Chapter 60

• You Made It Easy
• HAERA. Gennora walked into the kitchen with the aura of a woman who knew what she was doing and how much power she wielded. Even with her scent gone or just merely faint, she still managed to evoke the nightmarish feeling in me when she had only just arrived. Our relationship had gone past me respecting her or not being able to call her out on her shits. Not like I ever respected her anyway but ever since I realized she and the princess had something to do with my mate failing to recognize me, I loathed her. I didn't even need to look at her to Know why she was here in the kitchen with me. I had been expecting her and there she was, her signature scowl on her face which seemed to have gotten more wrinkled since the last time I saw it. She stood about a foot away from me while I waited for her to get it over with so I could go crawling into my bed while trying to console myself that her words don't hurt one bit and they aren't worth crying over even if I'll end up with tears staining my pillow before I realize it. Her eyes wandered about the kitchen , taking in every detail of it as if looking for something new that she could add to the already raging ones in her head that she planned to hurl at me. Be the center of attention to someone for so long and you'll understand their every move to hurt you. When it seemed like she was finally done with her inspection, her eyes fell back to me and she clicked her tongue spitefully with a shake of her head. "Tsk...it doesn't matter if you clothe a sheep in the skin of a wolf, it will still shed its cotton." I was pretty sure the saying doesn't go like that but what do I care? I understood her perfectly and it meant nothing to me that she was trying to make me feel less of myself by saying moving to the Imperial pack didn't make my life any better. I was still a maid who doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. "Sheep? That old hag....Is she crazy? Has she seen me?" Apparently, Dezra cared but I shut her up before she could go further and forced a smile at Gennora. "I haven't gotten the chance to fully welcome you to the Imperial pack and it is an honor that you chose to come see me yourself." Gennora scoffed, her eyes narrowing. I could tell my calm and collected state irritated her. If only she knew. My inside was a mess and there was nothing calm and collected about me. "Seeing that face of yours welcoming me would have ruined my entire stay here before I even get to live the days out. I'm glad that didn't happen." I said nothing and merely looked on at her. No matter how much her face infuriates me, I never look away from her. It was what she taught me to do when talking to me. Gennora lived off the satisfaction of seeing me shatter,seeing my eyes go red and misty, seeing me think little of myself on every single year of my birthday. I looked straight into her emotionless eyes, wondering what would give her satisfaction again today. Oh...she had emotions. Not just the good ones. "Here I was thinking you'd be up to something to disrupt the peace of princess Ilvira and her mate. All my worries were for nothing." She smirked. Princess Ilvira and her mate... I swallowed hard, looking for ways to choose my next words wisely. "Your plan must be working so well then." It came out estranged and in-between gritted teeth. Gennora chuckled. "You made it easy Haera. Look at yourself, how many times do I have to tell you to know your place? In the new world, mate bonds don't matter. Status, that's what matters." Of course, she has made it clear quite a number of times that losing the Alpha was my fault for being nothing but a lowly Omega that meant nothing, enough for my own mate to not want me. The part she played in manipulating him in a way I was still so unsure about, didn't occur to her as the reason why the Alpha is currently with the other witch. It occurred to me right then. Balfour had said if it was really a witch involved in it, whoever did the scent manipulation would lose their Wolf. I'd noticed the change in Gennora's aura long before I came here but I doubted it had anything to do with witches and spells. Why would Gennora lose her wolf for the princess? Was it loyalty? Was it wealth? Was her hatred for me worth her losing something as indispensable as her wolf? "What do you get in doing all of these?" I asked. She frowned. "I beg your pardon?" "You do all of the Princess's dirty work like there's something in it for you. You said it yourself that I do not matter and the Alpha wouldn't have chosen me anyway. Then why do you have to go out of your way to make use of something that's prohibited and then lose a part of you because of it?" I saw a flicker in her eyes that I recognized as shock from my words. I needed to know and so I pressed on before she could regain her calm posture. "Balfour..." I said and paused, waiting for her reaction to his name. "Did you really have to go to such lengths for a maid like me?" She scoffed and stepped closer. I didn't look away. I didn't want to miss every single detail of her reaction. "What did I say about running your mouth like that damned Chef did?" She gritted