Chapter Ten

As Kai suspected, there was a cave not that deep into the forest, with one rather large grizzly bear sleeping inside. While searching for it, he managed to find a few foxes and hares along the way to bring back to the butcher Fiske, but the bear he was going to keep for himself, an idea for it already in mind.

Fiske could do what he wanted with the meat, it is going to be a bribe for Kai to keep the pelt from it, planning to offer to skin it himself even.

Walking back along the path of the forest, having to return to the village to grab a cart to haul the bear and other animals back with, he is overjoyed to see the familiar figure of Niklas running towards him, looking rather energetic and healthy compared to what Kai has been thinking.

"Where the hell have you been?" he cries out, embracing Niklas the moment he is within distance, forgetting about the large bear body slumped over behind him.

"Well, it seems you've been busy," Niklas chuckles, clapping Kai over the back before pulling away.

"Never mind that, where did you disappear to after the night we were captured? Gunnar said he saw them draining blood from you. Is that true?"

Niklas nods his head. "There is a lot to explain, but here and now isn't the place, and I have something else more urgent to tell you. I saw the girl, the one who helped us the night of the rescue."

Kai opens his mouth to tell him that he knows who she is, and that he has already confirmed that she is his mate, but something tells him not to reveal that, even to Niklas, possibly because she doesn't know herself.

"I've met her as well, she is a daughter in the Beta house, it's the house I've been assigned a servant too, Gunnar is a worker in the lumber yard like planned. Where have you ended up?" Kai asks.

"The Alpha house, to my misfortune it seems. It's only been a day, and I've already seen a servant get his tongue cut out for talking back to the Alpha, all he did was question clarity on the task that was given to him, it was hardly talking back. I'm not sure how long I'm going to survive there, I'll try and gather as much information as I can."

Niklas working in the Alpha house is the best and fastest way to get information, but it is also the most dangerous way to get it. Kai has already learned of the vicious treatment the servants in that house are known to suffer, and although he has faith in Niklas, that isn't to say the slightest mistake and his life could be ended right then and there.

"Kai, there is something I learned but it isn't really related to the mission, it's related to the girl."

This piques his interest. "What about her?"

"I overheard the Alpha, Rune Iversen is his name. He was talking about his upcoming marriage to the eldest daughter of the Beta house, but mentioned something about the youngest daughter, Serenia. He described her, and it matches the girl that I met that night, and this disgusting man supposedly wants to make her his wife after he marries her older sister. I asked around and managed to get a bit of information from a few servants about how he treats the female that frequent his house."

Niklas stops talking, his face paling slightly.

"Well, continue!" Kai demands, his rage reaching a peak already.

"He has been known to beat a few of them when he gets drunk or angry, and from what I heard that is pretty often when he is at home. Although he is young, it seems he has been spoiled quite a bit growing up and lives a very care-free lifestyle despite the responsibilities of an entire pack weighing on him," Niklas says, gritting the last part through clenched teeth.

Kai can feel his rage, mirroring it but by ten folds. This man wants to take Serenia as his wife? Over his dead body.

'Does Serenia know of this?'

"When did you hear this?" Kai asks.

"Last night during dinner, I believe the Alpha went over to the Beta house afterwards, most likely to ask the Beta for permission to marry both daughters instead of one.

"Why are you telling me this?"

Niklas looks slightly ashamed. "I didn't think I would ever get the chance to see her after that night, and she saved all of our lives, mine especially. I owe her a lot, but I'm not sure how to pay her back. I figured this was a step, at least."

Kai can see the slight pink tint on his face, getting a sick and disturbing feeling in his stomach.

'Does Niklas…like Serenia?'

Kai doesn't want to fathom this idea, wondering if that is also why he got the sudden feeling to not reveal that Serenia is his mate to Niklas, because he has also developed feeling towards her. He doesn't want to fight his closest friend over a girl, but when it comes to his mate and Serenia, he is willing to do anything, even tear his own friend apart to keep her.

"I'll see what I can do, in the meantime to continue to try and get information from the Alpha house, but not at the risk of your life. That information is useless to me if you're dead," Kai says then walks off, wary of the eyes around them. Niklas has been confirmed safe, and Gunnar has taken his position in the lumber yard with full strength back.

Everything is going according to plan.

This calm thought isn't enough to dispel the rage still coursing through him at the thought of Serenia becoming the second wife of the Alpha house, seeing how she and her mother are treated in their own home, he doesn't want to imagine the horrors she would face in the Alpha house. Niklas said that it was mentioned Serenia has caught the eye of the Alpha, Rune Iversen, which means he has nothing more than sexual interest in her.

