Him, His Uncle And I!

4 Rebecca

The truth was my father, the alpha of our pack, had messed up something with the Alpha King's pack, and as a result, to avoid being killed, they were given the option to send one of their children as a pack aide to the Alpha King's pack. That child was me. The other girls were in similar positions—either they were the only child, or the other was a boy destined to become the alpha later on, so their parents discarded the "useless" girls.

“Becky! Order up, take these to the dining hall,” Getty said. She was nice, three years older than us but still as playful as we were.

“Roger that, ma’am,” I said playfully, saluting her.

I took the plates and placed them on a trolley like the ones used in hotels, then rushed out of the kitchen toward the dining hall. The hall wasn’t far from the kitchen; it was more convenient for them that way since it meant we would take less time delivering the food, ensuring they ate while it was still hot.

They were all there. From the highest rank, the alpha and his family, to his close subordinates, the beta’s family, and others like them. There were approximately six tables, each seating ten people.

“Good morning,” I said politely, keeping my eyes fixed on the floor as I approached the tables.

“Morning, Rebecca,” the Luna of the pack replied. She liked me, though I didn’t know why. Maybe it was because I had helped her son—and my secret crush—Ryan with his homework once. It had been the summer I turned 14, back when I still looked very adorable. It was also the summer I had doubled my age in understanding, realizing that no one was coming for me—not my parents, not even Rosie.

Ryan had run away from home because his parents were forcing him to attend a summer cram school. He had found me at the cabin in the woods and sat with me there. That was around the time I had secretly started training on my own after watching the older girls of the pack train. They looked so strong and confident, and the fragile girl in me thought that if I copied them, I could become just as strong. I believed no one, especially my parents, would ever fool me again.

Ryan had sat with me, whining about all the rules and expectations he had to follow as the next alpha of his pack. I listened attentively and gave him a solution: I would secretly help him with his homework. See, although we were slaves, since we were technically princesses from other packs, the Luna had suggested that we all go to school—so long as it didn’t disrupt our work in the pack house. I had eagerly accepted the offer, and school had become my safe haven. I loved learning, so I offered to help him. His parents had found out later and hired me as his tutor because, from that day on, Ryan had suddenly liked going to school.

I placed the food on the table, starting with the Alpha’s table and moving around from the alpha to their last-born child, the princess of the pack, Riley. I placed a bowl of fruit salad in front of her and took a step back in case she threw a tantrum about it. She did. She threw a tantrum.

Riley glared at the bowl in front of her, grabbed it, and threw it in my direction. With my quick reflexes, I could have dodged, but I couldn’t. I wasn’t allowed to—especially if I didn’t want anyone finding out about my secret training sessions. So, I stood still and silently prayed the bowl would fly right past me.

It didn’t. She had thrown it with precision, aiming directly for my head. The bowl hit me squarely on the forehead. The fruit splattered all over my uniform and hair before the bowl shattered on the ground.

“I said I don’t want kiwis on my plate, and you put them there! Make me another one!” she huffed.

Lord knew how much I wanted to discipline that child right then and there, but instead, I nodded politely and said, “It was the kitchen’s error. We’ll fix it right away.”

I knelt down and started picking up the broken pieces of the bowl from the floor. A wave of dizziness washed over me as warm liquid trickled from just above my eyebrow, soaking into my already ruined uniform. But no one said anything. No one offered to help. They all acted as if nothing had happened, continuing to chat and eat happily.

I gritted my teeth, bracing myself to ignore the pain, and finished gathering the shards. Once I was done, I stood up and walked away.