The knock on the door yanked me out of the deepest sleep I had experienced in nine years.
I opened eyes, my limbs sinking comfortably into the plush layers of the duvet, before my gaze drifted toward the elegant digital clock sitting on the nightstand.10:45 AM.
Panic shot through my chest, and I scrambled to sit upright, my heart violently hammering against my ribs.
10:45 AM?
How could I possibly sleep for that long?
Back at Silver Ridge, missing the 5:00 AM kitchen prep meant a mandatory trip to the courtyard or a heavy boot to my side.
Sleeping past sunrise was a luxury reserved only for the dead.
“Ella?
Are you awake yet?” Hazel’s cheerful voice cut through the wood of the door, followed by a soft twist of the brass handle.
She stepped inside the room, her big blue eyes bright with an energetic glow as she took in my wide-eyed, panicked expression.
“I am so sorry, Hazel,” I stammered quickly, my fingers tightly clutching the silk sheets to my chest as I tilted my good left ear toward her.
“I didn’t mean to sleep in.
I’ll get to the kitchen right away.
I can start on the floors…”
“Whoa, stop right there,” Hazel interrupted, letting out a bright laugh as she marched over to the foot of the bed and dropped a neatly folded stack of clean clothes onto the mattress.
“Why are you apologizing?
You were exhausted, Ella.
Your body needed the rest to heal those ribs.”
“But it’s almost eleven,” I whispered, staring down at my hands.
“Alpha Richard would have…”
“Alpha Richard isn’t here, and nobody is going to punish you for sleeping,” Hazel said firmly, her smile returning as she patted the stack of clothes.
“I brought you some fresh clothes to wear after you take a shower.
Take your time, okay?
I’ll be waiting for you down in the kitchen so we can eat something, seeing as everyone has already had breakfast hours ago except the two of us.”
“Everyone else is already done?” I asked.
“Yes, the warriors have been out on patrol since dawn, the pups are in school now, and the Alpha is swamped with paperwork,” Hazel explained, turning back toward the doorway.
“So it’s just you and me for late breakfast.
Don’t rush, I’ll see you downstairs.”
Once the door clicked shut, I slowly slid my legs out of the bed, my feet sinking into the thick, warm cream carpet.
I picked up the fresh clothes, a soft lavender sweater and thick black leggings and walked into my very own private bathroom.
Gosh I could get used to this lifestyle.
Turning the chrome handle of the shower, a steady stream of steaming, hot water instantly flooded the stall.
At Silver Ridge, my “baths” consisted of a single plastic bucket of ice-cold water hauled from the outdoor pump, leaving my hands numb and my skin shivering in the dark shack.
Here, I stepped into the steam, letting the hot water cascade over my shoulders and trace down the fading bruises on my ribs.
I took my time, intentionally lingering under the spray just to enjoy the luxury of the new bathroom and the endless warmth, washing away the last traces of Silver Ridge dust from my hair and body.
After getting dressed, I walked down the staircases, using my sense of direction to remember the kitchen from yesterday.
I found the kitchen completely empty, nobody was in even the cooking staff, with only Hazel sitting at the central island next to a fresh spread of toasted bagels, fruit, and warm tea.
“There she is!
You look gorgeous by the way, the colour suits you.” Hazel chirped, pushing a plate toward the empty stool next to her.
“Sit down, Ella.
Dig in before it gets completely cold.”
I took my seat, the rich scent of baked bread filling my nose.
It was completely quiet, just the both of us in the kitchen.
The silence felt strangely peaceful compared to the chaotic, screaming environment of my old packhouse, where pots were constantly being thrown and slurs were tossed at me across the steam.
If I wanted to move on from then, I needed to stop thinking about them and comparing them to everything I see.
I chewed on a piece of toasted bread, my eyes darting toward the empty corridors beyond the archway.
I desperately wanted to ask Hazel where everyone else was, where Alpha Alexander was, and if Klaus had tried to send any trouble from my old pack but the old habit of keeping my mouth shut to stay invisible won.
I decided against it, keeping my focus entirely on my plate.
“Are you finished?” Hazel asked a few minutes later, wiping her hands with a clean napkin as she watched me swallow the last bite of my meal.
“Yes,” I nodded, reaching out to grab my empty plate.
“I can wash these…”
“Nope, the cleaning crew usually handles that,” Hazel said, suddenly grabbing me tightly by the hand and dragging me off the stool.
Her catchy smile was wider than ever.
“Come on, I promised to show you around the packhouse, and we have a very busy schedule today.”
For the next hour, Hazel led me through every single square inch of the magnificent Blood Moon Pack, and with every room we entered, the contrast to my old life made my head spin.
At Silver Ridge, the packhouse was built of dark, suffocating stone, designed to make the unranked feel small and disposable.