'They dare call us dogs?'

At least the Wolfmåne pack knows how to treat females with respect, and not as rag dolls to toss around when they need a release.

Returning to the kitchen, he can sense Serenia inside before he opens the door, both his wolf and his heart are restless whenever she is near. Having already skinned the bear and preserved the meat, he bangs on the door and waits for Fiske to open it and see the cart full of meat and the extra pelts he picked up.

"Holy Helheim, boy. I said to get a bit of meat, not the whole damn forest! And where is the pelt? A sucker this big should've fetched a fine fur coat for one of the madam's, you could've earned yourself a pretty penny*."

"You're right, that should me more than enough meat to last the entire house the rest of the season, I caught some additional game on the side. That is the fur you're going to take, and in exchange for this entire cart, I get to keep the pelt, as reward, of course."

Fiske scoffs in disbelief. "Who says you're deserving of any reward? So, you killed a bear. You think you're the first one to do it here? Maybe the first servant boy, but we all know where you mutts come from, wretched Wolfmåne dogs. Now, hand over that bear pelt and maybe you won't receive any punishment today since you brought back such a good catch."

"The pelt, in exchange for this cart, or-" Kai lifts his foot and pushes on the back of the cart, tilting it towards the slight hill, the direction lined up with a large cherrywood tree at the bottom. "You don't get either," he says, applying slight pressure to his foot, the cart creaking.

"Are you crazy? You're going to waste all that meat over a simple bear pelt? I'm still going to beat you regardless!"

"You won't do anything of the sort to my personal servants," a light haired woman with vibrant green eyes steps towards them, the woman who Kai first met at the house trailing behind her with another younger, mopey looking girl beside.

With the way the green-eyed woman carries herself, it's obvious she is an official wife or daughter of the Beta house. Looking at her silk and fabric clothing and jewels dawning every inch of her skin, he almost wants to puke on her comparing her to the way Serenia is dressed. She wears the same clothes as he does, an enslaved servant, even though her status is the exact same as the woman standing in front of him.

"Miss Selena, what did you say? This boy is a servant in the kitchen, he couldn't possibly have the honor of serving you." Fiske tries to persuade her, but the woman named Selena turns to the head maid behind her and simply nods.

The older woman slaps Fiske across the face, as if punishing him in stead of Miss Selena, flaunting her status and power even more than she already is, he is practically suffocating on it.

"Is this him?" Selena asks. The head maid doesn't even need to look at him and nods.

Selena clicks her tongue, a wry smile spreading across her face.

"No wonder she didn't want to say anything to me about you, it turns out you are quite the looker."

By 'she', Kai wonders if she is referring to Serenia, assuming this sister approached her to get details about her new potential servant. But it seems only female servants are around her. Will he really be her first male servant? If he is the first, or only, why is that?

He was warned of this, but he still doesn't have any information about this house and how their servants survive, his only chance is to ask Serenia, if he gets the chance. He can still feel her in the kitchen, no doubt listening to everything that is going on inside. The moment her sister showed up, he felt her move closer to the door, making him wonder if it's just out of concern for him…or jealousy.

Praying it is the ladder option, he tries to focus his attention on the vulture eyeing him at the moment, keeping his cool although his skin feels like it is crawling under her reptile like eyes.

"What is your name?" she asks him.

"My name is Kai, Miss Selena," he responds, mimicking the way Fiske spoke to her and bows his head. She walks over the tilts his head up to meet her gaze, and in this instant Kai can feel a flare of anger from Serenia, once again causing him to wonder what is causing her anger and interest.

'Does she have some sense that I am her mate? Am I just not paying attention to the signs correctly?' Never having a mate and only ever getting one, he has no idea, or the time to think about it, he can just ensure he doesn't do or say anything in the situation to anger her more.

"You will be serving me personally from now on. Don't worry, it won't be anything big from now on, at least until I trust that you are completely loyal to me, then we'll see where you go from there," Selena says and drags her index finger across his jaw. He can see the excitement light up in her eyes as she observes him closely, realizing how truly attractive he is, and all the fun she might have with him.

Kai has no choice but to stand as still as a statue and wait for the turmoil in his stomach to pass as she finally backs away from him.

"Come with me, we'll get you out of those rags and into something better. This here is the head maid, Hilda. You met here when you first arrived here, I assume, she is in charge of all the servants in the house, minus the ones in the kitchen, that is the head chef Maria," Selena gestures to the older woman, who nods towards him.

"This here is Iona, she is the only other one who serves me personally, before you came along, of course." Selena throws him a sweet smile over her shoulder that makes him want to gag, and gestures to the younger girl, who gives him a similar shy look.

