FIVE

The sight of her was lovely. He could see the scars that were no doubt the result of countless beatings. Her face was so innocent.

He studied her almond-shaped eyes whose shape was evident even through the lids. Her skin was dirty — dirtier than that of an average servant.

They were in a nearby hotel. That was the first place he knew he could take her to rest.

She twitched and his hand instinctively went to her forehead. She was burning up again. His hands moved to the bowl of cool water on the bedside table. He dipped a piece of cloth in it, squeezed, and used it to clean her forehead. It was quite hot by the time he put it back in the water and repeated the action.

As he did this, he thought back to what the doctor said.

"She seems to have been battered for a long time — years even. We will need to heal a lot more than her body, you know. But let the girl wake up first, then we'll be able to work from there," the doctor said.

To him, there was nothing wrong with her. She was respectful. So why were they always doing one thing or the other to her? In the two days he had been in the Halfmoon pack, Kai had heard more screams than he could handle.

Her hand moved and before he could squeeze the cloth again, her eyes had opened. They were a beautiful sapphire.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

She just stared at him and sat up slowly. "Who are you?" was the first thing she asked.

"My name is Alpha Kai. We've met before," he explained.

Her memory came rushing in. He was the one who saved her from a hit that would have left her among the walking dead. "Thank you," she said softly.

"Huh?"

"For saving me, thank you. This is the second time."

"That's fine. You don't-" His words stopped abruptly. Tears were running down her cheeks.

'Did I do something wrong?' he wondered.

"I'm sorry," she said as she wiped her tears. "I just wish it could end sometimes."

Her words took him back to his conversation with the doctor. 'He was right,' the alpha said in thought.

He did not say anything to Rylee and she in turn stopped talking, feeling embarrassed.

He stood up and went to the door and opened it to see his Beta waiting for him just outside the room. He motioned for him to come in.

"I'd like you to look after her while I take a stroll," said Alpha Kai.

"Yes, sir."

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door, and before Beta Christian could get to the door, it burst open.

"Who are you? Don't you have any manners?" he scolded the servant girl as she came in. She ignored him and faced Rylee.

"It's fine," Rylee assured him. "She's my sister."

He took a while to look at the two carefully. Apart from their identical eyes, there was nothing else that indicated the same blood in their veins.

"Could you excuse us, please?" Rylee requested.

Beta Christian was not comfortable with that but he couldn't refuse her so he left with a bow.

"So you've got a man wrapped around your little finger," Esther sneered.

"What do you want from me?" her sister asked with a sigh. The air from the AC was as high as it could be but she still felt a bit cold. Esther's presence there only made the feeling worse.

~~~

Christian stormed into the room. The voices he heard even when the door was closed were just too loud.

"You can't just order me around like a little kid, Esther! I am your elder," Rylee scolded.

"Elder, my ass. I don't care about any of that. What I'm telling you is that I got a tip and you have just gotta come back. You'll either come willingly or by force," Esther sneered.

"And who's going to force me? You?" Rylee said with a laugh.

The younger girl smirked. "No need for me to answer that since you already know who."

"Don't speak to her that way!" Christian scolded Esther. "She's your elder sister and you will regard her as such."

There was silence in the room. Esther rolled her eyes and said, "Yeah, right."

She started talking rapidly and Rylee told her once again that her earlier decision stood. Beta Christian tried stopping the two girls from arguing to no avail.

Rylee was the first to stop talking. Her eyes remained trained on the doorway, which was still open. Esther noticed her silence and turned. She was startled to see Ash's father in the doorway.

"Your Majesty," Esther called with a frown while her sister continued to keep mute. The room lapsed in silence.

Alpha Aiden took a look at the younger sister. "You know, you should be more respectful to your elders," he said.

"But sir-"

"I'm talking about the one on the bed. She is older than you, isn't she?" The girls jerked in surprise. Before they could react properly, he said to Esther, " Get out." She scurried away, frightened.

He looked at Beta Christian, expecting him to leave as well but Christian had had enough of leaving the room. Who knew what would happen this time? When the alpha saw they would be in the company of the Beta, he sighed and sat down on the bed. Rylee didn't attempt to move away. She didn't want to give the impression that she was scared of scum like him.

"How did you feel?" he asked.

"Quite alright," she said curtly.

He tried making conversation with her but with each new topic, she simply gave a one-worded reply.

She was sure he was only there to make trouble. Either that or he wanted to make himself look better. "It's surprising to see you care about a servant," she teased.

His patience caught. "How dare you?" he snarled. He raised his hand to strike but before he could bring it down, Christian held it.