The corridors there were dirty, the omega s’ quarters reeking of mold and neglect and even though it was horrible down there, I still didn’t make it to owning a room in that quarters.
But the Blood Moon packhouse was a marvel of elegant interior design.
Hazel showed me the library, a massive two-story room filled with thousands of leather-bound books and plush velvet reading chairs beneath crystal chandeliers.
She led me past the polished executive offices, the sun-drenched sunrooms, and the state-of-the-art medical wing where her father operated.
Every corner was pristine, smelling faintly of cedar wood and expensive wax, the pack members we passed along the way simply bowing their heads respectfully to Hazel without casting a single disgusted glance at my human frame.
“Alright, that’s the grand tour completed,” Hazel said as we finally walked out into the front driveway where a sleek, pink car was waiting.
She opened the passenger door for me, her eyes sparkling.
“Now for the best part.
Change of scenery.
We are driving out to the human city just outside the pack territory to shop for some actual clothes.”
“The human city?” I asked, my voice cracking slightly as I slid into the leather passenger seat.
“Alpha Richard never allowed me to leave the pack border.
He said a wolf-less freak would probably get lost in the crowd of humans.”
“Well, Alpha Richard is currently eating out of a plastic tray in a Council prison, so his opinions are officially invalid,” Hazel said thoroughly, starting the engine with a powerful roar.
She reached into her bag and pulled out a sleek black credit card, flashing it directly in front of my face.
“See this?
Alpha Alexander personally handed me his ATM card before his meeting this morning.
He explicitly told me to make sure you get absolutely everything you want from the shops.
No limits.”
My jaw went slightly slack as I stared at the dark piece of plastic.
He had really provided his own card just to buy clothes for a wolf-less slave like me.
The drive down the mountain pass was fast and smooth, the thick pine forests eventually thinning out until the highway opened up into a bustling, bright human city filled with tall glass buildings, crowded sidewalks, and massive shopping boutiques.
Walking into the luxury clothing store felt like stepping into an alternate universe.
The racks were overflowing with bright silk dresses, soft woolen coats, and rows of pristine shoes that looked like art pieces.
“Alright, Ella, let’s start with the basics,” Hazel said, dragging me toward a big rack of heavy winter sweaters.
“Pick whatever colors you like.”
“I…
I don’t know how to choose,” I whispered, my ear picking up the cheerful pop music playing through the store’s sound system.
“At Silver Ridge, I only wore whatever Celia’s friends threw into the bin.
I’ve never picked my own clothes before.” There i go again constrating my own life to the new one I was beginning to build.
Hazel’s smile softened into a quiet, fierce sympathy, and she immediately began pulling items off the hangers herself.
“Then we are going to try everything.
Grey, lavender, dark blue…
you look great in cool tones.”
For the next two hours, the boutique turned into a whirlwind of fabric and dialogue.
Hazel completely took charge, shifting between the racks with a practiced efficiency while I stood in the fitting room, trying on outfits that felt softer than anything I had ever touched.
“How does that grey trench coat feel?” Hazel called out through the curtain, her voice echoing in the posh boutique.
“Is it tight around your ribs?”
“No,” I called back, staring at my reflection in the full-length mirror.
The thick, wool coat structured my small frame beautifully, completely hiding the bandages beneath.
“It feels…
warm.
Incredibly warm.”
“Perfect!
Keep it on,” Hazel said, open the curtain and tossing three more pairs of boots into the stall.
“We are getting those leather boots too.
And these soft trousers.
Oh, and this velvet evening shirt just in case Alexander calls you into the main hall.”
“Hazel, this is too much,” I protested, looking at the growing mountain of shopping bags sitting by the checkout counter.
“We’ve already picked out ten sweaters and four jackets.
The Alpha’s card…”
“The Alpha’s card can buy the entire boutique, Ella, so don’t worry your pretty little head about it,” Hazel laughed, waving the black card at the cashier with a playful wink.
“Alexander explicitly said ‘everything she wants.’ If we don’t bring back a full trunk, he’ll think I slacked off on my duties.”
The cashier smiled politely, scanning item after item with a quick, rhythmic beep.
I watched the digital screen update, the numbers climbing higher than any amount of money I had ever seen in my life.
At Silver Ridge, my existence was worth less than a bag of grain; here, they were spending a small fortune just to keep me warm for the winter.
By the time the transaction was completed, we had to carry dozens of heavy, glossy shopping bags out to the car, completely packing the trunk to the absolute brim.
We ended up buying so many things and beautiful new clothes, soft fabrics that smelled of clean cotton, thick winter boots that would keep the mountain frost from biting my toes, and a wardrobe that made me look like an actual living person, someone in existence not just merely existing.
Now my girl have something nice to wear.
My poor poor baby…