Ignoring both of them, he turns back to look at the still keeling over Fiske, but his heart stops when he sees the face of Serenia poke out from around the corner, a sad smile on her face as she waves at him.

He lifts his hand to wave back at her, but she shakes her head to tell him no, don't reveal that they're acquainted with each other. He understands why, but that doesn't stop his heart from aching any less. He wants to let everyone know just exactly who she is – the future Luna of the Wolfmåne pack, and his mate.

But she is right, even without knowing her own future title, she is looking at it the same way he is, just out of concern for him and not herself. If he is seen being associated with her, she is afraid he will suffer the same abuse and bullying she gets from the other servants. He doesn't know whether he should feel ashamed ar how pitiful she thinks of him, or feel comforted knowing she is that concerned for him.

Kai is brought to the third and top floor of the house, where he can feel a huge difference in the air between the upper floors and the basement, precisely how warmer it feels and cleaner it smells. He is guided towards a bedroom that is admittedly small, looking like a storage closet turned into a room, but it has a small window, sturdy looking bed and nightstand. The walls are painted a bright blue, making the room appear alot brighter than the room he was given in the basement.

'The same type of room Serenia has been living in for most of her life.'

Yet, this is how her other sister has been living, as if they are from two entirely different worlds rather than born under the same roof, living in riches with everything she could ever want, while Serenia has to scrape leftovers off the plates of others.

"Change into the clothes that are on the bed in 10 minutes, I'll be back by then to bring you down to the dining room, breakfast should be ready soon," Selena says and pushes him into the room, closing the door. Only having 10 minutes, Kai quickly strips out of the plain white shirt and slacks he has on and into the black fabric pants and white silk shirt.

Silk is rare even in the Wolfmåne pack, but to think the Raseri have enough of it to don their servants with it, they must really be living in luxury, far more than he originally thought.

As promised, Selena knocks on the door to bring him down to the dining room, this time without Hilda or Iona.

"During breakfast you are to take one of the forks and spoons provided for the servants and test every entrée before I eat it to make sure it hasn't been poisoned or tampered with in anyway. Understood?" Selena instructs him.

Kai nods silently, keeping his head bowed as he walks behind her.

Selena looks behind her at him and quirks a brow.

"You're pretty obedient for a new slave, I wonder, with a face like that, what kind of life you could have live before this," she says. "Regardless, you're a servant for the Raseri pack, Beta Brant's house to be specific. As long as you continue to act as you have, I'm sure you'll be just fine."

They reach the dining room and as Selena mentioned, there is a small table where other servants are picking up forks and spoons, standing behind their masters and awaiting instructions. He does best to follow suite and stands behind Selena but keeps his eye on the entrance of the kitchen, feeling around the many senses for Serenia.

She doesn't seem to be anywhere in the building, making him wonder if she somehow managed to get a task outside the house, or ran away of her own accord again like earlier this morning. He suddenly wants this meal to be over and done with, but as a personal servant, something tells him he won't have any free time, besides when he is sleeping, and if he plans to put up with Selena Hansen when he is awake, he needs a few solid hours of sleep every night.

'I have to think of some way to sneak off after this and find her.'

Kai has had the urge to seek her out since Selena whisked him away, not even getting the chance to return her bow and dagger like promised or see her face after she walked off with a disappointed look on her face. He still has to ask her about that, or the uneasy tremor in his chest won't go away.

He knows it has something to do with him, but he can't figure out what. He has wondered if he has been so set on the fact that she can't recognize him as her mate, ever since she told him she hasn't awakened her inner wolf, that he hasn't paid attention to any signs that maybe he is wrong.

There is ancestral blood in her, and whether it is strong or weak, she has the ability to awaken her inner wolf, or he wouldn't be able to sense the bond between them at all. With that fact, she could possibly also have a faint feeling of the bond and strengthening it might help further awaken herself.

'Why didn't I think of this before? I've been too cautious.'

With this realization, the urge to see Serenia and speak with her overwhelms him. He thanks the Goddess when it seems the meal is about to start, giving him a good distraction for the time being, hoping that the meal will pass by quickly.

As Selena had asked, he was prompted to test a small portion of everything that landed on her plate, having to be careful to only use the fork and spoon he was given, and not hers. He witnessed a servant of one of the wives of the Beta put down her fork next to her master and accidentally pick up the wrong one, getting scolded heavily with a few beatings to the face, no doubt leaving a bruised eye and multiple bruises on the face tomorrow morning.

