"I asked for the rules. What I got was a list of ways to die."
— Seyra
011.
Seyra opened her eyes. She blinked several times to get used to the light.
The room she was in was small but clean. White curtains hung around the bed she was lying on, and the smell of herbs and something faintly medicinal filled the air. A single lantern burned low on a table nearby, casting soft shadows across the walls.
She tried to sit up, but a sharp ache in her back reminded her not to move too fast.
She turned and saw Mira. Her eyes widened.
Mira sat on a small stool beside the bed, her eyes half-closed like she was fighting sleep. The moment she noticed Seyra was awake, she straightened immediately.
"You’re awake," Mira said, relief washing over her face.
Seyra stared at her, confused. "Mira? What are you doing here?"
Mira gave a small smile. "Watching over you."
Seyra frowned. "Won’t you get in trouble for this? Ophelia doesn’t seem like the type to let anyone slack off."
Mira shook her head. "It’s fine. I finished my duties already."
Seyra glanced toward the window, where the sky outside was pitch black. "What time is it?"
"It’s past 2 a.m.," Mira replied.
Seyra’s eyes widened. She had been out for a whole day. The last thing she remembered was the courtyard, the whip, the Alpha, and the darkness swallowing her whole.
"You’ve been here since then?" Seyra asked, still trying to process everything.
"Since 10 p.m.," Mira said simply, like it wasn’t a big deal.
Seyra stared at her, stunned. "You stayed here for hours? Just for me?"
Mira shrugged, a little shy. "You didn’t have to help me with Darcel. But you did anyway. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."
Seyra didn’t know what to say to that. She wasn’t used to people caring about her without expecting something in return.
"How are you feeling?" Mira asked, leaning forward slightly.
Seyra took a moment to check. The pain that had been sharp and unbearable earlier now felt dull, almost numb. "Better, I think. Still sore, but better."
She figured the healer must have used something to speed up her recovery. Her wolf was weak, and healing on her own would have taken much longer than this. She was grateful, at least, that she wasn’t in as much pain as before.
"Thank you," Mira said quietly. "For standing up for me. Nobody’s ever done that before."
Seyra managed a small smile despite the ache still lingering in her body. "You didn’t deserve what she was doing to you. Nobody does."
Mira’s eyes softened, like she wanted to say more but didn’t know how.
Seyra shifted slightly against the pillow, wincing at the pull in her back. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"How does this place actually work? The palace, I mean. The rules." Seyra hesitated. "I feel like I walked in not knowing anything, and it almost got me killed."
Mira’s expression shifted, the warmth from before replaced with something more guarded.
"There’s a lot you need to know," Mira muttered slowly. "Some of it, I don’t even like talking about."
"Please," Seyra said. "I need to understand what I’m dealing with."
Mira glanced toward the door, like she was making sure no one was listening, then lowered her voice.
She leaned in closer, her voice dropping to barely more than a whisper.
"First," Mira said, "never ask the Alpha about his face. Or his past. Or anything about who he was before he became who he is now. Two Alphas almost got killed when they pried too hard."
Seyra’s stomach turned, remembering the guard who had died right in front of her.
"Second," Mira continued, "never touch anything in his chambers without permission. Not a book, not a cup, nothing. Some maids say he can tell if something’s been moved even an inch."
Seyra nodded slowly, taking it all in.
"Third, don’t speak unless he speaks to you first. That’s for everyone, not just maids. Even the Beta follows that rule."
"What happens if you break it?" Seyra asked.
Mira hesitated. "Depends on his mood. Sometimes nothing. Sometimes..." She trailed off, glancing at the bandages wrapped around Seyra’s back.
Seyra swallowed hard.
"Fourth," Mira said, "every she-wolf without a mate has to serve the pack in some way once she turns twenty. There’s no exception. If she doesn’t want to serve, she would have to go to the motel. Some get sold by their families..." Mira stopped herself.
"Like me," Seyra finished quietly.
Mira gave a small, apologetic nod.
"Fifth," she went on, "nobody questions Ophelia’s authority. Except apparently the Alpha himself, since he seems to have taken a personal interest in you." Mira’s eyes flicked toward her, curious but careful not to ask directly.
Seyra said nothing to that.
"Sixth," Mira said, lowering her voice even further, "no one has ever seen the Alpha without his mask. Not maids, not guards, not even the Beta, as far as I know. Some say if you see his face, you die on the spot. Others say it’s a curse. Nobody really knows the truth. Ophelia says it’s wise to just mind your business and act oblivious to it all."
Seyra thought about the moment in the courtyard, his mask inches from her face, his voice cold and controlled.
"And the last thing," Mira said, meeting Seyra’s eyes, "is the most important one. Whatever you see in this palace, whatever you hear, you keep it to yourself. Loyalty isn’t asked for here. It’s expected. And the ones who forget that don’t last long."
Seyra sat with that for a moment, the weight of it settling heavy in her chest.
"You’ve survived here for how long?" she asked.
"Almost two years," Mira said.
"How?"
Mira gave a tired, humorless smile. "By staying invisible. By never standing out. By doing exactly what I’m told, exactly when I’m told." She paused.
Seyra bit down on her lower lip.
She didn’t think she could be invisible anymore. Just one day, and she had already stood up to Darcel and gotten on Ophelia’s bad side.
She wasn’t going to last long. She knew that much.
If the rules didn’t cause her death, then Ophelia would. And if Ophelia didn’t...
Seyra swallowed.
The Alpha would.