Chapter THREE
"Be..llaaaaaa!" A high pitched voice sounded from the top of the staircase and the owner of the name, Bella Tarnvir, trembled in fear as she hastily completed the items in a tray on the kitchen island. She was about to carry it and leave when she remembered she was missing one thing. Something hat would earn her more beatings if she dared forget to take.
A jar of apple juice.
She was five minutes late already and she was certain that she was going to get some spanking from her mistress, Louisa.
Once she got the juice, she carried the tray and hastily made her way out of the kitchen. She could see Louisa standing up the stairs, fuming in anger and she made a short prayer in her heart for Louisa not to hit her while she had the tray of food in her hand.
She ascended the staircase with her whole body trembling in fear.
She had been doing this since she was a child, serving Louisa, but she had never gotten used to her harsh ways.Whenever she was in Louisa's presence, the only thing she did was tremble out of fear even though they were age mates.
Bella's mother had been a slave in that house and so she was born a slave. Her mother died during the massacre and the family took her in as Louisa's personal maid even though she was just five years old by then. She had been serving Louisa ever since she was five, but she had never gotten used to her cruelty.
Louisa's voice alone was enough to cause chills run down her spine and her presence did nothing but intimidate her. She was Bella's worst nightmare!
"It took you ten hours to get me my dinner! You very well know I have a strict eating habit, but you never want to learn how to serve me well you worthless idiot!" Louisa cursed in anger as Bella quietly walked past her and made her way into her(Louisa's) bedroom.
Once she got in, she walked straight to the sitting area where she placed the heavy tray on the table and the moment she stood up straight, her left cheek was greeted with a very solid smack that made her stagger backwards. Louisa didn't let her regain her balance, she served another hot smack on Bella's right cheek that caused to fall backwards on the carpet.
"You get off my expensive carpet, swine!" She scolded as she kicked Bella hard in the tummy.
In tears, Bella crawled from the carpet and lay on the floor clutching her stomach tight with her hands as she struggled to breath.
Her entire body hurt at the moment.
The cheeks Louisa had just smacked were still sore from the finger prints she had left on them that same morning, just because she made her tea sweeter than it had to be.
That had been Bella's everyday treatment in that house ever since her mother died.
No one ever came to her rescue and there was nowhere she could run to.
"Is that all you will be needing?" Bella asked weakly as she struggled to get on her feet. The excruciating pain in her stomach had not subsided yet, but she knew better than to stay on the floor and whine. Louisa could very well kick her again.
"I will call you if I need anything, now get away from me before I puke on you! Slave!"
Well, Bella was more than willing to leave her presence at that instant, so she gradually limped out of the bedroom with her right hand clutching her stomach that hurt like hell.
As she made her way to her bedroom that was more of a dungeon cell, the tears in her eyes kept falling down freely, but she didn't have any energy to cry out loud.
It was too much for her to handle.
This was the kind of treatment she got from Louisa everyday and she wondered how she was still alive.
As she walked out her mistress's chambers, the sight of the gate caught her attention and she instantly changed her mind about going to bed. She quietly changed direction and made her way over to the gate.
The thought of going for a night stroll in the woods sounded very pleasant to her, so she decided to go out.
Once she stepped out of the gate, she made her way into the woods and as she walked on, a million thoughts crossed her mind.
She wondered if her life would have been any better if her mother was alive. Everyone else she knew was living their best lives, but she wasn't.
She was beaten mercilessly everyday for no reason and there was nothing she could do about it.
No one ever said anything nice to her.
Her life was nothing but a nightmare and she wished that one day, she would wake up from the nightmare and start living the life of her dreams.
Her thoughts were interrupted by growls from behind. She turned abruptly to check who it was and blood paused in her veins when she saw three vicious looking werewolves, narling at her with saliva drooling from their fangs.
They smelt different and she immediately knew they were rogues and that meant they had just one mission!
To have her killed.
There was a rush of adrenaline all over body and the flight, fight and fright response took over her, but at the moment, she was too weak to fight and she definitely could not outrun the three werewolves. The only thing she felt at that moment was fear, as she stood glued to the spot.
Yes, she indeed hated her life and would love for it to end, but she didn't want to have such a painful death.
She trembled violently in fear as she slowly paced backwards, but as she did that, the wolves paced forward as well and this time around they were growling.
Her heart missed a beat when her body hit hard against a rough surface behind and when she turned to give a quick peep at what it was, she noticed it was a tree. She was leaning helplessly against a tree trunk and there appeared to be nothing she could do to defend herself.
Even if she transformed into her wolf form, she would never be able to go conquer the three rogues that were standing before her.
Soft sobs escaped her lips as the wolves inched closer to her, she slid against the tree, to the ground and bundled up herself, as she waited for her doom.
A loud howl from nearby distracted the wolves and Bella burst into tears, thinking it was another rogue coming to join the others, but a loud painful growl caught her attention.
When she raised her head up, she saw a big grey wolf, a wolf about two times bigger than the three wolves, tearing one of the wolves apart.
The big grey wolf had a familiar smell and that meant he was a member of their pack, but his size made her understand he was no ordinary werewolf.
She watched in fascination as the big grey wolf killed the rogues by ripping their heads from their body with no mercy.
When they all lay dead, he turned over to her, with blood smeared l over his mouth and his eyes were not the usual yellow, but red.
They were blood red and she could see the anger burning in them.
"Don't you dare move from there. Wait for me" The wolf mindlinked her and walked away. On hearing the voice in her mind, her eyes shot open in shock!
Her heart began palpating so hard that she was scared it was going to hop out from her chest.
She recognized that voice.
Anyone else in that pack would recognize that voice because it was the voice of their Alpha.
Alpha Achilles Rowan.
Alpha Achilles just saved her life!
Still in great shock, Bella managed to rise up on her feet, but her balance was something she could not keep. She weakly leaned against the tree and breathed hard.
The entire scenario that had just unfolded before her was overwhelming and the fact it was her Alpha who saved her, made her want to fly!
It was all too much for her to take one night and the only thing she wanted to do at that moment was sleep!
"And what were you doing out here at night, all alone, if I may ask?" The same deep voice that had ordered her wait, asked and she jumped in fright as she turned in the direction the voice came from. Her eyes were greeted by the sight of their very huge and bewitchingly handsome Alpha, who had both hands behind his back and was staring at her like he wanted to swallow her.
He was all dressed up and his black overall only made him look more menacing.
Bella was so close to fainting.
"I… I … I just came out for a walk, Alpha Achilles'' she stuttered nervously with her head bowed down.
The last thing she wanted to do was look into his eyes that she suspected would be burning with rage.
She had caused a lot of trouble for him that night and she was sorry, but she couldn't tell him that.
"Go home!" He ordered and without uttering a single word, Bella scurried away from his intoxicating presence like a scared rodent.
Alpha Achilles stood on the spot and watched her disappear from his sight.
That girl was just about his sister's age and she looked so strange.
He was taking a walk in the woods, thinking about the whole marriage issue, when he perceived the smell of strange wolves in his territory. He followed the smell and it led him to the girl who was about to get killed.
He had no idea where the anger that took over him came from. When he saw the girl bundled up on the ground and crying helplessly, he didn't hesitate to rip off the heads of her oppressors.
"I didn't even get her name" He cried as he made his way towards the castle.
The only thing that consoled him was the fact that he still remembered her face. Even if he had to walk from door to door to search for her, he was willing to do so.