The servant took the beating with as much silence as she could, apologizing profusely afterwards, before resuming her position like nothing had happened, the only evidence being her bruised and wet face.

It took every fiber in Kai's body not to jump over the table and beat the old woman. The servant girl looked to be no more than a couple years older than Serenia, maybe 20 at most, yet this hag of a woman beat her like she was a grown man, simply for using the same fork as her.

The more time he spends with these creatures, the more he wonders why their ancestors could have ever been mistaken for one of his own. These vile beings shouldn't exist.

Thankfully the meal passed quickly, with Selena excusing herself first from the table to Kai's grace, telling him to follow her. They wander back up to the top floor and she brings him into her room.

"Please fetch Iona from down the hall and tell her I need help changing to go out, then alert the doorman at the front that I would like a horse from the stable, have it ready and waiting for me outside," she says, sitting down on the lounge chair next to the window and gazing out it, indicating she is done talking and listening any further.

'A horse? How did they come to have such creatures in captive here?' This is something new that he doubts even his father knows. It has never been known for their kind to be interested in riding horses, having the ability to shift into their wolf form and run ten times faster and grow ten times larger than any horse or other mule.

'Yet, they clearly keep them as pets here.'

Though this isn't negative information, it is rather interesting for once. He walks down the hall to the sitting room and beckons Iona to Selena's room before continuing on his task. Once he has alerted the doorman to fetch the horse, he doesn't stick around to make sure he follows through and rushes off to pick up the scent and trail of Serenia, before he is called back for more work.

Selena said she was going out and is taking a horse, no doubt to enjoy a ride, which buys him a bit of time to try and seek out Serenia and speak to her about earlier. It doesn't take him long to pick up her scent, leading him towards the forest once again.

He starts to remember the trail the further he goes down it, recognizing it as the trail they first took to enter the Raseri pack during their rescue mission, though it was rather dark at the time to really see. But during the day he can recognize the scent of the trail and a few of the small things he was able to see.

This is also where he first sensed Serenia, not knowing who or what she was at the time. Wherever she is right now, it's no doubt where she was that night. Kai keeps running through the forest until he can hear a heavy stream up ahead, her scent mixing in with the fresh spring water and crisp winter air. She has a natural sweet scent to her, that somewhat reminds him of a ripe cherries during peak grow season, a smell that wafted around his home often growing up, thanks to his mother's love of cherry jam.

He finds her sitting at the edge of the stream, leaning down to run her fingers through the rapid waters coming down from the small waterfall. Seeing this here, he wonders what she was doing here that night, remembering that Niklas said something about doing laundry.

It clicks suddenly, she was no doubt punished with washing the laundry late at night, in the freezing cold river. Even with the sun hovering over the horizon and casting a warm shadow over the ground, it is still almost below freezing temperatures. That night, anyone just standing outside in the open wind would have frozen to death within hours, yet she was playing around in the water at that time.

"If you had the chance to leave this place, would you?" he asks her. He has a feeling she already sensed he was there and chose not to say anything.

"What a naïve question. I'm not allowed to think like that, so why would I?"

He walks over and sits down next to her.

"What are you doing here? My sister busy playing with someone else at the moment?" she asks, an edge to her tone.

Kai smiles slightly at her, not saying anything, instead feeling the small waves of anger coming off of her.

"Are you angry that I've become her personal servant?"

Serenia shrugs, still hiding her face against her crouched knees.

"What is there to be angry about? I was told beforehand that you would become her personal assistant, if she allowed it, and why wouldn't she? You're just her type."

There is a heavy silence between them before he speaks.

"Am I your type?"

This causes her to look up from her knees and stare at him with a wide open look, slowly processing what he has asked. She opens and closes her mouth a few times, trying to grasp a single thought of a response to give, but comes up blank.

"I-I, uh, I'm not sure. I've never really dated or been interested in anyway, I guess," she finally fumbles for an answer, which isn't exactly a lie.

The lie being he is totally her type; she has been attracted to everything about him since the moment they met and keep finding more things to fall for the more time they spend together.

Which is why she can't shake the anger and frustration she has felt all morning since Kai was official taken as Selena's personal servant. This means she won't be able to see or work with him anymore, and he won't be sleeping in the same hall as her, he now has a cushy new room by Selena's.

A thought she has tried to avoid thinking about. No doubt, once Selena warms up to Kai, she will try any means necessary to sleep with him, and he doesn't really have the right to refuse, unless he detests it so much, he'd rather die than sleep with her.

But who can deny how beautiful Selena is. Like most of everyone on the Raseri tribe, regardless of being rather dark people, they all sport light features, Selena being no exception with her light golden hair and bright green eyes. Being given a healthy diet and training almost every day, she has a curvy and fit figure that all men are attracted to, and a flawless face with petite feminine features.