out. My mind went to the last conversation we had like this one. She had warned me to be careful in case I ended up getting killed like Balfour did. I had been convinced since then that she knew something about it but how could someone like me prove it when she had the favour of the princess? "You could have gotten rid of me a long time ago if you could. Why bother keeping me around to be a threat to your plans, whatever they are?" I countered, looking her straight in the eyes. "I see you've grown wings since you got here. I was mistaken to think I had clipped them. I guess I didn't do it properly." "Oh you did...what you don't know is how fast they grow again after each clip." Gennora's eyes burned with rage and I could tell she was resisting the urge to hit me. I was prepared for anything as long as I was able ruffle her feathers just like her coming here ruffled mine. She smiled suddenly. A sick, twisted smile that made me feel frightened for a moment. "Good thing I never get tired of clipping them . I'll do it over and over again before they can even get to fly. What use are wings that can't soar?" She threatened me so smoothly with a smile on her face. She then stepped away from me and let her eyes wander around the kitchen again before landing them on me. "This is the only place you matter and what you are now is what you will ever become." With that said, she turned around and sauntered out of the kitchen. I lost my balance the moment she left and had to grip the kitchen table tightly to keep myself from falling. No matter how hard I try to fight back Gennora, I still end up feeling weak in the knees after every argument with her. She's shameless. That much has already been established. I needed to calml my nerves. And so after, putting the finishing touches to the food I made in preparation for breakfast tomorrow, I retired to my room in the maid quarters. One thing was sure tonight though; I wasn't getting any sleep. *** Waking up and going about my chores in the morning like a zombie has already become a normal routine for me but I've never had it worse like I did this morning when I woke up. I barely slept a wink. As usual, I joined a grumpy Dina and the other maids in the kitchen as we worked to make the rest of the Alpha's breakfast. After what happened the last time I served the Alpha, I wasn't looking forward to today at the dining hall yet I couldn't fake being sick again to Dina. Not because she's wouldn't believe me but because I needed to do something to get Gennora off my mind and chores were the best for that. I told myself countless times that I could get through with serving him and going back to the kitchen. I was determined to put as much distance as I could between us. When it was time, we filed into the dining hall as usual. The Alpha and the princess were in their usual seats. Nothing was new except for the slimy woman standing dutifully by the princess. With Gennora there, I wondered how long I had before I broke down. Refusing to look at any of the three people whose existence unnerved me, I joined the maids in laying the dish on the table. It's almost like everyone saw me as the designated maid to always serve the Alpha's food. None of the maids ever make the move to serve him since I was always the first to move to him. I regretted it so much now. Standing at least a feet away from the Alpha and with my head kept low, I stretched to spoon his food into his plate. He was looking at me. I could feel his hot and burning gaze but I didn't let it get to me. Once I was done, I hurried away from him just as the other maids finished serving the princess. Returning to our single file line, we watched as they both dug into their food. I might be angry at him but I made sure I didn't miss the satisfied look he always has on his face when he tatses my food. The princess never shows what she feels about my food but today, something felt off about her expression as she spooned her food into her mouth. And then she confirmed my suspicions when she coughed once. Twice and then rapidly. "Get her water!" The Alpha commanded Gennora rushed over before any of the maids, to get water and pass it to her but the water barely made it down her throat before she resumed coughing again, spluttering the water all over the table. The Alpha stopped eating and faced his Luna in concern. "Ilvira are you okay?" Her face had turned red and she could barely speak. I panicked because I had never seen her that way. This imperfect way that made me feel like something was wrong somewhere. "S..shri..." The Princess's hands went to hold her throat like it hurt to even talk. "Oh my God!" Gennora exclaimed,her palm flying to cover her mouth out of the shock of realizing something. Then she shot me a defiant look that confused the hell out of me. What the hell was going on? The Princess could no longer speak and her breathing had gotten so hard that the sound of it irked me. The Alpha was already out of his seat trying to calm the hyperventilating woman. The entire hall got thrown into frenzy when her harsh breathing hit an all time high like the Luna was at the brink of death. What in the world was going on?