* Omario POV*
Abi sobs until she falls asleep next to Titan on the floor next to my bed. Titan is still whining when I shift back to myself and carry her to bed. I am once again amazed at how a woman can be so light. I tug her in and watch her for a long time. I feel heartless for not telling her what Titan has been trying to tell her, but I can’t.
I will do my best to ease your suffering and that of your people but forgive me Abi, because I will also do my ultimate best to make sure that you never meet your vengeful wolf.
I only fall off to sleep at early hours of the morning and wake up to an empty bed. It’s just before five o’clock in the morning, I wonder what was so important that she had to slip out without my permission.
I get out of bed to investigate. Now that I have made it my mission to ease her pain and prevent her wolf from ever coming, I need to know what she is up to every single hour and minutes if I can. I don’t have to go far to look and there she is. On the corridor, she is on her knees scrubbing the floors. The two girls who are lazing around next to her are the first to spot me.
“Your Majesty.” They say in unison and bow on their knees.
Abi continues scrubbing and does not even turn her head to look at me. That hurts.
I turn back at the two girls who look all refreshed while she is drenched in sweat. I bet they are all the same age but they are relatively bigger in size than her. I wonder how much of work she does while they standby and watch.
“What did I say to you the last time we met?”
“We, we have not done anything to her, Your Majesty. We swear.”
“What was the second part of my command?”
They start trembling and Abi is the one who responds.
“They are too slow, they can’t do my chores and theirs. Nothing will be done and everyone else will pay for it.” She still does not look at me nor does she stop what she is doing. I don’t understand her attitude, it’s as if I am abusing her instead of helping.
I am about to let it slide when I notice what she is wearing. She is disobeying me again and it’s infuriating.
“My chambers right now!”
“Your Maj..Oma .. Your…” she hesitates. That just fuels my anger.
“Say my damn name Abigail and my chambers right now!”
She springs on to her feet and runs to my chambers, leaving me at a deja vu moment. Why is she doing this to me when I am trying to make her life easier?
“You two better start cleaning this floor and be fast.” I instruct the two girls who are busy exchanging looks. I don’t buy that they are slow, they strike as the type who dodge and let everyone do the work.
“I was clear last night that I never want to see you wearing this thing. Are you trying to push my buttons?”
“I have not had a chance to speak to Jeff,”
“Yet you have time to scrub the floors?”
“It’s my job.”
Interesting. You would swear that she is being paid for it.
“And you think it’s more important than obeying my command?”
“Yes.”
Fuck! Did she just agree?
“Excuse me?” I ask, in disbelief and she lifts her chin up in defiance.
“I will not wear royal clothes when I and my people are in chains. It’s pretentious and wrong. Do what you may, I will remain with my filthy rugs!”
I feel my anger spilling out of control and before I know it my hand is around her neck, choking her. I have clearly been too nice that she has forgotten who I am.
She just stands there and does not even try to peel my hand away. Then it hits me that she is intentionally exacerbating me. My damsel is suicidal and I almost missed it. The interaction with Titan last night made her think that she will never have her wolf. She has no idea how she will fulfil the prophecy and will rather die.
I remove my hand from her neck and she actually looks disappointed. Fuck! I don’t know how to deal with this besides telling her the truth, but I can’t.
“You stink. Take a bath and don’t go anywhere until I return.” I command her and run out. I immediately shift into Titan and link with my Gamma to meet me in the woods. He is her friend and hopefully will shed some insight into her that could help me deal with this.
“Your Majesty.”
Terrence is really fast.
“Hi, Terrence.”
“You are troubled.” He says in a matter of fact tone. There is a long I am yet to discover about him but not today.
“Why is she so stubborn?”
“Ha!”
“And?”
“Is it about the filthy rugs?” Terrence sounds amused when asking this.
“So you know?” I don’t know the extent of his relationship with Abi but his responses so far prove to me that I am asking the right person.
“She mentioned it.”
“Why won’t she wear the clothes I got her?”
Terrence laughs. “You don’t know?”
I lift my eyebrows, I am obviously missing something.
“Abi is a Creekian.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I know that her pack was Lilly town creek and how strong her father was as an Alpha but nothing more.
“ She is from the proudest of all Lilly town tribes.”
“So, she won’t accept a gift?”
“Not when it excludes her people.”
I raise my eyebrows again and Terrence explains further.
“Abi is royalty. Creekians believe that leaders serve. You are what your people are. It’s a biggest flaw to swim in riches when your people suffer. If there is draught, the Alpha and the royal house should be the first to starve. That’s the honour that gets passed on to generations. It’s all honourable but it’s not serving her any good here.”
“Is that why she is stick and bones?”
Terrence sighs before nodding. “Yes. She eats when everyone else has eaten. We try to pretend that we are full, so she can have something but it does not always work when the food is really short. It’s the same with chores and everything really.”
That’s explains a lot about her. At least I now have ideas on how to alleviate most of her problems but not the state she is in currently.
“She is really down about her wolf. I think she was pushing me to kill her.”
Terrence does not look the least surprised by this.
“She goes through those, it’s temporary. She will be right up soon and ready to kill the Alpha again. Don’t leave her alone.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I can help but panic at his advice.
“I am sorry, I forget that he is your father.”
“Not that, the last part.”
“You are not worried about her wanting to kill your father?”
“Terrence.”
“She’s suicidal, it’s common amongst us slaves. You don’t want her attempting something while on the low.”
“Fuck! I have to go!” Titan sprints back as fast as he possible can and shift at the door. The unmistakable smell of fresh blood is the first thing that greets me when I open the door. “Shit! Abi!”