The Raseri don't have mates. What Serenia is feeling is most likely obsessive infatuation, something most girls suffer from whenever they are met with an extremely handsome and appealing man, who doesn't appear to be a horn dog.

Kai is a captive member of the Wolfmåne pack, and although he is one of the few members she has met from the pack, she can already tell they have much different morals and lifestyle when it comes to merging of the opposite sexes. Woman probably aren't treated like ojbects, given no rights while the men have many.

Their kind was blessed with a lifelong companion, someone who can cause you physical pain if you so much as ignore or reject them, never allowing you another. She imagines with that fact, woman in the Wolfmåne pack are treated like poisonus flowers, not to be treaded on and not to be feared, but treated delicately and nurtured through life.

"What is it like in your pack?" she asks him. "If one were to live there, how would it be?"

"A lot better then here, but I'm sure you already know that. We have harsh winters just as you do, but as a pack we assign hunting parties specifically to stock the fur shed and meat storage, to ensure we have enough for the winter and won't have to send out as many parties as usual. Every house is equal, there are no ranks, though the Alpha, Beta and Omega houses are held at higher regard, but those titles are earned through merit and good will, not through power of threats and slaughter. Being a house cook or housecleaner is a job chosen not forced upon anyone. Our people are free to choose the lives they want to live, which makes them loyal in return and choose to work for the greater cause of our pack; to lead our brethren home."

Serenia hasn't been given the privilege to learn or educate herself alongside the other pack members, but her mother has done her best to teach her how to read and write growing up, with the few books she managed to steal from the Beta house library on the top floor, a room forbidden to servants and lower class. She has learned a bit of the history of the Raseri pack, and their greater cause, understanding that it has ties to that of the Wolfmåne pack, which is why they are a constant target for the Raseri.

"You are trying to lift the seal that has been placed over the Bifrost, the portal to Asgard, right?"

Kai wonders what kind of teachings are given to the young members of the Raseri pack, assuming it is tainted with lies to brainwash their young and growing members to become the vile and evil beings the adults are now. But Serenia grew up being treated as a servant, and he doubts they provide proper education to their servants, even those born into the pack like her.

"How much do you know of the ancestral history of the Raseri pack?" he asks her.

She shrugs, confirming his thoughts. "I'm not allowed to be educated like the others, but my mother has taught me a few things. The reason why we hide ourselves from the humans and don't fully embrace the new realm we've been banished too, and she's told me a bit of what she knows about the ancestors of the God King and other Gods that no longer exist, thanks to our ancestors."

"Do you know why the Raseri ancestors were banished here alongside the Wolfmåne?"

She shakes her head. "I don't really know anything other than that."

"I could teach you, if you're interested in learning."

She gives him a hesitant look.

"What can you teach me?" she asks.

"Anything you want to know, I know pretty much everything there is to know about my ancestors, the goal we've been chasing since we first arrived here, and why the Raseri and Wolfmåne have been enemies since the beginningof time."

"Do they really teach you everything over in your pack? Even we have restrictions on our education, which can be removed if you happen to move further up in ranking."

Kai stops himself before answering, unsure if it is too early for him to tell her he is the Alpha's son. She probably still thinks he and the others were captured and aren't here willingly to gather information. Kai already trusts Serenia wholeheartedly and probably would even if she wasn't his mate, but after what she did for Niklas and the others the first night, she has more than proven her sincerity.

She could've also told the Alpha or her father of their identities if she really is an untrustworthy person that meant any harm, she could reveal to her pack that they were the ones who infiltrated the pack and stole back their members, before sneaking their way back in as captives, it would unravel his entire plan and she would most likely be rewarded greatly.

Getting her out of the terrible life she is living now, as well as her mother, who she seems to care the most about. Yet she didn't and has continued to help them since arriving with food and water to help Gunnar regain his strength and not get tossed in the woods to die.

"I know all of this stuff because I'm not exactly who I've appeared to be. Being a weak and small member that is good for nothing other than hunting, it was all an act to ensure I was given a servant job in a high ranking house here."

Serenia looks cautious, her back stiffening as she tries to listen to what he is saying.

"Before you bolt out of here, let me explain, please?" he asks.

She relaxes a little and nods her head. "Who exactly are you?"

"My name is Kai Pendersen, I am the son of Alpha Erik Pendersen of the Wolfmåne pack, and I'm not here as a captive, I'm here to gather information on the Raseri pack and the Gioll rock you encountered that night."