze fell on her crying friend. She looked horrible with that haircut. Jake tried to help April up but she shoved his hand away as she continued sobbing. Olivia frowned as she witnessed April’s attitude towards Jake.

“Olivia, prepare my bath,” Regina ordered without glancing back.

“Yes, Princess,” Olivia ran after her mistress in a panic before she could look at Jake’s expression. April clutched at her hair that was in clumps on the floor while glaring at Regina who vanished upstairs. April’s eyes were red with the flames of rage and revenge rising in them.

Olivia kept glancing at Regina’s face from the corner of her eye. She did not dare ask Regina why she freed April from servitude. April was one of Regina’s supporters and an honest person in her eyes. Regina felt Olivia’s gaze on her and said before entering her room.

“A snake can’t change its nature, Olly. Stay away from April.”

***

The 30 year old Dumas Moon Pack packhouse was still strong, luxurious, and beautiful like a utopia made into a physical structure. As a beloved granddaughter of Royal Beta Jermaine, Regina received the most beautiful room in the packhouse which Laila and Violet had always envied.

Their parents also had large houses on the packland that were given to them by Jermaine, but living in the packhouse was a blessing and was a symbol of respect. Even though Harrison was the current Alpha of the pack, he was still not able to live there due to the rules that his dead Father had set in place which he could not rectify because Regina was alive.

“Let me open the window,” Olivia raced over to allow the sunlight and fresh air to filter into Regina's room. It was an airy, well furnished room with three large windows that framed beautiful views of waterfalls and mountains. A queen-sized bed was in the middle of the room and a beautiful lamp on the bedside that made the room even more inviting at night.

While Olivia went to prepare her bath, Regina took a moment to scan her room. The Luna Queen’s chamber in the palace was three times larger than this one, but the peace and tranquility that she experienced here felt like heaven. Regina's eyes fell on her collection of veils, she had one in every color. They had been a part of Regina in the past as a means for her to escape. Her clothes were old, colorless, nearly transparent, and not worth wearing. No one would doubt it if someone claimed they belonged to a lowly Omega.

"Princess, everything is ready," Olivia informed her cheerfully. Regina nodded in response. “Then I’ll prepare food and water for you,” she chirped.

“First take care of yourself, Olly,” Regina pointed out. “Then you can move on to other tasks.”

“Oh, you’re right,” her friend blushed in embarrassment. She was sweaty and covered in dust from head to toe. Regina shook her head with a smile while grabbing a random set of clothes for herself.

“What is that on your wrist, Regina?” Olivia asked. Regina c****d her brows, noticing a rare beautiful thread-like thing tied around her wrist. “I was wondering about that when we were in the cell as well,” she added.

“What do you mean?” Regina turned to look at her.

“When you were rescued from the dark room in the palace, this black thread was tied around your wrist. I never saw you wearing it before,” she explained. Regina hooked her finger under the thread, feeling its softness. It looked like it was made of snake’s skin. It was beautiful, but not hers.

“How did it end up on my wrist?” She tried to undo the knot but it stubbornly stayed on her wrist. Regina ignored it and grabbed her clothes again.

“Regina, shouldn’t you request some new clothes from the Luna?” Olivia questioned.

"There’s no need," Regina replied with a chuckle. Asking for something from Alvara was like asking for her first born child. She would not give Regina a thing. At the moment, Regina had countless other things on her mind that she needed to sort out. So she refused to deal with an exercise in futility.

"But the pack laws say one can get a new set of clothes on their birthday,” Olivia reminded her mistress worriedly. Regina's feet came to a halt as soon as she was reminded about her birthday. “It’s just five days away,” Olivia added.

That was the day that Grant recognized Regina as his mate. That was bound to repeat itself. But that would mean tomorrow was the day that the packs held the annual exchange day. People were free to buy and sell whatever they wanted. Regina’s hands played with the thread once again and this time she felt it slowly loosening from her wrist.

“What’s wrong, Regina?” Olivia asked in confusion.

“Olly, do we still have an isolated store room on the north side of the pack?” Regina asked with her eyes fixed outside of the window.

“Yes, though it’s prohibited,” Olivia explained, which brought a smile to Regina’s lips.

“It seems that I need to buy something,” Regina said, confusing Olivia.

The Princess turned on her heel to enter the bathroom and got into the bathtub. Regina closed her eyes, resting her head on the back of the tub. Her fingers still played with the loose thread while she calculated all the events that she needed to face in the near future.

Suddenly, she felt the thread come undone and fall to the bottom of the tub. Regina opened her eyes only to find that the thread had caused the water in the bathtub to turn into something akin to a sea storm. The sudden clap of thunder and lightning echoed from outside of the window. Regina panicked when the thread started to turn into something large and dark in the water.

She stood up from the tub, then scrambled out. But then she felt something wrapping around her naked waist. She looked down to see a tail-like thing around her thin waist before she was pulled up into the air. She screamed but no one was there to hear her. Her eyes wide and her voice stuck in her throat when she saw a shadow that was three times larger than what she had seen in the tub had wrapped its tail around her and lifted her up closer to itself.

The bathwater still surrounded them like a tornado made of water as the lightning struck outside the window, making the environment terrifying. Regina’s black eyes were locked with beautiful green diamond-like eyes for a couple of seconds.

“It’s…a dragon,” Her heart beat faster at seeing the passion and obsession in the dragon’s eyes before it vanished into thin air. Regina’s body landed back in the bathtub. Luckily, the water shielded her from any harm. She opened her eyes realizing that everything had returned to normal around her.

Regina was left sitting in the bathtub in a state of surprise.

What was that?

A monster or a dream?

***

The Dragon Empire

A lightning bolt crashed over the sea right after the black shadow of a dragon entered the deep water. The large figure of a green-eyed man exited the churning sea with a smile.

“Found her”