Chapter 7

Ever since I was a little girl, I have always loved the moon and the stars. Months ago, I saw a post on Pinterest about the moon and the stars. The poster had described the stars as symbols of truth and guidance and the crescent moon; a symbol of new beginnings.

But as I gazed into the moon and saw how dim it looked, I realised that my life would never have a new beginning. I was a little ball of lightness being sucked into a world of darkness and misery.

Ares was a troubled man. A man with his past clutching onto him tightly. Refusing to let go.

I let out a deep breath as I recalled the latest events. With Serena being a major bitch, Ares–the dominant and calculative man, being an unjust jerk and me, Akira the slave, stuck in the middle of all the chaos.

Ares stayed true to his words, and I slept in the cell. My eyes were red and puffy and my throat was raw and scratchy after one guard released me this morning. I didn't want to face anyone, so I stayed in my room all day- knowing that I was going to get punished by Madam Yelena and while everyone retired to deep slumber; I sneaked out.

I felt so sick of myself.

It was safe to say I was beginning to not care if I got punished or not.

Footsteps behind me shook me away from my dark thoughts. I looked beside me to find the silhouette of a male. He stepped forward, and I was met with a tall, lean young man. He looked my age, and he was very handsome.

He walked towards my spot on the wooden bench, with his face set in a grimace. "Hey." His tone was clipped and his body language seemed guarded.

My bangs moved like a caress across my forehead from the breeze, and I struggled to suppress a shiver. "Hi."

He moved to sit down beside me and we both sat quietly in the darkness. I looked at him and it surprised me to see striking blue eyes looking right back at me.

"I–uh, you're new here." It was a blunt statement, I know, and by the flashes of shock and anger that crossed his face, I was right.

He pursed his lips. "I'm Orion. And yes, I'm new here." His chuckle was without humour.

I nodded grimly and looked at the surrounding trees. The garden was my newfound place of peace and quietness. The cool breeze and quietness allowed me to breathe properly and think of my next step.

One that included not pissing Ares and his mistress off.

A few moments later, Orion chuckled. "How did I get here?"

It didn't sound like the question was directed to me and even if it was, I didn't reply. I didn't reply because I knew the question was asked out of hopelessness. And also because I had no idea, even if I did, I wasn't sure he would want to listen.

I breathed in deeply. "I'm Akira." After a few heartbeats, I added; "The Alpha's newfound whore."

The little huff that came out of Orion's lips got me pissed but looking at his face and seeing how harmless he looked? I joined him, and together we both started laughing.

"I like you already," Orion stated with a smile on his face. "I mean, it's only been a few minutes and I don't like anyone here and I sure as fuck don't plan on liking anyone, but you, Akira, are something else."

I smiled at his compliment and muttered a "thank you" as we both gazed into each other's eyes. Orion's smile was beautiful, his full lower lips spread widely and his perfect teeth were on display. The lines beside his eyes crinkled as he smiled.

I quickly looked away. I already knew Orion and I were going to be good friends but there was something else lurking behind, something I wasn't about to let into light.

"How did you get here?" I finally asked the question that was on the tip of my tongue.

Orion's smile was a sad one, "It was my mother's death anniversary." His eyes turned misty. "I was on my way back home after going to the graveyard to see her when they cornered me. I wasn't about to be kidnapped so, of course, I fought back, but there was two of them. They were more bulkier and skilled with arms on them." He clenched his jaw. "And stronger, way stronger than humans."

My gasp was inaudible but my mouth was wide open. "Oh my goodness. I'm so so sorry, Orion..."

"It's not your fault. This place is shit though, I would never in my life think that people like this still exist. It's horrible, honestly."

I nodded my head in agreement. "No shit."

Orion's eyes twinkled with amusement at my cuss. "You don't look like you know how to cuss. I mean, with your fiery red hair and that innocent face? You look more like an innocent songbird."

I giggled. "Songbirds are mostly caged." It was quiet for a while before I spoke again. "I was always so comfortable with my life. An assistant librarian in my town's college? Check. Invisible? Check. No active love-life? Check. Life was good."

Until I was taken and I met Ares who had spun my life around in a flash of two weeks. But I didn't say that out loud.

"So what happened? What changed?" Orion asked, leaning back on the bench to get comfortable.

I picked on my fingernails. Of course, I couldn't continuously blame Ares for all of my misfortune, it was mostly my fault for being insanely attracted to him.

Eve's voice continuously kept nagging inside my head. What if Ares was my mate? He hated humans. The thought of him possibly rejecting me– or worse, killing me– had me shivering in fear.

"I guess the need to be courageous is growing on me. Especially in a place like this." My answer was merely a whisper but Orion understood anyway.

Orion chuckled softly. "The Alpha's whore, yeah?" He asked me, almost like he couldn't get it out of his head.

"I don't know how that slipped out." My cheeks were flaming red by now. "I don't know what I am to him." I finally murmured.

Suddenly an eerie feeling overcame me. Almost like someone was watching us, I craned my neck to look behind us but I saw no one.

I could see the confusion etched on Orion's face as he pondered over my words. "But you're human? I know the Alpha hates humans." He spat out the words with venom.

I scoffed. "I guess he has limits."

"How about the Luna? Serena?"

I didn't know what came over me but I snapped. Anger coursed inside of my veins as Orion regarded Serena as the Luna. "She's not the Luna!"

Orion looked taken aback and I almost felt sorry for him. "Then who is? Isn't she the Alpha's mistress?"

Not wanting to be enraged again, I closed my eyes and lowered my voice. "Can we drop it?"

There was no way I was going to explain to him how I thought I was the Alpha's mate even if he hated humans and there was no way he was going to believe me, seeing as Serena was still here and Ares hasn't publicly claimed me.

Orion cleared his throat and nodded. "Sure."

"When was your mother's death anniversary?" I probed softly.

Grieve flashed through his eyes. "On the 25th of November." He swallowed as he muttered out the words.

My brows jumped. "How many days have you been here?"

"Today makes it the 5th day..."

I couldn't believe it, I was supposed to be at home with Nana and Ama, blowing out the candles on Nana's homemade cake for me. Before Eve cones to drag me out of the house, but here I was, in a maid outfit mopping grounds and cleaning bathrooms in the middle of no-fucking-where. Life was turning into a cruel bitch.

"It's my birthday today..." I sniffled, quickly moving to wipe the tears out of my eyes.

Orion grinned widely, his smile looked genuine as he wiped the fresh tears on my cheeks. "Well, Happy birthday to you."

It was shocking how someone I just met today was the first person to wish me a happy birthday. I was grateful for that.

Moving slightly to face him, I leaned towards him to hug him. "Thank you." I inhaled deeply as I whispered into his ear.

I slowly removed myself from the embrace when he nodded. "It's nothing."

We spoke about our family and siblings and I found out that Orion has six sisters and a little brother. He nagged a lot about his sisters but from the smile on his face, I knew he missed and loved them. I told him about Ama and how she loved the band, One Direction, so much she thought about changing her middle name to Harry.

Soon, I was yawning and my head was laid my head on Orion's shoulder. I looked around, noticing how quiet it was. "It should be past midnight now," I murmured as the moonlight shone on us.

The guards would start their strolls soon and we both knew we had to leave.

Orion nodded in agreement and decided to walk me to the maid's quarters. As I bid him farewell, walked to my room and laid on my bed, all I could think of was the start of new beginnings.

And I slept peacefully that night, unaware of the angered man that awaits me.